Page 14

P orter’s words kept Kylie occupied as she pondered the vagaries of serial killers and her aunt. Her aunt was an enigma. Agatha was somebody Kylie never understood at all growing up, and the woman had gotten colder and more locked down the older she got. Even now, Kylie didn’t have any answers. She finally stirred from her thoughts when she noted Porter pulling into a driveway, but not one that she knew. “Where are we?” she asked, as she looked around. “Why are we here?”

“This is a friend’s house,” he replied.

“So we’re visiting at this hour?” she asked, her tone incredulous as she stared at him.

“No, this is where we’re staying. My friend’s out of town, and he’s totally okay with us bunking here for a few days.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to deal with a serial killer at our front door every ten minutes when we need sleep,” he explained. “And this will buy us a little bit of time to get another plan in order.”

“What you said about Hogan, about him keeping my aunt alive, is just wishful thinking.”

“Maybe.” He hopped out, walked around, and opened up her door.

She stepped out, thanking him absentmindedly, as she tried to organize her thoughts. “I don’t get it at all. I recognize that you seem to think you did something to stop him from shooting me.” His lips quirked at that. “But there is also the consideration that now—twice—he has also left me alive.”

“Ah, I wondered when you would realize that.”

She glared at him. “I don’t play games, Porter. Don’t test me, thinking I’ll come up with answers. Be honest with me. Feel free to jump in anytime.”

He chuckled. “I jump in a lot, and you usually get mad at me.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I suppose I do. It’s not exactly easy to be resilient and roll with the punches right now,” she muttered.

“No, it isn’t, but none of this is easy.” He walked her around the car, out of the garage, and into the house.

“You really think we’ll be safe here?”

“We will be for a while,” he said cheerfully. “Unless you have some tracking device on you.”

She stared at him. “What? I wouldn’t even know what that would look like or who would be adept enough to plant that, much less why.”

“It’s the why that always gets me,” he murmured, as he stared at her with a quirky grin in his face. “But come on, let’s go get some sleep.”

“Sleep would be lovely,” she muttered. She followed him into the house and found it to be truly beautiful. “Your friend is quite lucky to have this place.”

Porter nodded. “Yes, he is. He’s also worked for it for quite a while. This is his solace area. I think that’s what he would call it. It’s his man cave, but he just wanted a space where he felt completely at home.”

“Yes, I can see that. It’s hard to be out in the world all the time and not have a personal space to call your own.”

He smiled as he walked into the kitchen, dropped his keys, then faced her. “The bedrooms are upstairs. I know we didn’t bring bags with us, but we can always make do without for tonight.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “That’s hardly an issue tonight, and you’re right. Sleep would be the better option, but you realize it’s still early, right?”

He nodded. “I do, but you’re also very tired, and I can see it clear as day. So let’s grab some shut-eye while we can. Then we’ll order in some food and go from there.” He led her upstairs, as she slowly made her way up, noting just how exhausted she really was. Somehow even navigating the stairs was a challenge.

“How come I’m so incredibly tired now?” she whispered.

“Honestly, I’m not sure.”

An odd element filled his tone, and it irked her immensely. “And if you do know something, don’t tell me about it right now,” Kylie ordered. “I have enough to deal with.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, my thoughts exactly.”

She groaned as she made her way to the last of the rooms and asked, “Here?”

“Sure, that sounds good. Three bedrooms are up here, so we’ll take the two spares. I’ll be right next door.” He walked her into the bedroom, so she could see where she would be sleeping.

The great big bed called to her. Kylie groaned. “I won’t do anything but crash.” Not sure what was going on, she was fully aware that her energy levels were dropping. As soon as she got to the bed, she collapsed down face-first.

“Are you okay?” Porter asked.

She waved her hand and whispered, “I just need sleep.” She didn’t understand it, but something, something inside was draining her at a rapid rate, and she was crashing so fast that she had no time to say much. Within a matter of seconds, she was out.

*

Porter watched Kylie go completely under, wondering just what was going on and why she was crashing so fast. He pulled out his phone, deciding this was a question for Stefan. He’d barely had a chance to start dialing, when Stefan popped into his mind.

Something or someone has tapped her. I can feel her energy going down in waves. I just don’t know why or what .

I brought her to a place where I think she’ll be safe, so she can recharge. However, the closer we got here, and the minute she realized she could go to sleep, she just dropped completely .

I see that , Stefan noted, his voice calm. I’ll just run a quick scan and see if something is happening. Did you pick up anything?

Outside of the fact that something was very strange about her aunt, no .

And this aunt also has abilities, I understand?

That’s unclear at this point. Kylie has had theories both ways. I don’t really know the whole story, but I can tell you that some very funky things are going on, either with the aunt or with the whole story of the aunt’s involvement with Keefe Hogan. I don’t really understand it yet .

Okay, that’s good enough for now. I am sure we’ll sort it out .

Yeah, says you . Porter laughed . I can tell you that the aunt is not interested in sorting it out .

Which is also interesting .

Maybe, but I don’t understand anything about Kylie’s reaction right now, with this energy drain on her, so I’ll just stay close .

Definitely stay close. She might wake up in a very different mindset .

Meaning?

I don’t know , Stefan replied, his voice distant now, as if trying to sort out something. I need to contact Dr. Maddy. I’ll get back to you . And, with that, he disappeared.

Only Stefan could ever do that, and every time Porter interacted with the man, Porter realized just how much more potential there was in the realm of psychic abilities. Stefan always did something or showed Porter something that made him realize just how different life could be if everybody would use these gifts for good, as did Stefan.

Of course it was a very strange thing to consider, but Stefan was incredibly talented, and at the same time quite infuriating. Porter felt unable to help Kylie, when she was fading so quickly. Porter stared at her for a long moment, then stepped out of her bedroom, leaving the door open, his mind going to Stefan’s quick exit too.

Porter had first met Stefan at the institute where his sister had been committed. Porter quickly realized that Stefan was a lifeline out of the madness that Annalise had suddenly found herself in. Porter’s sister responded so beautifully whenever Stefan was around. Porter had become increasingly aware that Stefan and Annalise shared on a level that Porter didn’t really understand. Now that he did, it was pretty amazing to see. Stefan was in their lives, not all the time, but definitely sometimes. At least enough that he had been a huge help in times of crisis.

It was hard to argue with somebody who could do all the things that Stefan did on a regular basis, and who helped to the extent that he did. It was pretty amazing that Porter himself could even do what he had managed to learn. Only through his sister did he realize that the telepathic messages were the way Stefan had kept Annalise intact during all this—not only intact but following his cues. Thus she had survived the testing to get her out of confinement, where Stefan could then help her further. Through both of them Porter learned just how much of an issue it was to have people with psychic abilities caught in this mental health loophole situation.

Porter ended up working with Stefan to help his sister, who was an empath, and who felt way too much about the people around her. That had made her life so much more difficult, particularly when she was in an institution and could feel everybody’s pain and confusion and fear. But now that Annalise was so much better, Stefan had turned his attention to Porter, making him realize just how much he had helped his sister fine-tune and direct her own energy, saying that he had a similar gift that allowed him to do that.

To him it was just love, and Stefan had chuckled at that. “But that’s what everything good in life is born of, so intent is everything.”

It had helped Porter over the last few years to come to terms with a lot of things he did understand and could do, and he’d worked hard to expand and to open up his gifts. Therefore, when it came to his work and the crime scenes he was dealing with, he could pick up helpful bits and pieces with his gifts. He still had a long way to go to fully utilize those gifts, but it was something worth doing, so he was open to all kinds of advances.

He knew just from looking at her that Kylie had abilities and was locked down. Something incredibly weird was going on about her, but because he himself wasn’t all that much of a pro at it, he didn’t understand. He still didn’t understand how unique her own abilities were and exactly what she was doing because, in many ways, she didn’t know either. That was part of the thing he kept trying to bring up, but he wasn’t sure Stefan understood what he was concerned about.

A nod of acknowledgment came through his mind, which made him laugh because, if ever people would freak out, it would be when someone was in their heads, letting them know they heard and understood their personal thoughts. That was just another unique thing about Stefan that made everybody look at him sideways, at least those who knew about him. Porter’s sister couldn’t say enough good about Stefan because of all the help he had given her, and, in his own way, Porter agreed. Something had been very life-changing about meeting Stefan. Life-saving, perhaps. It was a moment that changed his world forever. Porter just needed a little more help to figure out what was currently going on with Kylie.

He wandered back downstairs, put on a pot of coffee, sent a text to his buddy, saying they were in the house and thanking him for the hospitality, and got a quick thumbs-up in return. Then again it was expected, as he’d also helped his friend out once when his friend’s sister had been in rough shape. You never really knew who your friends were going to be, but a lot of them for Porter had come from work, from the work he’d done to help others. There had to be something good about that.

With a cup of coffee in hand, he wandered around the house, keeping an ear tuned to Kylie, wondering just what was going on and how that aunt of hers was involved in all this. He did see the same fear on Aunt Agatha’s face that he had seen on Kylie’s. He didn’t have the same detachment that Kylie had, which was interesting. But, for Kylie, this was a woman who had raised her in a negative, cruel, and isolating way, then kicked her out the minute she turned eighteen. Kylie had made the break and didn’t want anything more to do with Agatha, which was understandable, and yet there was more to it than that. Porter just wasn’t sure what. Had the aunt been protecting Kylie?

That would make sense in many ways, and yet, for such a cold-hearted woman, why would she have chosen to withhold affection from an innocent child, unless she just couldn’t handle any more loss herself? Of course he could drive himself mad by creating scenarios that would fit, yet still they may not be true, since he didn’t know all the information. The fact that the latest victims were connected and potentially were killed by the same guy stalking Kylie just meant that the stalker was afraid he had been seen, and that was a loose string the killer couldn’t afford to leave. It also meant that, after he’d been forced to kill the senator’s daughter, he followed his true target to her home and killed her there, but then what?

Then the killer had been a busy little bee finding Kylie and then her aunt. Yet our serial for-hire killer again had left both of them alive. Was the killer losing his touch? That possibility would probably drive Porter absolutely crazy because the killer was only as good as his skill level, and Porter wasn’t sure that the skill was even there at the moment. Maybe the killer had come out of retirement for this. Maybe the payout was so big that it was worth the risk. Or maybe it was something entirely different. Porter just didn’t know. All he had so far was supposition. He preferred to get solid answers to his questions, but those would only come from the killer himself—Keefe Hogan.

Porter would not call him Keefe but Hogan, in order to depersonalize his actions. Something was so horrific about somebody who could kill and not give a crap. Hogan’s scary gaze when Porter had seen him at Kylie’s place would not leave Porter’s memory anytime soon. Yet Hogan’s gaze had also been filled with a strange curiosity and wonder. Porter didn’t understand his impetus to tell Hogan that he was potentially family to Kylie. It had certainly shocked Hogan, and he’d taken off, which was great and was Porter’s ultimate intention. Still, he didn’t have an answer for Kylie herself as to why Porter had even offered that suggestion.

On the other hand, his comment did make him wonder if there could be such a connection. It didn’t make a lot of sense, but as he kept going around the same circle again and again, a whole lot didn’t make sense, and that was the reality of the situation right now.

Hearing a sound, he walked to the bottom of the stairs and listened. It sounded as if Kylie was having nightmares, which was no surprise. Nothing about this case would let anybody sleep easy for quite a while. Having Hogan, the killer, find and enter Kylie’s home, then find her aunt at her home as well was horrific. Porter found it hard to sort it all out because he didn’t really trust anything about Hogan and Aunt Agatha at this point.

With coffee in hand, Porter slowly walked up the stairs, wondering if Kylie would stay asleep or if she was rising already. She’d only been down for about half an hour. Yet, if she was powering up, that was probably all she would get.

He stepped closer to the bedroom, hearing her speak in a low tone. He drew closer and peered around the doorway to see she was sitting up, waving her hands, as if having an animated conversation with someone. Her eyes were open and yet not focused, as if seeing something in particular.

He listened to the conversation in amazement.

“I know. I get it, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to do about it,” she snapped. “I don’t understand any of this.… Why, why are you here? Why are you tormenting me?”

His breath caught in the back of his throat as he realized she was talking to somebody, potentially the killer, and yet Porter saw no sign of Hogan. Porter sent Stefan a telepathic message. Are you getting this?

Stefan popped back into Porter’s brain. Yes, this is interesting .

Interesting? Is that what you call it?

Yes, it is what I call it. I don’t know what—Is she talking to Hogan?

She’s talking to somebody, and she appears to know him well, but I don’t know why. Do you think she is aware that she’s doing this when she’s asleep?

I don’t know . Stefan sounded confused, with wonder in his tone too.

Do you think she has tapped into talking with the killer? Porter was not letting it go, and it was not doing him any favors either.

It’s possible. You’re asking me questions I don’t have answers for. You can try to work it out yourself .

What am I supposed to do?

Listen to the conversation and see if you pick up anything helpful .

Great , Porter muttered. Somehow I don’t think she’ll like that .

Has this happened before?

You expect me to know this? I barely know her. Hell, what do I know? If she’s doing this at night, it would explain why she wakes up so exhausted .

That’s possible .

And is it every night or is this just a one-off of Hogan having a conversation with her?

Stefan hesitated. Meaning?

I’m just wondering if she contacted him or if he’s contacting her .

A ghostwalker? Stefan asked.

I don’t know. I didn’t even know there was a name for that .

Yeah, multiple names, depending on what Hogan’s abilities are. Yet it would explain why he can ghost in and ghost out of people’s lives .

I was thinking about that. He killed this other woman, and we can pin it on him. I’m just wondering if he came out of retirement for that job .

Interesting thought , Stefan noted, suggesting that he ran out of money and needed it or that somebody begged him to do this job, as if nobody else would be able to—maybe playing on his vanity .

I don’t know, but why would he suddenly come back after being dormant for so long?

In our business, we know that serial killers have patterning, where they often go quiet—asleep, so to speak—and then pop back up again .

I know, but this latest kill of Hogan’s feels very different, and that makes me wonder how long Kylie has been speaking to Hogan .

I’m hearing something in your tone that says you have a theory, but it’s one you don’t like .

I don’t like anything that involves Hogan in Kylie’s life, but then what are the chances… No, no, she wouldn’t do that .

Don’t be surprised at what she can and cannot do at this point. You’re also assuming that whatever she’s doing is coming from her full awareness, but this is her subconscious at work. So, if she is in any way split over something or has some issue in her life —

Which she does , Porter interrupted. That aunt of hers is something else .

Right,… so, if Kylie’s conflicted, looking for answers, but not sure about it and unable to get an agreement from her conscious mind, her subconscious mind could easily be going in and dealing with this, without her even knowing about it .

Good God, isn’t it bad enough we have this violent shit going on all the time without having to deal with the fact that our own subconscious mind might be betraying us?

It’s not a betrayal , Stefan clarified. It’s a question of who has the dominant force here and what is the intent and actual will of the person? You must keep that in mind. The subconscious is only following orders. The conscious mind is often the one that plays the bad guy and makes it look as if it’s doing one thing, yet the subconscious is doing something completely different .

How is that any better?

It’s not better. It just is. Think about all the people on diets, who then sabotage their own efforts by eating secretly at nighttime or in some dark closet where nobody can see them. They know perfectly well what they’re doing. They agreed to go on a diet. They agreed to whatever those new circumstances are. Yet they can’t seem to help themselves from going into the closet and from secretly eating every piece of chocolate they can find .

Right, but, Stefan, this is hardly the same thing .

It’s hardly the same thing, and yet it’s exactly the same thing , Stefan stated. It’s a split, a disassociation between one part of her psyche and another part .

So, you’re saying that she could be doing something that is hurting her because another part of her wants something out of this?

In a weird way, yes, but I don’t think they would be trying to hurt her. In this case, I think a part of her is just too scared to cause trouble, and the other part of her knows that a resolution is needed and has taken it upon itself, but —Stefan listened in on the conversation she was having, but it seemed to be going over and over the same issue.

“You keep saying that I know what’s going on, but I don’t. I don’t know what’s going on at all,” she declared, her tone harsh.

Stefan noted, She doesn’t understand, and she’s looking for an explanation, but the other person she’s talking to is not giving her any answers either .

How can she still be asleep? Porter asked Stefan.

Check out her eyes. She’s not really awake. She’s not there. She’s in this very active lucid dream .

Yes, but a lucid dream is literally still dreaming .

Stefan laughed. Yes, until you get into psychic phenomena, and then anything goes .

What if she’s talking to the killer?

That’s possible, but he doesn’t seem to be acknowledging her. So then you have to wonder if this is all in her imagination. Either that or, since he keeps saying that she already knows, it’s possible that she is deliberately withholding information from herself because it’s too horrific or because she has blocked it, even the horror of it .

I don’t understand all these vague potential answers. Good God, is it always this nebulous?

No, not always this nebulous , Stefan replied, a smile in his tone. We will get the answers, but they’ll come in her time frame, not yours. You want answers now, and clearly she does too, which is why she’s trancing at night into these conversations. Yet it’s likely she is not aware of her internal debate or these night talks either. If this is her subconscious reaching out to the killer on an energy level, you have to wonder at the skill level she has. If she’s doing this unconsciously, imagine what she could do with some control , Stefan pointed out. And she probably has no clue that she has this skill .

But why wouldn’t she be aware of it? Porter asked in frustration. Look at her. She’s flipping unbelievable. Have you seen the drawings she does, the things I’ve seen her pull out of nowhere?

Exactly, and then you have to wonder why she isn’t using those skills .

I don’t think she understands that they can really be of value. I almost feel as if, some days, it seems logical to her, and then, other days, it doesn’t .

Yes, I would say that’s quite true .

I have to confess that, at times, I’ve thought she was just playing games , Porter admitted.

I don’t think she’s playing games at all. I think that probably some programming is in there that’s still very dominant, and she hasn’t managed to free herself from it yet .

And now I’ll ask what that means .

Stefan laughed. It just means that her mind is working free of something that has held her back for a long time. Whatever block or programming is holding her back is still in place and hasn’t allowed her to move forward, to be true to herself, even to face her own traumas .

So, are we talking about an actual block?

Sometimes, yes. I’ve had to use blocks myself on patients, patients who are so far gone, so damaged that they couldn’t function with all these bad memories in there .

Such as, her being in the car when her parents and the twin babies were killed?

Exactly. She was what? Three or four? Those memories are there. We just don’t know if it could be something the killer might have said to her at the time, and then, every time she sees him, it triggers the memory block .

So, as soon as these memories are released, then what?

It could bring her abilities into high focus. Her gifts could be revealed by anything really, not just about tearing down a block .

Porter watched as Kylie twisted her earring, something of a habit for her. That earring bothers me , Porter shared.

Stefan went silent for a moment. What earring?

It’s in her left ear, tucked up under her curls. It’s just a simple metal stud, but she’s constantly playing with it. She’s also very adamant about having her favorite drawing pencil with her. It’s always in her pocket. It’s short, so fits anywhere. Sometimes it seems as if, should she not have that pencil, she couldn’t draw .

That is also very interesting .

We all have certain amulets or lucky charms that we think make life easier for us to do what we do. Some people lock in their energies on it, and, for other people, it’s just a tool that makes them feel good, so they can complete their work. You can have a favorite pen, a favorite sweater. Whatever you have is something that works well for you, so you want to use it continually. Sports guys have favorite socks or whatever. It could be something as simple as that. Maybe the earring is more than that to Kylie .

At that, Stefan laughed. That’s why you have so many of these unanswered questions because you keep coming up with all these scenarios .

Maybe . Irritated now, Porter tried to shrug it off.

If it bothers you, I suggest you ask her .

Yeah, I need to. I just can’t imagine why the earring would be important, and yet I can see that it is to her .

Nothing else matters then, because if it is important, that’s all there is to it. Just accept it and move on, unless you are thinking Kylie has another reason for it. Are you? Stefan asked, his tone curious. I can see where your mind is going with this, as if the earring and the pencil are some connection to something, but I don’t know that you’ll get an answer quite so easily from Kylie .

Maybe not, but just standing here and staring at her is definitely unnerving .

It is, and you’re only staring at her because you want to know what’s going on. How will she feel, knowing you’re listening in on this nighttime conversation?

Not good, I presume. When I tell her what she was doing, she will probably want to know exactly what she said .

That’s a good point too. You’ll have to go by feel on this. I can’t advise you because I don’t understand a lot of how she’ll feel .

It could go either way, if you ask me .

I suggest you record her for proof. If anything else should develop, let me know .

And, with that, Stefan left his mind, leaving it not with the sense of barrenness that he often did. It was almost as if a resounding gap closed every time he left, but this time it was a soft close, as if a door had just gone click .

Almost at the same moment, Kylie turned her gaze toward him and then jolted awake. “Oh my God.” Her hand went to her chest. “You scared me.”

He smiled and approached slowly. “And yet you’re sitting up, so I thought you were awake.”

She looked around and frowned. “I am, aren’t I? I wonder why? Maybe I heard you coming,” she suggested, staring at him. “How long have you been there?”

“I’ve been here long enough to hear you have quite a conversation.”

She stared at him. “A conversation? No way.” She shook her head. “I don’t talk in my sleep.”

“I won’t say you didn’t talk in your sleep. I’m just telling you that you were having a hell of a conversation with somebody. It was quite a fascinating experience honestly. You kept asking him why he was here again, but I couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation. Yet it seemed as if he was saying that you already knew why because you kept saying, No, don’t keep telling me I know because I don’t .”

She stared at him, her hand still on her chest. Then she slowly sank back down on the bed, until she could stare up at the ceiling. “I don’t remember any of that,” she muttered hoarsely.

“I know, and I wondered whether I should have listened in or I was invading your privacy. I didn’t want to do that, but I was afraid that, if I didn’t give you an idea of what it was you were trying to say, it would bother you even more.”

“You mean, even more than hearing one side of a conversation?” she asked, with a startled half laugh, half cry. She kicked off the covers and slowly sat up, wincing, as she made it back up to vertical.

“Take it easy,” Porter said. “Whether you remember the conversation or not, an awful lot of energy was moving around.”

“Sure, that’s what energy does. It moves.”

“It does, indeed,” he agreed, “and, if you’re ready to get up, I’ve got coffee on downstairs.”

“I’m still so tired,” she grumbled, as she rubbed her temples.

“If you think about it,” he suggested, with a note of humor, “I’m not sure you got any sleep because you really were talking the whole time.”

She got up slowly and headed to the bathroom.

When she stepped out, he assessed her critically and then nodded. “That seemed to help.” Her face was still a little damp, the tendrils of hair at her temples curling after a quick wash of her face. He smiled. “Now, how about some coffee and food?”

“Maybe,” she murmured, as she headed toward him, walking carefully.

A little too carefully for his peace of mind. “You’re really not feeling that well, are you?”

She shook her head. “I’m not sure what’s going on.”

“Let’s go downstairs and see whether you’re okay to be down there for a bit or it’s something much more serious.”

She laughed. “It’s not more serious. If anything it’s just a headache. What else could it be?”

“Blocks,” he replied.

She froze at the top of the stairs, turning to look at him. “What do you mean by blocks?”

“Either blocks you yourself put in place that may be getting rattled and ready to release or blocks that somebody else put in place in order to make your life a little easier. Yet they might be coming apart right now.”

She grabbed the railing and slowly walked down the stairs, without saying anything.

He never quite knew from her reactions just how she was taking the new information, so he waited until she got to the bottom. “Does any of that make sense?”

“It makes sense for other people, but not for me.”

It was such a typical response for her that he burst out laughing. She looked over at him, and, instead of glaring, she grinned, and it made him realize how much progress she had made. “Any idea who could have put a block in place?”

She shrugged. “Could have been anybody, I suppose. I was a pretty traumatized little girl, so it makes sense for anybody—whether a therapist, a doctor, a neighbor, whoever—who saw what I was going through.”

“So, it doesn’t bother you? I would have thought it would have freaked you out.”

She shrugged. “And it might have, if I felt that sense of being freaked out, but it feels…” She stopped in the hallway, as if considering exactly what she was feeling. “It feels right.”

“That’s good.” Porter pointed toward the kitchen. “At least that allows you to come to terms with it.”

“Not exactly sure what to come to terms with,” she noted, “but it doesn’t feel as if I should be panicked about it. And maybe that’s after having some sleep and a chance to rethink what was going on.”

“Maybe,” he murmured, looking at her cautiously.

“I won’t explode,” she said, glancing over at him. “You do seem to be a little worried.”

“I am a little worried,” he admitted. “A lot of stuff is going on. So, between your conversations in your sleep and the mention of blocks shifting, it’s a lot.”

She just nodded.

He poured her a cup of coffee, and, as soon as she had that, she carried it out to the living room and sat down on the couch, tucking her knees underneath her.

He gave her a few minutes to relax and to settle into the sensation of being awake. Just when he was about to say something, she spoke.

“Thank you.”

He looked at her. “For what?”

“For giving me a few minutes to collect myself. I know you’re looking for answers, and, once again, I don’t really have any.”

“Maybe not,” he conceded, “but I think things are about to start unraveling in ways that you may not expect.”

“Oh, I get that too,” she murmured. “It feels as if something is there, something momentous. I just can’t tell you what it is.”

“And you don’t have to right now. Hell, maybe we won’t get any details,” he noted, “but getting some would at least help you a lot.”

“You’re probably right.” She took a deep breath and then slowly raised her arms and stretched her neck and shoulders.

He wasn’t sure what to do with this much-calmer person, and he didn’t know if it was just because she had gotten some sleep or if this was a result of any blocks.

“Now you’re looking at me weird,” she said, without even facing him.

He groaned. “It’s not that I’m looking at you weird. I’m just trying to figure out who this person is who’s sitting on the couch right now because I don’t think this conversation would have been received quite so easily a couple days ago.”

She pondered that and then nodded. “Another good point.”

“The way you’re even taking that comment makes me wonder.”

“Things definitely feel different. I can’t really tell you in what way everything feels different, but something does. Something has shifted, but I don’t know what that means. I feel as if something has been released. Not a release after I’ve been angry, but a release in the sense that something I’ve been fighting against for a long time isn’t there anymore.”

“I think that’s a good thing,” he murmured, as he sat down on the big easy chair across from her.

She smiled. “Maybe, and I do remember parts of that dream now, but not enough that I can give you details.”

He just nodded and kept an eye on her.

She sipped her coffee and relaxed even further. “I don’t even know whether I truly slept or had a short nap, as much as it restored something. I don’t know how to explain it, but it feels as if maybe some pieces were put together.” His eyebrows shot up, and she nodded. “I know. It sounds very strange.”

“It also sounds very good,” he stated. “Anything that makes you feel more whole is bound to be a good thing.”

She shot him a wry look. “And yet I highly suspect that whoever put in these blocks—if blocks are there—would have been my aunt.”

He studied Kylie and then nodded. “That makes sense. She was raising you, and she needed you to be a little easier to get along with and also less traumatized. So I guess it would make sense that she put them in there. Stefan did say that he uses blocks on some patients at times, just to get them to a point where they can get over their trauma.”

“Right,” she agreed, “because some of the things in my life just seem very distant. I can see them, but they’re not, how do I say it? They’re not something I’m emotionally invested in at this point in time. So it’s a little easier to contemplate. I’ll put the car accident in that category.”

“Of course,” he murmured. “So anybody who put a block in there to help you get over that…”

She smiled and nodded. “That would be a block I would thank them for. Yet I’m an adult now, and apparently something has decided to shake some of these blocks loose. The question is, what?”

He hesitated for a moment. “I don’t think it’s a what as much as a who .”

She glanced over at him. “You mean, this killer.” She frowned. “We keep calling him the killer. Isn’t his name Keefe or something?”

He faced her and nodded slowly, “Yes, Keefe Hogan.”

“Right.” She stared off in the distance. “I know what I’m about to say doesn’t sound very normal, but it feels as if…” She hesitated, as if not wanting to say it.

“Just spit it out,” Porter said, “because anything that helps right now will help in many ways.”

She smiled. “It feels as if he was at that car accident in some way. As if he came up and saw me, yet decided to let me live.”

“Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know.… Maybe he just felt as if he’d taken enough from me already.”

“And that’s possible. Remorse is real. Is that why he went into hiding afterward?”

“I don’t think he went into hiding afterward. I think that’s when he was caught and put in prison, right?”

“Yes.”

“Exactly, so maybe he saw something in me. Maybe he has his own abilities and recognized mine or something and didn’t want to take out a kindred soul.” She shrugged, picked up her coffee cup, and took a big sip. Smiling in appreciation, she shared, “Even the coffee tastes better now. Everything just feels different than it did before I went to sleep.”

He sat back and smiled. “I would take that as a good thing then, because, of all the things that I was expecting to hear from you, I can’t say it was this.”

“No,” she murmured. “I’m not even sure that the block has come off as much as it’s fading, giving me a chance to integrate lost knowledge and memories, with time to make it easier on me. I can see the car accident now, but it’s distant. I can feel the pain that my mother went through, but again it’s more distant.” Kylie shook her head. “All I can tell you is that, right now, everything feels off, but in a good way.”