Had Smith decided on his own to wait to question Olivia, or had Travis influenced him? He wished he knew.
* * *
Olivia was dreaming.She was snuggled in bed with Travis, and he wasn’t a ghost. He was alive. They were like any normal couple. Only they had more than anyone else. They had a special bond that gave them powers.
That’s what she wanted to be true, but in the back of her mind she knew she was lying to herself. Something was wrong—badly wrong. And the only way she could find out what was to wake up.
She didn’t want to. The dream was better. But she heard a voice calling her, telling her she had to be prepared.
Following it, she struggled toward consciousness. Where was she? Not in her bed with Travis. The surface under her body felt hard. Not a bed. But where?
Somewhere far in the distance she thought she heard Travis calling her. Or did she? It was hard to be sure. Why couldn’t she reach out to him the way she was used to doing?
Still, she thought he was speaking in her head.Don’t move. That will give you a little more time, let him think you’re totally unconscious.She heard his words, but not with the clarity she expected. It was as though he was close by but at the same far away.
Desperately she struggled to knit the connection together.
Travis?
Whatever you do, don’t say my name. Don’t let him know that you ever met me.
Why?
Smith has you.
Fear leaped inside her. Smith...had...how?
Travis was speaking urgently, and now his words were a little clearer although they didn’t make total sense.
He’s dangerous. God knows what he’ll do if he knows you have anything to do with me. Don’t let him catch on. You have to play dumb.
She struggled with confusion.But I do know you.
You can’t let him find out.
She was about to answer when the door slammed open, and a man came charging into the room. He was holding something in his hand, but she couldn’t see what it was.
“Are you awake?” he demanded.
She licked her dry lips. “A little.”
“Good. That’s good.”
“I...I need a drink,” she said. It was true, but she was also stalling for time. Her thoughts were too muddled for her to figure out what she should do.
“Maybe after you answer some questions,” he said.
“Who are you?” she asked, when she knew the answer perfectly well. There was only one person he could be. And Travis had told her who he was. He was the monster who had killed Travis. And now he had her.
“I want to ask you some questions. How do you know Travis Carson?”
Deep confusion swirled in her brain. Hadn’t Travis spoken to her a little while ago? Hadn’t he told her not to say she knew him? It was on the tip of her tongue to answer yes, when Travis’s hand came down over her lips.Be quiet about me. Don’t tell him anything,he implored. The urgency in his voice told her he was terrified—for her.
Still confused, she tried to move her arm and found that it was secured by a strap to the table she was lying on. Not just that arm. The other one, too. And her legs. When she realized she was strapped down, panic rose in her throat.
Where was she? What had happened? The last thing she remembered was going to sleep last night. And now she was somewhere else.
As she was trying to process that, she felt another touch. Not Travis’s gentle fingers.
