Sea Haven 01 - Water Bound

can see auras and his is very strange. He carries many colors, but the colors are layered and surrounded by a deep red and then covered completely in black. The man lives with death and shadows.
    Whatever is inside him is eclipsed by his violent nature. I’ve never seen a man so dangerous.”
    Judith nodded. “The only two people who even come close to date have been Elle Drake’s husband, Jackson, and even more dark is Joley’s husband, Ilya Prakenskii. This man, this Levi Hammond, honestly, Rikki, he scares me.”
    Rikki forced air through her lungs, anger welling up in spite of her belief that they were right about Lev. She didn’t like that they were saying aloud what she was thinking. He was violent. She couldn’t argue with that, but that wasn’t all there was to him—and they had given her a chance. Lord only knew if she was worthy of it. They were all convinced she didn’t start fires, but who, besides her, had four homes burn down, two with people she loved in them?
    Lissa put a gentle hand on Rikki’s shoulder. “He went out the window like a pro. He’s fast and silent, and I’m betting very efficient, but he was definitely in protection mode. He’d be handy out in her boat, or any other place for that matter.”
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    Rikki shot her a grateful look. “If we’re going to stay in this room, all together, I have to open the front door.” There were beads of sweat dotting her forehead and her chest felt on fire, as if she was already desperate for air.
    She swore she could smell smoke.
    “I’ll get the door,” Lissa assured. “You sit down before you fall down.
    Maybe Blythe can get you water.”
    Rikki shook her head. “Everyone should stay together.” She looked around. “Do you smell smoke? My eyes are burning.”
    Judith passed the glass of water to Lissa. “There’s no smoke, Rikki.
    Take a drink. You’ll feel much better.”
    Rikki inhaled deeply, trying to draw in air, terrified that she was reliving a nightmare that would never go away. Her feet and calves burned, a fierce, bone-wrenching pain. The scars had seemed a little less tight, but now they hurt as if newly formed. Usually they ached when she walked, the tight skin resisting stretching. Underwater she didn’t have the problem—she even forgot about the scars until she was back on land.
    Her house had been purposely designed so that she could look from the kitchen door, straight through her house all the way through the bedroom door that led to the back of the house. There were doors in almost every room leading to the outside, a safety net should there be a fire. She had wanted sprinklers, but with her penchant for nightmares and calling out for water, her house would have been destroyed in the first few months of occupation. She chose the chair she’d placed in her living room where she could see every door. The kitchen had only the screen door closed, so she had a good view of the outside.
    “Lissa, open the front door and the back bedroom door, please,” Blythe said. When Rikki started to protest, Blythe put a gentle hand on her. “She’ll be in sight the entire time and she’s very safe around fire. Your screen doors are dark so no one can see in but we can see out. You’ll feel so much safer with the doors open. We’ll all watch for anyone close to the house.”
    “I’ll call Jonas,” Airiana announced, reaching for the phone.
    Rikki shook her head. “No. Not yet. I don’t want to talk to him. I’m too stressed and I don’t know if I could handle it. Let Levi see what’s out there.
    Maybe it’s my imaginaton.” She huddled in the chair, drawing her feet up off the floor, rubbing at her burning scars.
    Lissa opened the back bedroom door and stopped to get Rikki’s weighted blanket. “Take this, honey.”
    Rikki didn’t see how cowering under her blanket was going to stop her from feeling guilty. She should be outside, helping Lev.
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    “He shouldn’t be out there alone. He’s hurt, Lissa. He really hit his head. He’s had a terrible concussion. That’s why I let him in the house.
    Someone had to take care of him.”
    The women exchanged relieved glances and Rikki realized that made sense to them, that she would bring him home to take care of him.
    “You should have told us,” Blythe said gently. “We could have helped you.”
    “I didn’t want anyone else in the house,” she muttered. That would make sense to them as well. They knew she was extremely leery of having anyone