After the attack on her six months earlier, she’d certainly had that truth proven out time and time again. Now here she was again, wondering what the hell was going on in her world and whether this latest attack and this loss of her voice was something psychic all over again.

  At that, Stefan popped in. That’s a question I wanted to ask you. Do you have any ideas? Did you have any feelings at the time?

  It felt like I was blocked, like I was frozen in time. I didn’t really understand where I was, who I was, or what had happened for a very brief time, she murmured.

  Silence came from Stefan at first. Now that’s an interesting way to describe it, he noted in a conversational tone.

  Not a good way though, I’m sure.

  Not necessarily a bad way either though, he noted, ever cheerful. The thing is, you’re alive, and now we just have to ensure something like that doesn’t happen again.

  True. I was so stressed over the meeting I’d just had with the board, my own reactions were well and truly stunted. That’s the part that upsets me the most. I had my guard down.

  Of course, Stefan agreed in understanding. Whenever we lose control, and something bad happens, it reminds us just how little margin of error we have in our lives.

  Isn’t that the truth, she muttered. And it’s sad because I thought I was welcome there. I thought I was doing well.

  But maybe the welcome wasn’t so much from the board and the staff as much as it was from the actual patients.

  Right now it makes me question everything, she murmured. Then she brightened. Has the FBI actually begun an investigation?

  They’re all over it, Stefan confirmed cheerfully. They were looking for an excuse to go in anyway, especially after all the things that you had shared. Plus it gave them a chance to move Adam.

  But move him where? she asked cautiously. He’s very fragile right now, and I had just begun to see a breakthrough with him, and now this had to happen.

  I’ve been talking with him. Adam’s doing much better than I would have expected. Stefan smiled. He’s a bright boy.

  He sure is, Cressy agreed, and he’s been through an awful lot already.

  He has, but he’s also strong. We can’t ever forget that.

  She nodded and sank back against the bed again, staring out the window. What do I do from here? I won’t go back to work. I’m sure they’ve already revoked everything in terms of my access, and I won’t get to help the patients I was working with, she said in a disappointed tone.

  Can’t you go in and work with them from where you are?

  She pondered that. A couple I could, like Sadie, who was dancing down the hallway. Cressy smiled.

  I could check on her too, Stefan offered.

  I’d planned to see her for tea. She had invited me earlier, but the board railroaded me before I had a chance to take her up on the offer. You will check on her?

  Yeah.

  Why is that? Cressy teased. Can’t the great Stefan split off his energy to others, do some delegation to handle everything all at once?

  He gave a guffaw of laughter, making her smile.

  It’s good to hear your laughter, Cressy noted.

  It’s good to hear you making jokes, he said equally calmly. We both know that our fields are tough, and, at times, a little breath of humor can make all the difference for getting from one moment to the next.

  Very true, she murmured.

  The nurse returned just then.

  Cressy gave her a smile of appreciation as a thank-you, hating to even try to use her voice again.

  When she’d used it accidentally earlier, it had been a harsh shock. A part of her should have realized what losing her voice was all about; yet another part was desperately trying to let herself off the hook, knowing she wasn’t in full form. She didn’t let herself off the hook very often, and that pressure had increased, particularly after the attack from six months ago. Now it felt that she was sliding back into that same problem again, with this most recent incident.

  Regardless, for some reason, she was under attack.

  She didn’t know who, where, or why, but this time it was physical and emotional and psychic, making it that much harder on her. She didn’t know what she’d done to deserve any of this, but all she could think of was that somebody didn’t want her back at the hospital. But, if that was the case, why?

  What was it that her presence would influence?

  Who had the ability to do this?

  Who would benefit from it?

  As soon as the nurse was gone, Cressy sipped her tea and pondered everything she had heard and had assimilated, while she’d been a prisoner in that washing machine. There hadn’t been any noise, no one speaking, no sounds she could discern from an attacker. Even at the very time she’d been attacked, there was so little warning. She had no chance to even get any impressions.

  That was the thing. It had been so fast that she’d had no time to even move—as if she was there one minute, and the next she was under somebody else’s control. The speed in which it had happened was one of the things that bothered her the most. How did she reconcile becoming a victim so very quickly? You thought you were doing so great, yet somebody could turn around and do that to you. Meanwhile, you didn’t even have a chance to react.

  The world was full of little shits, as she’d come to realize over time, but she’d had a little security in knowing she had extra abilities that, if nothing else, would give her a warning—just as she had been able to ask for help from Stefan and Dr. Maddy. Let’s face it. Without them, Cressy could still be a victim. She could still be locked up for whatever purpose this guy had in his mind. The fact that he was still out there was terrifying, and it made no sense, considering everything she’d been through so far, yet there it was.

  Now she looked at everybody sideways, wondering who was responsible and who wasn’t. She finished her tea, and then feeling the same weariness creep over her again, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. When a sudden noise sounded in her room, she bolted awake and stared around in a panic, but nothing was here. Frozen, her breath slamming against her chest, she slowly sank against the headboard, wondering if this would ever be over, when a voice in her head whispered, Never!

  It was gone as quickly as it had come. She lay here, feeling a creepy iciness take over her body.

  She knew that voice.

  That voice belonged to someone she should never have to hear from again. Inside, she was quaking with fear. That should never have happened. That voice should never have called out to her again. She felt her panic rising higher and higher, faster and stronger.

  Stefan stepped into her mind and ordered her to stop it.

  She calmed ever so slightly, taking a shuddering breath and closing her eyes, trying desperately to stem the tide of panic.

  What the hell was that? Stefan asked sharply.

  She couldn’t even tell him. How could she? It was a voice from the dead. A voice that should never have been allowed to come back. But Stefan seemed to know. He always seemed to know.

  In her mind, he whispered, Dear God.

  She gave a broken laugh. Yeah, if there’s a God out there, I feel like He’s forsaken us about now.

  No, Cressy, Stefan snapped. You have to stay in control.

  I haven’t been in control for a very long time apparently. And then I heard that voice.

  Tell me exactly what you heard. When she told him as clearly as she could, he asked, Is there any chance that you made a mistake?

  Her laugh was broken, bordering on hysteria. How could I be mistaken? He’s been in my nightmares for the past six months.

  Are you sure he’s just been in your nightmares?

  She paused at that. Meaning?

  Is there any chance that he’s actually been tormenting you all this time? I mean, is there a chance that he’s here. You may have thought it was nightmares, but maybe he’s been with you all along.

  I don’t know, she admitted. You know how hard it’s been for me to even deal with his reality for the last six months.

  And now, for your first couple days back, he’s there.

  Is it him? Is he there? Is he the one who’s doing this? If so, why now? Or is it something else altogether?

  I don’t know. I was hoping you could tell me that.

  I was hoping I could tell you that too, Cressy replied, but right now I can’t. I don’t think I can tell you anything at all. She burst into tears.

  *

  Tired and worn out, Gray headed to the hospital. They had done interviews all day, checked over security cameras, and everything possible, and there was no sign of anything related to Cressy’s attack and capture and transport to the utility room at the center. Nothing about her tires all being slashed as well. The fact that there was nothing on tape, no witnesses and no clues at all for both of these violent events at the center, made him even more suspicious, as he told the security guys watching the cameras.

  “If there had been even a glitch in the security system, I would have felt better. But absolutely nothing? No way. That’s not the way this will go down.”

  The security guys had looked at him, both of them holding up their hands. “Look. We didn’t have anything to do with this. You can check out all this.”

  “Oh, I see what I can check. Blind spots everywhere, frozen cameras, security that should have been up and running smoothly, that’s not running at all.”

  The two security guards shared a look and then nodded. “Look, man. We’ve both been here for years, but they really cut back on security. Dr. Cresswell had increased it before, but the powers that be decided that nothing bad would ever happen again. I hate to say it, but they implied that she was basically responsible for it, and, if she hadn’t done what she’d done, then the issue would have never come up.”

  Gray stared at the two men, both of them backing up in response to Gray’s body language.

  “Look. We’re just telling you what we were told,” said one guard apologetically. “We both really like Dr. Cressy. She’s good. She’s really good with the patients, and she even treats us like human beings, which is way more than I can say for a lot of people around here. Sorry, but we just didn’t see anything.”

  How could the security guys and all of those cameras see nothing, even with the board’s cuts? The trouble was, a good share of those cameras weren’t functional and were up for appearances only. The number of operational cameras, security doors and windows, and staff had all been itemized; and they had cut corners at every turn.

  When Gray really looked at it, he realized what the center had kept was the appearance of security, but very little true security was had at all.

  He left abruptly and drove off. He got out of his car in the hospital parking lot and stretched. He was still really angry, and he didn’t want to go in there and upset her. He also didn’t want to do anything to reinforce the guilt she undoubtedly felt. This whole nightmare was not her fault, but he knew she would feel responsible for it, and that was something he couldn’t let happen.

  When his phone rang, as he started toward the front doors, he quickly answered. “Hey, Grant. I’m at the hospital back to check on Cressy. I’m heading in now.”

  “Any news?”

  “You mean, anything positive? No, not a damn thing. I had a long talk with a couple security guys in the control room. According to them, over the last six months the board has steadily cut security, just like everything else. They’ve cut the staff, removed equipment, not made repairs, reduced the number of alarms, anything they could to cut the budget. If it saved them ten bucks, they did it.”

  “Jesus,” Grant muttered, “in a place like that?”

  “Right? Some of the most vulnerable of all. But get this. To the casual eye, security is a priority, and you see everything you would expect. But it’s all a facade, The board removed the bulk of any security system but left the shell. How did you fare with the hospital staff?”

  “I talked to several of the other doctors. Some said they were supportive of the changes, and some were not in favor at all but didn’t feel that anyone would listen to them, so they went along. Most of them were horrified at what had happened to Dr. Cresswell again, particularly since this was the second time.”

  “And being the second time, any reaction to that?”

  Grant sighed. “I might as well tell you. A few thought she deserved it.”

  He froze in the act of opening the hospital front door. “What?”

  “Yeah, I know.” Grant’s tone was grim. “They figured that she’d already brought it on once, so she must have bad practices that put her in danger.”

  “What is it they thought she did?”

  “In this case nobody really knows, but she did avoid them by going out her window,” Grant noted.

  “She did because they were trying to force their way into her office, and she wanted to get away from them to buy me some time. She believed they would confiscate her files and her access to everything, then march her right out the front door.”

  “Technically speaking, she wasn’t fired at the meeting,” Grant said cautiously.

  “No, she wasn’t, but I gather things got very heated, and it was evident that it was headed that way, particularly after she stood up to them and called them out. She contacted me right away after the meeting and asked me to log in remotely and to save her work, since there was no way to track what was going on without that, and then she told me to come get her paper files.”

  “Did you actually end up getting them?”

  “I did. She had them boxed up by the time this all happened, and I had the team secure them, before we even figured out that she was missing.”

  “The hospital is likely to put in a court order, looking for them.”

  “That’s fine, and, once I have a chance to scan through and to confirm nothing implicates anybody, and I copy anything she needs, they can have them. A lot of it is her research materials as well.”

  “Why would there be anything that implicates anyone?” Grant asked. “These are files from when she was there before, right?”

  “Yes. But also something crazy is going on, and I wasn’t willing to let it all go, not until we had a chance to discuss it.”

  “So you think somebody at the hospital is playing games?”

  “Definitely something is going on,” Gray admitted. “It’s not as if we had to look very far. She’s just been kidnapped and stuffed into a commercial washing machine, after all.”

  “That’s the thing, and it’s better you know now. I mean, … already some people doubt her story on that, as well.”

  “Doubting what story?” Gray asked, getting further enraged. “I’m the one who found her in the damn washer.”

  “Some people are intimating your relationship is closer than it should be, and you were just protecting her.”

  He stared blindly out at the world around him. “Jesus! What kind of people are they? They’re already trying to completely nullify the fact that she was knocked over the head and kidnapped.”

  “That’s what it sounds like, yes,” Grant replied.

  “I know, but you and I both know it’s not true. Not to mention Dr. Maddy and Stefan, who helped us to find her,” Gray stated, his voice harsh.

  “Of course I do,” Grant said, “but the scenario isn’t great for her right now, especially with the nonbelievers, with most people not knowing what all Cressy can do. The unknown brings up people’s fears.”

  “These other assholes are trying to make her life miserable, and they are the problem.”

  “I won’t argue that,” Grant noted. “I know Dr. Maddy is always trying to figure out how to get Cressy to come on board, as her skills are pretty impressive. And nobody wants to see anybody—Cressy, Dr. Maddy, or Stefan—treated like this because, once it starts, it’s pretty damn hard to stop.”

  Gray didn’t even know what to say to that. “I think somebody at that center set her up.”

  “That doesn’t mean it’s criminal, and it definitely doesn’t mean it’s an FBI matter.”

  “Don’t worry. I have vacation time on the books,” he said immediately.

  Grant laughed. “I figured you would say that. I’ve got a meeting with the director tomorrow. I’ll talk to him about what’s going on at this place. I know it’s a long shot, but, considering that a doctor was attacked, and everybody is trying to browbeat her into leaving, when she’s only just returned after an earlier attack,” Grant spelled out, “I’m hoping I can get some traction.”

  “Either way,” Gray declared, “I’m not leaving her.”

  There was a moment of silence on the other end. Then Grant asked, “How bad is it for you?”

  Gray gave a broken laugh. “If you’d asked how good was it, I might feel better, but the fact that you actually said it the way you did, means it’s probably pretty bad.”

  Grant chuckled. “I told you it would happen sometime.”

  “Yeah. You also told me that it would likely be her, and I told you that it wouldn’t happen.”

  “Sure, but there’s something very special about her, and you already know how affected you were last time.”

  “I know, and it was deadly. I don’t want to go through anything like that again.”

  “Yet here you are.”

  “Whether I like it or not, yes, here I am. She’s in trouble. Somebody is after her. She’s been attacked, and those assholes, who are supposed to be her colleagues and looking after the patients, are throwing her to the wolves. For all we know, somebody is hauling drugs in and out of that place.”

  “You find me even the slightest bit of proof on something like that,” Grant stated, “and I’ll have that place torn apart brick by brick, and their bank accounts will be frozen and under forensic analysis. You know that. And believe me. I would make sure that they pay.”