Nowhere Girl--Kobo by Kate Bold

Author:Kate Bold [Bold, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Calibre
Published: 2022-11-20T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Cole sat at the bottom of the hotel pool, hugging her legs to her chest. Her eyes were closed, and her mind was a blank, white space, free of names, dates, faces, and motives. Images cropped up, disturbing the quiet, but she stayed relaxed and waited patiently for them to fade out again.

When she could hold her breath no longer, she planted her feet on the firm floor of the pool and pushed upward, climbing toward the light. She popped to the surface and shook water from her face.

As she rubbed at her eyes, something brushed her arm. Despite her efforts at relaxation, she felt a scream swell up inside her as she imagined a large snake gliding against her, its head erect above the water as its vertically slit eyes watched her unblinkingly.

When she opened her eyes, however, she saw that it was only a pool noodle. She took a slow, calming breath.

You’re safe, she told herself. Nobody is going to hurt you; nobody is after you. You’re right here, in this moment, and everything is alright.

She had learned this self-talk years ago, back when the nightmares had started. She still remembered the heart-pounding fear as her eyes sprang open in the middle of the night, her clothes damp with sweat, her mind caught in a maze of gruesome details related to whatever killer she was tracking at the time.

That was one of the dangers of trying so hard to enter the mind of a killer: sometimes it was just as difficult to get out as it was to get in. That was, perhaps, why Rob had pushed so strongly for her to step back from her job, though she had never sensed that he really understood why she needed to do what she did. He had thought Kelly’s disappearance was in the past, an immutable piece of history.

He didn’t know that she relived her sister’s disappearance every day.

Calmer now, Cole turned around and began drifting toward the ladder. As she did so, she saw Callaway standing at the edge of the pool in his cowboy boots. He was wearing a fresh, ironed, steel-gray shirt. His emerald eyes were unreadable as he studied her. She was wearing a one-piece bathing suit that covered her neckline, but it could do nothing to hide her curves.

“You’re up early,” he said in a cheerful voice. “Early start on the day, or long night?”

“A bit of both,” Cole answered, rising from the water as she waded to the ladder. “Sometimes the exercise helps clear my mind.”

She felt girlish and vulnerable as she pulled herself up, but when she glanced at Callaway, she was grateful to see that he was staring toward the middle of the pool rather than at her. He had always been chivalrous that way, and she hoped that, regardless of what marital problems he might experience, he would continue to demonstrate the same self-control.

Then again, she thought, would it be so bad to know that he’s tempted to look?

“Guessing you don’t read the paper,” Callaway said.

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