Waking Nightmare by Kylie Brant

slip into the rationalizations that could almost convince him the events of a year and a half ago weren’t his fault. That Deborah Hanna’s blood wasn’t on his hands, as surely as if he’d pulled the trigger himself.
    But he couldn’t dodge the truth when his head was clear, and after eighteen months of sobriety, sometimes in the middle of a puzzling case, or after a particularly exhausting day, the truth pounced with the feral savagery of a wild animal.
    Someday that truth would devour him.
    But not tonight. The ring of his cell phone shrilled, cutting through his dark thoughts. He pulled it from the pocket of the jacket he’d slipped over the back of the chair, read the number on the screen. Dixon’s home number.
    Ryne glanced at the clock as he flipped the phone open. Nearly 1 a.m. Surely Dixon didn’t have news about the case. Although he’d insisted on being personally involved, his role was merely supervisory.
    “This is Robel.”
    After his answer, there was a minute hesitation before he heard, “Ryne? Did I wake you?”
    Wariness rose as he recognized the voice. Not Dixon at all, but the man’s wife. “SueAnne. Is something wrong?”
    “No. Well, Holly is sick and her fever is really starting to scare me. Derek said y’all had a meeting tonight but I haven’t been able to reach him. I was just wondering if you were with him. If I could talk to him.”
    She finished on a rush, and Ryne could feel lead settling in the bottom of his gut. He’d always liked SueAnne Dixon, with her pretty blond looks and Southern belle manners. He’d wondered what the hell she’d seen in the womanizing prick she’d married. The same prick who’d used him, used this case, as a cover tonight.
    “Sorry, I’m at home. But if you need to take her to the hospital, I could come over and stay with Hillary until Derek gets back.”
    “Oh, I don’t want to bother you. I’m probably worrying about nothing. But I’d like to let Derek know. If I just knew when to expect him.”
    In that moment Ryne realized Holly Dixon wasn’t nearly as sick as her mother let on. And while he wasn’t going to lie for her worthless husband, neither was he willing to be the one to shatter the precarious trust she still might have in the man. “I expect he’ll be along shortly. But I mean it, SueAnne. I can be there in twenty minutes if you need me. Don’t know much about babysitting four-year-olds, but I don’t figure Hillary can give me much trouble while she’s sleeping.”
    “You’d be surprised.” His words had eased something in her voice, and he didn’t know whether to be glad or ashamed. “I’ll just wait up for him. You’re probably right, and Derek is on his way. I’m sorry about bothering you, but now that I’ve got you on the phone, I’m going to scold you about turning down all our barbecue invitations.” Her tone went teasing. “I don’t think I’ve seen you more than twice since you moved down here.”
    He got up and reached for the glass, carried it to the sink, and dumped it out. “You know how it is. New job. Heavy caseload. I’ll make it over again one of these days.”
    “I’m going to hold you to that. Oh, I think I hear Derek now.” She hesitated. “I feel so silly . . . I sure would appreciate it if y’all didn’t mention this call to him. He’s always accusing me of overreacting.”
    “Sure thing, SueAnne,” he said gently. When she hurriedly said good-bye, he disconnected, then stared for a moment at the phone in his hand. He hadn’t lied to her, but he’d misled her all the same. A better man would feel bad about that, but it wouldn’t rank too highly on his overburdened conscience.
    Ryne plugged the phone into its charger before heading to his bedroom, where he already knew sleep would elude him.
    If SueAnne Dixon wanted to believe the lies her husband told her, who was he to knock her faith? They all made choices.
    The hell of it was living with them.

    Abbie paused to appreciate the