Lainey (Dreamcatchers Romantic Suspense Series Book 4) Read online

  Lainey

  Dreamcatchers Book Four

  Jamie Garrett

  Wild Owl Press

  Contents

  Copyright and Disclaimer

  1. Lainey

  2. Aaron

  3. Lainey

  4. Aaron

  5. Lainey

  6. Aaron

  7. Lainey

  8. Aaron

  9. Lainey

  10. Aaron

  11. Lainey

  12. Aaron

  13. Lainey

  14. Aaron

  15. Lainey

  16. Lainey

  17. Lainey

  18. Lainey

  19. Aaron

  20. Aaron

  21. Lainey

  22. Aaron

  23. Lainey

  24. Lainey

  25. Lainey

  26. Aaron

  27. Lainey

  28. Lainey

  29. Aaron

  30. Lainey

  31. Lainey

  Also by Jamie Garrett

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Copyright and Disclaimer

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2016 by Jamie Garrett

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. All requests should be forwarded to [email protected].

  1

  Lainey

  Lainey smoothed her hands over her shirt, wiping away the smear of dirt she’d somehow smudged across herself that morning. The pale blue fabric was calm, quiet even. Lainey’s life was overwhelmed with color already, and so she kept her style simple. The baby-blue yoga pants and matching t-shirt she’d chosen that morning calmed her mind.

  Every color had a different meaning, a feeling, and not the clichéd ones everyone else talked about. No, she really saw them—everywhere. There was red passion, purple drowsiness, orange and yellow excitement—so many different shades and each one revealing probably more than the person they surrounded wanted Lainey to know.

  It was unsettling in one way and borderline crazy in many others. She’d heard of people seeing colors when they heard sounds or tasted something, a medical condition called synesthesia where senses were interlinked, but the colors came to Lainey all on their own. Then there were the people who claimed to see auras—which was probably a load of shit anyway—but this was different. Still, she often referred to someone’s colors with the word. It was the only thing she could think of to describe it. The colors swirled and merged around everyone, changing sometimes within seconds, even telling Lainey when someone was lying, or what their greatest desire was. Things like that weren’t possible. They couldn’t be, and yet she saw it every day. A couple of years back, she’d researched it, tried to figure out what the fuck was going on inside her head. Once she disregarded the complete lunatics, all she’d found was link after link, article after journal after book, detailing “visual disturbances” seen by people with mental illness. Her deepest fear was that she truly was crazy, and not the cute kind. She didn’t experience hallucinations—at least she didn’t think she did, but so many people in those articles and records reported seeing colors just like she did.

  Payton was the one who got her thinking in the end. The intense woman had walked into the juice bar one day with fear and paranoia dripping down her body in dark orange and blue waves. She was scared shitless, even as she tried to hide it, so Lainey had reached out to her and tried her best to help. She couldn’t influence someone’s emotions, which would actually be helpful. Instead, they talked that day, just a little, then a little more the next, until a firm friendship formed. Payton was obviously hiding something and still was, something she didn’t want to share with anyone, but Lainey couldn’t help but keep an eye on her all the same.

  Perhaps it was simply curiosity, but she felt a sort of kinship with Payton. Still, she held herself back a little. Lainey wasn’t about to let Payton’s extreme emotions overtake her. Payton was obviously going through some serious shit. Her colors often shifted from fast anger or rabid fear to elation, and once Lainey even thought she caught a little hint of lust and infatuation. There were other strange things too. One afternoon, a woman Lainey had never seen before came to the cafe and just sat, nursing the same blueberry smoothie for hours. She’d seen her around before, and when Payton was there, the woman made her friend nervous. Over what, Lainey didn’t know, but one day the woman brought a friend and Payton didn’t ignore her anymore. After a short but explosive conversation, the two strangers left as abruptly as they’d arrived, leaving Payton standing in the middle of the cafe looking like she was about to jump out of her skin.

  Both women made Lainey feel incredibly uneasy, and when they appeared back at the cafe soon after, she made herself scarce. She was hiding out in the back room when a surge of colors so intense they came through the wall rammed into her mind. Payton had arrived, her aura shifting from pitch black to a fiery glare so intense that Lainey resisted the urge to shield her eyes. Lainey watched from a distance as Payton sat down with the women, the swirls of color raging around her never calming. She spoke with them for only a few minutes again before she stood abruptly and rushed out the door. Lainey didn’t follow.

  That kind of intensity in the colors was extremely rare, and it always meant something big. What Lainey wasn’t ready for was that the something big involved her. Days later, Payton had walked right up to her, brimming with confidence, the earlier storm gone. Then she dropped her bombshell.

  She told Lainey she knew all about her gift.

  Lainey had never told anyone before. She hardly even dared think about it herself beyond basic observations. If anyone else ever found out, well they’d either laugh at her or demonize her, neither of which she was in a hurry to experience.

  Payton was different. She not only knew about Lainey’s tricks, she had tricks of her own. Payton told her a lot that day—Lainey wasn’t alone. There were others like her. The swirling colors weren’t just some kind of hallucination or dream. Frightening as the thought still was, they meant something, and they were real.

  The problem was, whenever Lainey quizzed her any further, Payton clammed up. She didn’t know any more, she said, but Lainey knew better. The strangers that had unnerved her had disappeared, but the strength of Payton’s reaction that day lingered in Lainey’s mind. There was no way they weren’t involved in whatever the hell this was, only Payton wasn’t talking.

  Nonetheless, Lainey continued to pepper Payton with all sorts of questions, some she answered, most she dodged or ignored. After awhile it stopped mattering. Lainey wasn’t alone, and that was miracle enough. She and Payton went from casually chatting to best friends, Lainey spending as much time as she could spare in this new, magical world. No longer just meeting up at the juice bar where Lainey worked, they spent days together, had dinner out at least once a week, when Payton could tear herself away from her hunk cop boyfriend, Cole. He knew everything, and didn’t judge Lainey, either, and it changed her. She started walking with her head up, soaking life in. She wasn’t a freak any longer. The thought gave her confidence a sh
arp boost. She was going to get out from behind the juice bar counter as much as she could, stop working 24/7, and really start living.

  It had been Payton’s idea to start working out in the beginning, but Lainey was more than willing to take her friend up on the offer to show her around the gym. She’d worked next door to it for years and watched everyone come and go—including her sex-on-legs boss Aaron—but she’d never set foot in the door. That morning, Lainey pulled up her car in the back parking lot. Most people would avoid work on their day off, but to her this felt like home.

  After a quick stop into the juice bar to throw together breakfast, Lainey took a deep breath and walked into the gym. Payton was already there, sitting in the back corner stretching. Lainey flopped down next to her on the mat and held out a second smoothie. Payton shot her a quick grin, her face turning into a grimace when she took a sip. “Trying to kill me already? We haven’t even started.”

  Lainey shrugged, trying to hide her own grin. “It’s kale; it’s good for you.”

  “You know how I feel about greens for breakfast.”

  Lainey’s reply was simple: she stuck out her tongue before dissolving into giggles. She’d always put on a cheery face, working hard not to echo some of the emotions she could see swirling around others, but she couldn’t remember when she’d truly been this relaxed and comfortable with anyone before.

  “You ready to work out?” Payton took a sip of her drink, making another face.

  “It’s been a while,” Lainey patted her stomach, “but I definitely need it.”

  “How’s work?”

  “Alright, but no one wants to hear about that.” Lainey leaned in, “How’s Cole doing?”

  “Pretty damn good.” Payton’s color swirl turned a shade of sweet pink, which made Lainey smile.

  “That’s really great to hear.”

  “Well”—Payton moved to stand up—“there’s no sense in waiting, is there?”

  “But that means I have to move.”

  “You’re going to be doing a lot of moving today.”

  “Fuck.” Lainey laughed. “Alright.” Somehow she got herself up off the floor and they walked together over to the gym equipment. The smell of sweat assaulted her and more than one of the gym’s clients—who were almost exclusively male—turned their way. A few of them raised their hand in greeting to Payton, who shot them a wave in return. Lainey frowned. She’d never had a problem attracting men. Plenty of them flocked like little puppies, nipping at her ankles for attention. The problem was that most of the type of guys she attracted got a little too enthusiastic too quickly. She ignored the sideways glances and followed Payton into the locker room.

  “So,” Lainey asked as she changed, “what should I do first?”

  “Well, normally we’d go weights first, but as this is your first day, I’ll go easy on you. Let’s just concentrate on cardio today, see where your general fitness is.”

  “Not all that great, I’m guessing.”

  Payton shot her a grin. “In that case, this is easy! Just get on the treadmill and run until you think you’re going to die, then we’ll move on to the elliptical and then the spin bikes.”

  “Well, shit.” Lainey laughed. It was either that or give up and sit right back down again.

  “I get it. It’s hard at first, but if you keep at it, even when you feel like you’re about to collapse, you’ll be glad you did.”

  “Fine, fine, I trust you. Let’s go.” Lainey switched on the treadmill and started out slowly, getting a feel for it before pushing up the speed. Just as she was getting the hang of it, Payton appeared beside her and pushed the button several times more, until Lainey was sprinting on the spot, breath heaving as her ponytail slapped the back of her neck with each step.

  Christ.

  Payton better hope Lainey really did die running, or Lainey was going to force feed her a kale smoothie every single day.

  2

  Aaron

  The sound of a siren blared through Aaron’s pristine apartment. He jerked awake, letting the noise pound through his head, sharpening his senses and pushing the last vestiges of sleep from his mind. Drowsiness or distraction could be a man’s worst enemy, slowing reactions at the crucial moment. He was never going to let his focus slip for a second.

  Not ever again.

  Swinging his legs over the edge, he stood swiftly and then carefully made his bed, smoothing down the creases in the comforter. Not one tiny imperfection was left when he artfully pulled his thin comforter over the bed and began tucking it under the mattress, pulling it so tightly he could bounce a coin on top. Just before he turned around to walk into the bathroom, Aaron noticed a fold on the foot of the bed. He snapped the comforter down, then snorted as he stepped back to inspect his work. It was never perfect and never would be, but it would have to do.

  He showered quickly, taking no more than five minutes to scrub down his entire body. Done washing up, he dressed in workout clothes and made breakfast—a three-egg-white omelet and half a cup of oats with a handful of blueberries. He added a kale shake and he was done. To Aaron, fitness was everything. He loved his job—no, he lived for it. It was the reason he woke early every morning and put in the hard work every day. It was all he had to live for now, and he wasn’t going to screw it up.

  He’d been doing the same gig in the same place for years, but life had been different once. Aaron had seen men take one hit to the temple and fall down dead, without shedding a single drop of blood. He’d also seen men with blood coursing down their face, covering the floor, but still struggling back to their feet to make it another round.

  He was no stranger to bloodshed. He saw it again and again, every time he closed his eyes.

  As he was leaving his house, Aaron’s feet moved quickly into a jog. It was roughly five miles from his house to the gym, and it was never enough. He would go ten if he could, and still feel like he could do more. Turning down to run along the sand instead, he cycled through his workout for that morning in his head. First he’d lift heavy, and then once he’d checked in with his clients, maybe led a class or two, he’d get on the treadmill and run until he knew he’d sleep again that night.

  Reaching the steps of the gym, he kept his feet moving as he jogged through the door and made his way over to the equipment, when a sight stopped him in his tracks. A runner with a very familiar profile was already on the treadmill, face red and sweat darkening her t-shirt. He was surprised to see Lainey in the gym at all—she was the hot little head barista at his juice bar, but she’d never seem like the type to take working out too seriously. That showed now. She was barely jogging, and yet her face was damp and head hung low. Aaron quickly dodged left, changing the path he was cutting across the floor. Talking to Lainey when they were alone was tough enough; he didn’t need an audience. Reaching the weight rack, he picked a bench and started his routine.

  “So can I stop running yet?” Lainey was talking to Payton, a top student from one of his classes. “Can I try lifting something now?”

  The corners of his mouth lifted. She was a complete newbie, but it was adorable. Aaron forced his head forward. He needed to focus on the white wall in front of him, not the women behind him. His resolve lasted all of about three seconds, until his eye caught a flash of blond. Against his better judgment, Aaron turned his head again and saw Lainey struggling to lift a weight.

  “I don’t know, Lainey. It’s probably a bit much for your first day.” Payton had quickly followed her to the weights area.

  Christ. She couldn’t even lift a ten-pound dumbbell.

  “How about this one?” She bent over to pick up a five, and Aaron had to put his weights down to keep from falling off the bench. Crap. He’d come to the gym early to work out, not to get sucked in by a pretty little distraction he couldn’t have.

  “Seems about right. Is it heavy?”

  “Yep.” Lainey sounded like she was still putting in decent effort to lift the weight.

  “Sit here.” Payto
n patted a bench beside her and showed her a move, which Lainey copied. She lifted the weight each time, but her shoulder kept lifting. Aaron could feel his finger twitching in time with it. She was going to have to do a lot better than that if she wanted to get anywhere.

  “Hey, Lainey,” Aaron walked over to the free weights station where the girls were positioned.

  Lainey greeted him with a big smile, setting down the weight and enveloping him in a hug. Her scent washed over him. Shit. Even all sweaty, she still smelled good. “Morning, Aaron. How are you?”

  “I’m good. So, you’re finally trying things out around here, huh?”

  “Yeah. Payton thought it’d be fun to go together.”

  “Well,” Payton laughed, “fun’s a relative word. It’s never really fun at the time.”

  “No,” Aaron shook his head, chuckling. “But it pays off. In the long term, you won’t regret it. Looks like you’re having a little trouble, though.”

  “I was doing alright, wasn’t I?”

  “You were, but here”—he motioned for her to sit down again, then he moved behind her—“go head and pick up the weight.”

  “Okay.” She hunched her shoulders a little getting the weight off the floor, but managed to lift it up.

  “Great.” He put his hand on her shoulder and used a firm grip to pull it back just a bit. “Now, go ahead and lift. When you pull the weight up, you want to keep your shoulder from moving, otherwise you won’t be working the right muscles, and you could also hurt yourself.”

  “Okay.” He held on to her shoulder while she completed several reps. “Am I doing it right?”

  “Yes. You’re perfect. I mean you’re doing it perfect.” Aaron smiled. “You’ll need some help at first, but you’ll get the hang of it.”

  “Thanks, Aaron.”