“Well, it’s not a bad thing, per se, but it’s not normal.” She drew a deep breath. “I have dreams that come true. And I see visions sometimes if I touch things. I’d had a dream that you’d wake up, and you did.”
He rubbed his aching forehead. She wasn’t making any sense. Maybe his brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders yet. “Everyone has dreams. Some come true and some don’t.”
Dani stood and paced back and forth for a moment before she finally said, “I dreamed you’d marry Heather. Instead of me. It hurt so badly that I couldn’t be around you anymore. That’s why I stopped being your friend.”
“But that makes no sense. Heather hadn’t even moved to town yet by the time we parted ways.”
“Right?” Dani nodded. “How else could I have known?”
No. Stuff like that wasn’t real.
The ache in his belly began to match the one in his head. “What about the vision thing?”
Dani glanced around the room, then crossed to the other side and picked up a vase of flowers and closed her eyes. “These came from your secretary.” She put the flowers down and then picked up a sudoku puzzle book. “This came from your daughter.”
How the hell could she know that? “You probably read the card in the flowers.”
She shoved the vase his way. “See any card?”
That’s right. There wasn’t one in the arrangement, because his mom had removed the cards from all the flowers and stacked them on the table the night before so he could take them home.
Holy crap, things were getting weird. “So what happens when you touch . . . people?”
She sat beside him on the bed again. “Depends. If I open my mind, sometimes I just get a color, like an aura, and other times still pictures will appear. It’s all very annoying, actually.”
He couldn’t grasp the theory. It just didn’t make any sense. There was no such thing as that kind of . . . power. People who claimed to have powers were charlatans who took advantage of people.
As his mind scrambled back in time, replaying things from their shared past, cold dread skittered up his spine. Looking back, it did make sense. The way Zoe had told him that she didn’t need to go to college because Dani said Zoe was going to be a successful painter. She’d told him lots of things when they were kids that had since come true, too. He’d thought it was just another of the games they used to play, but there was no way anyone could have been that accurate by guessing. And the gambling. That’s how she’d won all that money in Vegas and why she wouldn’t take any for herself. And how she’d known he’d play on the Cowboys one day. There was no way anyone could have known which team he’d be drafted by.
So it was true. Dani must have some sort of strange intuitions.
As he processed the facts, a sick dread settled in his gut. It overwhelmed him to think that visions and dreams actually existed, but more so at how he didn’t know something so huge about the best friend he’d ever had. The woman he loved. And who claimed to love him back, but did she really?
“Why didn’t you tell me before now, Dani? Who else knows?”
She took his hand. “Zoe and Jake, Mom, Mario, Grandma, and Sara.”
The fact that Zoe knew unraveled him completely. Why would she tell a friend rather than the person she claimed to love? He and Dani used to tell each other everything. Or so he’d thought. What else hadn’t she told him?
“When did you tell Zoe?”
Dani frowned. “I think it was in the eleventh grade.”
He tugged his hand free and crossed his arms. It hurt to touch her. It hurt to look at her. “Why didn’t you tell me? We were best friends.”
She lifted her hands, then let them fall. “My mother forbade me to tell anyone about our dreams, and I used to listen better when I was little. I was a belligerent teenager when I told Zoe.”
“Our dreams?” No way could this be happening. “So your mom has prophetic dreams, too?”
“Yes. Remember my trespassing charge? My mom had a dream and figured out her friend, the mayor, had been embezzling government funds to feed his gambling habit. I snuck in and put the money back, from my mother’s accounts, before anyone caught him. That family vacation they’re on right now is really to the rehab place he’s checked into.”
“Dani, it’s a federal offense to tamper with government funds. You and your mother could go to jail for doing that!”
“I know. But we did it for his own good. He’ll get better, and no one will ever know. It’s like how I’ve helped Jake solve so many crimes.”
Jake again. Of course.
But it finally explained why she was always in court, testifying.
“And you and your mother commit crimes on a weekly basis? You’re lucky that you’re both my clients, or ethically I’d have no choice but to turn you in.” How could he be with someone who broke laws on a regular basis? The same laws he’d promised he’d defend when he became a lawyer.
Annalisa had told him Dani had just been discreetly dropping off something private for her at the mayor’s house and that the trespassing charge had just been a misunderstanding. Not a federal offense. So Annalisa was a liar, too.
Dani sighed. “I’m sorry, Michael. But our intentions are always good. We help people with our abilities, not hurt them.”
He still couldn’t come to terms with any of it. With the powers and the crime committing and the lying, Dani was breaking his heart—again. But it was the lying he couldn’t forgive. She was no different from his ex-wife.
Maybe all women were liars.
As he stared into Dani’s eyes, his fractured heart turned to stone. “You and my mother were the only two people in my life I trusted completely. You know trust doesn’t come easy for me. By lying to me, you crossed that line. The one you and I swore we never would with each other. I think you’d better go.”
She lifted her hands in frustration. “Michael, I love you. I just didn’t know how to tell you. I know how black and white you are when it comes to the law, but I was just trying to help the mayor. Please don’t shut me out.”
Tears slid down Dani’s cheeks, but he refused to be moved. He’d asked Dani directly if she’d had any secrets, and she’d said she was an open book. “Looks like that lying, cheating gangster blood runs in you, too. Just leave, please. We’re done.”
“Gangster blood? Really, Michael? For the record, you just crossed the line, too.” She angrily wiped her tears away. “I’m still the same person you’ve known for twenty years. Nothing’s changed. When you’re ready to be reasonable, we’ll talk again.” She gave him her back as she turned to leave.
Reasonable? That was rich. He wasn’t the one being unreasonable. Dani was being unreasonable to expect him to just overlook her playing Robin Hood on a regular basis. She’d done the same thing in Vegas, by using her skills to cheat. Just because her intentions were good didn’t mean she wouldn’t go to jail in the future if she were caught doing something like she’d done at the mayor’s office. What if they’d gotten married and had kids like he’d wanted? Would he be taking them to see their mother in jail?
Worse, she’d lied right to his face. That was something he’d sworn he’d never tolerate again from a woman. He had his girls to think of. He’d never want to bring a dishonest person home to them.
He and Dani were through.
Chapter Fifteen
When she turned to leave, crushed by Michael’s reaction, Dani nearly ran into a nurse who was staring at them with widened eyes. Had she heard the part about Annalisa and Dani committing a crime?
Panic stole Dani’s breath as she stared into the nurse’s eyes. The woman slowly backed away, then hurried out the door. Dani turned toward Michael, but he wouldn’t meet her gaze. What had she done? Surely the woman would tell everyone she knew, and it’d be no time before the story broke. Any news about Annalisa was big news. Especially if the nurse thought she’d committed a crime.
Maybe they could just deny it.
She ran to Micha
el’s bedside. He stared straight ahead as if she didn’t exist. “You can’t tell anyone, Michael. You have to promise me you won’t confirm what that nurse says.” Desperation drove her voice up two octaves. “Besides the possibility of jail, it could ruin my mother’s career!”
His jaw clenched. “Maybe you should have thought about that before you broke into the mayor’s house. Just go.”
She laid her hand on his arm, and he shrugged it off, breaking her heart all over again. “If not for me, then for my mom? Please? Her reputation means more to her than anything else in the world. She’s the one with the most to lose.”
Michael finally met her gaze. His eyes held none of the warmth they had when she’d first entered the room. Now they reflected hurt, betrayal, and disgust. “She wasn’t the only one to lose something today, Dani.”
His words slammed into her like a Mack truck. “You and I don’t have to lose anything, Michael. Nothing has to change.”
He slowly shook his head and looked away. “It already has.”
The finality in his voice made everything inside of her ache. With great effort, she managed to make it to the door and then the elevator. Once inside she broke down in tears.
She’d lost him.
Dani barely remembered driving home, but found herself standing in the doorway of her mother’s study. Her mom, who was on the phone, met her gaze and hung up. She didn’t even say good-bye. “What is it, honey?”
“I’m so sorry, Mom.”
“About what?” Annalisa’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me.”
After she’d told her mom the whole ugly story, Dani slid into one of the chairs in front of the desk and waited for the blow that was sure to come. She didn’t care. Nothing could be worse than Michael’s reaction. She’d been careless and deserved every bit of her mother’s wrath.
After a few moments Annalisa slapped her hands on the desk. “We have to get on top of this right away. It was only the one nurse, right?” Her mother picked up the phone and dialed. “It’ll be our word against hers.”
“I guess.”
“Michael won’t talk, will he? We can just say she misunderstood.”
Dani met her mother’s gaze and slowly shook her head. “Michael is so mad at me right now I don’t know what he’s going to do.”
Her mom leaned across the desk. “If he confirms this, I’ll hire the best lawyers to keep us out of jail, but I’ll never work again, Dani! Who’ll want to hire a suspected criminal to play the role of someone’s beloved mother?” When her publicist answered, her mom spun around in her chair, giving Dani her back.
She couldn’t think of a time she’d ever felt worse. She’d managed to ruin a relationship and career all in the matter of minutes. She had to be the biggest screwup of all time.
Michael stared at the hospital ceiling, longing for home. He needed to think, and after that eavesdropping nurse left, he hadn’t had a moment’s peace. Every other nurse in the place snuck in and asked him questions he refused to answer. Not because he was protecting Annalisa, but because he hadn’t decided what he’d do.
When the door opened again, he closed his eyes, hoping whoever it was would think he was asleep and go away.
“Hey there, Counselor. Guess your hard head saved you once again.”
Jake. Of course. Dani must’ve called him already.
He opened his eyes and noted Jake’s cocky grin. “Are you here to gloat?”
“Gloat? Are those tiny brains cells of yours still a little scrambled?” Jake pulled a chair up beside the bed. “I was checking on a witness downstairs and figured that even though I don’t like you, I probably owe you for trying to protect Dani. That took some brass balls to step in front of that armed asshole. Or, maybe you’re just dumb. Either way, thanks, man.”
So he didn’t know yet, or he was just pretending he didn’t. “How could you live with someone with such . . . weird abilities? Does she know your every thought?”
Jake’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”
“Dani told me about her . . . whatever it is.”
“No, she can’t read thoughts.” Jake glanced over his shoulder, checking to be sure they were alone. “I’ve had a harder time living without her than with her.” He ran a hand down his face. “I knew what Dani was before we started seeing each other. She’d had a vision and tried to tell me about a kidnapping. I didn’t take her seriously, figuring she was just another one of the nutcases we regularly deal with. But something made me check her story out anyway. Dani saved a kid’s life. How do you not respect a person who risked her own secret to save a stranger’s life?”
“It’s not a matter of respect. It’s a matter of . . . abiding by the law. And always telling the truth.” Two things that Dani knew full well were the most important to him. It’s probably why she’d lied to him, which just pissed him off all over again thinking about it. Although, saving the kid’s life was the right thing to do.
Jake’s jaw clenched. “You’ve known her longer than I have. Dani’s honest to the point of brutal sometimes. She doesn’t lie.”
“She’s lied to me for twenty years. So, congratulations, you win. Dani’s all yours now.” It killed him to say that. To let Jake have her back. But he just couldn’t see a future with Dani anymore.
Jake shook his head and started for the door. “Why would I want a woman who is clearly in love with someone else?” Grasping the door handle, he turned and said, “Even if that someone else is a narrow-minded prick.” Jake slammed the door behind him.
Later that evening, Dani was so devastated about losing Michael, and angry that he’d so quickly end things between them, that she could barely function. She counted all the ways she was sorry she’d ever lied to him as she packed all of Emma’s things and placed them by the door. Julia had called and said she was back in town and was due any minute.
Dani slumped next to Emma on the couch as they watched cartoons together. Earlier she’d turned on the local, then national, news, dismayed when interviews with that damn nurse made all the headlines. The nurse claimed that she’d overheard that Annalisa and Dani had conspired with the mayor to commit a crime. The side note to make the story more sensational was that both Dani and Annalisa dabbled in the occult. The press was in a frenzy because no one was able to contact the mayor—he was on vacation with his family and had asked for some much-needed privacy for his wife, who’d been ill, before he left—and because her mom’s publicist had told reporters that Annalisa and her daughters had left that morning for a holiday and were out of the country. Michael was the only chance for a story.
Thankfully, the mayor was in rehab and wouldn’t be out for a few weeks, and they were all safe from the press at home.
Pictures of her in that stupid red dress from Vegas were just as prominent. Speculation ran rampant, and because there was no real news to report that day, all the news agencies were scrambling to get Michael’s side of the story since no one else was talking.
Would he keep their secret?
Would he ever forgive her? Give her a second chance?
She’d finally switched to something less depressing. Not that Emma had complained about the news. It was as if she knew how sad Dani was, so she was being especially good. God, she was actually going to miss the kid. Who would’ve ever thought that?
Emma laughed at a prank a blue cat pulled, but Dani couldn’t quite work up the energy to smile. She’d tried calling her mom to see how things were going, but her mother wouldn’t talk to her, claiming she was too busy. It seemed she was persona non grata at the moment. And who knew how long that’d last?
When the phone rang, Dani sighed. As suspected, it was the guard announcing Julia’s arrival. “Well, kiddo, your mom’s here.”
“Yay, Momma!” Emma beamed a sweet smile, hopped off the couch, and raced for the door. Dani opened it, and they both waited as Julia’s car approach. When her mother opened the door with her arms spread, Emma was there to hug her.
Dani’s heart hurt with
memories of waiting for her mom to come home after a long shoot, and of the sheer joy on Annalisa’s face when she saw her and Sara. Now she wondered if her mom would ever speak to her again. Or if there’d ever be another film in her future.
Dani forced a welcoming smile. “Hey, Julia. Did you find your business partner?”
“Yeah, his mother told me about a houseboat they keep on Lake Havasu, and sure enough, there he was. The police arrested him this morning, and he gave a full confession.”
“Congratulations. That’s great.” Dani leaned down and gathered Emma’s things. “I still need the information on Ron’s accounts. Can you e-mail that to me?”
“I’ll do it first thing in the morning. I hope he hasn’t changed his passwords, or you won’t be able to access the money.” Julia loaded the bags; then she turned and gave Dani a hard hug. “I don’t know how I can ever thank you.”
Dani grinned at Emma. “Maybe you could let me babysit occasionally.” Her gaze zipped back to Julia’s. “But only for a few hours at a time—not days.”
Julia laughed. “That’s a deal. Hey, do you know where Jerry is? He hasn’t answered my calls. I’m a little worried.”
“He’s fine now, but at University Hospital, recovering from a gunshot wound. I saw him earlier today, and he’s his usual cranky self. He asked about you guys.”
“Really?” Julia’s grin widened. “Maybe we’ll stop by tonight.”
Dani knelt down, determined not to cry, and wrapped Emma in a bear hug. She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath, memorizing Emma’s scent. It was a combination of chocolate, because of the candy bar she’d sneaked her after dinner, mixed with baby powder. “Goodbye, you. I’m gonna miss ya.”
Emma kissed Dani’s cheek. “Bye-bye.”
When Dani finally willed her arms to release Emma, the kid started toward the car and then stopped. Turning, she walked back with Wilbur held high. “Daaani’s Bur.”
She gazed into the rabbit’s adorable face and then into Emma’s and the dam burst. She couldn’t stop her tears and didn’t bother to try. That rabbit had once meant the world to her. Maybe Emma would find comfort from the bunny, just as she had. “I think Wilbur would be happier with you, Em. Want to keep him?”
Seeing Double (A Heartbreaker Novel Book 1) Page 25
