“Oh!” Now it was his turn to feel the heat rush to his face. “Maybe in the living room. I left the bag there on the couch.”
A few moments later, they were sitting on the sofa side by side. He took the unicorn out of the bag and handed it to her.
Dawn blew out a breath and closed her eyes. She sat quietly for so long, he was wondering if she was even having a vision. But he didn’t want to interrupt her in case she was getting something.
It was the strangest thing, like she was there with him, but she wasn’t. Kind of like she was asleep but awake at the same time.
He gazed at the fluttering of her eyelids, and she suddenly gasped. Her eyes opened wide as she turned to him. All he could see was fear.
Chapter 10
“I saw her. I saw Mandy. I-I mean, I looked down and saw little legs in purple tights, and a piece of clothing with a purple polka-dot hem. Then she must have lifted a blindfold, because I could see a little more.”
Dawn clutched the unicorn close to her chest. She could feel the little girl’s fear and confusion.
“Tell me exactly what you saw,” Luca urged.
Dawn closed her eyes once more and revisited her vision. “She’s on a cot. The walls are kind of dingy. There’s a lamp on the floor plugged into an open wall socket. A side table with a juice box on it and what looks like the remains of a kid’s burger meal. She’s sitting up on the cot, rocking back and forth. I feel like she’s been crying, but she’s all cried out now.”
Dawn’s eyes filled with tears, and she opened them again.
Luca enfolded her in his arms. “It’s okay. We’re going to find her. You did great.”
Bubbles the cat jumped into the space between them, purring his way to Dawn’s lap.
“See, even Bubbles thinks so.”
Dawn smiled through her tears and stroked the beautiful white cat sitting contentedly on her lap.
Luca kept his right arm around her as Dawn tucked her head into the crook of his arm and shoulder. She relaxed into his warmth. Just having his arm around her made her feel better. But it wasn’t just any man’s arm around her. It was Luca’s warmth and protection making the difference. She felt safe, special, cared for. Something she had never felt before, except with her Gran—and sometimes when she was little, her mother. She closed her eyes again and let his warmth surround her.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Yes. Thank you. These visions. Sometimes they take a lot out of me, especially this one.”
Luca swept a lock of unruly hair behind her ear. “Did you see anything else in the room that could tell us her location?”
Dawn concentrated but couldn’t remember anything. She shook her head, letting out a groan of frustration. “I’m sorry. I’ll keep trying. I have to connect with the person, and sometimes I can only see what they see. But now that I have the unicorn, I can keep concentrating on it.”
She leaned back and looked into Luca’s eyes. “Do you think Jack would let me into his home, into Mandy’s bedroom? Maybe that would help.”
Luca blew out a breath. “I don’t know. I mean, you’re just getting bits and pieces. If we go to Jack and tell him this now, without any concrete info, he might overreact, demand the cops use a psychic or something that will point to interference.”
“But if I could go into her bedroom, maybe I could get a better sense of things.”
Luca scratched the back of his neck. “I have another idea. Why don’t we drive to the location of the accident? Do you think maybe that could help?”
“Yes. I imagine her energy is strong there. Can we go now?”
Luca glanced at his watch. “It’s going on midnight. Are you sure?”
Dawn nodded as she picked up Bubbles and set him on the floor. “Yes, I want to find Mandy, and the sooner the better. Who knows what these kidnappers are capable of?”
“Okay, let’s do it.”
Luca drove them to the scene of the original accident, and they parked at the side of the road. A few flowers had been placed at the base of the pole where the car had hit. Luca grabbed his flashlight and went around to the passenger side, letting Dawn out.
