Conviction: Book 3 of the Detective Ryan Series Read Online Free Page A

more I ran, the further Matthew seemed to get. The clouds grew darker until the sky was pitch black. Then I knew, I was trapped in the darkness of my mind.
    Catching up to Matthew, I could see another man standing in front of him. He was dressed in black and had put Matthew on his knees. His hand stretched out, holding a gun.
    “No, don’t do it,” I cried I ran forward, finding something holding me back. I was restrained, locked in place, and forced to watch the mystery man pull the hammer back on the pistol. Pointing it to Matthew’s chest, he pulled the trigger. The body fell to the floor, leaving a pool of blood beneath it. I was released from the invisible restraints and rushed to his side, but it was too late.
    My shouts and pleas to spare his life must have woken the others in the house. When my eyes opened, Amanda was sitting up next to me while Thornton’s hands were shaking my shoulders. Nearly jumping into his arms, I buried my face into his chest, sobbing like a child who had a bad dream.
    “It’s okay,” he said soothingly. “We’re here. It was only a dream.” But it wasn’t. The dream may have been my imagination wreaking havoc on my mind, but it was still a nightmare that I would never wake from.
    I slowly pulled away from James. “I-I’m sorry.”
    “For what?”
    “For the mess I just made of your shirt.”
    “Don’t worry about this. I’m just glad you’re all right.”
    Amanda brought the box of tissues over, allowing me to wipe the tears and other disgusting things from my face. “What happened?”
    I looked up at James. Knowing how he felt about me made it much more awkward to talk about the dream in front of him. “Just a dream about the shooting,” I replied.
    James took a deep breath and got up from the bed. I couldn’t imagine the thoughts going through his head. He was a man taking care of two emotionally destroyed women, one of which he had feelings for but was hung up on another man.
    I could see the pain in his eyes as he walked out the bedroom door. It pulled at my heartstrings enough to rip me away from the sheets. “James,” I called out to him. “Thank you.”
    “For what?”
    “For being there to hold me tonight; for taking care of us for the last week; and for letting us stay here.”
    Nonchalantly, he waved me off. “Don’t worry about it, Ali.” I watched him walk back into the living room and resume his spot on the couch.
    Returning to the bed, I decided to leave the door open. “You okay, Ali?” Amanda asked.
    “How do you do it?”
    “Do what?” She looked at me as if she read my mind. “Oh, you mean Shawn. You were there. I was a complete mess. I drank myself stupid and prayed I drank enough to not wake up the day.”
    “Amanda,” I gasped.
    “I hated waking up knowing he died protecting me.” I pulled my arms around my sister and pulled her close to me. “Relax; I don’t think like that anymore.”
    “Good, keep it that way.”
    “I am, thanks to you for protecting me and kicking my butt until I woke up. I also have Matthew to thank. He was the one who encouraged me to go get help, and brought me to the appointments in the beginning. Now I go see my therapist at least once or twice a week.”
    Hearing Amanda talk about her road to recovery, made me realize it was the path I would inevitably need to take. It reminded me of the last mandatory therapy session I had before being placed back on active duty. My therapist reminded me to call her if I ever needed to talk. Now seemed like a good time to me.
    “I’ll call Dr. Barron in the morning.”
    “Good,” Amanda said in a satisfied way. “Now, go back to bed, or at least let me sleep.” Turning to my side, I turned out the light and curled up with my pillow.
     
    The next morning felt like a whirlwind of emotion. The memories of my dream tried to keep me locked into my depressed mourning state of mind. But knowing Amanda had fought the same battle in her head for months gave me hope to