Page 81 of Deadly Target (Rocky Mountain Courage 2)

THIRTY-FOUR

Since Erin had read the comment, her legs had continued to tremble. Her hands shook too. She had to get her composure before she headed over to Main Street Thrift Shop to see Mom. Though maybe accosting her at work wasn’t the best idea, Erin had to talk to someone. Mom hadn’t answered Erin’s calls or texts, but she could be busy. She loved her volunteer work and giving back to the community. Erin hated to shatter both their worlds.

She grabbed her purse and headed out the front door, rushing right into Nathan. Surprised to see him, though she shouldn’t have been since he’d planned to stop by, Erin yelped and took a step back.

“Whoa, whoa.” He gently gripped her arms. “Erin, what’s wrong?”

She couldn’t breathe and gulped for air. “I need to get to Mom.”

“I don’t think you’re in any condition to drive. I’ll drive you, but is your mother okay? What’s going on?”

Erin shook her head. Maybe she wasn’t in any condition to talk to her mother either. She stepped back into the house, and Nathan followed her. He urged her to the kitchen table and pulled out a chair for her to sit.

“I’ll get you something to drink,” he said.

Erin stared at her shaking hands. Fisted and refisted them.

She had lost control. What good was being a psychologist if she couldn’t maintain control?

The Seattle detective’s call tangled up with the eerie comment on her podcast. Once again, she struggled for breath.

Nathan glanced at her, concern carved into his features. He set a mug of hot water with a tea bag in front of her. “It’s green tea. That’s all I could find. Calm down and tell me what’s got you so upset.”

She tried dragging in air to calm her frazzled nerves and shook her head when the words wouldn’t come.

Nathan gently took her fingers and rubbed them. “You’re having a panic attack. This is just the culmination of the last few hours. I never should have told you anything. That’s all on me. Relax, Erin. You don’t need to be involved in my investigation anymore.”

“No. You don’t understand.”

Nathan bolted from the chair and started looking through cabinets and drawers. “Found it.” He pulled out a small paper sack and handed it over. “This will help you breathe.”

Just like old times.

Erin had had a few panic attacks years ago, and Nathan remembered what she needed.

She breathed into the sack so the mixture of gases, oxygen and carbon dioxide, would balance out. Then she dropped the sack. Finally, she could talk. “This isn’t about your investigation. I’m not going to be able to calm down until I talk to my mother. I can’t get her on her cell.”

“I’ll call the thrift store and have someone locate her and bring her here. Please tell me what’s going on. What happened?”

Nathan’s cell rang, but he ignored it.

“That could be the detective calling you.”

“What detective?”

“Munson from Seattle.” Erin rubbed her arms and shared with Nathan what the detective had said.

Nathan studied her but said nothing as the furrow in his brow deepened. He scraped a hand down his face and leaned back. “I can see why you’re so upset.”

No, he couldn’t because she hadn’t told him everything.

“So you have no idea what happened back there? What it’s about or why someone would have tried to harm you?”

“It could have been about Carissa and had nothing at all to do with me. Except...”

He leaned forward again and placed his hands on the table as though he would reach across and take hers, but he didn’t. “Except what, Erin?”

“My nightmare, what I’ve been running from for years ... I think it’s found me.” This part would hurt Nathan more than anything.