The pain in my head increased, bringing a tide of soft whispers that seeped

through the cracks left vulnerable by the shattering pain of broken bones. I tried

to rebuild the walls Wolf had shown me. “Get out of my head.”

The whispers grew into a roar, then a mind-shredding shriek, tearing through

every block I had. The gun in my hand began to waver. The pressure in my head

ramped up, until the urge to claw my own skull open became a viable option. In

front of me Bosch began to laugh. “Stupid, weak bitch. You can’t win. I broke

you.”

And that was all it took. “I didn’t break.” The gun steadied, and I pulled the

trigger.

His laughter fell abruptly silent, and the pressure in my head snapped out.

In the ringing silence, a door slammed open. “Cyn!”

“Here.” I carefully set the gun down on the floor next to me.

Then Kayden was there, his hands cupping my face. “Are you okay?”

I batted his hands away as Bishop and Jinx came up behind him. “Where the

hell were you guys?”

“Someone took out Ellery.” Bishop crouched over Bosch and went through

his pockets. “He wasn’t working alone.”

“Did you get him?

“No.” Jinx knelt on my other side and lifted my arm. “Rabbit and Wolf are trying to figure out how the assassin got past them.”

I hissed as she gently prodded and poked.

“It’s broken.”

“Not much of a shocker.” The adrenaline began to fade, leaving me shaky. I

took advantage of Kayden’s presence and dropped my head to his chest. As if that was the signal he had been waiting for, he got his other arm under my legs,

and stood. I hooked my good arm around his neck and rested my head on his shoulder. “I’ll let you take me to the hospital now.”

Then I let go, knowing he had it covered.

CHAPTER 27

I wound my way closer to my hidden oasis in Sedona as the spice of piñon

and juniper mixed with the calming whisper of water dancing through the

creek bed. This time, it was all too real, not something I made up to plumb my

sub-consciousness. Between the weight of the light backpack and the dark purple

cast on my right wrist, I was very much anchored in reality.

I stepped into the clearing and awkwardly clambered to my favorite sitting spot; the large, flat-top rock overlooking the creek. Small pieces of stone shifted

under my left palm, leaving me in danger of falling into the water below. A band

of steel curled around my waist and kept me from face-planting in a very undignified manner.

“All right?” Kayden asked, holding me steady.

“Yeah, stupid cast,” I grumbled.

He helped me over the last few feet until we were both settled cross-legged

on the sun-warmed surface, our shoulders brushing. “You’ve got at least two more weeks with it, so make nice,” he teased.

“Don’t want to.” The lightweight cast wasn’t heavy, just cumbersome. Plus,

relearning how to do things with my left frustrated the hell out of me.

He helped me pull off the backpack, and then bumped my shoulder. “You are

a sucky patient.”

I leaned in and rested my chin against his bicep. When he looked down at me, I batted my eyelashes in an exaggerated show of sweetness. “You’re just now figuring that out?”

He dropped a quick kiss on my nose and gave me a relaxed grin. The affectionate move lit off a happy little glow that I was still getting used to. I laid my head against his shoulder and gazed over the hidden canyon, letting Mother

Nature soothe me.

The last week had been an emotional roller coaster ride. Between tying up what we could on PSY-IV’s case and saying good-bye to Kelsey, I knew that if it

hadn’t been for Kayden being there every step of the way, I would not be half as

steady as I was right now.

After I passed out at the hospital, Kayden had taken me straight to the ER