Free Epiphany (Legacy of Payne) by Christina Jean Michaels Page B

was the realization that it was probably too late. Six had been missing for more than a day, and my dreams still hadn’t revealed who had kidnapped her.
    I jolted awake and sprinted to the bathroom, barely making it in time to throw up the breakfast Aidan had cooked me. I didn’t know how long I lay on the floor, wasting precious, valuable time, alternating between bawling and puking. I finally pushed myself up from the linoleum, depleted of tears and the contents of my stomach.
    The shadows had deepened by the time I re-entered the living room. Sifting through the details of my dream wasn’t easy, but one part crystalized into a vivid image: a rock structure high above the ocean. I pulled my sneakers on, grabbed my keys, and almost forgot my purse. Hysteria chased me around the room, and I was close to tears again when a knock sounded.
    I turned the knob and edged the door open. Aidan waited on the other side. In the midst of despair, I’d forgotten he was coming. Without thinking, I blurted, “I think I know where to find Six.”

9. Darkness Falls

    “Where are we going?” Aidan asked from the passenger seat.
    “Some sort of rock structure.” As I jabbed the key into the ignition, I recalled the details from my dream. A rocky path winding through an archway of stone, muddied from rain. Blood pooling under Six’s feet . . .
    I jerked the door open and dry-heaved. “I’m too late. He’s already killed her.”
    “You don’t know that. We don’t even know for sure if she’s missing.”
    “You don’t understand, Aidan.” I pulled the door shut with a slam and then pounded my fists on the steering wheel.
    He grabbed my hands, and I met his eyes, imagining what I must look like to him—like a crazed lunatic. “Take a deep breath,” he said. I focused on his soothing touch and forced air into my lungs. “I can’t help if you won’t talk to me. What’s going on? Why are you so certain she’s in trouble?”
    I’d give anything to have a tenth of his composure. “No time. We need to find that rock structure.” I closed my eyes and let the images come again. Darkness. Cold. Stone and mud. Tall trees swaying in the breeze. I inhaled the salt in the air, and I wanted to cover my ears against the roar of the sea. “Somewhere high above the ocean.”
    “A rock structure?” he asked, his confusion palpable.
    “Yeah.” I pulled out of the driveway. The inevitable questions would come now, and there simply wasn’t time to answer them, even if I was willing. I steered the car into late evening traffic. A minute of thick silence filled the air as I drove toward HWY 101, and when we reached the main road, I came to a stop.
    North or south?
    “I don’t know where I’m going.”
    “Pull over at that gas station,” he instructed. “I’ll find out if the attendant knows of any rock structures.”
    I pulled over, and Aidan jumped from the car before we’d come to a complete stop. As I watched his hurried interaction with the pimple-faced kid working the pumps, I marveled at the fact that he was so willing to help, despite his obvious confusion over my hysterics. Doubt gnawed at me—doubt regarding Aidan’s intentions and even the validity of my dreams—yet the intense feeling of urgency in my heart pushed my reservations aside.
    Act now, question later. Six’s life might depend on it.
    He returned a minute later. “There’s a turnoff a few miles down the highway. He said to follow the road to the top, and we’ll find a scenic area up there. He called it a rock shelter. Apparently, it’s a bit of a hike.”
    “We’re going to need flashlights.”
    Aidan exited the car again and rushed into the convenience store. When he came back, he held two flashlights and a package of batteries in his hands. “What makes you think Six is up there?” he asked once we were back on the road.
    I winced at the question. Now was not the time to get into this particular conversation. “Can we talk about this later?