Page 7 of No Time for Doubt
Her first instinct was to run, to scramble away from the fear and pain.She resisted, digging her fingers into the lawn—the soft,dryblades of grass—letting it all come into her, giving the bond room to expand and inform.
She wasn’t living her crisis, but Nell’s.
Relief and courage pulsed through her.Despite being taken off guard, she was in her strength now.She didn’t rely on procedure or incontrovertible physical evidence.She didn’t care that the things she knew weren’t admissible in court.She would and could help her client.Nell had extended such confidence and trust, Devyn simply refused to fail her.
The scene bloomed in her mind, a violent flower opening, releasing information instead of a fragrance.Her heart pounded in her chest, her breath shuddered in and out.Devyn struggled against the survival instinct to bolt and hide, determined to keep watch, to spot something helpful.
She shut out the noise, the movement, focused on her goal.
“What the hell are you doing?”
The detective’s voice reverberated like distant thunder, threatening her concentration.She sensed him reaching for her, but she almost had it.“Wait!”
In her head, the command was a shout.She couldn’t be sure how it sounded to him or if he heard her at all.She tried to shift out of his reach, but wasn’t fast enough.
The second his hand touched her arm, her vision of Nell’s ordeal disappeared.Devyn was ripped out of that space.Rough.Wrong.Sunlight blazed and she blinked against the brightness.A new pain lanced across her senses.Not remnants from Nell, but a deep hollow ache from the detective himself.
Her heartbeat—hers, not an echo of her client—stuttered, then raced.Her focus fractured and senses reeling, her stomach pitched and fell back to her butt.
She retreated, scrambling back from the man looming over her.He wouldn’t stay back.The mid-day sun was an angry halo behind his head.“Stay back.”It was a weak plea and she wished she could’ve made it a command.
He advanced.“What the hell?Did you fall?”Looking up and around, he hollered for a paramedic.But the ambulance had left when no patients were present.
Devyn waved off his next attempt to help, gathering herself.“Don’t touch me.”It wasn’t personal.Well, it was.For him.She didn’t want to invade his privacy.Had no interest in seeking out what troubled him.That would be rude, the kind of breach she’d been trained to avoid.A person’s thoughts were their own.Their feelings were their own.Just because she could look and know, didn’t give her the right to do so.Just because she could help without being asked, didn’t make that the best option.
Everyone had their own journey.The ups and downs were part of the process.Devyn’s purpose in life wasn’t to skip from one person to the next, smoothing out all the speedbumps.Who would grow if she did that?
“Listen, lady, you need to leave.”
“Yes.”Hadn’t she been trying?She pointed across the street.“I’m...”She dragged in another breath.“My car.”If she could get to her vehicle, she could safely close her eyes and recover.To search the fragment of that vision for clues.She managed to gain her feet.“Find Nell,” she said, her voice hoarse.“Please.”
“That’s what I’m doing,” Detective Laurier snapped.“Whole lot easier without distractions like you.”
“Of course.I’m leaving,” she promised.She’d play the agreeable, remorseful intruder.
For now.
Anything to get away from him and the dark fog swirling at his feet.Something was very wrong in his life, but he wouldn’t take a warning even if she could give it in a logical manner.
Right now, her mind was too jumbled, the information flowing to her too fast to separate his pending crisis from Nell’s current predicament.Her legs felt as if she were slogging waist-deep through mud.With every inch of distance from the detective, it got a little easier.She didn’t think that was a coincidence.
Finally, in the driver’s seat, she could breathe.She’d wait to drive until her hands stopped trembling.Until she could drive away with control and confidence.
She hadn’t seen it all, didn’t know exactly where the trail would lead, but she’d seen enough to start her own search.“I’m coming, Nell,” she whispered as she started the car.
One of the first lessons she’d learned with Marlene was that complete answers were rare, even for someone with her extensive gifts.It was often more important to make an effort, to take a step, before the next step became clear.
The shadows where Devyn sought her answers didn’t easily offer up information.In some instances, more than will and determination were necessary.As if the darkness where the answers lurked wanted proof of Devyn’s commitment and intent.
On cue, her cell phone rang, and she used the hands-free toggle on the steering wheel to answer.“Hi, Marlene.”
“You’re relying on the ringtone,” Marlene accused, not unkindly.“What’s wrong?”
“I am,” Devyn admitted.She and Marlene were close, connected in ways that defied any science-backed explanations.Their psychic gifts were different, but that only strengthened their bond.Marlene had surely sensed the upheaval moments ago when the vision had swamped Devyn.Even if she hadn’t, Devyn couldn’t effectively lie to her mentor.“A little bit of everything is off the rails right now.”
“Do you need me to look?”
Marlene’s gifts ran closer to prophecy than Devyn’s.For a moment, she wanted the security that a glimpse into the future could offer.Then again, the future was always in flux.“No, thanks.”
