squirm to realize I was literally sharing my headspace with him. Here’s hoping

his reception was as cloudy as mine because I knew he was there, but that was

about it.

My eyes fluttered open and there was no time to brace before the memories

sucked me under. At first, they colored the room like a multi-layered tapestry of

vignettes, bits and pieces of Kelsey making her home, of guests visiting. Nothing involving me, thank God, because I had no idea how to handle seeing myself. It

wasn’t something I ever had to worry about, but with Kayden tagging along, anything was possible.

Relief hit when the sound of Kelsey’s faint laughter arrowed under still raw

wounds. At least the soundtrack still worked. I looked around and spotted Kelsey’s white-blonde hair strobing like a camera flash. Half-remembered

conversations swirled around me, tumbling into a wash of background noise, that let an occasional phrase through.

“Come on, admit it…love this place…can’t be attacked by secret ninja

warriors.”

“…large Kung Pao chicken with crab rolls…”

“Damn deadlines…”

“…go out on Friday?”

Kelsey’s life was a sea of memories that circled the edge of my vision. Their

emotional strength created a dynamic tide that rose and fell in a mesmerizing cycle. Most were poignant reminders of a time when my heart was whole and tempted me to turn down paths best left untraveled. It was so tempting to stay in

the past where the pain of loss was nothing more than a horrific nightmare.

Something warm and solid squeezed my hands, a physical reminder I could

only ever be a visitor. Dropping my gaze to the floor, the neutral-colored tile replaced the dizzying scene and allowed me to reign my emotions back. I took a

deep breath and reinforced my mental walls. After another inhale, followed by a

slow exhale, I raised my head.

No longer a swirling mass, The memories were no longer a swirling mess.

Instead, they were calm, which gave me a chance to identify individual

moments. I began to pick through them, looking for Ellery. At first, I wasn’t sure

it would work. Then, something flickered into existence near in the bedroom’s doorway. Like a slowly developing photo, the image came together in stages.

A big body covered in jeans and T-shirt, dark hair took shape. The clothes matched what Ellery wore when he killed Kelsey, but the facial features and limbs were still blurry. It made me think it was same day. Now I needed to pin

down the time.

Focused on my task, I rose and pulled against the restraints on my hands. I

needed to be closer. The pressure on my hands disappeared and the image

shivered and thinned. I concentrated harder on the slowly disintegrating image.

“Hold up, Cyn.”

I jumped, completely forgetting about Kayden. “I’m going to lose him.” Heat

crowded at my back, then a weight settled on my shoulders and his fingers tightened. Ellery’s image snapped back online, growing sharper and sharper.

“Got him.”

The swirling remnants of the past faded into the background until Ellery

commandeered center stage. It took an effort of will to keep him in focus, as if

capturing smoke. He moved into the room, looked around, and brought a

container up to his mouth. As he drank, he meandered through the room, like a

guest instead of the psychotic home invader he was. Watching him was

disturbing on multiple levels.

Was that orange juice? What the hell?

That small distraction was all it took for my hold on the past to slip. Ellery’s

image stuttered and then disappeared under other memories. The undulating

tapestry shimmered as if brushed by a strong wind. When it resettled, Kelsey’s

figure rushed past and into the bathroom.

Stunned by the sudden switch, it took a few precious moments to realize my

scene change was involuntary. Which meant Kelsey’s emotions had outranked

Ellery’s. Not a surprise as psychopaths had the emotional range of a snake, cold,

deadly, and practical. Either I followed Kelsey, or I courted a raging headache by