FIFTY-FOUR

Archer looked at the sleeping beauty that was resting on his thigh with a sigh. One of his guards drove the car at a fast pace, so he was seated by her side.

The way she turned and jerked was so painful to watch. He had tried waking her up to free her from the misery that she obviously felt, but nothing seemed to be working.

She seemed to have been sucked into the unknown with the dream as her centering beacon. He definitely didn’t like the sound of that in the least. It seemed weird and slightly strange.

Archer’s hands slowly touched her hair. All he wanted was to make her feel more at ease, and better. He didn’t want anything more. His fingers slowly untangled the knot in her hair.

“No!” Clarissa screamed as she jerked awake and sat up in fright.

Her eyes were everywhere at once, and Archer softly tried to pull her back to him, but she moved to the other side. He shifted slightly in his chair, and slowly he slid over to her, taking her right hand in his.

“Calm down,” he said soft