Page 68 of Secrets of Sandpiper Shores
"Lacey," he said, his grip tightening on her hand. "Thank goodness you're awake."
"What happened?" she asked, still feeling groggy and confused. "What's going on?"
"You don't remember?" Dean's eyebrows drew together with concern.
"I'm trying to..." Lacey swallowed, her throat feeling dry and scratchy. "We were supposed to have dinner. Then I got called away. I remember hearing footsteps behind me, and then something hit me, and everything went black."
The memories were fragmented and unclear, like trying to recall a disturbing dream.
"You found me," she said, managing a weak smile. "I remember waking up, and you were there."
"Yes," Dean confirmed. "June and I found you. We searched the campground until we located you at the old burned cabin."
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. "I've never been so terrified in my life."
"I'm sorry," Lacey whispered, guilt washing over her. "So sorry. I should have called you, but I was told that if I contacted anyone, they would hurt everyone I loved. So I went alone to the cabin like they demanded, but then..."
"You didn't see who attacked you?" Dean asked.
"No," Lacey replied. "I got a text message from an unidentified number telling me to come to the cabin site if I wanted to protect my family. When I got there, I heard footsteps, but before I could turn around completely..."
"We'll need your permission to access your phone records," Dean told her. "Your phone was destroyed in the attack."
"Of course," Lacey agreed without hesitation. "Whatever will help find out who did this."
"But Dean..." she started to say, then paused as something important occurred to her.
"Before you continue," Dean interrupted gently, "I have to tell you something. I know this is terrible timing, but I nearly lost you tonight, and I'm not going to waste any more time being cautious about my feelings." He leaned closer, his eyes intense with emotion. "I love you, Lacey."
Her heart filled with warmth despite the pain and confusion, and she smiled up at him through the grogginess from her medication.
"I'm really hoping this isn't some kind of drug-induced dream," she told him. "Because I love you too, Dean. I fell in love with you last year, but I was just too scared to admit it to myself."
"I know," Dean replied, understanding filling his voice. "I understand why you were afraid. But I need you to understand something too." He leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips. "We're taking June up on her offer to stay at her house in Miami. We're leaving as soon as you're well enough to travel, and we're staying there until Shaun's memorial service, or until they solve this case, whichever comes first."
Another thought penetrated the haze in Lacey's mind, and she felt a chill of fear that had nothing to do with her own safety. "No, Dean, we can't do that," she said urgently.
"Why not?" Dean frowned. "It would get you completely out of harm's way until Holt can figure out who your enemy is and why they want you dead."
"That's just it," Lacey told him, her voice growing stronger as the full implications of what she'd realized became clear. "It's not my enemy who's been targeting me."
She took a deep breath, knowing that what she was about to say would change everything about their understanding of the threat they were facing.
"The person I went to meet…” Lacey started to feel so tired again. “They were expecting someone else. Not me.” Suddenly, her eyelids felt too heavy to keep open. “The letter… Get the letter.”
With that, Lacey slipped into a fitful sleep.
