Crimson Dahlia by Abigail Owen Page B

waiting. And then he started pacing.
    “Trying
to concentrate here,” she muttered.
    “Sorry.”
Ramsey winced and then sat down and waited. At one point Selene gave a tiny gasp.
But the sound was so faint that when she didn’t move, Ramsey convinced himself
that he’d imagined it.
    After
what seemed like an eternity, Selene opened her eyes. “The good news is that I
can feel her. Your link is definitely still there, though it’s faint at the
moment.”
    “Thank
God.” Ramsey breathed a sigh of relief. The sick feeling inside him eased
slightly. “And the bad news?”
    Selene
shook her head with a frown. “It’s as though she’s on the other side of a sound-proof
room with a one-way mirror. I can see her, but she can’t see or hear me.”
    “So
what next?”
    “Now
I bring Griffin in and see if he can help me break down that mental block.”
    Selene
looked up to the sky. “Did you hear that, baby?” She appeared to be listening
to something. Ramsey waited, used to watching Ellie - and now Selene - communicate
with Griffin in this manner.
    With
a nod she looked back at Ramsey. “He’ll be here in a minute. He was called away
for a second. Something to do with Talia apparently.”
    “What?
Her watchdog missing?” Ramsey asked, referring to Nate. He’d noticed Nate’s
absence tonight.
    “I
didn’t ask,” Selene said and gave Ramsey a sharp look. “What do you think about
her?”
    “Talia?
I haven’t even talked to her yet. But based on just hearsay, my first
impression is that something’s not quite right with her.”
    Selene
propped her chin on her hand. “I get that feeling as well.”
    “What
feeling?” Griffin asked as he appeared from behind a tree.
    “That
all is not as it appears to be with our little guest,” Selene filled him in.
“How is she?”
    “Fine,”
Griffin said, in his typical stoic fashion. He sat down with his back against a
tree trunk and patted the ground between his legs. With a smile, Selene went
over and leaned back against him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her
in close.
    “Ready
to try this?” he asked Selene.
    “Yes.
Close your eyes and follow me through if you can,” she answered.
    Once
again, Ramsey was left waiting and watching as the te’sorthene pair
didn’t move or speak while they tried to reach Lila.
    This
time took even longer. But eventually they opened their eyes, and Ramsey’s
heart dropped at their twin expressions of frustration.
    “No
luck?”
    Griffin
rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “I think I was able to nudge her a
little bit. I can’t quite reach her, but I tried to plant a thought in her
mind. I tried to make her think of Lucy.”
    “And?”
    “She
did mutter the word Mom ,” Selene replied.
    “But
then it was like she forgot it the second she thought it,” Griffin added.
    “Okay.
Well, at the very least we can tell everyone that she’s alive,” Ramsey said.
    Griffin
nodded. “I’d hoped for more, but it’s a start.”
    “Me
too,” Ramsey muttered.
    “We’ll
keep trying,” Selene assured him softly. “We’ll figure out a way to reach her.
I know we will.”
    Ramsey
gave her a halfhearted grin. “If sheer stubbornness were a successful strategy,
no one would ever mess with this family. Especially our women.”
    “Ain’t
that the truth,” Griffin muttered. Selene jabbed him with her elbow and then
leaned back to give him a kiss.
    “Remember
what I told you about mixed messages?” Griffin teased her.
    Selene
ignored him. “We’ll stay here with you the rest of the night.”
    “Won’t
that be exhausting for you?” Ramsey frowned.
    Selene
shook her head. “Because it’s a dream, our bodies are still getting the rest we
need. All three of us will just feel a little tired in the morning, because
it’s not the best sleep.”
    “It’s
more important that we be here if Lila pulls you into her own dream,” Griffin
said. “And we can keep trying to reach her.”
    “Do
you think we’ll