Page 30 of Sour Layer

“I don’t know when. As for the where, I can only tell you that it’s inside a house that I’ve never visited.”

“But you’d know it if you saw it?” he asked.

“Yeah.” I washed the dishes and then turned toward him as I dried my hands. I could see the wheels turning in his mind. “How are the girls?”

“In shock,” Clark answered. “Only the oldest is talking, and she doesn’t know where the other two girls came from. She just said her mother showed up with them and told them all to run. So, they did.”

I frowned, unable to stop myself. “I’m sorry I got him wrong. I swear he felt dead.”

“Maybe that’s how killers seem when all their humanity is taken over.”

“Could be, but this is a first. Something is still off with Lynnfield, and I can’t put my finger on it.”

“The FBI is intervening and scheduling a hunt up the mountain to see if they can find where he’s hiding.”

“Why not just send Walker? I asked.

“I’ve already asked. He said he had a family obligation and he couldn’t help. Now I guess I know why. Walker is on protection detail. Good thing too. I’d rather him be protecting Milly and Charlotte.”

I slowly shook my head. “Lynnfield didn’t strike me as a man that could live off the land. I think he’s staying closer to civilization.”

“You were wrong about his being alive, but you might be right about that. What do you suppose it means that you can’t read me and got him wrong? Do you think your abilities are going haywire?”

“I’m not that lucky,” I answered honestly. “I saw Dexter’s death, so I don’t think it’s my ability.”

“But you couldn’t read me?” he asked as I followed him into the living area with the big window that looked out onto the road and the mountain view.

“Nope. You’re an anomaly,” I answered.

I sat on the couch, and he sat next to me and took my hand in his. I glanced to our linked fingers, unsure how I felt about not being able to read Clark. Was it a gift that he was immune to my unique charms? Why him of all people?

He pulled our joined hands to his lips and kissed mine as he held my gaze. There was something smoldering in his look. Something curious and waiting to bust free.

“When are you leaving?” he asked.

“When Lynnfield is caught and you and your family are out of danger or by Friday, whichever comes first. I have a wedding to attend.”

He gave a slow nod. “Hopefully not yours.”

I slipped my hand free, rose from the seat, and moved closer to the window and stared up at the mountain. “Not mine. My sister’s.”

“They’re gifted like you?”

“Yeah, even more so,” I answered as my lips turned down into a frown. They were as gifted as me. One of my sisters could locate missing people, another one got premonitions, and the others were just as talented, and not one had picked up that there might be danger lurking around me. I glanced over my shoulder. “I’m not sure how much help I can be. My gift is like looking through a lens, but there’s always a catalyst that starts the movie for me to watch. A person I touched. A place I’ve been.

“The kitchen,” he said, rising from his seat. “In the morning, I’ll drive you over to Canfield, and we can see if we can locate the kitchen. If we get a jump on it, we can set a trap.”

He crossed the room and took my hand, leading me to the stairs.

“I don’t need an escort to my room. I’m not going to be attacked in the inn.”

His lips twisted at the corners. “How do you know? Have you seen when you’re going to die?”

I shook my head. I hadn’t, but that didn’t mean that someone else hadn’t already informed me. Right guy, wrong place.

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