She breathed very slowly.

In. Out.

In. Out.

She looked at King and had a thought. A thought so startling it made her swallow with difficulty. This house, this place high up in the mountains, would be the stage upon which the last great drama of her life would play out. She would either kill herself with the Glock during the night, or 188.

King would turn out to be the lover she'd always needed. The heteros.e.xual alpha male she could cling to like a life raft. She listened to the flow of words between Alicia and King, sensed on some level what was being said, but she wasn't really listening to it.

She was thinking of King that way again-imagining herself undoing the b.u.t.tons of that clean white shirt and pulling it off him ...

... thrusting a hand inside his slacks ...

She felt wanton.

s.l.u.tty.

She felt disconnected from the scene in the living room. Cut off from her friends. All of existence was composed of herself and King, a vivid image of their naked bodies entwined, desperately f.u.c.king away all the pain in the world.

She became aware of someone saying her name.

It was Alicia.

"Dream? You hear me, girl?"

Dream gave her head a good shake. The world regained definition; random, senseless sounds coalesced again into recognizable words and language.

She nodded. "Yeah." She cleared her throat. "Of course."

But that inappropriate erotic tingle was still very present. She recrossed her legs and shifted uncomfortably on the sofa. She made herself look at Alicia instead of King. "I'm sorry." She searched for a good excuse for her distraction. The most valid one occurred immediately. "I'm just so tired. This day has gone on forever."

She didn't have to fake the yawn that came then.

Alicia's expression softened. "I know, girl." She smiled, a sad upturning of her lips that spoke of weariness and loss.

189.

"Just bear with me a bit longer. I'm having a bit of an argument with Miss Scully here."

She nodded at Karen.

Dream was startled by the Asian girl's tear-soaked countenance. A fresh stab of shame made her wince inwardly. Christ, how could a person get so lost in fantasy that she'd miss a friend's emotional meltdown? The grotesque inappropriateness of her thoughts made her want to cry.

But... Jesus ... the thoughts weren't going away.

She made herself say, "What are you arguing about?"

Alicia scowled. "You are really out of it." She sighed, glanced again at Karen before continuing. "We're arguing about... the way Shane died."

Karen whimpered, a sound that tugged at Dream's battered heart.

"What about it?"

Alicia's expression grew more solemn. "She's still insisting he was killed by a monster. She's been telling Edward here about what she believes she saw in the woods, a vivid description, granted, but obviously a product of hysteria and stress. I say she didn't clearly see Shane's killer, so her mind supplied her with images gleaned from movies and books. Delusions-"

Karen turned on her. "I saw what I f.u.c.king saw, Alicia!" She scooted to the far end of the sofa, away from Alicia. "I'm not f.u.c.king crazy, I'm not on drugs, and I don't hallucinate monsters. My mind's not so G.o.dd.a.m.n brittle. You don't have to believe me, fine, s.h.i.t, I don't care, but please stop insulting me."

Alicia closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. Her lips moved, and Dream knew she was counting to ten. She was 190.

trying to find a calm center within herself, the place she always tapped to drain away excess hostility. Dream had seen her do it a million times.

Her eyes fluttered open. She turned an unblinking gaze on Karen. "I'm sorry if you feel insulted, Karen. It wasn't my intention to insult you. We're all under a lot of stress, and I think we'll all feel a lot better as soon as we can get a ride to the nearest hotel." Her gaze shifted to Dream. "Right, Dream?"

Dream's breath caught in her throat. She was uncomfortably aware of how closely the sound resembled a gasp. A disappointed sound. She couldn't help the quick glance she shot King's way. "Um ... yeah, sure."

But she didn't like that, acquiescing to Alicia's unflinching drive to steer them in the right direction. She didn't like being cajoled. And she didn't want to kill herself in a f.u.c.king hotel. She wanted to spend her possibly last night on earth under King's roof.

In his bed.

She sighed.

A frustrated-little-girl sound. She didn't like making that sound. It embarra.s.sed her, made her feel childish, but she couldn't help it.

She didn't want to go.

She wouldn't go.

f.u.c.k it. f.u.c.k them. f.u.c.k everything.

A look of exasperation creased Alicia's face. "Oh, what, Dream?" She shrugged her shoulders in an exaggerated way. "Please don't get weird on me. I've seen you making googly eyes at studly here. Cool, fine, I understand l.u.s.t. What I don't understand is this lack of grace under pressure.

191.

This is the wrong G.o.dd.a.m.n time for hanky-panky. I'm counting on you, girl. Help me get us out of this."

Dream seethed.

Alicia's famous bluntness was intact, but it had been a long time-since shortly after the escapade with the razor-since Dream had felt the brunt of it.

So she lashed out.

"You're not my f.u.c.king nanny"

But Dream was instantly appalled by the utterance.

"I'm sorry, Alicia." She sobbed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry"

Alicia came to her without words, took her into an embrace, and wiped her tears away. She held Dream close, cradling her face against her neck. Dream snuggled into the crook of her friend's neck. Sobs continued to shake her body. Her friend's strong arms around her were a rea.s.suring statement of strength. It was what she liked best about Alicia. She was stolid. Dependable. Implacable. She would absolutely never, ever crack under pressure.

As always when Alicia comforted her, she quickly began to feel better. She breathed a shuddery sigh and broke the embrace. "I'm okay now."

Alicia looked at her with concern. "You sure, hon?"

Dream wiped her eyes. "Yes." She managed a fragile smile. "Sorry about that."

Alicia rolled her eyes. "Oh, h.e.l.l, don't apologize for being human."

King loudly cleared his throat.

They all turned their heads toward him. He sat in his chair with one leg propped over another, his big hands clasped over a knee. A look of bemus.e.m.e.nt played across 192.

his handsome features. Dream found herself unsettled by the expression. There was a disturbing quality to it, something she couldn't quite pinpoint, something ... And then she had it. The realization struck her like a sack of rocks.

He'd found the tearful exchange ... amusing.

Entertaining.

What a sick motherf.u.c.ker!

Dream felt a surge of anger.

But- She frowned and chewed her lower lip.

Maybe she was misreading him.

She wanted that to be the case.

King's expression changed, became solemn. "I'm afraid there's no question of where you'll be staying tonight. Our phones are out." He shrugged in apology. "I don't know what the problem is, but I a.s.sume the phone company is working to correct it. You are, of course, welcome to spend the night here."

He smiled. "It's really for the best. All will seem better ..." He paused, glanced at Karen, and appeared to reconsider his words."... or at least more manageable in the morning. A good night's rest can do wonders for the disposition."

Alicia grunted. "Look, what we'd really like is a ride into town."

Dream frowned, chewed her lips.

Was that what she really wanted?

She jiggled her foot and tried not to look at King.

Alicia, oblivious, went on. "No offense, but I'd really feel a lot better about everything if we could let the police know what's going on."

193.

"Chad's still out there," Karen chimed in. "They ought to be looking for him. He could be in danger." She grunted, glanced with deliberation at each of her friends. "Don't forget what it was like out there." Her voice dropped in pitch. "Strange. Like the motherf.u.c.king Twilight Zone."

"He's in danger," Alicia said. "No doubt about it."

Karen's red-rimmed eyes flicked toward Dream. "We should never have left the G.o.dd.a.m.n interstate."

Dream flinched.

Alicia sighed. "Yeah."

Dream didn't want to think about that.

Not anymore.

King sighed. "I'm sorry, ladies. I hesitate to send my employees down the mountain at night even under the best of circ.u.mstances. This place is not this *twilight zone' you speak of, although I understand tremendous stress of the sort you've endured can cause some misperceptions. I live in a remote area. The going is treacherous at best, as I'm sure you've discovered. And the threat of inclement weather erases any possibility of such a trek, I'm afraid." He smiled thinly. "Your missing friend should be fine as long as he sticks to the road. I suspect he'll show up here at some point."

There was another uncomfortable silence.

Dream thought, What threat of inclement weather?

But she didn't say it.

She looked at King, felt her heart stutter, and she just couldn't say it.

Alicia sighed, defeated. "Okay. I guess we're staying here." Then there was some steel in her voice again. "But you're getting us out of here first thing in the morning, understand?"

194.

King smiled. "Of course."

Then he raised his voice. "Ms. Wickman!"

The severe housekeeper appeared through an archway. "Yes, Master?"

Alicia's double take was impossible to miss.

She looked at Dream and mouthed the word: Master?

Her face radiated incredulity.

King paid her no mind. "These ladies have endured a long, arduous night. It is time for them to rest. Please be so kind as to show them to their rooms."

Ms. Wickman nodded stiffly. "Certainly? She arched an eyebrow at the women. "Ladies?"

Alicia and Karen got slowly to their feet, stretching and groaning from exhaustion. Dream shifted in her chair, uncrossed her legs, and listened to the beating of her frantic heart. She was as tired as her friends-perhaps more so, having done the bulk of the driving from Key West-but she didn't want to leave yet.

She wanted to stay right here.

With King.

Alicia cast an inquisitive gaze at her. "Hey, Dream, aren't you coming up?"

Dream mustered a big smile, infusing it with as much sincerity as she could summon. "I'm a little restless yet. I think I'll stay down here and have a drink with Mr. King."

King smiled.