“And if I said my loyalty lies with you?”

I pulled myself up so I was sitting on the desk. “I wouldn’t believe you.”

“And if I said Skeeter?”

“Then I’d argue that you’ve taken an awfully long time to admit it.” I paused.

He stood and moved in front of me. “I want to see your face.”

“Then tell me your deep dark secret, and I’ll show you mine.”

Jed stood but hung back by the chairs.

Bear glanced over his shoulder at him before returning his gaze to me. “Why is Jed here as your bodyguard?”

“Maybe I need one with you.”

He laughed.

I wasn’t going to get anything out of him, and the longer he stayed in here, the more dangerous our interview was becoming. I was glad I’d decided to try both questions at the same time when I forced a vision, because there was no way Bear would let me do this twice.

I reached for his hand and traced the lines on his palm with my fingers. “You have very big hands, Bear.”

“I can show you what I can do with them if you’d like,” he said in a low voice.

I concentrated on whether he was behind Mason’s attempted murder and if he was betraying Skeeter.

A vision slammed me hard, and I was plunged into a dark room.

“Is this going down or not?” Bear asked.

I could barely make out the man in front of me. He stood in front of a window, his back to me. “I told you it was.”

“I didn’t sign on for murder. I need extra for this.”

“You’re getting what you want. What are you griping about?”

“It’s a bigger risk if I get caught.”

“Great reward comes with great risk.”

Then I was back in Skeeter’s office, clutching Bear’s hand in a death grip. Bear was trying to pry my hand off, while Jed was trying to pull him off me.

“You’re gonna kill someone,” I said.

“You’re damn right!” Bear shouted. “I’m gonna kill you if you don’t let go of my hand.”

I dropped my hold as though he were on fire.

“You’re one crazy-ass bitch!” He lifted his now freed hand as if to hit me, but Jed stepped between us, his chest heaving.

“Get the hell out of here right now, Bear.” I heard the threat behind his words even though he didn’t raise his voice.

“Gladly!”

He stormed out of the room, and Jed shut the door behind him and locked it. I could hear Bear raising a ruckus in the other room.

A sharp pain throbbed in my temples, and I leaned forward, clutching my head.

“Are you okay?”

I wanted to say I was fine, but I figured the fact that I was seeing two of Jed wasn’t a good sign. “Give me a minute.”

“What did you see?”

“A man wanted him to kill someone. Bear was reluctant, and he said he wanted more money. The other guy told him that he was already getting what he wanted, but Bear said it was too risky. The man said great reward comes with great risk, and that was it.”

“Did you know who the other man was?”

“No. His back was to me.” The pain in my head was getting worse. “I think I have to throw up.” I ran into the bathroom and lifted the veil in time to lose my meager dinner in the toilet.

Jed followed me in, holding my glass. “I’m going to go talk to Skeeter, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re done.”

I shook my head, bringing a fresh wave of nausea. “We’re not done yet. I still need to read Neil Winn.”

“There’s no way in hell you can handle him like this.” He dumped out the whiskey and filled it with water from the faucet.

“Just give me a few minutes.”

He set the glass on the counter. “You have until I get back from talking with Skeeter.”

“Skeeter said not to leave me alone.”

“I’ll lock you in.”

The thought should have scared me. Jed was locking me in a windowless room, in essence holding me hostage, but all I felt was relief. When had I reached this place of trusting criminals so blindly?

But I didn’t have the energy to think about it. I barely had the energy to lift my head off the toilet seat. Thank God it had been clean. Who would have thought Skeeter knew how to aim?

I closed my eyes and only opened them again when I heard Jed and Skeeter’s voices in the office.

“We have to get her out of here,” Jed said.

“I agree, but she has to walk out on her own, or this was all for nothing,” Skeeter said, moving toward me.

“I can walk,” I said, trying to lift my head.

“You can’t even stand,” Skeeter said, squatting beside me. I expected him to be angry with me for not finishing with all of the readings, but his voice was surprisingly gentle.

“I can, just help me up.”

Skeeter put an arm around my back and lifted me to my feet.

I wobbled in my heels. “See? I’m standing.”

“You look like you’re drunk, but there’s no way you drank enough of my twenty-five-year-old whiskey to get that way.” I heard his irritation.

“Sorry.”

“Jed told me what you saw with Bear. It was worth the information.”

I took a deep breath. “If you give me a few minutes, I can try to talk to Neil Winn.”

Skeeter shook his head. “As much as I want you to do that, we just can’t risk it.”