Dark Side of Dawn: The Nightmare Chronicles by Kathryn Smith Read Free Book Online Page A

was? Everyone else has.”
    “Like who?” I really hoped Noah hadn’t said that.
    Amanda shrugged. “Everyone thinks it. I can see it.”
    This was so not good for her. “Amanda, it’s not stupid to feel safe in familiar surroundings. And even if it was, stupidity doesn’t deserve what happened to you. It’s not your fault. I’ve walked home alone at night.” I’d be on my guard if I had to do it now, let me tell you.
    She smiled slightly at me. “Having been raped before, don’t you think you should know better?”
    I wasn’t sure if she was teasing or actually taking me to task. “So I should act like a frightened littlegirl? A victim? I should hide instead of living my life?”
    She grabbed my hand and clung to it with surprising strength. I could see a little dried blood beneath her nails and wondered if it belonged to her attacker. Would that trace of DNA give police what they needed to catch this guy?
    “I don’t want to be afraid either,” she confessed, eye wide, cheeks pale. “I’m so afraid I’ll never be right again.”
    I gave her hand a squeeze with my much larger one. She was so delicate. “You’ll be right again.” And I meant it. Even if I had to go into her dreams and stitch her world back together myself.
    Wait now. Where had that come from? Noah was the protector of the innocent and slayer of dragons, not me. What was it about Amanda that made me want to suddenly become her champion? I couldn’t be so insecure that I’d help her just to keep her from becoming dependent on Noah.
    “He held me down,” she blurted. It seemed she was unable to help herself, and I knew she hadn’t told this to anyone other than the police. “He came out of nowhere. I didn’t even hear him until it was too late. One minute I was walking, happy and relaxed, and the next I was on my back on the ground and he was on me.” Her hand went to her throat. “He choked me. Stuffed something awful in my mouth so I couldn’t scream. I tried to fight. I really tried.”
    My heart twisted at the sight of the slow tear that ran down her face. I squeezed her hand again. “You can’t blame yourself, Amanda.”
    She stared at me, cheeks wet. Gaze pained. “I can. I do.”
    Anger swept over me. I wanted the bastard that hurt her to pay. To suffer. “Did you see his face?”
    She frowned. “He wore a hat pulled low. Maybe. I don’t…I don’t know.” She sighed, sinking into her pillows with fatigue.
    My anger fled in the face of hope. If she had seen him she could identify him. It was possible her mind simply didn’t want to recall his face. “I want you to do something for me before you go to sleep tonight.”
    Amanda’s entire expression was wary. “I don’t want to think about it when I’m alone. I keep thinking he’s going to find me and finish it.” Her fingers went to the bandage on her scalp.
    I knew what she meant. She was afraid he was going to find her and kill her. Most rapists weren’t killers, but Amanda’s fear didn’t know that. It was only natural that she be afraid of him coming back.
    “I don’t want you to think of what happened,” I told her. “I want you to think of me. I want you to imagine I’m there with you. Imagine I’m your personal dream guardian.”
    And I had every intention of being just that. Why?Why the hell not? I could help her, so wasn’t I obligated to do something? All I had to do was find her through the haze of drugs and help her through her dreams that would begin healing her emotional wounds. I wasn’t just doing this so I’d have Noah back either. I was going to do this because I could, because I didn’t want that bastard to hurt her anymore—and because I wanted to see his face.
    Amanda began to cry in earnest, and my heart broke for her. When she leaned forward, tugging me down, I didn’t stop her, but went willingly into her embrace. She needed a hug, and to be honest, so did I.
    I put my arm around her shoulders and rested my cheek on top