Suddenly, the pier shook and creaked beneath her as footsteps approached from behind. She turned to look up at the visitor and met a pair of brilliant blue eyes gazing out from the chiseled-stone features of Riley Patterson.
Wake up, he said. Youre in danger.
The dream images shattered, like a reflection in a pool displaced by a falling stone. She woke to the murky darkness of a hospital room filled with alien smells and furtive movements. A shadow shifted beside her in the gloom, and she heard the faint sound of breathing by her bed.
She froze, swallowing the moan of fear rising in her throat. Its a nurse, she told herself. Only a nurse. In a minute, shell turn on the light and check my pulse.
But why hadnt the nurse left the door to the hallway open?
She felt the slightest tug on the IV needle in the back of her hand. Peering into the darkness, she caught the faint glint of the IV bag as it moved.
The intruder was putting something into her IV line.
Panic hammering the back of her throat, she swallowed hard and tried to keep her breathing steady, even though her lungs felt ready to explode. Slowly, quietly, she tugged the tube from the cannula in her right hand until she felt the cool drip of liquid spreading across the bed sheet under her arm. She had no idea where the nurse call button was, but it didnt matter anyway. She was too terrified to move again. The last thing she wanted to do was let the intruder know she was awake.
Instead, she focused on her breathing, keeping it slow and steady. In and out. Her heart was racing, her head was aching, but she kept breathing until she felt the intruder move away from her bedside. A moment later, the door to her room opened and the silhouette of a man briefly filled the shaft of light pouring inside. But he was gone before she got more than a quick impression of a solid, masculine build.
The door clicked closed and she jerked herself to a sitting position, groping for the nurse call button that hung by a cord from the side of her bed. She flicked the switch that turned on the bedside light and frantically pressed the call button.
A few seconds later, a womans tinny voice came through the call-button speaker. Yes?
Someone just came into my room and tried to put something in my IV line, she said, her voice shaking.
After a brief pause, the nurses voice came through the speaker again. Ill be right there.
A few seconds later, the door opened and a nurse hurried inside. She hit the switch by the door, flooding the room with light. Her brow furrowing, she looked at the tube Hannah had extracted from the cannula. Are you sure someone was in here? she asked, checking the IV bag.
He was standing right there. He put something in that port thing. Hannah pointed toward the bright orange injection port positioned a few inches below the IV bag.
The nurses frown deepened.
The door to the room whipped open and Riley Patterson entered, his tense blue eyes meeting Hannahs. Whats going on? I saw the nurse run in here-
Hannah watched him close the distance between them, unsettled by how glad she was to see the Wyoming lawman again. The memory of her dream, of his quiet warning, flashed through her mind, and she felt the sudden, ridiculous urge to fling herself in his arms and thank him for saving her life.
Instead, she murmured, I thought you went home.
You thought wrong, he said drily. What happened?
She told him what shed just experienced, watching with alarm as his expression darkened. I wasnt imagining it, she said defensively.
He looked at her. I didnt say you were.
Ill call security, the nurse said, heading for the door.
I think we should call the Teton County Sheriffs Department, too. Riley reached for the phone.
So you believe me? Hannah pressed.
Any reason I shouldnt? He started dialing a number.
Hannah sank back against her pillows, reaction beginning to set in. She tried to hold back the shivers, but it was like fighting an avalanche. By the time Riley hung up the phone and turned around, her teeth were chattering wildly.
He sat beside her on the bed and took her hands in his. Its okay. Youre going to be okay.
His eyes were the color of the midday sky, clear and brilliant blue. They were a startling spot of color in his lean, sun-bronzed face. He seemed hewn of stone, his short-cropped hair the rusty color of iron ore, his shoulders as broad and solid as a block of granite. His lean body could have been chiseled from the rocky outcroppings of the Wyoming mountains. He had cowboy written all over him.
Aware she was staring, she looked down at his hands enveloping hers. They were large, strong and work-roughened. A slim gold band encircled his left ring finger.
She tugged her hands away, acutely aware of her own bare ring finger. I should have screamed. I let him get away.
There are probably security cameras around. He took a big risk coming after you here.
He was so calm. She gripped the bed sheets to keep her traitorous fingers from reaching for his hands again, though she felt absurdly adrift without his reassuring touch. His actions were furtive, but he didnt seem nervous.
Did you see anything about him?
It was too dark. I saw his outline when he slipped out the door-definitely male.
My size?
She let her gaze move a little too slowly over his hard, lean frame. Chiding herself mentally, she shook her head. Heavier. More muscle-bound or something. Probably your height, maybe an inch or two taller. She pressed her lips together to stop her chattering teeth. I should have made noise, gotten the nurses in here-
If youre right about what you saw, the man came here to kill you. Making a noise only would have made it happen faster. He briefly touched her hand where the cannula remained, unattached to the IV tube. You got that tube out. You saved yourself, and nobody could expect anything more.
If youre right about what you saw, the man came here to kill you. Making a noise only would have made it happen faster. He briefly touched her hand where the cannula remained, unattached to the IV tube. You got that tube out. You saved yourself, and nobody could expect anything more.
He was saying all the right things, but she heard disappointment in his voice. Clearly, finding the man whod attacked her was more than just another case to him.
Shed always been insanely curious-nosy, her brothers preferred to call it-but something kept her from asking any more questions of Riley Patterson. She sensed that pushing him for more information would make him back off. She couldnt afford for him to back off.
A man had tried to kill her twice in one day, and she had a feeling Riley Patterson might be the only person who could stop him if he tried it a third time.
JOE GARRISON ARRIVED not long after the Teton County Sheriffs Department detectives. Riley caught his bosss eye as he entered Hannah Coopers room, motioning him over with a twitch of his head. Joe met him in the corner, his gaze wandering across the small room to where Hannah Cooper sat in a chair by her empty bed, her green-eyed gaze following the activity of the evidence techs who were processing the scene.
The Teton County Sheriffs Department wants her in protective custody, but shes refusing, Riley said. She said shed rather go home early tomorrow and forget all about this.
You dont want her to leave.
Riley met his friends understanding gaze. She saw the guy. Maybe she didnt see his face, but shes the only living witness, and shes about to fly back home to Alabama.
You cant keep her here against her will.
Riley pressed his hands against his gritty eyes. I cant let her leave.
Joes answer was dry as a desert. So kidnap her and hold her hostage.
Riley slanted a look at his boss. Did you drive all the way here to give me a hard time or are you going to help me figure out how to keep her in Wyoming?
Do you want me to arrest her or something?
Could we? Riley glanced at Hannah, only half-joking. She looked calm now, more curious than worried, her slim fingers playing absently with the hem of her hospital gown, tugging it down over her knees.
Maybe you should tell her why youre so desperate to solve this case.
Riley looked back at Joe. Tell her about Emily?
Joe nodded.
Riley looked at Hannah again and found her returning his gaze. After a couple of seconds, she looked away.
Maybe if she knew how many victims we could be talking about, and the way they were killed Riley said softly.
You want to scare her into staying?
Maybe shell want to help.
Joe arched one eyebrow. At the risk of her own life?
Riley sighed. Youre just a wellspring of optimism.
You want a yes man, you called the wrong guy. Joe thumped Riley on the arm. But maybe youre right. The Teton County Sheriffs Department doesnt know what we know about these murders. Theyre not giving her the whole picture. I guess you could lay the truth on her and let her make an informed choice. Joes gaze shifted as the hospital-room door opened and a tall, rangy lawman entered. Theres Jim Tanner.
As Joe left Riley to greet the Teton County Sheriff, Riley crossed to the chair where Hannah sat. She looked up at him, a dozen questions swirling behind her eyes. He smiled slightly and crouched beside her. Three-ring circus.
Ill be glad to be out of it, she admitted. I get the feeling the police arent taking me very seriously. I think they think Im just paranoid.
It shouldnt take that long to find out what the guy put in your IV tube. I heard them say the lab is working on it right now.
They just want to prove it was nothing so they can pat me on the head and tell me it was just a dream.
Riley had a feeling she was right. I dont think it was just a dream.
She shot him a look of pure gratitude. I wasnt asleep. I know what I saw. And all thats supposed to be in that IV is saline, so theres no reason for anyone to put anything else into it.
You dont have to convince me.
She lowered her voice, eyeing the technician standing nearby. Nobody in the Teton County Sheriffs Department said anything about multiple murders.
He couldnt hold back a little smile. Yeah, I know.
But you disagree?
He lowered his voice, too. Ive been tracking a series of murders, one or two a year, for the last three years. All across Wyoming, east to west, north to south. Women driving alone, disappearing en route from one place to another. Their bodies are later found wrapped in plastic, dumped in a lake, river or other body of water. Three of the six showed traces of pepper spray around the mouth, nose and eyes. The other bodies had too much weather exposure to take a sample.