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“Any chance you could have just forgotten to lock it when you left?” Jonathon directed the question at Clara.
“I might have, but Naomi wouldn’t.”
Nowthathe believed. He didn’t think Naomi had forgotten a single thing in her life.
“We should have checked it when we got home,” Dylan said self-reprimandingly, “but none of us thought that Clara was in any physical danger.”
Fear clawed at him, but he fought it back. The Doll Killers weren’t going to get their hands on Clara. Perhaps they didn’t even want to. Maybe leaving her doll was just a way of finishing off the old crimes so they could focus on the new spree. “You have a spare bedroom upstairs?” he asked Clara. When she nodded, he continued, “Why don’t I take you up and you can get some rest? CSU is going to be here soon, and there’s no need for you to watch them work.”
“I can take Clara up. She’s stressed and scared; she’s been having nightmares—it would probably be better for her to have someone she knows and is comfortable with staying with her.” Davis both looked and sounded like he was in full-on protective mode.
Jonathon honed in on the nightmare reference—sometimes your subconscious played out things in your dreams that you couldn’t face while you were awake. He was leaning toward thinking Clara was right and the original killers were still involved. That made it even more important to find out what Clara remembered—she was their only link left. As soon as he got Clara alone, he was going to find out more about these nightmares.
Now, though, he wanted to play it safe with her brothers; he was serious about finding out if things would work out with Clara, so he needed her brothers on his side. “If you want to go up with your brother, that’s fine; I’ll hang around down here. I just want to make sure you get some rest.” His answer must have impressed both her brothers because he felt them both relax.
“I’ll go up with you,” Clara said, moving to stand.
He preempted her by scooping her up. She looked tired; there was no need to make her walk up the stairs when he could carry her.
“I can walk,” Clara was trying to get her arms free from the blankets she was wrapped up in.
“I know you can, but you're tired and cold and already snuggled in the blankets.” He had already started for the stairs. “And someone should make Naomi sleep. I've never seen a person look so exhausted.”
Naomi groaned, but the looks exchanged by Davis and Dylan were amused, and Jonathon assumed the topic had already been discussed before he arrived. “We’re on it,” Dylan noted.
“There’re no beds left. Clara’s is a crime scene, and she’s sleeping in the other bedroom,” Naomi protested.
“Sleep down here,” Davis told her.
“CSU will be here soon.”
“Then we’ll ask them to be quiet,” Dylan said.
“I can't sleep with you guys watching me,” Naomi complained.
“Tough, because we’re going to be right here with you,” Davis said firmly.
They were still arguing about it as Jonathon reached the top of the stairs. “I take it your sister doesn’t like to stop.”
“Naomi never stops,” Clara confirmed.
Something in her voice had him understanding that something deep motivated Naomi’s need to always be on the move. “What’s she running from?” he asked quietly, nudging open the half-closed door to the spare bedroom with his foot.
“Herself. So,” Clara deliberately brightened her voice, “does you coming here tonight count as our date?”
“Absolutely not.” He balanced Clara with one arm and pulled back the covers with the other, then set her down and tucked her in. “I have something much more special planned for our date. Besides, right now you need to get some rest.”
Ignoring the part about resting, Clara said, “At least you passed the test with my brothers. They like you, and Naomi likes you, so you're in with my family.”
Stretching out on the bed beside her, he was pleased when she snuggled closer and rested her head on his shoulder. “What about your parents?”
“I haven’t seen my dad since I turned eighteen, and my mom and I aren’t close.”
“What about your other sister?”
“Agape? I've only ever spoken to her once. After Naomi and I finally met, we thought it would be great for the three of us to finally get to know each other, being that we’re kind of triplets, but when we went to visit her, she didn’t want anything to do with us. Lately, Naomi and I have been talking about trying again with her. The first time around we were teenagers, and our moms did have affairs with her dad. I’m sure that we weren’t the most popular people in her family when she was growing up; she was just standing up for her mom. But we’re older now, and my brothers and sister mean so much to me—I’d really like to know her, too. Even if we’re never super close, it would just be nice to think of her as part of my family.”
“You're close with your brothers?”
