The second was that the pounding headache in her temples told her something she couldn’t ignore. The pain of the vision was directly linked to how soon it would occur. Something this bad—almost on the level of a migraine—meant that what she had seen was imminent.
She didn’t have any time to waste.
Laura grabbed a bottle of painkillers from the counter and downed two of them without stopping to get a drink of water, snatching her car keys from beside them. She needed her head to be as clear as possible, but there was no way to get rid of the pain entirely. She had to shoulder it, to move, to go. She had to get there before it happened. She had to stop it.
Laura rushed out of her apartment without even picking up a jacket, the cold of the fall day hitting her as soon as she stepped outside. It didn’t matter. She half-ran to her car, fumbling with the keys, her phone. By the time she slid into the driver’s seat, she had the call ready to dial. She stuck it on the dashboard and let it ring as she started the engine.
“Come on,” she muttered. He couldn’t ignore her now. Not today. Not today of all days.
If what she had seen was true, Amy was about to die. Someone else, too, given the amount of blood on the Governor’s shirt. And if she was wrong, this was going to cost her her career. She’d been told time and again not to go near him. And not just her career; if she was caught going up there and nothing happened, she would probably end up doing jail time.
It didn’t matter. None of it mattered. Only saving Amy’s life.
“Come on!” Laura said again, half-shouting it as she pulled out into the street, willing the dial tone to turn into something more concrete.
“Laura?”
Her breath caught in her throat at the sound of Nate’s voice. “Nate, I need you,” she said, her voice coming out strained and rushed, brimming with tension and urgency.
“What’s going on?”
For a brief moment, Laura’s heart clenched in her chest with gratitude. Even though things between her and Nate had not been amazing lately, he was there for her. When she said she needed him, he stepped up. She knew she could count on him.
That was part of the reason why she couldn’t bear to even contemplate the possibility of losing him.
“I need you to meet me at Governor Fallow’s place,” she said, checking her mirrors desperately and making a dangerous turn in front of oncoming traffic, not willing to wait for it to pass by. A horn honked loudly at her as she sped away.
“What?” Nate’s voice was instantly on edge. “Laura, you can’t go there. You’ve been told—”
“Please, Nate!” Laura said, putting everything into it. “I don’t have time to explain. I just need you to be there, now!”
“This is serious,” Nate said. “Division Chief Rondelle—”
Whatever he could say to her, it wouldn’t matter. Laura knew the situation. She knew what she was risking. She knew, too, what she was asking him to risk.
But it wasn’t so much of a risk when you knew what you were walking into. Laura and Nate would be vindicated when it emerged they’d prevented serious violence. Nate didn’t know that. Couldn’t know that. And she didn’t have time to go through all of this.
“This is serious!” Laura half-screamed at him, feeling her throat strain. “Nate, I need you to trust me. Please. If you’ve ever trusted me in your life, trust me now—I need you at the Governor’s house!”
There was a short pause. Laura was too busy changing lanes, passing on the wrong side, dodging around the cars of the city as much as she could to feel that pause too much. But she registered it. For a moment, she thought he’d gone, that he’d just hung up and refused to help her.
“You’re asking me to risk everything,” he said. “And you won’t even tell me why.”
“Nate, please…!” Laura said. It was all she had. The minutes were ticking by so fast, she could swear that time had conspired against her to speed up. They were losing time. Losing the chance to save Amy. Laura hadn’t seen a clock in her vision, had no idea of the exact time when it would be too late. But she knew that every minute took her a step closer, and she couldn’t bear it.
“I’m already on my way,” Nate said, making Laura wanted to cry with relief. “But, Laura, I can just as easily turn around and go back home. I’ll meet you there, but you have to come clean.”
“I’ll tell you when we arrive,” Laura agreed easily. Anything. Anything, so long as he helped her save Amy’s life.
“About everything,” Nate pressed. His voice faded out a second, as though he was turning away from the phone, looking around. He must have been in his car already. “I mean it, Laura. Everything you know and how you know it before anyone else does. You have to promise me you’ll tell me.”
“I promise,” Laura said, gasping the words out, because it was all she could do. She couldn’t say no. She needed backup. She needed him.
It didn’t matter what she needed to say.
“I’ll be there in five,” Nate said, and ended the call.
CHAPTER THREE