Free Hiding in the Shadows by Kay Hooper Page A

that deep down inside himself, Kane had believed Dinah was dead—and hated himself for giving up hope.
    There was a brief silence, and then, with obvious reluctance, Bishop said, “Dinah visited Faith in the hospital a dozen times. Sat by her bed, read to her, talked to her for hours. We can’t deny the possibility that she talked about her past with enough detail to plant those images in Faith’s mind, even though she was unconscious.”
    “But—”
    “Kane. It’s possible Dinah is somehow able to transmit images to Faith. It’s possible Faith came out of the coma with psychic ability, and that, combined with their friendship, is enabling her to reach out to Dinah telepathically. But the most likely explanation is that Faith’s subconscious retained everything Dinah said to her with unusual vividness and in remarkable detail.”
    Kane shook his head and opened his mouth to dispute, deny, refuse to believe—but then Bishop cut in, speaking very softly.
    “Past, Kane. All those scenes are from the past. If Dinah was in direct communication with Faith, don’t you think she’d be trying to tell us where she is?”
    His shoulders slumped, but Kane struggled to holdon to the newfound hope. “Dinah wouldn’t have told her about the scar, dammit. How could she know that?”
    “It’s possible that happened in the hospital. Trying to wake up, and with psychic ability she perhaps didn’t know she had, Faith could have reached out telepathically and touched Dinah’s mind. She could have gotten all the details and images that way. It’s possible.”
    “Possible,” Kane said savagely. “Everything is possible—except that Dinah is still alive. Is that what you’re telling me?”
    “I’m telling you we can’t take anything at face value.” And then, even softer, “Goddammit, Kane, don’t you think I want her to be alive too?”
    Faith, watching them in silence, realized with a stab of loneliness and envy that Dinah Leighton must have been a remarkable woman to inspire such strong emotions in these men.
    She didn’t want to intrude on so naked a moment but was agonizingly aware that she had to. “There’s … something else,” she said as steadily as she could.
    Kane turned his head slowly, as if the effort took nearly everything he had. His face was white, his eyes dark. “What?”
    She didn’t flinch from the harsh question, but her voice began to shake. “It’s … what made me come looking for you. I fell asleep late this afternoon, and I—I had another dream. Only you weren’t in this one. But Dinah was. I’m not sure, but I think it was a basement or … or maybe a warehouse. Walls made of cement blocks, and they looked old, damp. It was cold.”
    Bishop said, “What was happening?”
    Faith shivered; she really didn’t want to say whatshe had to say. “Dinah was in a chair, I think tied to it somehow. She could barely move. There was more than one person in the room with her, she knew that. Somebody was watching, silently, from the shadows or just out of her sight. And somebody else, a man, was asking her questions, over and over. I didn’t see his face and I don’t remember what the questions were. I’ve tried, but—but it’s like there was a roaring in my ears and I couldn’t hear him clearly. Maybe she couldn’t either, I don’t know. All I know is that he—he hit her. Again and again.”
    As though her hand were on him, she could feel Kane tense, all his muscles knotting in a blind, instinctive response, and her voice shook even harder as she finished. “Then everything went black … and I—woke up.”
    Bishop drew a breath. “You’re saying she is, or was, being tortured?”
    “I think so. No. I’m sure. It was too real, too horribly vivid, to be anything but the truth. They … want her to tell them something, and whatever it is, she won’t tell them.” Faith swallowed hard. “And it’s gone on a long time. The questions. The … punishment. I could