Dane.I need Dane.
I open my mouth to scream for him, but no sound comes out.
He can’t save me if he doesn’t know I’m in danger.
Another shadow appears at the man’s side. The little girl’s lips are parted on a wail that’s as silent as my own. Tears stream from her aqua eyes, and she reaches for me, seeking help that I can’t give.
The man’s silhouette wraps around her, dragging her into darkness. An echo of the shadow’s touch clings to my skin like toxic sludge, and I shudder in pure revulsion.
There’s nothing I can do. I’m powerless to stop him. I can’t save the little girl.
I can’t save myself.
My vocal cords are raw from my silent screams, and I swear I can hear the anguished sound locked inside my own head.
“Abigail!”
My eyes snap open, but I’m not fully free of the nightmare. The crying child is enfolded by the shadow, dragged deeper into the man’s sick embrace until she disappears entirely.
I sit bolt upright, my hand shooting out to grab at nothing. There’s no small hand to clutch. She’s gone.
A primal wail fills the bedroom, and hot tears sear my cheeks.
“You’re safe. Abigail, look at me.”
Dane’s voice. Dane’s hands on my shoulders, holding me as though I’m made of porcelain. Dane’s piercing green eyes, dark with worry.
I blink away my tears, and the shadows dissipate entirely. The bedroom is illuminated by the bedside lamp, the light chasing away the looming threat of the man’s silhouette.
Dane cups my chilled cheek with aching care. “Look at me.”
It’s a low command this time, even if the words are rough with desperation.
A sob tears from my chest, and I throw myself into his arms. He catches me, holding me gently. His big hand strokes my hair, playing through the sable strands in the way that always calms me. I shake against him, and he murmurs reassurances.
Slowly, the fog of terror ebbs, and my rational brain comes back online.
“I’ve got you,” he promises over and over again. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
I nod against his chest, and the flow of my tears slows.
His hand curves around the back of my head, tenderly holding me close as he presses a kiss to my brow.
“I need you to talk to me,” he beseeches. “I know you didn’t want to tell me about your nightmare last time, but I have to know.”
My stomach lurches with a surge of nausea, and I squeeze my eyes shut. The shadowy man lurks in the darkness of my mind, so I open them again and focus on Dane.
“Please, Abigail. Tell me about it. I’ll make it better.”
The words to describe the full horror of the nightmare stick my throat.
“He’ll never breathe the same air as you again,” Dane vows darkly. “You’ll be safe, and you won’t be troubled by another nightmare about a man threatening you.”
He thinks my night terrors are about Stephen.
I shake my head.
“There was a man,” I confess. “He was just a shadow, but I know it wasn’t Stephen.”
