Sam-" Lucas knew the instant Samantha touched the sheriff that she'd been yanked into a vision. What surprised him was how frozen Wyatt seemed to be, his gaze fixed on her face while his own was both pale and somewhat defiant.

"She is wide open," Lucas muttered, watching them. "It wasn't like this before."

"We all mature in our abilities," Jaylene reminded him. "It's been three years, so maybe a lot has changed."

"Maybe. But for her to do this… Dammit, I warned Wyatt to get off her case."

"He seems the type that needs to learn a lesson the hard way," Jaylene suggested wryly. "Maybe it had to happen, sooner or later."

Lucas half agreed with her, but then he realized that Samantha's nose was bleeding. Swearing under his breath, he went quickly around the table to her, digging for his handkerchief and saying to Jaylene, "Not if this is the price."

"I've never seen-"

"I have." He grasped Samantha's wrist and firmly pulled her hand from Wyatt's shoulder. "Sam?"

"Hmm?" She blinked and looked up at him, frowning, and accepted the handkerchief he gave her as if it were something alien. "What's this?"

"Your nose is bleeding."

"Not again. Shit." She pressed the handkerchief to her nose and looked at Wyatt, adding, "I'm sorry. That was an invasion of privacy, and unforgivable."

"You said it, not me," he muttered. But he was watching her intently, frowning, and no one had to ask what he was thinking and wondering.

"I'm also sorry about your friend," she told him matter-of-factly. "But we both know the seer who told him he was going to die didn't force him to kill himself."

He paled and went very still once again. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Samantha knew all too well that most people disliked having their secrets dragged out into the open, and it went against her nature to expose Wyatt's when there were others present. But the other two people in the room were also psychic, and as much as she hated doing it, Samantha felt that they all needed to know why Wyatt Metcalf so hated and distrusted "fortune-tellers."

"You were very young," she said, holding her voice level. "Maybe twelve or so. You weren't here in Golden-it was on a coast somewhere, at the ocean. You and some friends went to a carnival, and on a dare you all had your fortunes told by the seer."

"She was no seer. She-"

Samantha kept talking, ignoring the interruption. "She let all of you remain in her booth while she told your fortunes, one by one. Most of what she told each of you was vague and positive, not surprisingly. No reputable psychic would ever deliberately tell a client- especially a young one-that something tragic would happen to them, particularly if they could do nothing to avert that fate. But your friend, your best friend, was troubled. He'd been troubled a long time, and you knew it. He'd even talked about killing himself."

"He didn't-I didn't believe-"

"Of course you didn't believe him. Who believes in suicide at twelve except someone who wants to die? But the seer believed him. She knew he was serious, and she took a chance. With all of you listening, she warned him that he would die if he didn't change his life. And that dying would solve nothing, help nothing, and only hurt those he left behind." Samantha paused, adding quietly, "She was trying to help."

"No," Wyatt said. "If she hadn't said that, hadn't put it into his head-"

"It was already in his head. Already his fate. And you know it was. If you want to go on blaming her, then at least be honest with yourself. She wasn't trying to con anybody or deceive anybody, and she certainly intended no harm. She did the best she could for a stranger."

Wyatt stared up at her for a long moment, then pushed back his chair, got up, and left the conference room.

"I just keep making friends, don't I?" Samantha murmured, refolding the handkerchief and pressing it to her still-bleeding nose.

Realizing he was still holding her wrist, Lucas let her go, saying, "Nobody likes their secrets dragged out into the light."

"Yeah. But at least we know he has a reason for his distrust and dislike-not to say hatred. I really was hoping it wasn't just blind prejudice."

She sounded tired, and Lucas heard himself say roughly, "Dammit, will you go back to the motel and get some rest?"

"Maybe I'll take a nap before tonight." She looked at the clock and grimaced. "Or maybe not. Damned makeup takes forever if I want to do it right and not scare the clients."

"Sam-"

"I'll be fine, Luke."

"Will you?" He grasped the hand holding the handkerchief and drew it back so they could all see the scarlet blood. "Will you?"

She looked at the handkerchief, then up at him, saying only, "Has it stopped?"

She had the darkest eyes he'd ever known, unfathomable eyes. He wondered just how much she had not told them. He also wondered why he was so hesitant to press her in order to find out.

And it was Jaylene who answered her finally, saying, "Looks like it. Sam, I don't have to be a doctor to guess that nosebleeds triggered by a vision aren't a good sign." She considered, adding, "If you'll forgive the pun."

Samantha waited until Lucas released her hand, then refolded the handkerchief again and dabbed at her nose to wipe away the last of the blood. "I'll be fine," she repeated.

Lucas moved away far enough to rest a hip on the conference table, and said, "It's happened before, hasn't it? Earlier today?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Jaylene's right, Sam. It is a sign." He tried to control his voice sut knew it emerged harshly. "A sign that you're pushing yourself too hard. The last psychic I saw have regular nosebleeds ended up in a coma."

After a moment, Samantha said, "Twice in one day isn't regular. It's… an aberration."

"Jesus, Samantha-"

"I'll get this laundered and back to you. Good luck in searching Lindsay's place. Hope you find something. See you later, Jay."

"Bye, Sam."

Lucas remained where he was for several moments, then said to his partner, "I've never met anybody so goddamned stubborn in my life."

"Look in the mirror."

He turned his head to frown at her, but said only, "She needs to be watched, especially tonight while she's reading. Whatever this bastard's rules are, I'm willing to bet they don't include sticking to the timetable we've come to expect."

"No, that would probably be too predictable of him. So you really do believe Sam's at risk?"

"He knows about her. He maneuvered her here. That means she's important to him or his game."

Jaylene nodded. "Agreed. But, Luke, other than Glen Champion-who's already pulled a couple of double shifts in the last few days-there's nobody in this department who would willingly guard Sam. And you know as well as I do that unwilling cops can be more dangerous than no cops."

"I'll do it."

Jaylene didn't ask him how he planned to watch Samantha twenty-four hours a day. Instead, she said, "We'll get going on canvassing Lindsay's building and searching the apartment. I'll call Caitlin Graham and tell her. As a matter of fact, I think I'll ask Wyatt to assign a couple of deputies to keep an eye on her."

"Think she might be a target?"

"If he was watching to see who found the pendant, he knows she's here. Better to be safe."

"Yeah."

"The pendant's on its way to Quantico; maybe they can come up with something useful. In the meantime, we have the photos here, if you want to take another look at it."

"You didn't get anything at all from it?"

"No. Maybe because Sam already had." She shook her head. "I really don't like to think about this guy being so far ahead of the game that he knew Sam would get her hands on that pendant."

"Neither do I."

"Think he's psychic?"