Into a Dangerous Mind (33 page)

“No!”
 
The Reaper screamed and grabbed the gun out of Dix’s hand before he could recover enough to aim it.
 
“You’re mine, father!”

Dix pushed to his feet unsteadily and tried to turn and run, but the Reaper hit him hard across the face with the gun.
 
Hot blood blossomed over his right eye where the gun sight cut him and his ears rang from the impact of the hard metal against flesh.

Fear welled and adrenaline pumped—Dix marshaled all of his strength to hold out against the Reaper.
 
He refused to give up without a fight.

!”

.”

Cassidy stood poised at the edge of her backyard pool, looking down into the shimmering crystal blue water.
 
She enjoyed the pricks of heat assaulting her skin as the one-hundred-twelve-degree Arizona heat shimmered around her.

Taking a deep breath, she dove into the pool.
 
The cool, velvety water caressed her like a lover, melting away the heat and leaving only soft comfort in its wake.

She swam the length of the pool underwater and then surfaced at the edge of the deep end.
 
She brought her feet up against the side of the pool, kicking off in a backstroke toward the shallow end.

Cassidy tried to empty her mind as she continued to swim laps.
 
The familiar comfort of activity as her muscles stretched and heated settled over her.
 
This routine never failed to help her relax.
 
Never a time for thinking, but for just being and doing.
 
With every breath, she inhaled the scent of blooming oleanders and ripe, hot desert.
 
A sense of peace seeped into her with every movement.

This was the first time since Zach came into her life that she had a chance to take a swim—and she was enjoying it.
 
Stabs of guilt assaulted her and she resolutely ignored them.
 
She badly needed a little normalcy in her life after the events of the last few weeks.
 
And, she reminded herself, Dix wouldn’t fault her for trying to relax while she dealt with her grief.

.

The creak of her pool gate opening startled her.
 
Halfway through a lap back to the shallow end, she looked up into Kathy’s haggard face.

“Hi.”
 
Kathy walked across the patio and sat down on the edge of the pool.
 
She kicked off her sandals and dipped her feet in the water to rest on the first step.

Cassidy let relief flow through her and swam toward her friend.
 
“Where have you been?
 
I’ve left tons of messages for you.
 
I was getting worried.”

Kathy reached down to trail her index finger through the clear blue water.
 
“Sorry, I just needed…time.”

Cassidy studied her friend critically.
 
“Are you ready to talk?”
 
Kathy’s clothes hung on her frame, her face gaunt, her skin stretched tight over her bones.
 
The healthy bloom that usually rode high on her cheeks starkly absent.
 
Cassidy hoped she’d done the right thing by allowing Kathy to be alone for the last few days.

“Yes.”
 
Kathy met Cassidy’s gaze and a small, sad smile curved her lips.
 
“And thanks.”

“For what?”

Cassidy stepped out of the pool and an immediate chill ran over her as the greedy dry air evaporated the water from her skin.

“I know it goes against your personality to let me sequester myself when you know I’m hurting.
 
But I needed it.”
 
Kathy turned and looked over her shoulder at Cassidy.
 
“Dix’s death hit me harder than I thought.”

Cassidy grabbed her towel and began to dry off.
 
“I think because of the heightened situation, you and Dix got close fast.”

Kathy gazed out over the pool, turning away from Cassidy.
 
“Like you and Zach.”

A band around Cassidy’s heart constricted and she rubbed at it absently with the heel of her hand.
 
Since the funeral, Zach said very little to anyone and kept his shields closed tight.
 
All attempts to get him to talk or open up met with resistance and outright hostility.
 
That he could so easily shut her out of his life still hurt.

She realized she hadn’t answered Kathy’s question when she saw her friend staring at her critically.
 
Cassidy quickly averted her gaze, sat down on one of the patio chairs, and began to dry her hair.

“What have I missed?”
 
Kathy’s brow arched in question.

here.”
 
No way would Cassidy allow her friend to divert the conversation before she made certain Kathy was all right.

Kathy stepped out of the pool and sat in a patio chair facing Cassidy.
 
“I’m…better.”
 
She took Cassidy’s hand and squeezed it.
 
“Really,” she said and then smiled.

“He’s the first man who truly appreciated me for my intellect, sense of humor and all my other assets not directly associated with my looks.”
 
Kathy gestured to herself to demonstrate and then sighed and leaned back against the chair.

.”

“I’m so sorry, Kath.
 
Is there anything I can do?”

The breeze toyed with a wayward strand of Kathy’s hair and she absently tucked it behind her ear.
 
“You’re doing it.”
 
She held Cassidy’s gaze.
 
“I mean it.
 
I’ll heal.
 
I’m thankful I was blessed to know such a terrific man, even for the small amount of time I did.
 
I only regret I didn’t take better advantage of the time we had.”

“But…”

Kathy held up a hand, forestalling Cassidy’s objection.
 
“I know.
 
You’re going to tell me that under the circumstances, we really didn’t have a lot more time to spend.
 
But knowing what I know now, I would’ve found some.”

Cassidy nodded and let a companionable silence fall between them.
 
She couldn’t help comparing Kathy’s feelings of regret and loss to her own and guilt assaulted her for it.
 
Hadn’t she lost Zach the moment Dix died?
 
Maybe not physically, but in every way that mattered.

The sharp stab of guilt for not being able to help Dix plunged deeper this time.

Kathy touched Cassidy’s arm, interrupting her thoughts.
 
“Has he talked to you at all since the funeral?”

Cassidy shook her head and sighed as hot tears welled unbidden and slid down her cheeks unchecked.
 
She’d kept her tears under wraps since the funeral.
 
Maybe it was time to let them flow.

“I’m sorry.
 
I know you’re grieving, too, and I haven’t been any help and apparently neither has Zach.
 
We both deserted you.”

Cassidy leaned her head back against the top of the patio chair and closed her eyes.
 
“It’s not anyone’s fault.
 
I know intellectually that everyone deals with grief in their own way.”
 
She opened her eyes and sat up in her chair.
 
“But psychically, I can see the waves of grief and anger pour off Zach like Niagara Falls.
 
It’s frustrating to see so clearly what he’s going through and not be allowed to be there for him.”

, and I know that’s got to be what it’s like for Zach to lose Dix.”

“Especially when he could open his mind to you and you would know exactly what he’s feeling,” Kathy agreed.

“He’s been working around the clock trying to track down the Reaper.
 
But so far Brian—the Reaper, I mean—is just taunting him.”

Kathy bolted up in her chair and her concerned gaze bored into Cassidy.
 
“He hasn’t contacted you again, has he?”

Heat crept into Cassidy’s cheeks as she remembered the few times she’d tried to contact the Reaper on her own over the last few days.
 
Anger and fear had frayed her focus, and she hadn’t been able to find him.
 
But Zach could have—should have—asked for her help.
 
His reluctance to endanger her might be putting other women, or even Zach himself, at risk.

“No, he hasn’t contacted me.”

.

Kathy relaxed back against the chair.
 
“Good, you had me worried there for a second.”

Cassidy wanted to divert the topic away from contact between her and the Reaper before she guilted herself into telling Kathy she’d tried.
 
“So, do you want to come in and have some lunch?”

“No, thanks.
 
I just wanted to come by so you wouldn’t worry.
 
I need to go grocery shopping and do some errands.”
 
Kathy shrugged.
 
“I haven’t done anything productive since the funeral.
 
And it’s time to jump back into life.”

“Are you sure you’re okay by yourself?”.
 
The shadows under Kathy’s eyes accentuated the sea green color, making her seem more vulnerable and fragile.
 
“I could get dressed and go with you.”

“I’m fine.”
 
Kathy stood and smoothed her skirt and slipped back into her sandals.
 
“Besides, you’d have to take your protection entourage.”