Escape To Sunset - Sharon Hamilton Page 0,28
I didn’t know any of the kids, so my dad repaired it, converting it into my special playhouse and I loved being there.” She looked up at Jason. “I felt safe there.”
He nodded. “That sounds like a happy memory, not the stuff of nightmares.”
“It is.” She shook her head. “I mean, it was. It was my sanctuary, and I’d hide there all day. What about you?”
“I used to have a pretend house, a fort, really. I made this special place in the foliage, cutting branches and making room for a private space only I knew how to get into. It had a winding path, completely obscured from the outside so I could sneak in there and watch people walk by, listening to them without being detected. I used to pretend I was on a secret mission.”
“Like you do now?”
“No, it’s completely different. But I guess the sneaking in and out is the same. I liked knowing I could be very quiet. Learned to hold my breath and avert my eyes so they wouldn’t know someone was there. I’d surprise little ground squirrels when they discovered my hiding place.”
Kiley took another sip and smiled. She wondered whatever had happened to that little house they left behind when they moved again. Her dad had strengthened it so well it was probably still there, she thought.
“I loved that garden. I had a bedroom that overlooked the yard and the greenhouse. The house had two upstairs bedrooms and two big attics, and while my parents and my brother slept downstairs, I had the whole upper floor to myself. One night, I locked myself in the attic and couldn’t get out.”
“What did you do?”
“I cried myself to sleep. I spent the night there. I woke up in the morning hearing my mother screaming, thinking I’d been kidnapped. I used to wake up remembering that when I was a kid. Hearing her scream was worse than being alone.”
He pressed his palm against her cheek. “I think under stress, perhaps part of that fear gets launched, like some kind of pattern. Don’t run away from it. Embrace it until it no longer makes you afraid.”
“Jason, I’m so sorry about this morning. I haven’t had that dream for years until this week. Not sure why it’s coming up now.”
“Well, look at the situation you’re in. I think it’s perfectly understandable, considering.” He examined his fingers curled in his lap. “It’s a form of stress. We’ve seen it on the Teams. As medics, we’re always on the lookout for someone who doesn’t get enough sleep or can’t sleep. Perhaps that experience held more trauma than you realized at the time.”
“Maybe.”
“That’s why I want you to consider carefully what you’re doing.”
“I have.”
“I know it’s what you’re telling yourself what you want to do, but is it really something you can handle, something that is healthy to be involved with?”
She was unclear about his intentions. Did he not understand how important it was for her to do something to save those victims? That she had the power to stop some of it. Surely he didn’t expect she could just walk away? Anger began to spread as her heartbeat kicked up.
“Are you telling me I should abandon my cause? Do you know what I’ve seen, uncovered? If I told you—”
“I don’t want to know, because I’m not supposed to be involved. But I can imagine. I’ve seen some pretty awful stuff too. We’re trained for that, or at least try to be. You’re a civilian. Don’t underestimate the effects of fear on the human body. Sometimes long-time criminals who get away get tired of looking over their shoulders and commit a crime just to be caught so they don’t have to live with the uncertainty of it. It takes lots of training to not allow your fears to make choices that might not be in your best interest. Think about that, Kiley.”
“I can handle it.”
But she could see he wasn’t convinced, and that bothered her. Maybe he didn’t believe in her abilities to finish her mission.
“Don’t you think I’m strong enough to deal with it?” she asked.
“How can you prepare for something you don’t completely understand? Did it occur to you that what you’ve stumbled upon is bigger than it appears on the surface? What if you’ve hit a hornet’s nest? Make sure you’re not spinning a fairy tale, Kiley. Very dangerous to underestimate the enemy. And it comes at you when you least expect it.”
“Now you sound like my editor. Although