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Her eyes closed shut. She felt herself swaying in her seat. The ground had disappeared. There was nothing around her but darkness. She felt panic begin to take hold when a soft breath landed on her clasped hands. A concerned whine as Bud laid his head on her hands.
Opening her eyes, she smiled at him, taking comfort in his presence.
“I’m OK, Boy.”
She was taking this better than Kane had expected her to. There was no shouting, no tears or drama, just sensible questions asked in a forthright manner. She was much tougher than he’d ever realized. He pressed on.
“Have you upset anyone that you can think of? These notes are personal. They sound like they know you though it could all be the mind of a sick personality.”
She shook her head, eyes large and luminous. “I don’t have any enemies. I don’t have many friends either, but that’s just how it’s gone for me. It’s difficult to form any real relationships when all people want is to get close to my parents.”
Her breath quivered and she took a moment to compose herself. Her raw honesty and the pain he could read in her voice was like a knife in the heart. He was suddenly compelled to take her in his arms, but he forced the compulsion away.
“What about your ex? Could he have any residual issues with you?”
“Pete? It’s been a few years now. I doubt he’s given me a moment’s thought. He’s too busy swanning around the world with Angel. He has the life he has always wanted. He was never interested in me.”
She continued, fighting to keep her voice from breaking.
“Even though he’s a horrible person, I would never hurt him or do anything to anyone that would ever warrant such a reaction.”
“Some individuals don’t need much encouragement. Look what happened with that group of idiots today.”
She hated that he was right.
Faces flew into her mind of all the people she had ever had a disagreement with. Former friends, her first boyfriend, general members of the public. Had she ever done something hurtful that she just hadn’t realized?
Her memories crashed into one another. Coupled with the lack of sleep over the last few nights, it was all too much. She started shaking. The edges of her vision began to darken.
Someone out there wanted to hurt her.
“Lexi?”
She couldn’t speak, not understanding what was happening. His voice sounded far away, like he was on the opposite side of the world instead of the few feet of distance that separated them.
And all the while, there was that terrible ice-cold numbness inside.
“Are you OK?”
She tried to answer him, but her tongue felt thick, her mouth as dry as the desert. She couldn’t have spoken even if she’d wanted to. Blackness was taking over and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
She was sinking, sinking into oblivion when strong arms enveloped her. She sank against them like her life — her very soul — depended on it. Her heart raced a mile a minute, thumping in her chest as heat radiated from his body.
Kane’s body.
She pressed so close to him that she could feel his heart beating against her own. Her hands reached out blindly to grab hold of him.
“Breathe, Lexi. You’re suffering from a panic attack.”
Was that true?
Was that all it was?
Then why did the darkness seem so inviting?
“Everything is OK. I’m here. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
He sounded so protective and solid, like an impenetrable wall, that the darkness didn’t seem quite as wonderful now.
