Free Vision in Trust (Legends of the North #2) by Liz Bower Page A

behind her.
    "Jess, wait up."
    Oh, God, why couldn't he just leave her alone? She didn't want to speak to him, so she started a weird half-walk, half-jog, trying to get away from him without looking like she was running away.
    "Jess!"
    She ran up the path to her house, and as her hand touched the door, she felt his on her shoulder.
    "Why are you running away from me?"
    She rested her forehead against the door and blinked away the tears. Why was she running away from him? Because she had a dream about him? She wasn't about to admit that, and was that really why she was running? His hand dropped from her shoulder, and she shoved her key in the lock.
    "Jess? I just wanted to make sure she got home safe. I work with her brother. She's a sweet kid who had too much to drink."
    She let go of the keys, and snorted what she hoped sounded like a laugh, but the tears had already started. Was that how he saw her? The sweet kid sister of his friend? Probably, just not the sweet part.  
    Unlocking the door, he took the keys out of the lock, opened it, and guided her inside with a hand on her back. At the sound of the door shutting, Jess turned. He gave her a small smile and slowly lifted his hand to her cheek, brushing his thumb across it as he wiped away her tears. "Why did you run from me, Jess?"
    She lifted one shoulder in a lazy shrug and, as it dropped, said, "I had another dream."
    His hand moved, as though reaching for her before he lifted it to the back of his neck. As he did, his T-shirt rose, revealing taut stomach muscles and a smattering of black hairs. She dropped her gaze to her feet as his shirt dropped back into place.
    "I had a dream too."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

    Her head jerked up so she could see if he was joking, but his face was serious, no dimple in sight.
    "About you."
    She pulled a strand of hair around her finger as she stared at him. Was this some kind of tit-for-tat conversation? Not for the first time, he walked straight past her and made himself at home.  
    She heard the fridge door open, the clink of glass on glass, and then the smash of what she assumed was the bottle opener as it landed on the counter. Making his way out of the kitchen, he offered her an open beer bottle and disappeared into the living room.  
    Jess took a swig of the cold beer, and then another, not sure if she wanted to hear about his dream—if he did, in fact, intend to tell her about it. She found him sprawled on the sofa, legs open wide, dangling his beer bottle between them. His head was laid back on the cushion, eyes closed.
    She'd been so wrapped up in getting away from him, not telling him about her vision, she hadn't realised just how tired he looked. Her chest ached at the thought that she might be partly to blame.
    "Sit down, Jess."  
    He didn't move, or open his eyes, but she did as he said. She curled up in the corner of the sofa and watched him.
    His lips twitched, not quite into a smile, but the dimple flashed at her. "You died."
    She gasped, both at his words and as the cold beer spilled over her. Grabbing a cushion to soak it up, she pressed it against her.
    "You were running away from me, just like earlier. But you didn't run home, you just kept running, right into the arms of the man who grabbed you outside of Altenbury Hall. He saw me running after you, and he just smiled at me. An evil smile that seemed to say, 'I'm going to screw with your life.' He pulled out a knife, but you couldn't see it because he stabbed you in the back. And I tried, I ran so fast. But I couldn't get to you. He just kept stabbing you, over and over. And the blood ..."
    Jess dropped the cushion and the bottle on the floor and scooted across the sofa. "Rob." She sat up on her knees, right next to him, her hand hovering over his arm.
    He lifted his head and opened his eyes. Leaning forward, she heard the bottle as he placed it on the coffee table, and then he reached for her. Pulled her onto his lap and buried his face in her hair. She wrapped