
"He was your date?"
She nodded.
"Why?"
The question surprised Anna. "Why not? I had a faculty party to go to, and I don't like attending alone. I may not date much, but I do have friends." She hoped the haughty edge to her voice would discourage further discussion of her dating life, which was nonexistent.
"Next time take me. I don't like you putting yourself in jeopardy until I catch this killer."
"I've known Sloan for--months."
"Exactly. Not long enough."
"Longer than I've known you."
"True. But I'm the good guy, Anna."
"How do I know that for sure?"
"You don't. You'll just have to trust me."
"But you told me not to trust anyone."
"Then listen to your inner voice, the one that used to get you into trouble when you were growing up."
Scenes from her childhood taunted her. "You know about that."
"I told you, I know everything."
"Then you know I don't listen to that voice anymore." She shoved at him so she could stand, her anger building. He was opening an old wound best left covered.
He reluctantly let her get up. "You should. It's part of you."
She whirled about. "No, it isn't!"
"You may be the only one who can help your sister. I need you to use your talent--not go out with men you think your sister might have been involved with. Too dangerous."
Anna began to shake. She clasped her hands in front of her to still the quivering, but it quickly spread throughout her body. "I have no talent. And I'm not investigating on my own."
He was off the couch and in front of her so quickly she blinked several times. He grabbed her arms. "You have a great talent. When you were growing up, people didn't understand it."
"That so-called talent got a boy killed." She wrenched free and scrambled away from him, holding her hand out to stop him from coming toward her. "I want you to leave. Now."
"What's gonna happen when the killer comes after your sister again? Are you going to continue to hide behind your denial?"
The questions were spoken low, with an icy thread running through them that froze Anna. She remembered the voice inside her head at the faculty party. Plowing her fingers through her hair, she sank down onto the floor, curling her legs up against her chest and clasping them.