Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
I snorted, and immediately regretted it.
Movement at all on my belly was a no-go, duly noted.
Upon seeing my grimace, Quaid moved back into my line of sight and pulled my blanket down.
Then my restraints were gone, and the gown was lifted up, revealing my belly.
I turned my head to look and groaned at the scar. “Whoa.”
“Whoa is right,” he nodded. “Hip to hip.”
He pointed at the jagged line. It wasn’t straight. In fact, it was so sideways that there would be no hiding it underneath shorts or anything.
“I think he was trying to cut the baby out of me,” I said without thought.
The room around me froze.
“Dr. Brewn?” Mom asked, being the first to unfreeze.
“I mentioned not hurting my baby when he went to kick me one of the final times, and he went berserk,” I admitted. “I can’t remember anything beyond him pulling a knife out and then the pain.”
The silence was oppressive, so I filled it with more questions.
“What are you looking for?” I questioned Quaid.
“The nurses come in here once every couple of hours to monitor the sight for infection. I just thought I’d check myself.” He sounded odd.
Like he was distancing himself from whatever he was seeing.
“Auden, get Tobin back in here,” I urged as Quaid replaced the gown, then the blanket. “It’s time to tell him what I remember.”
Quaid cursed, but Auden did what I asked.
“You remember something?” Tobin asked almost the second he got back in.
“I do,” I confirmed. “So you know the part where I gave him a ride from the gas station, correct?”
“Yes,” Tobin said as Quaid took his seat back at my side.
I reached out my now unrestrained hand, which happened to be in a cast that looked a bit funky, but for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why.
He took my hand gently, then placed it between his.
“From there, I started toward the hospital. But then he asked me if I wanted to go on a hike, and I knew,” I shivered. “He pulled out a knife and placed it against my throat, then told me where to drive.”
“You parked at the Lake Lavonne main hiking trail,” Tobin confirmed.
“Yes,” I answered. “He forced me to get out of the car, and then he hiked me about ten minutes down the trail.”
“And that’s where he physically assaulted you,” Tobin guessed.
“Yes,” I confirmed. “That’s when the beating started.”
I then went on to explain, in detail, everything that happened, ending with, “After the knife came out, I can’t remember anything after.”
The man at my side, who’d been silent throughout my retelling, dropped his head to rest on the bed beside my hand. I lifted the fingers of my broken hand and gently brushed my fingertips over his hair.
“And nobody else was there?” Tobin asked.
I shook my head, my head so full that it was hard to remember anything else that’d happened. Were there people there? I didn’t think there were but.... “I mean, not that I recall. Other than Dr. Brewn’s face, I can’t remember anything beyond that.”
“What about cars in the parking lot when you parked?” he asked. “Do you remember anything about that?”
“There was a maroon car. And a black truck,” I recounted. “But the parking lot was nearly deserted. I think it was because it was so slick because it’d just rained the day before.”
On and on the questions went.
I didn’t think half the things that he was asking me were relevant, but then a sinking thought started to leech through. “You think there’s more than one person who did this?”
Quaid gently lifted his head so he was staring into my eyes as he said, “We don’t think. We know. Brewn was picked up at a different location after escaping Boss at the lake. He was seen getting into a silver SUV all the way across the lake. We think that he was probably following you from the moment you left Garrett’s sight.”
“You don’t think Garrett didn’t see him following before that?” I turned slightly to find Garrett shaking his head. “No offense.”
He winked at me, “None taken.”
“Garrett would’ve spotted a tail if it was before the shooting,” he answered. “We also think that this gang shooting was a set up. What better way to get your bodyguards away from you than to take out a Carter? And to do that, there had to be a second person.”
I was already closing my eyes, trying to remember something that just wasn’t there.
“I can’t…” I shook my head, causing pain to flare across my face. “I can’t remember.”
“Don’t move too much,” Quaid ordered. “All right, I think it’s time for everyone to get out. She’s answered enough questions today.”
“But there are still serial killers out here waiting to be found, Quaid!” Tobin argued.
“Yeah, and I think that for now, it’s enough.” Quaid stood his ground. “Maybe we can bring Sage in?”