THE NIGHTMARE BEGAN as it always did—on the edge of a road, with the rocky, brown hills behind him. Everything was familiar, but even though he knew what was going to happen, he couldn’t stop his heart from racing as he braced himself for the unfolding chain of events.
The open pickup rounded the corner. Jasper walked toward the driver to check his ID. Jasper’s men were already inspecting the truck. The details were all there—the chill in the winter air, the scent of distant cooking fires, the crunch of his footsteps on the gravel.
Even as he went through the motions, he tried to stop himself, warn his dream-self that there was danger. That there was going to be an explosion and—
A soft whine broke through his dream. Unexpected weight shifted on the bed, drawing him back to the present. He opened his eyes and found himself in his darkened bedroom, Koda stretched out beside him. The dog watched him anxiously.
“Hey you,” Jasper said, feeling his heart pounding and the sweat on his body. The physical manifestations of the nightmare weren’t that bad this time. Koda had awakened him before the really bad stuff started. Before everyone died.
He reached out and rubbed the dog’s head, then sat up so he could catch his breath. It was nearly dawn. Getting up made more sense than trying to sleep again. Safer. He leaned his head against Koda’s strong back and told himself it was just a nightmare. It wasn’t real—not anymore.
* * *
“WHEN DO YOU close on the house?” Jasper asked several hours later.
Garrick McCabe stretched out his long legs, picked up his beer and shrugged. “In ten days. I’ve never bought a house before. My real estate agent tells me it’s going really well, but I have to admit the amount of paperwork is staggering. Weren’t we supposed to be a paperless society long before now?”
Jasper grinned. “Try being self-employed. When I bought this place, I thought the bank was going to ask for a blood sample or something. I was lucky—I’d just signed a great deal with my publisher, so I dumped my advance into the down payment and that helped.”
“Makes sense. At least I have W-2s from the city to flash around. Plus, I think being a cop makes me a decent bet. The odds of me taking off and not making my monthly payments seem unlikely.”
Garrick was with the Happily Inc police department. Jasper knew he’d been born in the area and had grown up here. He’d moved to Phoenix to go to ASU and had taken a job with the Phoenix Police Department before moving back two years ago.
He and Garrick had gotten to know each other over games at The Boardroom. Jasper had asked for his help with a couple of details for one of his books and since then Garrick had been a part of the cadre of people Jasper called on to get it right for his characters. Just before the book tour, he and Garrick had gone off to a weekend conference in rural Virginia where cops came from all over to learn about new kinds of weaponry and body armor.
The front door to Jasper’s house opened and a familiar voice called, “Sorry I’m late.”
Koda stood and watched, his hackles raised.
“It’s just Cade,” Jasper told the dog. “You remember him, don’t you?”
Koda stayed on alert until Cade appeared. When he saw the tall man, his tail wagged and he walked over for a greeting.
“Hey, big guy,” Cade said, dropping into a crouch and petting the dog. “You’re looking good. You’ve put on more weight. Another month or so and you’ll be where you should be.”
He stood and nodded at his friends. “I see you started the party without me.”
“Go grab a beer and join us,” Jasper said, hoping he didn’t sound as nervous as he felt. He’d invited his friends over to read pages from his new book. Normally he only needed help with new fighting skills or police procedures, but this time was different. This time he had to deal with Mandy.
Vidar’s love interest, whom he’d named Mandy, was going to be the death of him. So far he’d written and rewritten their first scene eight times. In half, they already knew each other and in the rest, they didn’t. None of them had gone well. He really hated to send his agent crap if he didn’t have to so he was hoping his friends could give him some insights.