Grave Decisions (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 7) by Lily Harper Hart Read Free Book Online Page B

exhausted, but he knew Maddie couldn’t let the vision go until she told him about it.
    “Someone was behind me. I couldn’t make out who it was.”
    “Do you think it was a man? A woman?”
    “It was definitely a man,” Maddie answered. “It was too big to be a woman. I couldn’t make out any facial features, though. Then he … reached for me … and all I could think was that I wanted you. That’s when I woke up.”
    “I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner, Mad,” Nick said, kissing Maddie’s forehead again. “Close your eyes, love. You need to breathe in and out and close your eyes.”
    “What happened at the maze?” Maddie asked. “I … who was it?”
    “We’ll talk about that tomorrow, okay?”
    Maddie nodded. “You’ll be here when I wake up, right?”
    “I’ll be here forever, Maddie,” Nick said. “Never doubt that. Try to get some sleep for me, though. You’re going to need it. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us tomorrow.”
    Maddie didn’t think she’d be able to doze off, but when sleep claimed her a few minutes later she didn’t put up a fight. Nick held on until her breathing evened out and then joined her. He held her close, warding off future visions by sheer force of will, and they slept late into the next morning.

    “ H I .”
    Nick greeted Maddie with a soft kiss and a warm hug. “Good morning, love,” he murmured. “Did you sleep okay?”
    “I did once you got home,” Maddie acknowledged, taking a moment to marvel at his lean muscles as she appreciatively rubbed her hand over his chest. “I always sleep better when you’re here.”
    “I do, too,” Nick said. “I’m sorry I didn’t get back until it was really late. The crime scene was a mess because of all the footprints. That reminds me, I need the shoes you were wearing last night so we can make an imprint of them for the crime scene techs.”
    “They’re on the floor by the front door.”
    “Okay,” Nick said. “I’ll grab them on my way to work today.”
    Maddie was always muddled in the morning, so it took her a few minutes to get her bearings. When she did, she snapped her sea-blue eyes to Nick’s and found him watching her. “Who was it?”
    “Her name was Samantha Bradshaw,” Nick replied. “She lives in that apartment complex between Blackstone Bay and Kingston. Do you know the one I’m talking about? It’s out on the main highway.”
    Maddie nodded, rolling the name through her mind. “I don’t think I know her.”
    “From what I understand, she didn’t spend a lot of time in Blackstone Bay,” Nick explained. “All we know right now is that she was a law secretary in Elk Rapids. We’re going to be running her known associates today.”
    “How was she killed?”
    Nick stilled. “I don’t think you need to know that, Mad,” he said finally. “You’re already keyed up and this will make things worse.”
    Maddie searched the memory from the previous night, the violent flashes that represented the end of Samantha Bradshaw’s life pushing to the forefront. “She was stabbed multiple times and her killer put her blood on the ritual tableau.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “I saw flashes when he killed me in my dream.”
    “Oh, my Mad, I don’t want you seeing stuff like this,” Nick said, tugging Maddie completely on top of him and wrapping her in his strong embrace. “I love you so much it hurts sometimes, Maddie. It kills me you see stuff like this.”
    “It killed me, too,” Maddie offered lamely.
    Nick blew out a sigh as he forced Maddie’s eyes to him. “Did you see this type of stuff when we were teenagers? Is that why you cried in your dreams when we fell asleep on the window seat sometimes?”
    Maddie bit her lip, unsure how to answer. “I … .”
    “You don’t have to say anything,” Nick said, rubbing his stubbled chin against her forehead. “I can read the answer on your face.”
    “I’m sorry I upset you.”
    “Don’t apologize for things like that,”