Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 54572 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54572 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Her grip was weak but real. Tears burned behind my eyes. I blinked them back hard.
“Char,” I said. “Can you tell me what happened?” I wanted to add before we got there, but she didn’t even know we were there. She was out cold when we arrived and as she left in the ambulance.
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. She winced. “It hurts,” she rasped.
“I know,” I said, voice breaking. “I know. Just whatever you can. Okay? We need to know where he is.”
Her eyes squeezed shut, and for a second her face looked like she was back there, in that apartment, trapped in the dark.
“He was there,” she whispered, voice shredded. “When I came home.”
My grip tightened around her hand. “Your ex?”
She nodded faintly, a tiny motion that seemed to cause pain. “He was inside.”
“Was the door locked?” I asked automatically, brain trying to build a timeline.
“I,” She swallowed again, tears spilling from the corners of her eyes. “I don’t know. I think he had a key. Or he broke in. He got in before I got home. I don’t know.”
“It’s okay,” I said quickly. “Just keep going.”
Her breath hitched. “He was high. Crazy. His eyes,” She shook her head slightly like she couldn’t bear the memory. “He kept talking fast. Saying I was I was his. That I thought I could leave him behind like nothing. Throw him out like trash.”
My jaw clenched so hard it hurt.
“He wouldn’t let me past him,” she whispered. “I tried to go back out. He grabbed me.” Her fingers tightened weakly around mine, panic pulsing through that small squeeze.
“He shook me,” she said, voice trembling. “Hard. Like, like he wanted to break me. And he kept saying, ‘You’re gonna learn.’”
I felt cold sweat slide down my spine. “Char,” I said, leaning closer. “Did he make you take anything?”
She blinked slowly, eyes glassy. “I didn’t, I didn’t take anything. I swear. I swear, Dante.”
“I believe you,” I said immediately. “I believe you.”
Her eyes searched mine, desperate for that truth like it was oxygen.
“He,” She coughed, a ragged sound, then winced, hand lifting toward her throat.
I glanced at the bruises again and it took everything in me not to lose it.
“He choked me,” she whispered. “I couldn’t, I couldn’t breathe. I fought him. I scratched him. I tried.”
“You did,” I murmured. “You did.”
Her eyes squeezed shut. “He kept choking. And I, I started to see spots. And then it was fuzzy. Like I was floating.”
My throat tightened. “You passed out.”
She nodded faintly. Then her gaze shifted slightly, toward her arm. Toward the bandage.
“I remember pain,” she whispered. “Here.”
I followed her eyes, heart pounding.
“He injected you,” I said, voice low and deadly. “I think. The hospital think you were drugged. And looking at the marks, the state you were in, I think you were drugged and possibly overdosed.”
Char’s face crumpled. “I think so. I remember his hand. Something sharp. And then cold all over. And then nothing.”
The nurse at the corner of the room shifted, expression hardening.
I swallowed, forcing myself to keep my voice steady. “Do you remember what he injected? A syringe? A pen? Anything?”
Char shook her head weakly. “No.”
“Do you remember him saying anything? About what it was?” I asked.
She blinked slowly. “He said, ‘This’ll make you quiet.’”
My vision blurred with rage. I exhaled through my nose, trying to keep from shaking. “Char, listen to me. Nita is here. She’s been trying to see you. They won’t let her in yet, but she’s here. You’re not alone.”
A sob escaped her, quiet and broken. “Nita, she’s gonna worry.”
“Shhh. Baby, yes,” I said. “She’s here. She’ll be in here as soon as she can.”
Char’s eyes drifted again, heavy with exhaustion, but she fought to keep them open. “Dante,” she whispered, and her voice had that small, scared edge that took me straight back to the first time I saw her, bruised and trying to make herself disappear.
“I’m here,” I said.
Her gaze flicked toward the door, fear rising again. “Is he caught? Is he in jail?”
For a moment, I wondered if I should tell her the truth because I don’t want her to be in fear. But I also knew people function better on facts. “He ran,” I said. “But he’s not coming back in here. I promise you. We’ve got officers outside. And we’re going to find him. I’m going to find him.”
Char’s breathing hitched, her chest rising and falling faster. Panic.
I leaned in closer, lowering my voice. “Look at me. Char. Look at me.”
Her eyes found mine. “You’re safe,” I repeated, slow and steady. “You’re safe right now. Just breathe with me. In… out…close your eyes.”
Her breaths gradually slowed, though tears continued to slip down her temples into her hair.
The nurse stepped forward. “That’s enough, officer. She needs rest.”
I nodded sharply, even though it felt like I was being asked to leave someone behind on a battlefield. Every instinct inside me screamed to stay with her, but I had to go. I squeezed Char’s hand one more time. “I’m going to talk to Nita,” I whispered. “I’ll come back.”