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.“Blue?” He looked at me as if he was sure I was totally mad.“Your aura.It’s blue with gold around the edges.I can’t usually see it, but it was visible while you were leading me to the Hummer.” The more I talked the more normal my voice sounded.He flashed me a surprised look.“I could sense that thing coming close to us, and my aura must have reacted defensively.But it didn’t feel like we were Nuada’s target.Not this time.”“Until I posses you, what you love I will destroy, be it in this world or the next.”I whispered the words through lips that felt numb.“Nuada wasn’t after me,” I said with surety.“He was after Suzanna because somehow he knows I love her.” I looked at Clint and suddenly everything around me came into stark focus.Understanding is sometimes a frightening thing.“That means it’s not just Dad he’s after.No one I care about is safe until he is destroyed.” Before he could reply, I pointed a shaking finger and directed,“Take a right here on Kenosha Street.Clint pulled onto Kenosha, and I could see the eerie flashing lights of the ambulance turning into the Wal-Mart parking lot.“Are you sure she was dead?”“You know she was, Shannon.” Clint’s voice gentled and he took his hand off the gearshift long enough to let it rest reassuringly on my knee.“No one could survive that kind of head injury.”My fault.It was my fault.I shuddered and drew the coat more closely around my body as a tide of nausea beat against my throat.Resting my forehead against the cool window, I closed my eyes and concentrated on not puking.I couldn’t think about Suzanna now.Couldn’t remember how we could talk to each other for hours on end, forgetting time and the outside world.How she could understand whether I was happy or sad just by the way my voice sounded on the phone.I wouldn’t remember how, years ago, her oldest daughter had been one of my favorite students and she had decided, “You and my mom need to be best friends.” Then she had proceeded to “fix us up.” Literally.She made sure her mom and I met and became friends, much to the delight of both of us.And now she was gone.Her three beautiful daughters were motherless.Because of me.“Shannon!” Clint’s voice interrupted my broken sobs.“Stop it.You’ll make yourself sick again.”I wanted to draw myself up and spit back at him that he had no damn right to order me around, but I only had the energy to sit there with my forehead against the cold glass.“Tell me where the hell we’re going.”I turned my head and blinked at him, wiping my eyes on a piece of his coat.“Directions, Shannon…” His voice was firm.“How do I get to your father’s house?” He leaned forward and popped the glove box, pulling out several tissues and tossing them at me.“Don’t wipe your nose on my coat.”Shit! I’d just lost my best friend and he was worried about his nappy coat? To hell with Mr.Obsessive-Compulsive.I blew my nose and straightened my spine.Peering around, I tried to get my bearings.We were on the outskirts of town, and the streets were totally deserted.Actually I was a little surprised to see the streetlights were still illuminating the steady stream of falling snow.Usually during winter storms electric power was the first thing to go.We were heading up a gentle incline.To our right I saw the white fencing and well-manicured shrubs that framed the classic elegance of Forest Ridge Country Club.Complete with a spectacular golf course and an excellent clubhouse restaurant.“Keep going straight.” My voice sounded wounded and hiccupy.“When this four-lane narrows to a two-lane, turn right.That will be Oak Grove Road.”“You’ll have to let me know when to turn.I can’t tell road from ditch—there’s no way I can see when this changes from four to two lanes.”I nodded at him and rubbed my eyes, concentrating on the snow-masked scenery.Country neighborhoods where I had played as a child, passed by.Houses gradually became farther and farther apart.“Slow down, we’re almost there.” He downshifted.“There, see that squat-looking white concrete building?” I pointed [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]