Unused to having someone be concerned about me, his gruff concern
burrowed his spot a little deeper in my heart. It felt…nice. “Okay,” I said.
When a straight line proved challenging, he took over and guided me to the
kitchen. At the sink, I washed my hand, then snagged a paper towel. Wetting it, I
went to clean my face only to have Kayden take it from me and grasp my chin.
With a gentle touch, he tilted my face back and cleaned it.
Flustered by the strange intimacy, I gripped the counter, so I wouldn’t touch
him. Unfortunately, my mouth had no such reservations. “I like it when you touch me.”
His movements stilled, and his gaze sharpened.
Mortification stained my cheeks. For fuck’s sake, I sounded like some dippy
thirteen-year-old with a crush. I scrambled to explain. “But I think us touching when we do this takes me too deep, too fast.”
He resumed his careful ministrations. “So, no touching when you go under.”
I shook my head. “I need you to touch me.”
His hand stilled, and he quirked an eyebrow at me.
Realizing how that sounded, I winced. “So, I can hear, Kayden. Sharing a
physical connection with you gives me a soundtrack.”
“And stops the bleeding,” he added.
Unable to read the small smile hovering on his lips, I stood mute.
One last brush of the wet towel and he let me go. He tossed it in the trash.
“What did he say when you grabbed me?”
Guilt overrode my discomfort. “That I was sloppy to leave Kelsey
unprotected.”
As we faced each other, Kayden leaned his hip against the island and folded
his arms across his chest. “That means he was here before he went to Sedona.”
I went to nod, but stopped, unsure. I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Any way to tell when these images are happening?”
I bit my lower lip, thinking. Kelsey’s images overpowered Ellery’s because
her emotional signature was stronger. The timing of the two memories—Kelsey
getting ready to leave with my gun and Ellery in the room—were too close together to tell which came first. But there was one thing we could use. “His wrists.”
“What?” Kayden asked.
“I need to get a good look at his wrists. If they’re scratched, it’s after he killed Kelsey. If they’re clear, it’s before.”
Kayden’s brows rose. “You want to go back to the bedroom and do this
again?”
I shook my head. “No, this time we watch him put the bullet in the safe.”
Another thought hit. “Plus, if I can’t see his wrists, maybe I’ll be able to see if
the gun was in the safe when he left his calling card.”
He considered me for a moment, then he held out his hand. “Ready?”
Swallowing hard, I nodded and placed my hand in his, letting him lead me into the bedroom.
CHAPTER 13
There was enough room in the walk-in closet to accommodate both Kayden
