Free Into a Dangerous Mind by Tina Gerow Page B

back.   “It’s okay.   I’m right here.”
    She relaxed all pretense at shields and let Zach’s emotions riot around her.   Fear and anger flowed over her, but all of those emotions only made her feel safe and cared for.
    When her tears finally ran out, she pulled back from him and met his concerned gaze.   “Brian killed another woman.”
    “How do you know?”   His voice was gentle, as if afraid she might shatter into a million pieces.   And Cassidy was very much afraid he might be right.
    “I was caught in some sort of vision.   I could feel my sheets and I could move, but I couldn’t see anything except what Brian wanted me to.   I saw him kill a woman.   Her name was Tia.”   Realizing she was rambling, she closed her eyes and tried to calm her racing mind.   “Zach, I couldn’t do anything to stop him.   I tried to warn her.   I even think she heard me, but by then it was too late.”
    Zach smoothed the hair away from her face in a comforting gesture.   “Cassidy, let me touch your mind, so I can see what you saw.”   She nodded and leaned into his embrace.   She would let him share this burden for a while.   Shoving memories of their spoiled date out of her mind, she drank in his nearness.
    A soft caress feathered against her mind.   She sighed.
    This is how it should be.   Everything seemed right when Zach touched her—physically or psychically.   Why didn’t he see that?
    Suddenly, a thought struck her—she’d experienced Tia’s pain as her own tonight.   Had Zach felt his fiancée’s as she died?   Was that why he seemed so intent on pushing her away?
    Zach’s mind touch ripped away as if he’d been burned.   “I have to go and report this.”   His voice rebuffed her, and he wouldn’t meet her questing gaze.
    “Is that why you’re so afraid to recognize what’s between us?”   She hated the hurt in her voice and knew Zach would hear it, too.   She felt even worse when he didn’t answer.   “I’m so sorry, Zach, I didn’t know.”   She reached out with her hand and her mind, but he stepped away from both and walked out the door without a backward glance.
    The warm sting of tears filled her eyes again as sadness and loss swept over her in great, drowning waves.   She wasn’t sure if it was for Zach, for Tia, or for herself.   She curled into a ball, cradling her pillow tight against her chest like a teddy bear and let the tears flow again.

     
    *****

     
    “Don’t you have any diet soda?”   Agent Gerald rummaged around inside Zach’s refrigerator.
    Diet Pepsi reminded Zach of Cassidy’s refrigerator, which brought back thoughts of her.   Memories of how vulnerable she appeared last night in his arms and how the scent of her perfume enflamed his senses.   The last things he wanted to think about right now, since he needed to keep distance between them.   “Are we here to discuss the case or your stomach?” Zach demanded.
    “Easy there, Zach,” Dix countered and then turned his attention to Gerald.   “Gerald, if you’re going to grab something, take it and get in here.”
    Dix moved a large box marked tools and sat down on the living room sofa.   He gestured for Zach to begin the briefing.

    Zach cleared his throat and pushed thoughts of Cassidy firmly out of his mind.   “We found the body of Tia Reynolds outside a bar downtown with a note addressed to Cassidy lying on top of the body.   It said, ‘Your time is coming soon.’   The body had the same signs of psychic residue as all the rest.   He seems to be holding to his new MO, and his obsession with Cassidy is clear.”

    Dix interrupted.   “You said you threw him out of her mind the night you found her on the lawn, right?   Why couldn’t you do the same thing last night?”

    “Unfortunately, she was trying so hard to block out the Reaper she had her shields up tight.   I sensed her distress, but couldn’t get in to toss him out.”
    She could have died and I was