Night Visions (Night Series) (13 page)

What did they do last night? The memories escaped her mind, hidden somewhere in the fog of confusion. The more she tried to focus, the more her head buzzed. How many beers did she have anyway?

Afraid to move for fear she would wake him, she took a moment to feast her eyes. Rock hard abs, under golden skin. Her gaze followed her hand as she ran it along his chest, stopping when she reached the tattoo on his arm. She hesitantly traced it with her fingertips, the intricate design similar to Jason's.

When she glanced at Ian again, he stared back at her, a soft smile playing on his lips. She flinched, trying to sit up, but he tightened his grip on her. Brushing his lips against her forehead, he stroked her hair between his fingers.
"You have a hell of a right hook."

Memories of last night flooded her mind. Their fight, the wolf, the bear, her screams before her fist lashed out at Ian.

Forgetting their intimate position Sam leaned back, lifting her hand to Ian's jaw. "I'm so sorry!"

His hand fell ov
er hers in reassurance. "Do you remember any of it?"

She nodded her head, afraid her voice would fail her.

"You were having a nightmare. Screaming my name and something about a wolf. Was it because of the story on the news earlier?"

"No," she replied, her voice cracking. Eyeing the ceiling, she struggled to make sense of the dream. The harder she thought, the more the memories faded.

He reached over to the nightstand, grabbing a bottle of water. The snap of the cap twisting startled her. "Here. drink this."

She
gladly accepted, letting the cool liquid soothe her dry throat. When the bottle was empty she continued, "I've always had nightmares. They've always been the same. A fire, blood, and a faceless body lying dead." When she shivered, Ian's arm tightened around her.

"But this time was different. I never knew where I was in the dream before. Thi
s time I was here in the motel. I woke up and you still weren't back. I went outside to look for you, to apologize and there was a wolf coming after me, except when I turned there was a bear instead."

Ian's body stiffened below her. "Then what happened?"

"It tried to kill me."

He pushed her away, searching her eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Just as I braced myself for the attack, I woke up."

Ian's face seemed to grow harder with each passing second. Why did this upset him so much? Since when did he become so interested in dreams?

"Tell me about your other nightmare. Describe what's around you."

"Why does any of this matter?" Her eyes burned with fatigue. She would rather go back to sleep, curled in his arms. Reliving the nightmares left her stomach in knots.

"Humor me." His hand dragged up and down her arm in a lazy pattern. How did he expect her to focus when each sweep of his fingers stole her breath?

She closed her eyes, drawing the scene to the surface. "There's a building. No. More like a house. But it's dark, obscured by a thick fog of smoke." Her nose twitched, the smell of charred flesh weaved around her.

"Are you in the city? Can you see street lights?"

"No. It's dark, so dark I can't even see the moon." Like the abyss that tried to swallow her last night.

Gripping the sheet, she fought to keep focused on his voice.

"Can you see other houses?" he coaxed, his voice gentle and soothing as it guided her through the dream.

"No. Just the bodies. So many bodies littered the ground." She lifted her hand, expecting them to be stained crimson. The blood of the victims still warm when it had flowed between her fingers.

"Do you remember anything else? Did you recognize anyone?" His voice had become anxious, as if their lives depended on her answer. It was just a crazy dream. A product of her overactive imagination. Isn't that why she had a never-ending resource of book ideas?

"No," she replied with a firm shake of her head. "That's the part that frustrates me the most. There is one person that I feel like I should recognize, but I can't see a face. It's like a blank canvas."

She sat up
, bracing her hand on his chest. "So, Dr. Behr. What do you think? Am I normal or one Prozac away from Sunny View?"

At first he didn't respond. His expression gave no indication of what he was thinking. Then he took her face in his hands. That simple gesture made her heart beat erratically.

"You're not crazy, Sam. We'll figure this out together. Okay?"

He leaned forward, ready to melt her with his kiss. And all she could think about was her morning breath that just might melt his face. She knew she would regret this decision later. Hell, she regretted it now.

Clearing her throat, she pulled away, clutching her stomach. "I'm starving. Why don't I grab us some coffee and see if they have anything for breakfast in the office. Then we can hit the road. We have a lot of miles to cover."

He flashed her a knowin
g smile, then nodded his head as he swung his legs off the bed. The sheet fell from around his hips, revealing black boxer briefs. Walking toward the foot of the bed, he stretched his arms over his head, giving Sam a clear view of the bulge straining against the knit fabric. She trailed her eyes up his torso, until they locked with Ian's. His lips curled, amused by her reaction.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she stumbled from the bed, grabbing her sweatshirt off the back of the chair. "Come on
, Ginger." She quickly exited the room. Ian's low chuckle following her out the door.

* * *

"Trent, we have a problem." Ian adjusted the cell phone against one cheek and swung their duffle bags into the back of the SUV, then slammed the hatch shut. The early morning sun burned off most of the rain.

"
What's wrong?"

"We're not sure." He leaned his hip against the side of the Rover, Sam visible through the ope
n curtain in the office. She waved her hand animatedly while talking to the office manager. "Sam's visions and nightmares are more frequent. I'm thinking they're premonitions and if they are, it's not good."

"
How soon can you get here?"

"Packing up now." He glanced at the bags in the back, making sure he hadn't left one behind. "We have at least another day."

"How much does she know?"

"I haven't told her anything. But I think someone may be following us. Cara picked up the same scent at a diner and here at the motel." Which meant the car tailing them was real and not just a coincidence. "The question is, why haven't they made a move? We're alone and isolated. Why wait?"

"Do you think you can make it here without stopping?"

His eyes darted to the road, dreading the long drive ahead of them. "I've gone longer without sleep before." Hadn't slept a full night since he left home. "Any word from Jason?"

"No. Logan waited for him, but he never showed. His cell goes straight to voicemail."

Ian punched the side of the car. "Damn. If they got him
, Trent, they'll torture him. They'll use him against Sam."

"
Logan's on it. He's following up on Jason's last checkpoint. We'll find him."

Jason was so damn stubborn. Ian told him to wait. He hung his head, massaging the back of his neck.

Sam crossed the parking lot, balancing two coffees and a plate of pastries.

"If we have any more problems, I'll check in. Otherwise, we'll see you tomorrow." Ian ended the call and tucked the phone in his pocket. Pushing his anger aside, he forced a smile to his lips.

"Who was that?" Sam asked, handing him a paper cup.

"Trent. Just getting a status update." Ian tipped his head toward the car. "We're all loaded if you're ready to go."

"Are you sure you don't want me to take a shift?"

"No. Just be prepared to entertain me if I get tired."

Sam arched an eyebrow. "Do you want to be entertained or bored?"

Opening her door, he stepped back, allowing her to slip past him. Once she was seated, he leaned his head inside the car, whispering in her ear, "I can think of plenty of ways you could entertain me."

CHAPTER 12

Sam sucked in a breath as a sprawling two-story home with a mountain range backdrop filled her vision. Glass windows stretched from the bottom floor to the top as the focal point of the house. Two barns were situated in the back where horses grazed in their pens outside. To the far right, several cowboys entered what she assumed was the ranch hand's quarters.

She lifted her hand toward the window. "Trent owns all of this?"

"Yes. He owns it with his brother Logan, but Trent runs it for the most part."

"It's beautiful!"

Ian tapped his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel. Was he eager to get out of the car after two thousand miles, or just anxious to get away from her? At their last hotel stop, she thought Ian might try to finish where they left off the previous night. But he was too distracted. Kept using the excuse of taking Ginger for a walk. Then, when he finally came to bed, he slept in the chair by the window. Maybe he felt he'd made a mistake and planned to dump her with her brother.

Just as he put the SUV in park, a man rounded the corner astride a horse as black as a moonless night. His well-worn cowboy hat rested atop brown hair that grazed the collar of his plaid shirt.

"There's Trent now," Ian said, tipping his head in his friend's direction.

With shoulders broader than Ian's, Trent swung down in one fluid motion. Tugging his leather gloves off, he slapped them against his dusty jeans.

She hopped out of the car with a hesitant wave to Trent, then opened Ginger's door. Ginger poked her head out, sniffed the air, and leapt to the ground. She sniffed again before approaching Trent who knelt in front of her. He laughed as Ginger's tongue swept up his cheek. Giving her a good scratch behind the ears, he stood to greet Sam and Ian.

In quick strides, Ian reached Trent, pulling his friend toward him in a fierce embrace. Hearty backslaps followed before they pulled apart.

"It's good to see you again!" Trent exclaimed. Patting Ian's stomach he joked, "You put on some weight since I last saw you."

Ian gave him a playful shove. "I think you're the one that's getting a little soft around the middle. What have you been doing around here since I've been gone?"

"Hey, you wanna put your money where your mouth is?" Trent hitched a thumb over his shoulder. "We can take this out back and give the boys another show."

Ian patted Trent on the shoulder. "No, I wouldn't want to embarrass you in front of your crew again."

She couldn't help but smile at the obvious affection they felt toward each other.

Taking Sam's hand, Ian pulled her in front of Trent. "Trent, this is Sam. Don't let his vanity fool you. Deep down inside
, he's a real pussycat."

Trent extended his hand, flashing her a smile. "Sam, it's so good to meet you! I feel like I've known you forever, what with Ian talking about you nonstop."

Ian's look of death would have stopped any man in their tracks, but not Trent. He laughed at Ian's discomfort. Was he embarrassed that Trent's revelation proved true? Or angry that Trent would get her hopes up?

Shifting from one foot to the other, she quickly changed the subject. "Your home is beautiful
, Trent."

"Thank you. Make sure Ian gives you a tour. And please make yourself at home." Trent tipped his head toward his horse. "Do you like to ride?"

The horse standing next to Trent loomed larger than she first thought. While awed by its beauty, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear at its size.

Sensing her trepidation, Trent reassured, "Don't worry. They're not all as big as Storm." He smoothed his hand down the horse's neck. "Have Ian take you to the stables when you're ready and have Derrick saddle Abigail."

Searching behind Trent, she hoped to catch a glimpse of her brother. Hadn't someone told him she was here? "Where's Jason?"

She didn't miss the look Trent gave Ian before responding. "Uh...yeah he hasn't arrived yet. He got delayed. We'll meet up with him soon. Why don't you go on in. There's a pitcher of iced tea on the table in the great room. I'll help Ian grab the bags.

Something seemed off with Trent. Almost like he didn't know Jason was supposed to be here. But that didn't make sense. Why else would Ian bring her to Montana?

* * *

Ian resisted the urge to run after Sam and unburden himself of every lie he'd told. To hell with the consequences. But that kind of reckless behavior could backfire on him. He needed to be in control of his emotions first.

Drawing Ian's attention, Trent pointed to Sam's retreating figure. Furrowed brows spoke of his frustration. "You told her Jason was here? You could have at least warned me."

"It was the only way I could think of to get her here. In case you forgot, she didn't have a reason to trust me."