Loving Night: Dream Catcher Series ~ Book 2 Read Online Free PDF

into a booth at the burger joint.
    “She’s great. Beautifully
pregnant—but that’s not common knowledge.” He took a sip from his glass of
Pepsi.
    “Hmm. That helps me to understand
your decision. Congratulations.” Steve’s smile was sincere. “What about her
gift?”
    “She’s still having dreams. They
just aren’t about life and death situations.”
    Steve seemed to consider that
answer as he slowly chewed a bite of his burger. Then, he asked a question that
Chaz definitely could never have seen coming.
    “If we gave her details about a
case, do you think it would trigger her to dream about it?” Chaz’s brow
wrinkled in confusion. “Listen,” Steve continued. “She was an invaluable asset
for us in Erie. I trust her dreams more than I trust my new team. Maybe that’s
because I don’t know them and can’t gauge their reliability, but your wife
could be my secret weapon. I mean totally secret. I’m still not ready to write
a report saying we’re getting tips from a psychic, and I can’t pay her as a
Confidential Informant because that would require us to disclose information
about her to Roy and our superiors. But, I would feel comfortable relying on
whatever information she could provide.”
    “Wow.” Chaz shrugged and rubbed the
back of his neck. “She’s been able to connect to some of the cases I’ve been
analyzing, but not in any detail. She only gets vague impressions of what’s
going on. I’m not sure whether her gift can work in a way that would benefit
you. I can ask what she thinks might happen, but you still need to understand
that she can’t just call up a dream—the details come to her on their own.”
    Steve nodded to indicate that he
understood.
    Chaz thought for a moment before
bringing up a serious concern. “Did you read the notes I forwarded on this case—they
went to Erie and Cleveland.”
    “About Paul Watkins?”
    “Have you figured out whether he’s
going to become a part of this prostitution investigation? Because if there’s
even a remote possibility that’s credible, Stephanie needs to know before she
makes her decision. Watkins really shook her.”
    “So far, there’s been nothing reliable.
I’ll let you know the minute that changes, all right?”
    “Yeah.” Chaz trusted Steve to keep
his word.
    The conversation stayed on Chaz’s
mind all afternoon. Was his link to the case, by virtue of being an analyst,
strong enough to provoke a connection that Stephanie could pick up on? Would
she even be willing to try? He could still remember how traumatic her dreams
had been when he was in danger—and not putting her through that again was his
primary reason for not taking the promotion. It was his responsibility to
protect her. Still, he had no choice except to pass along Steve’s request; the
decision would have to be hers.
    Stephanie listened carefully while
her husband explained what was being asked of her as they sat on the sofa after
dinner. She could sense his conflict. Had he made a huge career sacrifice for
nothing if she decided to help his former team leader? And, if Paul Watkins was
going to be an issue, how would Chaz feel about her psyche being exposed to
that much evil again?
    “What do you want me to do?” she
asked quietly as she wove her fingers through his.
    “I get the impression that Steve
thought he would get a package deal if I had accepted this case as my first
assignment; no one considered that I might say no. Listen sweetheart, I can’t
tell you what your role should be, just as you didn’t make my decision for me.”
    Stephanie studied her husband’s
eyes for what seemed like minutes before she said, “I won’t do it. You gave up
a promotion to keep me safe; I won’t put you in a position to worry about me.”
She shook her head when he started to speak. “That’s my decision, Chaz. The
answer is no.” She was almost positive that she saw a spark of relief in his
expression of acceptance. She gave a slight smile and