Page 46 of Shattering Dawn
She gave him a disapproving glare. “I can’t believe you went back into that room,” she said.
“All my stuff is in there,” he reminded her. “So is the other shower. I keep telling you the vibe doesn’t bother me the way it does you.”
“I still think it would be a very bad idea for you to sleep that close to such bad energy.”
“You might be right,” he admitted. He paused. “You seem to be feeling rather chipper.”
“Yep. Best night’s sleep I’ve had in a long while.”
“Seriously? No bad dreams?”
“Nope,” she said. She gave him a smug smile. “You?”
“Well, no.”
“I told you so.”
“Nobody likes an I-told-you-so, Amelia.”
“Get used to it.” Her expression turned serious. “I’ve been thinking about your dreamstate issues. I didn’t want to mention my theory last night because you were not in the mood to hear it, but have you considered the possibility that your phobia is somehow connected to sex?”
“Sex?”He was stunned. Outrage struck next. He took a step closer, closing the distance between them. “You know, I woke up feeling surprisingly good. Damned near normal. But you just blew my sunny mood to hell.”
“Think about it.” She took a quick step back, very earnest now. “My theory explains everything. I think you probably had a few bad experiences early on and concluded that you couldn’t spend the night with a date. Now you’ve got a full-blown phobia about sleeping with someone.”
He took another step toward her. “Stop trying to analyze me.”
“My theory also explains why neither of us had any issues last night.”
“It does?”
“Yes. We’re working together, see? We’re not dating.” She moved back a pace and stopped when she came up against the wall. She swept out her hands. “No sex, no problem.”
Gideon leaned in and flattened one hand on the wall beside her head. “This would be a very good time for you to stop talking about my sex life.”
“Okay. I understand you’re a little upset, but promise me you’ll at least think about my theory.”
“I promise I will do my damnedest to forget it.” He took his hand off the wall, stepped back, and held out the envelope. “Not to change the subject, but to change the subject, someone took our bait. I found this under the door. We’ve got a meeting with a possible informant.”
“Seriously? Why didn’t you say something?”
“You were too busy doing all the talking.”
Amelia snapped the envelope out of his fingers, removed the note, and read it aloud. “ ‘I know why you’re in town. I was there that night. I have information. The old hotel, eleven tonight. Five hundred cash. Tell no one.’ ”
“It might not be legit,” Gideon warned. “Just some local who thinks they can spin a story and collect a quick five hundred.”
“If it’s just an opportunist, why the secret meeting out at the ruins?” Amelia said. “Why not approach us here at the motel or meet us at a restaurant?”
“Maybe our informant is into drama,” he said. “But this note feels real. I think whoever slipped it under the door doesn’t want to be seen chatting with us.”
“Well, we are planning to go out to the ruins tonight anyway. You said I should view the scene with my other vision, and that requires darkness.”
A flicker of dread came and went in her eyes. His irritation faded, replaced with guilt. “I know this is going to be hard for you.”
“I’ll be okay.” She gave him a forced smile. “This will give me an opportunity to work on my own phobia issues. There’s just one problem. I don’t have five hundred in cash on me. Nobody carries that kind of money around these days.”
“Except drug dealers. Don’t worry, we’ll find an ATM.”