was swollen on one side. I touched it, only to wince when a small sting flared.

The green of my eyes, normally tinged with gold, held a haunted, dark jade that

made me uncomfortable.

My gaze dropped to the rust-colored ring curled around my wrists. I turned

on the faucet, waiting until the water ran warm, and then ignoring the emotions

threatening to choke me, I washed away the blood, and dirt on my skin. Once that was done, I gathered my hair and pulled it back, my gaze rising back to the

mirror. My breath stalled under a sickening sense of horror. Along my neck the

white lines of my scar stood out in stark relief, the pattern broken by raw-looking scratches and a bluish chain of what looked like fingerprints. The roughness of my voice now made sense. Someone had choked me. Repeatedly.

The tiny room closed in. I curled my hands around the cool porcelain sink and dropped my head. “Hold it together, Cyn. You’re okay.” My whispered

reassurance was a weak defense against the swamping wave of fear and dread.

“Kayden, I was with Kayden and…” Another deep voice echoed in my head.

“Bishop. We were watching Ramirez. At the Dragon.” Saying it out loud helped.

The images came together and pushed back the swirling madness eating at the edges of my mind. “I followed him, then…”

Then, what?

Flashes of a burned-out shell of a building, the remembered weight of my gun in my hand, the bright blinding flash, a garbled jumble of words, then…

nothing. Nausea churned and I dry heaved over the sink. I fumbled to turn on the

water, cupped it in my hands, and drank. When my guts settled, I refocused on

the raw lines of my wrists. Restraints?

A sob escaped. Panic rose. Questions and fears circled. Deep in the recesses

of my battered mind cracks widened and sent tremors through my spirit. “Suck it

up.” My whisper was a harsh lash. Falling apart right now wouldn’t do shit except have Todd calling the cops, who’d ask questions I couldn’t answer.

Which is also why I wouldn’t be calling Kayden or Delacourt. Not yet. Not until

I could figure out what the hell had happened to me. To do that, I needed someplace safe, someplace familiar.

Kelsey’s condo.

I splashed water on my face, and let it drip off my chin. I lifted my gaze to

the mirror. I will not break. The haunting edge of fear mocked me.

I STEPPED out of the cab and handed over the last of my cash. Even as I hustled

to the lobby doors, the unsettling sense of being watched tripped over my nerves.

For once my timing didn’t suck because the security station was thankfully empty. Probably a shift change or something. Thank you, God.

I hunched my shoulders and angled away from the watching cameras.

Tension rose as I waited for the elevator. When it dinged and slid open, I quickly

stepped inside. In minutes, I was outside Kelsey’s door, my keys rattling against

the lock as my internal shaking from earlier returned with a vengeance. Shoving

through, my panicked sobs chased me inside. Fingers fumbled and engaged the

locks before I dropped my keys on the long entryway table.

The itch between my shoulder blades disappeared, only to be replaced by

bone-rattling shudders. The relief of being safe cooled the sweat from earlier to a

grimy film. I braced my hands on the entry table and stared at the bowl of colored stones. They started to blur, and it took me a moment to realize why.

Warm tears ran down my cold face. Horrified, I tried to wipe the stupid, useless

tears away, but they kept falling.

Stupid.

Useless.

The words echoed inside my head, their ripples setting off a chain reaction.

Unconnected images and emotions exploded in my mind’s eye like a camera’s flash.

A face. Terror.

A voice. Fury.

Blood. Pain.

Laughter.

Dull walls decorated with water stains. Fear.