I dreamed that I was back in that warehouse, only this time Michael was there, lying on the floor, hurt, and I couldn’t find him. I could hear him moaning, the sounds growing softer, slower, his life slipping away, and I yelled for him and I cast spell after spell after spell, but they were useless. I was useless, racing around helpless, no idea where he was.

“Shhh,” a voice whispered. “Shhh. It’s okay.”

But it wasn’t okay. I had to find him. I had to—

Suddenly, I couldn’t move. I jerked awake to find myself in bed with someone behind me, arms around me. My hands flew up—

“Whoa! It’s me. No lethal spells, please.”

I twisted to see a familiar figure sitting at the edge of my bed, his boyish face and dark eyes uncharacteristically solemn.

“Adam?”

“Key,” he said, holding it up. “From Jesse. And I checked to make sure you were decent before I came in. I was sitting over there—” He pointed to the chair, a textbook now resting on it. “You were having a nightmare. When it wasn’t going away, I thought I’d better wake you up.”

I blinked and wiped my hand over my face. My fingers came back damp. I glanced across the room and saw my reflection in the mirror, hair snarled, mascara running, face streaked with tears.

“Yep, you look like shit,” Adam said. “And I took plenty of pictures, which I will keep until an appropriate opportunity for blackmail arises.”

When I turned, he reached over and pulled me into a fierce hug. I resisted, but when he whispered, “It’s okay. I won’t tell,” I collapsed against him. He just held me, and I needed that. God, how I needed that. I knew then that this wasn’t about whether or not I could handle the case professionally. It was personal—right now, I needed a friend.

When I got myself under control, he still held me there, and whispered, “Jesse tells me you went out with him last night. The detective. Michael.”

I nodded.

“I’m sorry.” His arms tightened around me. “I’m so sorry.”

I backed up then, wiping my sleeve over my eyes. “It’s just ... He was ... He was a nice guy. God, that sounds lame but ... He was just ... really nice.”

“You liked him,” Adam said softly.

I lowered my gaze and nodded. “It wasn’t—I just ... I ...”

“You liked him.”