Wrapping his fingers around the assailant’s throat, he—
“Josh! Josh, wake up! You’re dreaming! Wake up!”
Small fingers pried his hand away and his eyes popped open. He looked down to see Tory staring up at him, her pretty green eyes filled with worry.
Josh leaped out of bed. “Jesus! Jesus, Tory, I’m sorry.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face, wiping away the perspiration. “I shouldn’t have stayed. I should have gone home like I always do. I’m sorry.”
She didn’t back away, just grabbed her robe and followed him out of bed. “You didn’t hurt me. You just scared me.”
“I didn’t hurt you, but I could have. Jesus, I could have . . .” He bit off the words, didn’t say,I could have killed you.
“I know you’re upset. Was the dream something that actually happened?”
He glanced away, swallowed. “I was on a rooftop in Afghanistan hunting an enemy sniper. Guy with a knife came out of nowhere. We fought. I ended up breaking his neck.”
She fell silent. “You were touching me but you weren’t hurting me. I don’t think you would have.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. . . .”
“Is it PTSD?”
He sighed. “Not like my buddies have. Just an occasional bad dream.”
“Does it bother you to think of the men you killed?”
His jaw hardened. “I did what I was trained to do—protect our troops. I feel bad about the men I couldn’t save.”
There was no condemnation in her eyes. He shouldn’t have felt so relieved.
“Do you think you should talk to someone?”
“I talk to Cole and Noah and they talk to me. It helps a lot. The nightmares aren’t so bad anymore.”
She slid her arms around his waist and smiled up at him. “Maybe I can make you forget them completely. Why don’t we go back to bed?”
He was tempted. He loved her sexy little body, loved the way she could make him feel. But he was in too deep with Tory already. And the nightmares worried him.
Josh eased her away. “I think I’m going to head on home. I need to get to work anyway.” He leaned down and kissed her. “Get some sleep, baby.”
When he walked out the front door, dawn grayed the horizon. Was he a danger to Tory or someone else? Or was what had happened nothing more than a very vivid dream? What would have happened if he hadn’t awoken when he did?
Until he knew for sure, it was a risk he wasn’t willing to take.
* * *
First thing Sunday morning, Josh phoned Sheriff Howler. An hour later, a white extended cab pickup with bright blueSHERIFFlettering on the side drove up in front of the house and the heavyset sheriff got out.
Josh pushed open the screen door as Howler swaggered up on the porch.
“Daisy said you called, said you had some trouble last night.” Daisy was the older woman who ran the local sheriff’s department.
“That’s right. Bunch of bikers showed up and tore hell out of the place.” He tipped his head toward the strings of broken lights scattered around, the general mayhem he hadn’t yet cleaned up.
“Cole Wyman and Noah Beal were here. Ended up in a brawl. The bikers shot off a few rounds, broke some windows in the barn, took off and haven’t been back.”
“What brought them after you?” Howler asked. “You have a beef with one of them?”
