Page 15 of Cold Threat

“It’s about the children,” he said.

Smoke began to fill the air, and the man and woman were hidden behind a curtain of white. River began to cough, as if the smoke was in the room with her. She sat up in bed, trying to catch her breath. But when she opened her eyes, the room was clear.She started to get up so she could make sure the house wasn’t on fire, but when she realized there wasn’t even a scent of smoke, she collapsed back down on the bed.

Although she was tired, she lay there for a while, wondering what to do about the dream. Was it real? Was God trying to tell her something? Should she tell Tony? She didn’t want him to think she was crazy.

“Show me what to do, God,” she prayed. “Did You send this dream?” Although it would have been nice to hear a booming voice respond to her question, there was only silence. River rolled over once more and whispered, “He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him,” before she once again felt sleep wash over her.

CHAPTER

NINE

River woke up at seven, got dressed, and started to walk downstairs. At the last minute, she turned around and made her way down the hall to Tony’s room. The door was open, and the bed was made. Good. She was afraid she’d gotten up too early. She briefly looked around his bedroom. It was large like hers but had a much more manly vibe. The walls were a light gray, and white wainscoting gave it a bright ambiance. White bookshelves lined one side of the wall. River wanted to check out the titles, but she didn’t feel right walking into Tony’s bedroom. She headed the other way and made her way down the stairs. As she neared the bottom, she heard voices and smelled the aromas of breakfast. She shouldn’t be hungry, but her stomach rumbled. She wasn’t used to eating much in the morning. A quick bowl of cereal or a muffin from a bakery on the way to the office was the extent of her usual breakfasts.

As she walked into the kitchen, Beth smiled at her. “Here she is. I fought valiantly to protect your waffles and bacon from these two selfish men.”

River slid into an empty chair next to Tony. “You have my undying gratitude,” she said. “It smells amazing.”

“You don’t have to humor her,” Tony said. “It’s really awful. I could take your waffles as an act of mercy if you’d like.”

River laughed. “Not a chance. I’m a profiler. I can tell when I’m being lied to.”

“Good for you,” Beth said. She slipped on an oven mitt and reached into the gleaming silver wall-mounted oven. She took out a plate and carried it to the table, putting it in front of River.

“What time did you all get up?” River asked, noticing that all three of them seemed to have already finished their meal.

“I get up at five every morning,” Ray said. “I try to get to work by seven, but I don’t like to rush breakfast. It’s a habit.”

“He even gets up early on his days off,” Beth said, pouring River a cup of coffee. “It’s annoying.”

Ray grabbed her hand as she tried to walk past him. “I always tell her to sleep in, but she never listens. She gets up and makes me breakfast.”

“He’s ruined me,” Beth said, leaning down and kissing her husband on the top of his head. “The last time I slept late was before Tony and Aimee were born.”

Tony leaned close to River. She could smell his shaving lotion.

“What Mom isn’t telling you is that she’s a champion napper,” he said.

River looked up into his grayish-blue eyes and gulped. His hair was still a little messy, and he was dressed in sweats. She’d never seen him like this, and it made her feel funny. As if she were seeing something she shouldn’t. She tried to swallow past the lump in her throat, but she couldn’t. In the end she just nodded.

“I only nap because I get bored,” Beth said. “When Ray retires...”

Beth sat down in her chair, and River was surprised to see tears in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she said, picking up her napkin and wiping hercheeks. “I ... I just want him home. Safe. So many years of worrying about him.” She looked at Tony. “I almost lost him the night of the fire—and then, when Tony was shot ...” She took a deep, shaky breath and then offered a tremulous smile. “I’m so sorry. I don’t usually do this.”

Tony reached across the table and took his mother’s hand. “We’ll be fine, Mom. God is looking out for us. You know that.”

Beth nodded. “Yes, I do. But ... you both need to be careful. Sometimes we can put ourselves in danger if we don’t listen to that still, small voice inside us.”

“It was my fault,” River blurted out, putting her coffee cup down. “I mean, the reason Tony was shot. He was trying to save me. I’m terribly sorry.” She met Beth’s eyes. “I ... I’ve wanted to apologize to you and Ray. I should have realized something was wrong. We shouldn’t have gone there. It’s just that I thought...”

“Hey,” Tony said, interrupting her.

The stern tone of his voice brought her up short. She turned to look at him.

“It wasn’t your fault at all,” he said. “I wasn’t forced to go to the river that night. We both thought Jacki had found something we needed to see. There wasn’t any reason to think otherwise. If you failed to recognize it was a setup, so did I.”

“But there was something in Jacki’s tone that ... I should have realized...”

---