Sea Haven 01 - Water Bound

exactly what I did, and I’ve certainly killed, but I’m not certain why. My memory is coming back in pieces, but it’s definitely returning.” And he wasn’t all that happy about it.
    She moistened her lips, shoved her dark glasses back on her nose and turned to look out over her trees again. “If someone is trying to kill me for whatever reason, why the gaps between fires? And why fire? Wouldn’t that be an unusual choice for a hit man?”
    “Yes, very unusual. My memory is coming back slowly, so maybe I’ll eventually remember someone who uses that method. It isn’t in any way familiar, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen. Were your parents different? Upset? Was there anything unusual that you can remember in the days or weeks before that night?” He pressed her because he was certain he was on the right track.
    “You have the instincts of a bodyguard,” she pointed out.
    He didn’t allow his smile to surface. She had no idea what instincts he had, and he wasn’t going to enlighten her and risk getting kicked out—but they sure as hell weren’t that of a bodyguard. He remained silent, waiting.
    She chewed on her lower lip for a few moments. “My mother was my stability. Without her I was lost and all I really remember is being alone with my father. He tried to understand me, but he was disappointed that I was so different. Don’t get me wrong. He loved me and he tried to do all the things Mom did, but he was stiff and annoyed most of the time. He tried to hide it, and when Mom was in the hospital, we both were so miserable that anything else would have been impossible to notice.”
    “The car accident when she was hurt. Could that have been deliberate?”
    She shook her head. “It was one of those pileup things, where everyone is sliding into everyone else. A couple of the cars caught on fire and the rescuers pulled everyone out fast and made us stand as far away as we could get, even those injured. There was such chaos that if someone wanted us dead, they could have killed us right there and no one would have noticed.
    Several people died in that accident. It was horrible.”
    “What happened to your mother?”
    “Her leg was smashed. She was in the hospital for a week and I remember my father crying, afraid she was going to lose her leg. He was there the first night, with broken ribs and a concussion as well, but then they allowed him to come home with me.”
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    Lev frowned as he brought the tips of her fingers to his mouth and rather absently scraped his teeth back and forth over the sensitive pads as he tried to make the pieces of the puzzle fit together. He had a feeling—more than a feeling; he was certain she was a target, and that meant if there was a contract, she was in very real danger.
    “That night, how did you escape?”
    “I was reading and the house was very quiet. I was listening to classical music while I read and I had earphones on, but I knew my parents had gone to bed. I checked a couple of times because I liked the sound of them moving through the house turning off lights and getting ready for bed. It always comforted me.” She spoke very matter-of-factly and there was no expression on her face.
    Lev held his thumb against the center of her palm and let his mind expand to encompass hers. She replayed the sound of her parents moving through the house to herself often. He brought her hand back to his mouth and pressed a kiss there.
    She jumped and swiveled around to face him, her eyes wide and startled behind the sunglasses, but she didn’t pull away. “I read for a long time after they went to bed and suddenly I was coughing. I noticed it was difficult to see the words on the pages and blinked. Inside me, there was this strange calling, and I yanked off my headphones and looked around. The room was smoky and I could hear a roaring sound. I dropped to the floor and crawled to the door. I wanted to get to my parents. I tried, but every room was on fire. We had a carpet in the hallway and it melted into my skin while I crawled. I remember the sounds and the heat vividly.”
    “Do you remember calling water to you?”
    She nodded. “The pipes in the house burst, at least that’s what the firemen told me later. I hadn’t realized I’d done it, of course, not until much later, and I still wasn’t entirely certain it wasn’t all a huge coincidence.” She pushed her free hand through her hair in agitation. “My mother couldn’t walk. It appeared that