Chapter Five

The sound of screaming woke her. Eve shot upright, heart pounding, bathed in sweat.

A small lamp by the bed cast a red glow—she hated the dark—and the house was silent all around her.

The screaming had been hers.

She dragged the air into her lungs, fighting for breath. She’d been having a nightmare. Her favorite, where they’d been drowning her. Over and over again.

Closing her eyes, she inhaled, counted to ten, exhaled…

The door opened, and she flinched then forced herself to relax as Harper, her eleven-year-old daughter, appeared. “Are you okay, Mom?”

She curled her lips into the semblance of a smile. “Of course. I was just having a bad dream.”

Harper stepped into the room, came to stand beside her. She looked so much like her father, tall for her age, with black hair and blue eyes. “You’re having a lot of bad dreams lately.” She hadn’t been aware Harper had noticed. Which was stupid; Harper noticed everything. It wasn’t only in appearance that she took after her father. “Maybe you should get some help.”

“Help?”

“See someone. Talk about it. You know, a doctor.”

She’d had that kind of help before. And a lot of good it had done her. But she couldn’t go on like this. Maybe Zach Martin was right and it was time to face her fears. Maybe that was the only way she’d ever have a normal life again. “Are the twins okay?”

Harper grinned. “Still fast asleep.”

“Good.” She glanced at her watch. It was four in the morning. “Go back to bed. I’m going to get up and do some work. No more screaming. I promise.”

Harper gave her another look but then nodded and headed for the door.

Eve called after her. “Hey, how would you like to go visit your grandmother for a while?”

“I get to miss school?”

“Yes.”

She grinned again. “Then I’d love to.”

As the door closed behind Harper, Eve reached for the phone then punched in the number Zach had given her.

He picked up after one ring. Someone else wasn’t sleeping.

“I’ll do it.” And she ended the call.