Chapter Thirty

“Amelia, wake up. Do you hear me? Wake up.”

Gideon’s dark voice cut through the nightmare. The words were a command but she sensed another element embedded in them—a desperate plea.

She pushed the last fragments of the dream aside and opened her eyes. She was aware of a strange silence and then she saw Gideon looking down at her. His aura blazed in the shadows.

Reality slammed back. She became aware of the hard tiles beneath her, the darkness and the eerie silence.

She sat up abruptly, automatically pushing hair out of her eyes.

“Oh, crap,” she whispered, scrambling to get to her feet. “Are you okay?”

“Me?” Gideon sounded confused by the question. “Yes. What about you?”

“I’m all right. I think.” She looked around and saw the crumpled figure on the floor. “One of them was sneaking up on you. I thought I might be able to stop him but I was afraid I might shoot you instead. You turned around, I saw your eyes, and then I was suddenly in a dream.”

“A nightmare,” Gideon said in a grim voice. “I know.”

Her senses were spinning. She shook her head in an instinctive effort to clear it but that motion made things worse. Her stomach protested. For a few precarious seconds she thought she was going to be sick. She pressed a hand to her stomach.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Gideon demanded.

“I’m a little dizzy, that’s all.” She took a couple of steadying breaths. “What just happened?”

“I’ll explain later. Do you think you can help me get our informant into the car? I’m not sure I can manage it alone, not with this cane.”

Her stomach was calming and the world was no longer whirling. She was still shaky but she knew she had to hold it together long enough to get the injured man into the SUV.

“Yes,” she said.

It was a struggle, but between the two of them they got the informant on his feet, his arms draped around their shoulders. He groaned but he tried to do what he could to aid in his own rescue. The three of them staggered past the crumpled Deacon.

Amelia’s senses were still frazzled. She could not focus her talent, but when she and Gideon steered the injured man across the lobby she saw the silhouettes of two more attackers sprawled on the floor.

“That makes three,” she said. “Are they—?”

“No,” Gideon said.

She tried to sort out her chaotic memories. “There was a fourth.”

“The guy in charge got away,” Gideon said. “I recognized his voice. He was the one driving the van the night they tried to kidnap you. Pretty sure two of the others were with him. I didn’t recognize the fourth guy.”

“Thank God you’re all right. I was so afraid they would kill you.”

“I told you to stay in the room with the informant,” Gideon said.

“Really? You’re going to do this now? You’re going to lecture me about a failure to follow orders because I tried to save your life?”

“Later.”

“Damned right, later,” she muttered. “Like never.”

“You’re pissed? After I saved your life?”

“I was feeling grateful but you just ruined the mood.”

The informant raised his head slightly. “Could you two finish this conversation some other time?”

“Yes,” Amelia said. “Where’s the nearest hospital?”

“This town doesn’t have a hospital,” the man said. “Emergency clinic next to the fire station.”

“Got a name?” Gideon asked.

“Mayfield. Joe Mayfield.”

Amelia helped Gideon wedge Mayfield into the rear seat of the SUV. Gideon got behind the wheel and fired up the big engine. She climbed into the passenger seat, fastened her seat belt, and gripped her phone.

She waited tensely for service. It seemed to take forever for the bars to appear. She called nine-one-one.

When she finished dealing with the operator, she ended the call and twisted around in her seat to look at Mayfield.

“The operator said the medics will be waiting at the clinic when we get there,” she told him.

He was slumped into the corner of the seat. He opened his eyes partway.

“Sorry I got you two into that mess,” he mumbled.

Acting on impulse, Amelia unclipped her seat belt, knelt, and reached out to put her hand on Mayfield’s leg. Once again he rallied.

“You’re going to be okay,” she said.

Mayfield opened his eyes again. “Everyone knows that the local kids sometimes go out to the hotel to party and do a little dealing but I wasn’t expecting to run into a professional drug gang.”

“Are you sure that’s who those guys were?” Gideon asked. “Drug dealers?”

“Who else?” Mayfield said.

“Why did you set up the meeting with us tonight?” Gideon asked.

Mayfield looked at Amelia. “I know who you are. You’re one of the women who do that weird podcast.”

“ The Lost Night Files ,” Amelia said quietly. “How did you know?”

“I never miss an episode. You’re still looking for answers, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Amelia said. “Do you have some for us?”

“I was there that night,” Mayfield said.

Gideon glanced at the rearview mirror. “You’re our eyewitness, the one who started the fire.”