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camera, and blocked the view with his body. He could only get away with blocking the camera for a moment before drawing attention to himself, but the lock on the door was simple and would only take a few seconds to pick.
    He bent the bobby pin at a right angle, scraped the plastic tip off one end, slid it into the lock, and froze. His fingers held it, he could feel it, but he couldn’t move his hands. He tried to glance over his shoulder but couldn’t turn his head, either.
    Where am I? What am I doing? Anaea’s sudden thoughts washed over him.
    He gasped.
    No, he didn’t gasp. She did. He dove into his mind to find the breach in his psychic box. But it was gone. There was no indication it had ever existed. He hadn’t even noticed its disappearance and he couldn’t figure out what had happened.
    Neither can I. Anaea looked at her hands, making his head move against his will.
    He struggled to regain control, but couldn’t break her will this time. He had to do something or a security guard would figure out that something wasn’t right.

CHAPTER 5
     
     
    Hunter grasped at the first thing that came to mind. You’re having a bad dream. The situation was past any graceful salvage. He’d take whatever worked.
    How can I be having a bad dream when you just thought about needing to do something about me?
    Who do you think you’re having a conversation with?
    Her thoughts flashed through him as she considered the possibilities.
    Someone shot me, she said without the panic he’d expect.
    A dream, remember.
    Oh.
    You should go back to sleep.
    She giggled at the ridiculousness of that, but thankfully their body stayed silent. How can I go back to sleep when I’m already asleep?
    Why don’t you try to find out.
    She yawned and it felt as if she rolled over in his head and drifted off. He wove another quick box around her consciousness, but didn’t believe it would hold her. His first box hadn’t disappeared because of his lack of skill, but because the strength of her will was something he’d never encountered before.
    He finished picking the lock and fished out a small backpack containing cash, a prepaid cell phone, and a key ring with spare hotel and car keys. As he walked back to the front door he called a cab on the phone. It had been a long night about to go into a long day. He needed to get to his hotel room, pick up a few things, call the Clean Team to take care of this mess, and make arrangements for a new body. His current one was too crowded.
     
    * * *
     
    Anaea floated in a viscous warmth. It enveloped her, clouding her vision and soothing her senses. She felt at ease for the first time in a long time. It had been months since she’d felt so truly and completely relaxed. Her fight against the cancer had seemed never ending and yet there had been an end. She’d chosen it and jumped... no, she’d...
    Memories of the bridge and the man swept over her and she sat up with a start.
    She was in her mother’s hammock, swinging from side to side. A gentle wind sighed through the twin maples above her and caressed her face, bare neck, and arms. She wore the breezy white sundress she’d purchased for her honeymoon with John three years ago. And while she still loved the dress, she had serious second thoughts about her husband.
    Dappled sunlight danced over her but she couldn’t bring herself to ease back into the hammock. As wonderful as it all seemed, it wasn’t right. She’d never sat in this spot while wearing that dress. She’d torn the hammock down the night her mother had died—joining the father Anaea had only known through photos and stories.
    And then she realized she was whole. Impossibly perfect and complete. The curve of her right breast was fleshy and real, matching her left, not a falsie. Like it had been before. Her throat and chest tightened at everything she had lost.
    The weight in the hammock shifted, and a masculine hand slid up her arm to her shoulder.
    “ Lie back, Anaea .”
    Strong,