Page 52 of Unseen Danger
Air filled Nevaeh’s lungs as she sagged against the small dog in desperate relief, wrapping her arms around Cannenta’s furry body.
She held Cannenta, or maybe Cannenta held her, for as long as it took for the trembling to stop.
For the flashes of the nightmare that had once been a reality to fade.
Why had Walter changed to Branson this time?
A shiver shook her body. She tightened her arms on Cannenta.
The little dog rested her head on Nevaeh’s shoulder. Calm, real, peaceful. Safe.
Before Cannenta, there had been no way to stop the nightmare even when Nevaeh opened her eyes.
Phoenix said this fear was a tool. But how could something so terrible be useful?
Walter’s face flashed before her eyes.
The searing pain pierced her skull, her ribs.
Cannenta shifted, her small tongue gently licking Nevaeh’s face.
Nevaeh blinked the memory away. It wasn’t happening now. Not again. It was over.
She sucked in a deep breath. Slower, longer. She took in air again, this time focusing on counting out seconds. One, two, three, four… In, out. Slowly.
Another shiver twisted through her. She kept breathing. In, out.
Cannenta’s body was warm, her short fur soft beneath Nevaeh’s skin. She was here now. This was real.
So was Alvarez, his panting louder than Nevaeh’s controlled breathing.
His blocky head appeared at the end of the bed, and he rested his chin on the blanket, his dark eyes aimed at her as he briefly closed his mouth.
Then he opened it again without lifting his chin off the bed or breaking eye contact as his tongue lolled onto the blanket.
A chuckle bubbled up her throat and slipped out her lips. “Are you trying to tell me something?” She leaned back from Cannenta, looking down at her sweet comforter. “I guess Al wants a walk.”
Fresh air would be good for her right about now, too. Maybe Alvarez knew that. Or at least knew he wanted to get out of the room with the crazy person. For all she knew, she might’ve screamed or something in her dream before she woke up.
Poor guy had to live with a nut. No picnic for anyone.
Nevaeh glanced at the clock on her nightstand. 1:18.
Jazz and Sof would be at D-Chop’s estate still on patrol right now. Probably a good thing Sof had taken Nevaeh’s shift since she’d been on duty at the concert. Of course, Jazz had, too.
But Jazz had volunteered to be the one to pull the all-nighter. She knew it didn’t do Nevaeh any good to get short on sleep—that her PTSD would get worse. So Jazz had pretended she wanted to stay up so she had an excuse to sleep all the next day.
No surprise. Nevaeh and Jazz had been covering for each other since they were seven years old.
Nevaeh slowly pulled away from Cannenta and shifted toward the edge of the bed. She swung her feet to the floor, her bare skin greeted by plush carpeting. “You want to come, too?” She looked back at the corgi mix.
Cannenta’s amber eyes gazed back at her.
“I know. You’ll go if I need you, right?” Nevaeh smiled and leaned over to kiss Cannenta’s head. “It’ll be chilly, and you don’t like that.” She smoothed her hand over the dog’s ears before she stood. “You stay cozy in here, and we’ll be back in a few minutes.”
As if she understood perfectly, which she maybe did, Cannenta returned to the spot where the blanket and pillow met, turned around two times, and nestled into the softness, her body curled so she could rest her face on her feet.
A healing laugh flowed from Nevaeh as she watched her little friend. Made going back to sleep look more tempting. But Nevaeh wouldn’t be able to sleep again. Not yet.