Shadows of Jane Read online

  “I wish I knew. That’s why I’m worried. She bailed because she’s scared, and now, I can’t find her.”

  Thunder cracked, and both men looked out the large bay window to see the rain falling in sheets as the dark of night settled in around them.

  “Is she outside? In this?”

  Colt rubbed a hand over his face in frustration. “Damn, I hope not. But she ran from the cabin, so there’s no telling where she went.”

  Brett studied his brother. He’d never seen Colt so upset over a woman. To anyone else, Colt would look cool and collected. But Brett knew him better. His jaw was doing that little twitch that signaled he was unhappy, and he couldn’t seem to sit still. Brett knew that meant he was impatient. He wanted to find Jane, and he wanted to find her now.

  “Hey, man. I don’t have anything going on for the night. I’ll help you look for her.”

  Colt glanced out the window again as the wind picked up and lightning flashed in a violent display. “We probably shouldn’t be out in this. It’s looking dangerous out there. I can’t help but worry about her though.”

  Brett gave his big brother a reassuring pat on the back. “We’ll let the scary stuff die down. We can’t help her if we get ourselves hurt.” Just then, a wind gust picked up and sent some of the lighter things in the yard rolling. “Or get killed by a tornado. That certainly wouldn’t be good for any of us.”

  It was Colt’s turn to reassure Brett. He’d been terrified of tornados since he was little boy. Anytime the wind got really bad, he’d seek Colt for assurance and comfort.

  “We can’t go out in this. We’ll wait until it passes and then look for her. She’s a smart lady. She’ll be somewhere safe.”

  Colt wasn’t sure who needed convincing more, but he wasn’t wrong about Jane being smart and resourceful. She’d be fine until he could get to her. She had to be.

  YET I FIND FRIENDS TO HELP ME UP.

  THEY HELP ME CATCH MY BREATH.

  Jane was exhausted.

  She’d been practicing with her gifts all night. Some things were naturally coming to her, but others were taking more work. She’d learned her emotions played a large part—not only in what she controlled, but also how intense the event would become. At times, she’d felt the power surging through her in such acute strengths that she feared it would completely consume her. She knew her lack of sleep and proper meals weren’t helping, but she wasn’t comfortable with returning to civilization—particularly Colt—until she was sure she would never lose control again.

  She sat on a fallen tree and pushed herself to try one more time. Her hands were shaking as she closed her eyes and visualized her fears. As always, the first thing she saw was Colt’s body sailing through the air, but in this instance, he didn’t land safely in the water. Instead, he landed on the bank, lying there in a broken heap. It made her stomach turn, but she knew she had to face her fears of hurting him, or anyone else, and then turn them to her advantage. She’d tried envisioning others, like Dr. Weston or Carol, but Colt always incited the strongest response, so it was natural to focus on that image.

  The weather had cleared hours ago, but as she worked through her emotions, she felt the wind stirring back to life and heard the distant claps of thunder. Fully immersed in her sorrow, she opened her eyes. Unlike her previous attempts, she could actually feel her anguish, as if it were a physical object. She glanced down at her hands. With one palm open to the sky, she wrapped her fingers around a dark mass that continually changed form.

  Bringing the object closer to her face, she studied it. It called to her, trying to draw her back into its depths, but this time, she refused to bow. She raised her other hand above it and took a deep breath. When she exhaled, she forcefully brought her palms together, attempting to crush the mass into oblivion. The moment she extinguished the fear, a blast emanated from her hands, shooting around her so savagely that it cleared several surrounding trees of their leaves and broke their limbs.

  She sighed in relief. She’d finally done it. She’d controlled and crushed her anxiety. It hadn’t been perfect, but if she continued to work on it, she knew she could eventually master these gifts.

  She smiled and blew out a shaky but exhilarated breath. That was when she first noticed something wasn’t right. Her hands were raw and looked slightly burned. Then, she felt something running down her neck. Reaching up to touch just under her ear, she felt a sticky wet substance. Pulling back her hand, she discovered blood.

  Jane frowned. She became light-headed and found herself clinging to the bark she was sitting on. The forest was starting to spin. She stood and grabbed another nearby limb to keep her balance. Using the trees to keep herself upright, she attempted to move herself toward the rising sun. She’d stashed her backpack in a log near a walking path, and she needed to get to it.

  As she stumbled closer to the path, the sun seemed to change directions. She shielded her eyes with her fingers, trying to see past the blinding light source. “What? How is that possible?”

  The intense light dimmed, and she dropped her hand but saw nothing. She could still see the sun in its natural position in the sky. Confused, she stepped forward once more, only to be blinded again by another ball of light. She tightly closed her eyes, begging the sudden pounding in her head to stop.

  Then, she heard voices.

  “Am I dead?” she thought aloud.

  “What? Hey, are you okay, lady?” Two young men were standing in front of her on the path.

  She nodded. “I don’t know.” She raised a hand to her head.

  “Oh, man, she’s bleeding! Marty, get that bandana out of my pack.”

  Marty quickly obeyed his friend. The next thing Jane knew, a cold and wet cloth was being pressed to the side of her head.

  “What’s your name? I’m Jake, and this is my friend Marty.”

  Jane looked at Jake. “I’m…I’m Jane.” Then, she saw the bright light once more, quickly followed by complete blackness.

  Jane woke up in a hospital bed. An IV was sticking out of one arm, and she had a pulse meter on one of her fingers. She blinked, looked around, and groaned.

  Not again!

  She was thankful that at least she didn’t have amnesia this time—or rather, any more than she’d had when she came in. She did have to admit that she had no idea how she’d gotten there. Her last memory was of not feeling well and trying to get to her backpack and then running into two guys walking along the trail.

  She frowned as she started to remember the odd lights that had faded in and out. If the guys who had helped her saw them, she hadn’t caught a visible reaction from them.

  She leaned her head back and looked at the ceiling tiles. Her head still hurt a bit, so she reached up to rub her temples. She was again besieged by the bright light, and her headache intensified.

  “Ah!”

  A nurse came pushing through the curtains surrounding her, concern on her face. “Are you okay, sweetie? Are you in pain?”

  Jane nodded, still rubbing her head.

  “I’ll go get the doctor and see what we can give you.” She hurried out of the little enclosure.

  Jane could hear voices, lots of them, all talking at once. She shook her head, trying to dislodge them somehow, but they continued. She heard a man talking about his injured leg. Another woman was asking if she had appendicitis. A small child was crying, and his mother was assuring him that the shot he was going to get would be over quickly.

  I’m in an emergency room. I can hear them all as if they were talking directly to me.

  The pain in her temples soared again, and she closed her eyes. Then, she heard a different voice, and all the other sounds faded into the background.

  “Alice? Alice, honey, you need to wake up. You need to go. Now.”

  A man’s face loomed in front of her, slightly out of focus. “I said, go. Now. You can’t stay here.”

  Her eyes flew open, and she felt the overpowering urge to leave. She reached down and took the pul
se monitor off and then pulled the IV out, not caring about the blood that started to run down the back of her hand. She carefully stood, testing her legs. She was thankful that she seemed to be capable of walking and that she was still dressed in her own clothing.

  She peeked through the curtains, watching two nurses strolling by on their way to an enclosure near the end of the area she was in. She glanced around, taking note that it must be a large hospital. It certainly wasn’t the emergency room Colt had taken her to. There were dozens of bays, just like the one she was in, and staff seemed to be everywhere.

  She didn’t care if they saw her. She was going to leave, and they wouldn’t stop her. They couldn’t. Determined, she pushed through the curtains and turned to her right, seeing the Exit sign above a set of double doors. She was only a few feet away when she heard a woman behind her.

  “Miss! Miss! You can’t leave yet. The doctor hasn’t looked at you yet! You have forms to fill out!”

  Jane just kept walking.

  “Miss! I must insist you stop!”

  Jane pushed through the double doors. Without looking back, she made a small flicking motion with her wrist, and the doors quickly closed behind her. She left the building and was crossing the parking lot when she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

  “Jane! Is that you?”

  She turned to see Lance jogging toward her. His smile was wide as he approached her.

  She smiled back brightly. “It’s good to see you, Lance!”

  “It’s great to see you! Are you okay?”

  She nodded. “Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  He glanced back at the doors to the emergency room. “Well, to be honest, I’ve been looking for you. A friend works here, and he called me, saying a woman fitting your description had been brought in earlier. I was worried, so I rushed down here.”

  She stepped closer and gave Lance a hug. “Thank you for caring. That’s very sweet of you.”

  He gave her a lingering hug back and shrugged in a slightly embarrassed manner.

  “Why were you looking for me?”

  Lance wanted to tell her, but the last person he wanted to talk about was Colt, so he only told her part of the truth. “I was hoping we could talk. I’ve been wanting to for weeks, but it never seemed to work out.”

  Jane didn’t know what they had to talk about, but it was nice to see a friend right now. “Sure. I’m guessing you have a vehicle here. Could we go somewhere else?” She nodded behind her. “I just kinda escaped, and I don’t think they are too happy with me.”

  Lance looked back at the doors just as two frustrated hospital employees emerged and then pointed at her. He grabbed her hand. “C’mon!”

  They ran, hand in hand, across the parking lot until they reached his car. He opened the door for her, and she hopped in. Then, he rounded the front of the car and jumped in the driver’s seat. He quickly pulled out of the parking lot, and Jane started laughing. Lance gave her a sideways glance as she held her stomach and tried to suppress her amusement.

  She wiped a tear from her eye. “I don’t know why that was such a big deal. You’d think I just escaped from Alcatraz or something. But, honestly, running felt good. It felt right.”

  Lance didn’t know what to make of that.

  She glanced at him. “I know. I’m not making sense. I promise, I’m fine. I just have some jumbled thoughts…and maybe…”

  He urged her on. “Maybe?”

  “Well, I wonder if I’m starting to remember some things. Maybe just a little.”

  Lance nodded. “That’s good, right?”

  She stopped to think about that. Was it good? She wasn’t sure. She hoped so, but somehow, she suddenly couldn’t get very excited about the prospect. A few days ago, she would have begged for any information on her identity. Today, she wasn’t sure if it mattered anymore.

  She changed the subject. “Can we go somewhere to eat? I’m starving. I don’t have much money on me, but I should have enough for a meal.”

  He nodded. “Absolutely. And keep your money. Lunch is on me.”

  He steered his car toward the highway and drove downtown, the opposite direction of the little town he’d called home all his life. He knew going back home would run the risk of running into Colt.

  Lance was thankful he’d found her, and he was going to take advantage of having her all to himself for as long as possible. He needed to make her forget about Colt, and that would take time. Today, he’d lay the foundation.

  Jane was enjoying a large plate of fried chicken and mashed potatoes. She felt like she hadn’t eaten in weeks. Lance was picking at a chef salad and watching her with amusement. She had been raving about how amazing the food was since her first bite.

  She glanced at the glass case near the counter, loaded with a variety of pies. “I wonder if their pie is just as good.”

  Lance smiled. “I guess we’ll have to find out.” He called a waitress over. “One slice of…” Then, he looked to Jane for a flavor.

  “Cherry. Cherry pie, please.”

  Lance nodded. “Cherry it is.”

  The waitress left to cut a slice of pie as Jane finished up the last of her potatoes and gravy. The pie arrived with a nice dollop of whipped cream on top.

  The waitress looked at Jane and grinned. “You’re such a cute little thing. I have no idea where you’re putting all that food, honey, but I sure wish I had your metabolism. All I have to do is look at a carb, and I gain ten pounds.” She handed Jane and Lance a fork and then removed his mostly empty salad bowl. “Enjoy, you two!”

  Lance looked at the fork and smiled. “Sorry. She must think—” He stopped himself. He’d wanted to use the word couple, but he was afraid if he’d said it, she’d deny it was possible. He didn’t want to hear that or give her a chance to feel uncomfortable with the idea.

  She expectantly looked at him. “Think what?”

  “Uh…she must think we are sharing.”

  “Why not? You were gracious enough to buy, and I’m not opposed to sharing dessert with you.” She winked and pushed the plate to the middle of the table where they could both reach it.

  Lance smiled and gestured for her to take the first bite. “After you.”

  She dug in and brought a large forkful to her mouth. Lance did the same. He looked up to see her licking the whipped cream off her lips, and they both started laughing.

  Then, she stopped abruptly and looked nervous.

  “What, Jane? What is it?”

  She continued to stare, and he realized she was looking over his shoulder. He glanced up to see Colt standing there. His eyes were trained on Jane. He seemed calm, but Lance could sense the underlying tension between them. Colt had yet to acknowledge his presence, but Lance felt sure that was by design. Anyone could see that Colt wasn’t happy that Jane was here with Lance.

  A small part of Lance reveled in knowing that, for once, Colt was on the receiving end of jealousy. Another part of him worried that Colt really was jealous, meaning he did indeed actually care about Jane. If that were true, he wouldn’t let Lance take her away from him without a fight.

  Jane summoned the courage to speak first, “Hi, Colt.”

  He continued to look at her, his features hard. “I was worried about you.”

  She sighed. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intent.”

  He turned his head just enough to look at Lance from the corner of his eye, and then he moved his attention back to her. “I think I see your intent pretty clearly.”

  Lance became irritated, “Now, wait just a minute, Colt!”

  Colt leaned down and put his face directly in front of Lance’s. “No, you wait a minute. Unless she’s filled you in on the intimate details of our relationship”—he gave her a pointed look with the question clear in his eyes, and she shook her head, so he turned back to Lance—“which she just confirmed she hasn’t, you don’t know what you’re walking into. I suggest you take a step back.”

  Lance narrowed his eyes at Co
lt. “Those details don’t matter to me. Jane is all I care about.”

  Colt stood up and crossed his arms, looking between the two of them. “You don’t even know her. How can you care about her?”

  “I know her well enough to know that she deserves better than you!” Lance was getting more furious with every moment.

  Colt glared at Lance. “You think you’re the better man? Prove it! Outside!”

  Lance stood and threw enough money on the table to cover the bill and tip, and then he followed Colt outside. Jane groaned and rushed out behind them.

  Both men were staring each other down, and they were just moments from one of them taking a swing. Without thinking, she stepped between them.

  “Jane, get out of the way,” Colt growled.

  “No, Colt! I’m not moving.”

  Lance spoke this time, “Jane, please move. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  She looked at Lance. “I don’t want you to get hurt either! I like you, Lance, and I would never forgive myself if Colt hurt you because of me!”

  Lance wasn’t a scrawny guy, but he was no match for someone the size of Colt. He knew that, but he wasn’t about to back down. He felt he was fighting for Jane’s honor. But after she’d practically said he wouldn’t stand a chance in hell, his fortitude faded a smidge.

  Colt, on the other hand, was barely keeping his temper in check. “You like him? What do you mean, you like him?”

  His jealousy was overriding his ability to think. Hearing her admit she liked Lance made him see red. She wasn’t supposed to like him. She wasn’t supposed to be here with him, sharing pie and laughing. None of this was how it was supposed to happen. She belonged with Colt.

  Colt moved to step around her, only thinking that she couldn’t spend time with a dead man. Lance reacted by standing a little taller and preparing for whatever Colt was ready to dish out. Jane wedged herself between them once more, and this time, she put a hand on each of their chests. She let her frustration seep through her fingertips, just enough that both men couldn’t move. They stood there, almost frozen in place by her touch. They both looked at her, puzzled.