Chapter Three
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CYRIL KNEW WHAT WAS happening within seconds.
He still had no idea how it was happening, but suddenly, he was seeing another room instead of the bedroom he’d fallen asleep in.
This one was distinctly feminine. The bedsheets had flowers, and the walls were a soft purple.
It was nice, soothing, which made what he knew was coming more horrifying.
The person—the woman—he was in was sitting on the edge of her bed. She looked down at her phone, and Cyril saw his name on the screen. He read the words he’d written to Diana. He didn’t need to see the tattoos on her arms to know that he was in her mind, which meant that she was about to die.
Cyril’s heart broke. He’d emailed her and had warned her to be careful, and she probably had been. She sounded scared enough to do whatever he cautioned her to do. It clearly wouldn’t be enough, though.
Cyril wished he could get out of Diana’s head, swim back to consciousness, and wake Vale up so they could run to her. He didn’t know if they’d be fast enough to get there before the killer got her, but at least they’d have a chance. They could try.
They would probably fail. Cyril wasn’t going anywhere. He didn’t know how this worked or why he ended up in people’s minds, and he certainly didn’t know how to get out of them. No matter how desperate he was, the only thing he could do was watch what was happening to Diana.
The sound of footsteps made Diana drop her phone.
She jumped to her feet and frantically looked around.
Cyril couldn’t hear what she was thinking, but he could imagine it all too well.
She needed an escape route, but she didn’t have one.
The only way out would be her window, so Cyril was relieved when she rushed toward it.
He already knew it wouldn’t be enough because if it was, he wouldn’t be here, but she was trying. She wanted to survive.
Just like Marcus had wanted to survive.
She opened the window and looked out. They were on the second floor of the house, with only empty space under them.
Diana would probably get hurt if she jumped, but that didn’t stop her.
She hooked one leg over the windowsill, apparently willing to throw herself down if it helped her survive, but before she could swing forward, something grabbed her from behind and pulled.
She and Cyril both screamed, although Cyril wasn’t sure how much of his scream was hers.
The man who’d grabbed Diana slammed her against the wall.
Cyril briefly saw stars, but then she was fighting back, screaming and scratching every inch of the man she could reach.
That didn’t seem to matter. The man slammed her against the wall again, then pressed against her back.
The only thing Cyril could see now was the wall, but he could feel.
He could feel the man’s breath on his cheek and the man’s body against his back.
He could hear every single one of their words.
“Why are you doing this?” Diana asked with a sob.
That seemed to give the man pause. He hesitated, but only for one second. “I’m doing it for you,” he murmured. His tone was almost gentle. “You’re changing, and it’s dangerous. I’m being merciful by doing this now instead of letting you suffer.”
“You’re not merciful. You’re a monster.”
“Maybe, but so are you.” The man yanked Diana’s head back. Even though Cyril knew what was coming, he still screamed again.
And woke up in his bed.
* * * *
VALE JERKED AWAKE WHEN he felt Cyril sit up. Cyril hadn’t been making noise, but Vale’s sleep had been light tonight, probably because he’d expected something like this to happen. He’d hoped it wouldn’t, but he knew what it meant when Cyril woke up in the middle of the night like this.
“Diana?” he asked, already reaching out for Cyril.
Cyril quickly nodded. He allowed Vale to hold him close for just a few seconds before pushing him away and scrambling out of bed. “We need to go to her.”
Since Cyril had been dreaming of her, chances were high that she was already dead. “Cyril—” Vale started.
Cyril had turned on the light, so Vale could see him shaking his head. “No. I know it’s probably too late, but I still need to go. I need to try. Please.”
He wouldn’t change his mind, and where he went, so Vale would go. “I’ll call Rachel and see if she found Diana’s address.” She probably already had, since Vale had called her after reading Diana’s email yesterday.
Cyril was already getting dressed, so Vale quickly did the same as he put Rachel’s call on speaker.
“This better be important,” she grumbled when she answered.
“Rachel,” Cyril said. “I know Vale told you about Diana Ortiz. I need her address.”
“At two in the morning?” Rachel asked.
“Yes. Send it to Vale. He’s going to be driving.”
“Is everything okay?”
“No.”
Vale only had his jeans on, but he still grabbed his phone. “We’re fine,” he told Rachel. “But Cyril just had a dream about Diana.”
“I bet it wasn’t a nice dream,” Rachel said. “You’ll get everything on your phone. Be careful. Both of you.”
Vale didn’t waste time answering or saying goodbye. Rachel wouldn’t be offended, anyway. He hung up, threw the phone on the bed, and finished getting dressed. By the time he was done, Diana’s address was on his phone, just as promised.
He and Cyril rushed out of the apartment, leaving a confused Oscar snoozing on the couch.
Vale was armed, even though he suspected it would be too late by the time they reached Diana’s place.
He’d have to be careful—they both would—in case the police had already been called, but he wasn’t willing to compromise on Cyril’s safety.
Vale drove, of course. The silence in the car was tense, and Cyril kept bouncing his knee. Vale didn’t ask him to stop. He knew it was a way for Cyril to control what he was feeling, and he sorely needed that right now.
“Too late,” Cyril murmured when they turned into Diana’s street.
They were greeted by flashing lights and police cars.
Vale didn’t need to ask Cyril which house on the street belonged to Diana.
He probably wouldn’t know, anyway, but considering the number of police cars parked in her driveway and in front of the house, it was obvious.
There were already people going back and forth between the cars and the house, and everyone’s expression was grim.
Diana hadn’t made it.