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.Here, the fabrics and colors were bright and clashing.Beads hung in the open closet door, photos were taped all over the mirror, the wall without windows was a crazy collage of pages torn out of magazines and newspapers—things that "spoke" to her, Megan said.CD's and books and magazines and dirty laundry all piled together on the floor.The only sacrosanct area was the top shelf of the bookcase where framed photos of family and friends and Megan's soccer and Karate trophies stood.This was how a girl's room should look.Full of life.Hopeful.Lucy blew her daughter another kiss and left.Nick was asleep in their bedroom at the end of the hallway.She crept past him into their bathroom, closing the door before turning on the light.Her thoughts still buzzed and, despite how tired she was, she knew she'd have a hard time sleeping.She took a quick shower, hoping to strip away some of the stress of the day, and slid into her side of the bed.Nick rolled over, curled an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his chest.And held her.Not asking anything, not demanding anything, just there for her.It never ceased to amaze her, after so many years, how much she needed him.Needed this.These silent moments where she could pretend the outside world didn't exist.His fingers danced through her wet hair as she listened to the strong, steady rhythm of his heartbeat.Finally her body relaxed, easing into his familiar contours."How was your day?" she asked."Megan feeling better?""Said she was achy, but no more fever.I gave her some Advil before bed.""She seemed fine when I just checked her.""Maybe it was a twenty-four hour bug.With school starting, the kids share everything.""Yeah, that's what the doctor said.You had a new client today, didn't you? How'd that go?"The Pittsburgh VA didn't have an opening for someone with Nick's expertise, so he had started his own practice.Because he was the new kid in a city brimming over with world-renown psychologists, he was offering weekend and evening hours as an enticement.Which played hell with their home schedule, not to mention the added expense of setting up an office, but he was really enjoying the work, so Lucy didn't mind."Good.Guy's a vet from the first Gulf war, Holtzman referred him after he got fed up with the clinic.I think I can really help him.""Of course you can." She shifted her body so their heads were side by side on the pillows.Her palm smoothed over his sparse chest hair.He lay his hand over hers, his fingers weaving between hers."I heard about your case on the news.Sounded like a tough one."Her sigh was swallowed by the night."Yeah.This kid—fourteen, in a house full of everything money can buy, two parents who say they love her—yet she's so alone.I get the feeling she's been that way for a long, long time.""You think she ran away? To something better?""I think she ran away.To something worse." Her gaze flicked to the numbers on the bedside clock.3:42—thirty-eight hours since Ashley had been last seen."If anyone can find her, it's you." He pulled her close again."Wish I could be so certain." Her eyelids drooped as her breathing synchronized with his."I am."Blackness engulfed her as she fell into sleep.Before she could finish the journey, panic jolted her awake and upright."Did my mom get back from her date okay?"Nick was far gone."Dunno," he mumbled.Then he was asleep again.Lucy envied him.She grabbed her cell from the bedside table.Double checked it for messages.Nothing.Her finger quivered over the buttons, poised to call her mom.Almost four in the morning.She couldn't call, not for anything less than an emergency.She set the phone back down, this time right on the edge of the table, trimming a millisecond or two off her response time.If it rang.Laying back on the pillow, she edged into sleep.Visions of Megan, her mother, Nick, Ashley chased through her mind….and snakes.Hissing, biting, coiled, striking snakes, fangs dripping blood and venom.Jimmy's butt was asleep.But he couldn't stop watching.It had been hours and she hadn't moved—not an inch.If it wasn't for the microphone picking up the sound of her breathing, he'd swear she was dead.She looked so lost, so alone.He wanted desperately to go to her, comfort her, let her know that he was here for her.But he didn't.He stuck with the plan.Although he had double-checked his references.The one from Vietnam had been most helpful: Catatonia.A result of internal conflict when the subject cannot incorporate conditions of new reality in terms of old values.Last stage prior to old values being discarded and new reality becoming acceptable, frequently associated with delusions and hallucinations.Tomorrow, he thought, stretching his fingers to touch her face on the screen.Tomorrow he would take her to the next stage, introduce her to her new world.Tomorrow he would save her from the ghosts of her past.Chapter 19Sunday 6:08 amSometime before dawn Lucy woke, feeling restless and irritated and needy.Nick was happy to oblige when she reached for him; morning was his favorite time to make love.Lucy straddled him, needing to feel in control, and they made love quietly, still uncertain of how sound traveled in this creaky new house of theirs with Megan only two doors down at the end of the hall.His hands feathered over her, coaxing, guiding, never demanding—not until the end when his hips thrust up, meeting hers, and the bed rocked and groaned as they both climaxed.She remained on top, curled up, her arms and legs clutching either side of his chest as if fearful someone might steal him away.Nick fell back asleep but she couldn't, her mind chasing young girls and dark demons and slick talking monsters.Finally she clawed her way out from under the covers and got ready to go to work.She filled her thermos with coffee, making sure there'd be enough left for Nick, and defrosted two sticky buns for him and Megan.Special Sunday treat.Before she left, she found herself in Megan's room.It was barely seven o'clock.She wasn't going to wake Megan
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