Tangled Dreams

by Cecilia Dominic

  Tangled Dreams

  Dream Wavers & Truth Seekers

  Cecilia Dominic

  Tangled Dreams

  Copyright © 2018 by Cecilia Dominic

  ISBN: 978-1-945074-34-9

  All rights reserved.

  Edited by Holly Atkinson

  Line edited by Angel Durham

  Cover art by Kiersten Fay

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Foreword

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  About the Author

  Excerpt of Web of Truth

  Excerpt of Perchance to Dream

  Foreword

  About Tangled Dreams:

  When the walls between reality and the dream world crumble, sleeping with the lights on won’t save anyone from their nightmares.

  Restaurant reviewer Audrey Aurora Sonoma's life is like a steakhouse meal: utterly predictable, comfortable, and just exciting enough to satisfy her independent streak. But when odd characters from her dreams show up during daylight hours – were-bats and a vegetarian dragon, of all things! – the menu goes from familiar to fusion. When she learns the job she accepted in her dream is real, well... Who would have guessed the goddess Persephone exists? Finding her – and figuring out why the walls between reality and the Collective Unconscious are slipping – seem to be impossible tasks for a mere mortal.

  Damien Lewis turned down promotions to keep his life orderly and predictable. He has enough challenge with real-life hassles like eating regular meals. And forget dating. But after encountering three naked, delirious Jane Does on consecutive nights, he suspects more than drugs are behind their appearances, and he soon becomes much more involved than he’d like.

  As the walls between the Collective Unconscious and real world continue to erode, vampires, demons, and, of course, were-bats come through to prey on those who get in the way of the god who is masterminding it all with human help. Can Audrey and Damien face their biggest fears and work together to stop the waking world from being overrun by creatures that no human has dared to dream of? Or will their nightmares become real – and permanent – when the pathways open for good?

  Acknowledgments

  This book required quite a bit of real-life research to get certain details right. Luckily I like research, and I had access to some great resources who were generous with their time and information. I may have tweaked a few things for the sake of the story, so please know that any mistakes, either of commission or omission, are mine alone.

  First, I'd like to thank Dustin Hadley for his invaluable advice on emergency medical procedures. He's my EMT on call for questions of what to do when _____ happens to someone, in this case, a broken collarbone.

  Second, I can't express enough gratitude to Lieutenant Jennifer Ross of the Decatur, Georgia Police Department. First, she agreed to meet with me and spent two hours answering my questions about her department before taking me on a tour. Then she invited me to join the Decatur Citizens Police Academy, where I spent ten Thursday evenings learning about both the department my heroes work for and police work in general. I'd also like to thank Officer Josh Speed (yes, that's really his name) for his kindness, explanations, and making sure I didn't get hungry on the ride-along I got to do with him as part of the citizens police academy. He may get a cameo in the next book.

  Thank you, as always, to my husband Jason and to my parents for your support, and to my critique group, Kimberly, Susan, and Denise for your feedback. All of you make me a better writer in different ways.

  Finally, I couldn't do this without the support of my readers and fans. Thank you so much!

  1

  "My baby! Someone stole my baby!"

  The cry jolted through Audrey, and she dropped her sausage and egg biscuit. It landed with a splat on the plate and fell apart, but she didn't notice, having half-risen to search for the flurry of activity that should accompany that kind of cry. But the only curious glances she saw were directed her way. She sank back to her seat, trembling with unspent adrenaline.

  "Did the sandwich try to escape?" J.J. wiped a bit of mustard from his close-cropped beard. "Or did you just see that cop you've been coffee-stalking?"

  "No." Audrey glared at him and attempted to suck in a couple of belly breaths. "Didn't you hear that? Someone just got kidnapped."

  "The only thing I heard was your breakfast hitting the paper and falling apart." He gestured to the table between them.

  Audrey looked down. He was right. The sausage hung over the open bottom half like a panting tongue, and the scrambled egg pieces had scattered in a half-hearted bid for freedom. She retrieved the top half of the biscuit from its precarious position at the edge of her plate, but she had to clench her hands in her lap to stop their shaking. She snuck glances to either side. How had he not heard the panic-stricken call for help? Or anyone else?

  "That's what I get for asking them to hold the cheese," she attempted to joke.

  J.J. raised an eyebrow. "Told you it'd be better with it all melted together. You should listen to your brother."

  She only half-listened to him, her attention on the nearby moms with small kids, but no one indicated they'd heard or made the cry.

  "I know I heard it." With mostly steady hands, she did her best to reassemble her breakfast, but her fingers still felt weak. Was this the first step to madness?

  "You're edgy today. Did you get enough sleep?"

  She snapped her gaze back to him. Something tickled the back of her mind in response to his question before it was swallowed up by the tension that always overtook her when he tried to "brother" her. He was her editor, not her brother, for Pete's sake! Okay, he was her brother, but they were here to discuss her next day's assignment, so she tried to keep things professional. But she had to answer.

  "Yes, Kyle gave me a sample of something last night. Some drug that's been getting a lot of press." She cringed, anticipating his reaction.

  As expected, J.J. rolled his eyes. He was nice and predictable like that. "Just because the media likes it, doesn't mean it's good for you."

  Instead of getting into the same old argument, Audrey took a bite of her biscuit, but her heart still beat in her throat, and a piece of sausage stuck. She coughed, and J.J. reached across the table and thumped her back.

  "Maybe you should take the rest of that home," he suggested. "You're not doing so hot with thinking and eating at the same time."

  "You're probably right." With a sigh, she wrapped up the rest of the breakfast sandwich and stuck it in the paper bag with the apple she hadn't touched. She hated it when he was right, but there was no point in choking on a bite due to her imagination, which had been going strong since the night before with vivid dreams she could only
remember in flashes. She'd woken feeling like she’d hardly slept.

  J.J. stood, as did she, and another glance revealed her favorite cop, who walked into the coffee shop. His uniform hugged his broad shoulders, and she knew from previous sidelong glances that he had a nice, tight ass to go with them. The best part for her was his gray eyes—bedroom eyes, her mother would have called them—that stood out against his olive skin and wavy dark hair. Somehow his appearance calmed the deep inside part of her that still trembled with the sense that something was very wrong.

  "What are you smiling at?" J.J. turned around. "Oh. Is that him?" he asked in a stage whisper.

  "Shut up before I punch you," Audrey said through clenched teeth behind her smile.

  The policeman must have heard them because he turned toward them and cocked his head when he saw J.J. like he thought he looked familiar. Then his gaze met Audrey's, and he smiled.

  Audrey returned the grin and waved before following J.J., who'd suddenly become eager to go out into the bright autumn sunshine.

  "Do you know him?" Audrey asked once the door closed behind them. "He looked like he recognized you."

  "Nah, you know I've got one of those familiar-looking faces." But J.J. didn't slow his pace. "You could talk to him, you know. Actually say hi, give him your number."

  Although the idea thrilled her, Audrey shook her head. "And what? Ruin the fantasy?" She practically trotted to keep up with him. She'd forgotten how long his legs were. "Besides, haven't you forgotten something important?" She poked him on the biceps with each word. "I. Have. A. Boyfriend."

  "I wouldn't know," J.J. told her. "Considering I never see you with him or hear of you hanging out with him."

  She couldn't argue with that. Instead, she reminded him, her smile gone, "You know my rule: no dating cops. Too much of a chance they won't come home."

  Finally J.J. slowed and looked at her. She guessed they both had the same sadness in their green eyes. "Like Dad."

  Why did thinking about that horrible night still make her throat swell with tears that should have run out by now? "Right, like him."

  J.J. gave her that mixed sympathy with a look that said, "Your reasoning is a flimsy excuse," but he only asked, "Do you want a ride home?"

  The cry came from Audrey's right. "My baby!" She turned so quickly she almost lost her balance. Two women sat on a restaurant patio with brightly-colored tables and chairs. Between them, they had five children, all young, a laughing, squirming, tumbling mess. One of the moms held out her arms to a blonde cherub, who toddled around in a diaper and pink T-shirt.

  "There's my baby," she cooed. "What a big girl you are, walking all by yourself."

  Audrey blinked to clear the buzzing sound from her ears, and the sense of wrongness returned. "Yeah, a ride would be good so I'd get home faster. I need to lie down before Kyle gets off. I'm hearing things."

  J.J.'s cupid's bow lips curled. "It's probably your biological clock."

  She punched J.J. in the arm. "Just because you don't want kids doesn't mean I'm going to pick up the slack for you."

  He smiled, and the corners of his eyes crinkled. "But really, how are things going with Kyle? Do you actually have a date with him this afternoon, or does he just hook you up with sleep drugs? That's a dealer, not a boyfriend."

  "No." She sighed. "I'm hoping he'll have time for coffee. Since he's on his sleep rotation, he's got to be back tonight to observe study hookup, but he said he might stop by after they're done rounding at the hospital."

  J.J. used the keychain remote to unlock the car, then opened her door for her. "I don't like how he treats you."

  Audrey slid on to the soft leather and waited until he got into the driver's seat before saying, "Not everyone was raised a gentleman like you. Besides, he's a medical resident. Things will get better once he goes on fellowship."

  "Uh huh." J.J. pulled the car out of the square and turned right. Audrey wondered how to continue the conversation, but decided not to. J.J. liked to be overprotective.

  But what if he's right?

  Audrey rolled down the window to let the air in to cool her cheeks and distract her from her doubts. The Bartlett pear trees, red at the top, yellow in the middle, and green on the bottom, ruffled in the breeze, which carried hints of chilly nights to come. She took a deep breath, savoring the autumn smells: dried leaves, wood smoke…

  Wood smoke? It's warm to be running a fireplace.

  The aroma disappeared.

  The car carried her through the neighborhood and past a small park, where someone had dug up the bed in the middle to plant a flat of pansies. The flowers sat by an abandoned set of tools, and the red clay stood out against the still-green grass, a gash in the earth.

  Audrey's vision tilted, and dizziness made her grab the door handle to anchor herself. She'd seen something like that recently. The memory tickled at the back of her mind. That's where I heard the cry the first time. But it had all been a dream…

  "My baby!" A distraught woman in tan robes screamed and looked into a pit of fire. Hands held her back from jumping in.

  Audrey blinked, and the scene faded. It had only been a dream, a vivid dream. So why had her stomach knotted just thinking about it?

  "Audrey? Audrey!" J.J. shook her shoulder, and she realized they'd pulled up in front of her duplex.

  "Sorry, daydreaming." Or day-nightmaring.

  He didn't release her. "You look like you're coming down with something. Maybe you should just take the night off from everything, even Kyle."

  "I'll think about it." She hoped he didn't see how she had to clutch at the door to keep her balance when she got out of the car. He didn't say anything, so perhaps not. She waved as he drove away.

  "Someone took my baby! My baby girl!"

  The cry reverberated through Audrey's head and faded into throbbing pain. She'd managed to distract herself after her weird morning. But now that she had time to take a nap, she couldn't get the sound of sobbing out of her head. Listening to music hadn't blocked it. Talk radio only made it worse—no surprise there. She rolled over and clutched her pillow to her face, willing away the sensation that someone stood just out of view and watched her attempts to sleep.

  Why won't this dream go away? She hit the pillow in frustration and opened her eyes. The clock said three fifty-four. Kyle would arrive soon for coffee, which she had brewed. Maybe. If the afternoon didactics hadn't run long. If he didn't get caught up in conversation with his fellow medical students. And if the sleep lab wasn't totally booked.

  "If, if, if. And I have a major headache, so I'm totally justified in eating all the cake. Right, Athena?"

  Athena the calico cat meowed, and Audrey scratched her behind the ears. After deciding a change of scenery might help, she and the cat both curled up on the sofa, and the cat's purring had almost lulled Audrey to sleep when she got a text from J.J.

  "Have a bad feeling about tomorrow's article research. Don't go to Bistro Moderne."

  "Now you're just being weird," Audrey texted back. "No one's blown my cover yet."

  "Trust me on this one. There are more secrets than just yours."

  "Huh, I wonder if this has anything to do with the cop at Java Lemur." She once again wracked her brain for any connection her decade-older stepbrother could have with a cop, but came up with nothing but the vague sense she didn't know J.J. as well as she thought.

  Athena pushed her head under Audrey's hand.

  "I'm talking to you a lot these days, huh, Athena? I need a normal man in my life, not a paranoid, overprotective stepbrother or a distant boyfriend."

  As if on cue, her phone buzzed with a text from Kyle. "Can't make it. Too much work. C U tomorrow?"

  Audrey hesitated before replying. Two could play at this game. But she hated to be the jealous girlfriend. Medical residency was intense, but there was a major payoff at the end of all the training. She'd get through it with him, not make it more difficult.

  With a sigh, she replied, "Don't work too har
d. Tomorrow's tight."

  "Will call u." Then a kissy-face emoji.

  Would he? Or would it be another day of excuses? She silenced her phone and flopped on her back. And that's why I need sleeping pills, even if they do cause weird dreams. Maybe I'll dream up a solution for what to do with my screwed-up life.

  Lieutenant Damien Lewis looked around and, not noticing anyone paying attention to him, leaned against the desk in the emergency room. He'd just dropped off another live but disoriented Jane Doe. Exhaustion made his arm heavy, but he checked his watch so he'd have the correct time for the report. Yep, three in the morning, just like the last one. This girl had given him a scare, too. At first glance, she'd looked like his coffee shop girl with her slight build, brown hair and big eyes, but Jane's eyes were dark brown rather than bright green, and she didn't have a point to her ears.

  "Got another one for us, Damien?" asked Arthur Rizzo, the E.R. doc in charge that night and Damien's sometimes poker buddy. He'd also been the one to recommend the coffee at Java Lemur.

  "Yes," Damien straightened and told Rizzo. "Just like the last two."

  "So that would be what? Disoriented, not sure of where they are or who they are, but with no sign of trauma or drug intoxication? But coherent enough to say yes when you asked if they wanted help?"