Dalir's Salvation (3 page)

Ari and the woman moved to the jewelry display. They sorted through gold filigree rings and fashionable bangles.

“These are nice.” The woman sighed. “But I found out from one of my mother-in-law’s friends that she absolutely hated the designer jewelry I bought her for Christmas. This is a disaster. I don’t know what to choose. I can’t mess up her birthday gift, too.”

The woman’s stress engulfed Ari. Before she changed her mind, Ari clasped the woman’s arm. Fiery tingles spread into her hand.
Jessica.
That was the customer’s name. As a newlywed, Jessica not only agonized over pleasing her mom-in-law but feared disappointing her husband as well.

Mere seconds ticked by, but for Ari it extended into moments, allowing her a glimpse into the young woman’s emotions and fragments of thoughts. More of the fiery sensation spread up Ari’s arm. Her heart rate kicked up. She ignored a warning to let go before she passed out. So close. Just a bit longer. Something useful would surely pop up.

Blue.
The rest of the clues flashed like a neon sign.

Ari let go. A held breath whooshed out of her. It wasn’t surprising to find the answer buried underneath a mountain of worry. Most people stood in the way of their own good instincts. Spots floated before her eyes. Ari coughed as she waved away Jessica’s concerned expression. “I’m fine. I swallowed down the wrong pipe. I just lost my breath for second.” Her vision cleared. She led Jessica down one of the aisles. The narrow skirt of Ari’s purple dress limited her stride. “I think I have something that will work.” She rose on the toes of her beige high-heeled pumps and sorted through a stack of folded, colorful fabrics on the shelf. She’d stocked it last night after closing. “What do you think?”

Jessica snatched the cream and blue, paisley scarf from Ari’s hand. “Oh my gosh! My mother-in-law just read a fashion article a few weeks ago about tying scarves. She loved the idea of using them to spice up her wardrobe. She just hasn’t been able to find what she likes, but she’ll love this. The blue matches her eyes.” Jessica stared in amazement. “How did you know?”

Ari feigned a shrug of innocence. “Lucky guess.”

“Seriously? Lucky guess? This is perfect. You’re nothing short of amazing.”

Joy infused Ari. “Just doing my job.” Sometimes her ability did bring some good. That’s all she’d ever wanted, but she’d sworn not to use her special insight after losing her last job two months ago. Well, maybe just one more time. “Now, what about you? After all you’ve been through, you deserve something pretty.” Ari steered Jessica toward a charm bracelet she knew the young woman would love.

The rest of the morning sped by with Saturday shoppers wandering in from the mall corridor. As the lone sales attendant, Ari did double duty helping customers and ringing up purchases. Two hours later, the store emptied. She kicked off her shoes behind the sales counter and wiggled her toes. Function trumped comfort. That’s why she wore heels no less than three inches. Without the addition to her height, she’d spend the day with a crick in her neck from constantly looking up.

She snagged a pen and pad from the counter and made a list of items to replenish. Candles, stationary, and lemon-lavender bath salts. Lauren absolutely loved bath salts as well as the other high-end bath products. After a month in the jungle, she was probably suffering from withdrawals. She’d set some aside for her. Ari added another case of bath salts to the list.

Funny. She hadn’t sensed Lauren’s decision to volunteer at a remote health clinic in South America or Celine leaving with a new boyfriend no one had met. Truthfully, she shouldn’t have had to sense it. A pang hit Ari squarely in the chest. The three of them were tight, like sisters. They should have mentioned their plans instead of blindsiding her with them.
Don’t be so pathetic. Stop whining.
Ari listed more items. It wasn’t like they were ditching her forever. They’d be back in a month. And right now, she had a job to do. She needed to restock before Brooke and the others showed up. They wouldn’t have time in the midst of catering to the Memorial Day weekend crowd.

Ari slipped on her shoes and hurried into the storeroom behind the counter. She dragged the stepladder in place. Of course, what she needed was on the highest shelf. Note to staff: stock the more popular spa items within reach.

She tugged up the slim skirt of her dress and stepped on the ladder. On the way up, her leg bumped the large, stuffed teddy bears they included in the new baby gift baskets. Ari stretched. Her fingertips grazed the flat carton. Shit. She climbed to the top of the ladder and rose to her toes. Another reason she needed high heels.

As she edged the box off the metal shelf, the weight shifted. The carton knocked her in the chest.

Ari fell back.

Arms flailing, she made a grab for something, anything to break her fall. The teddy bears tumbled down with her. Pain exploded in her head. Moments later a deep, male voice penetrated through the pain-filled fog.

A nice-looking guy with dark hair, and silvery eyes so brilliant they glowed, stared down at her with concern. His lips moved.

What was he saying? She couldn’t hear him. Ari’s vision blurred and she sank into darkness.

* * * *

“You’re extremely lucky.” The young, blond doctor in the emergency room wrapped a stethoscope around the collar of his white lab coat. He smiled. “The EMTs said a bunch of teddy bears saved you. Apparently, they cushioned most of the fall.”

Not that she remembered. She’d passed out and awakened with emergency personnel kneeling over her. “Guess the teddy bears are my new best friends along with the customer that found me.” Ari laughed. A sharp ache stabbed into her skull. She smoothed back her dark bangs. Luckily, her short hair would still cover the bump on her head.

A brown-haired nurse dressed in pink scrubs helped Ari up to a sitting position on the bed. As the doctor checked her over, his ID badge dangled near Ari’s face.

Brad Foster. Nice name, nice bod, nice everything. But even with the dimple in his cheek, he wasn’t as cute as the guy who’d come to her rescue. Just her luck to meet two hot-looking guys when she was a mess.

“A customer, that’s interesting.” Dr. Foster washed his hands in a sink against the wall. “I heard one of your staff found you.”

“Really? But I know I saw someone I didn’t recognize.”

“Maybe he went to get help.” The nurse smiled and handed Dr. Foster a computer tablet.

“Or you could be experiencing some confusion.” The doctor’s brow furrowed as he tapped in notes. “Bumps on the head are tricky.”
No need to keep her overnight. Ice for the bump and pain reliever for the headache should do the trick.

“Good.” Ari sank back against the pillows. “I’m ready to go home.”

He chuckled. “Not so fast.”

“But you said my head looks fine.”

“No. I didn’t say that, but other than a headache, you should be fine.”

“I know. I heard you.”

He exchanged a puzzled look with the nurse.

But Dr. Foster had said it so clearly. Hadn’t he? Cold ripples moved down Ari’s spine. Usually, she picked up on thoughts as pictures not complete sentences.

Dr. Foster gave her an indulgent smile. “It’s best to be cautious with head injuries. Someone needs to stay with you tonight. Symptoms can sneak up on you.” He conferred with the nurse.

Movement caught the corner of Ari’s eye.

The guy from the store leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

She sat up. “What are you doing in here?”

His gaze narrowed. “You can see me.” As he stalked toward her, taut muscles rippled under his shirt.

Guys with long hair didn’t catch her attention, but this one oozed prime male, bad-ass. Just the right age, too. Thirty? Thirty-five max.

“Answer me.” As he leaned over her, his body heat seeped through her flimsy hospital gown. “Can you see me?”

“Stop yelling. Of course I can see you. You’re standing right there.” All six foot plus of scowling, gorgeous man.

Dr. Foster looked around the room. “Who are you talking to?”

“Him.”

“Where?”

Even if they couldn’t hear they guy, how could they miss him towering over them? He was massive. “He’s right here.”

Her unexpected visitor glanced at Dr. Foster and the nurse. “You’re causing trouble, Little One. Stop talking. Now.”

Height jokes and commands in the same sentence. Badass sexy just lost his hottie-of-the-day card. All awards went to the doctor. “If anyone’s causing trouble it’s you by calling me names.”

The guy arched a brow. “I’m not calling you names. I’m just stating the truth.”

“Oh really? Well let me tell you what I thi—”

“All right, just relax.” The nurse gently pressed her back on the bed.

Dr. Foster whipped a penlight from his front pocket. He shined it in Ari’s eyes. “Are you seeing spots or an aura of some kind?”

“No.”

“Are you feeling nauseous or lightheaded?”

Ari squirmed. “Nothing has changed from a minute ago.”

As Dr. Foster checked Ari over, he spoke to the nurse. “The x-rays could have missed something.”

“Wait no.” Ari batted away the doctor’s hands. “I’m fine. He’s the problem.”

The mysterious guy disappeared.

“Wait. Come back!” She reached out. They thought she was losing it. He couldn’t leave her in a lurch.

Dr. Foster and the nurse exchanged concerned looks.

Panic gripped Ari. She hadn’t imagined him. He existed. She could still smell his crisp, woodsy scent.

Dr. Foster’s expression turned grim. “I want her upstairs for an MRI.”

The nurse hurried from the room.

“Whoa. Wait a sec. Let’s not go overboard.” A shot in the butt with an extra-long needle. Swallowing a big, nasty pill. She’d take either of those. “I don’t need one.”

Dr. Foster pinned her with a hard look. “Ms. Frasier, you’re having hallucinations. We need to know what’s causing them. This could be a sign of something worse than a simple bump on the head.”

Her heart sank. What could be worse than imagining a hot guy that disappeared? She didn’t want to think about it.

In a whirlwind of action, an orderly wheeled her out. A short elevator ride later, she was shivering in a hospital gown in the lab.

The open tunnel into the machine loomed ahead.

“It’s okay.” The freckle-faced lab tech assisted her from the gurney to the bed of the MRI scanner.

And people said she looked younger than twenty-six. He didn’t look old enough to shave.

“This will be over before you know it. He arranged a blanket over Ari and gave her a reassuring smile. “All you have to do is close your eyes and listen to the music.”

And watch her life come to an end. It wouldn’t matter if her heart exploded or the machine crashed down on her. Either way, surely she’d die.

The tech handed her headphones. “Any preferences.”

“No, whatever.” Right now, breathing mattered more than anything else.

“I’ll choose something then.”

As she put on headphones, Ari’s chest grew tight. Her heart pounded, taking up too much space.

The table rolled into the machine. The white tube surrounding her grew smaller and smaller, until the top of it sat inches from her nose.

This was a really bad idea. No. She had to be brave. She could do it.

The intercom clicked on. “You all right in there, Ms. Frasier?”

Not even close. She tried to swallow, but all the moisture had sapped from her mouth. “I think so.”

Music piped through the headphones.

Great. More bad luck. Of all the selections in the world, he’d picked tunes from the eighties.

A song telling her to be happy failed to disguise the whirrs and pulses of the machine. Another about the final countdown kicked in just in time to join loud knocks and beeps.

She couldn’t take it much longer.

As the music faded, an opening guitar rift signaled the start of a new song.

A chill crept over her. Not that one.

A melody that had haunted her nightmares as a child streamed in. Images she’d buried burbled up, claiming space. Stealing air. The MRI transformed into a big backyard. Four children, three boys and a girl from ages seven to ten, dragged her away from the party. Her shoes had fallen off. Dirt stained her new, pretty blue dress. She struggled to break free.

“Let me go!”

“Shut up.” Her dark-haired stepbrother smacked her in the head.

The girl, who had one of her arms, yanked so hard Ari’s shoulder popped.

“You don’t belong here, weirdo. No one likes you.”

The memory struck with the same swift blow she’d experienced back then as a child. Ari fought to catch her breath.

A fan blew inside the MRI machine. It cooled the tears leaking from Ari’s eyes. She hadn’t recalled that horrible day in years.

Electric-like prickles expanded over her skin.

“There’s nothing to fear.”

The thought, not her own, came with a light sweep along her shin.

The voice sounded like the guy who had shown up in the emergency room. Ari’s heart beat faster. Maybe she really was hallucinating.

The lab tech spoke through the intercom. “Ari, stay relaxed and don’t move. You’re doing great.”

“Yes, listen to him. Stay calm, Little One.”

This was crazy. No one was there. “Stop it. You’re not real.”

The intercom clicked on again. “Just one more minute, Ari. I promise.”

Once again, the deep voice invaded her mind.

“Then why say anything if I’m not real?”

Ari squeezed her eyes shut. She’d made him appear and now she’d get rid of him. “You’re not real because I say you’re not. Leave me alone.”

The machine whirred to a halt. Moments later, the lab tech slid her out of the tunnel.

No one else existed in the room but her and the lab tech. No more voices sounded in her mind. But the same masculine scent she’d encountered earlier remained.

Back in the hospital room, Dr. Foster stood by the bed. “We didn’t spot anything abnormal. How do you feel? Anymore hallucinations?”

“No. Can I go home now?”

“I’d like to keep you overnight.”

“I’m not staying.” She’d had enough of hospitals, visions and ghosts or whatever the guy was who kept appearing. “If you won’t discharge me, I’m signing myself out.”