Page 5 of Stranger Gifts

“The doctors are doing a bunch of tests on you. They said you would most likely be here at least twenty-four hours, if not more.”

“I don’t need a bunch of tests. I know what it was. It was a headache. A bad one.”

“Lady…”

“Aislinn,” she countered.

“Aislinn, that’s beautiful. Aislinn, I’ve seen my fair share of headaches, had a few of my own,” he said, rubbing the side of his face, “but I’ve never seen a headache that caused so much pain.”

“Mine are, unusual. But I’ve had them since I was a little girl. Believe me. There is nothing that anyone can do for them.”

Aislinn pushed up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The glass partitions that separated her from the other emergency room patients were slightly ajar. She looked out at the nurses’ station. The back of a tall doctor leaned over the desk made her suddenly sit up straight. As he turned, she could see his profile clearly and knew that her vision was real.

“What’s wrong? Are you in pain? Should I call the doctor?” asked Kane.

“I need you to get me out of here. It’s a matter of life and death.”

“Life and-look, Aislinn, I think you need help,” he said, shaking his head.

“No, you look, Kane. I don’t know you, and you don’t know me, but I promise you this is a matter of life and death. I need to get out of here.”

“Okay, okay,” he said, raising his hands in self-defense. “But I need more context.”

“More context? You don’t need more context. You can’t help me. I just need to get out of here. Can you help me do that? Can you help me get home?”

“I can do that, but you need to give me an explanation, and then I can help you,” he said firmly.

Kane recognized fear when he saw it, and something had spooked Aislinn. He wasn’t sure what, but he knew that something put fear in her eyes, and he desperately wanted to be the man to remove it.

Aislinn eyed the tall, dark man. At five-foot-five, she was average. Her curves were athletic and firm but still curves. Some men liked them. Some didn’t. It didn’t matter to her. A relationship would never be in the cards for Aislinn. Her eyes traveled up his body. He was well over six feet, his defined muscles etched beneath the tight-fitting sweatshirt. His brown hair was shaggy and still wet from the rain, touched his shoulders, the green of his eyes stared into her soul.

Aislinn let her eyes follow the scars along his face. Ugly, raised scars that appeared to be burns from his cheekbone to his neckline and below the sweatshirt.

“Tell me something honest and real about yourself. And don’t lie,” she said, “I’ll know.”

“I never lie.” He crossed his arms, flexing purposefully. “I was in the Army for almost twenty years.” He stared at her, his arms folded, waiting for her response. He watched her eyeing his scars and knew she was curious.

“Thank you for that.” She started to stand and reach for her clothes, but he grabbed the stack of damp garments and held them out of reach.

“Not so fast. Something honest about you.” Aislinn eyed the man again, her rich brown eyes penetrating his own.

“Fine, but remember you asked,” she said, taking a deep breath. She wasn’t sure why she was willing to risk everything to tell this man, but she knew in her heart it was the right thing to do. Her only prayer was that he wouldn’t judge her, or worse, he wouldn’t call for the doctors. “My headaches aren’t just headaches. They’re visions. Visions of murder, and that doctor out there is going to murder someone tonight.”

CHAPTER FOUR

“Jesus, are you serious?” frowned Wilson.

“I’m afraid so. It’s just been us the last few years so it doesn’t happen as often for her. She has to physically touch the person, or they touch her.”

“And your gift?” asked Cruz.

“I can tell whether a man is good or evil by simply shaking his hand.”

“That’s how you knew that chieftain was going to set a trap for all of us,” nodded Ghost.

“Yes, sir. But I couldn’t tell you that. You’d think I was a lunatic,” smirked Kane.

“Probably,” he smiled. “What about you and your wife?” He nodded toward the doctor, Adam and he grinned at him.

---