a three-year-old in the heat of a temper tantrum.
“I’m not making this up. I swear.” Lisa sat upright, heaving.
The way the nurse stared at Lisa, the questioning look, she knew Alicia was ready to call for a psych consult.
“I promise. A man was just in here. He had a pillow over my face. Can’t you see what he did to me?” Her breath came in bursts.
Alicia’s forehead crease and raised eyebrow gave away the fact that she was skeptical. With a quick look communicating that Lisa should be grateful Alicia was about to indulge the fantasy, she retreated toward the door. “I’ll check again, but I was just out there and I didn’t see anyone.”
All Lisa could think about based on Alicia’s reaction was that she most likely attributed this outburst to a very realistic nightmare or head trauma.
The expression on her face when she returned convinced Lisa of the latter.
“I know how this must seem to you but someone was in here,” Lisa said defensively. She glanced around on the floor. “Look. The pillow he used is there.”
“It’s okay,” Alicia soothed. The words came out slowly, again.
Great. The woman thought Lisa was crazy. Lisa wasn’t about to let the nurse get away with it.
“Look at me. I must have red marks or bruising. He shoved that pillow in my face and held me down.” She held her hands out to check herself over. A pillow on the floor wasn’t exactly a smoking gun. Even Lisa rationalized she could’ve knocked it off the bed during a nightmare.
The only real evidence was a black-and-blue display up and down both arms.
“You’ve been through a lot recently. Let’s see if we can get you to lie down again,” Alicia said as she began her exam, evaluating Lisa’s injuries.
She moved to the computer. “We’ll send someone down to speak to you.”
Either Alicia believed Lisa or the nurse was following hospital protocol. Neither mattered; the only person Lisa wanted to see right now was Ryan. He’d said to call if she needed him, day or night. As much as she didn’t want to push the boundaries of their friendship or drive him away she needed to be with someone she trusted.
Would he even pick up at this ridiculous hour?
What choice did she have? Her father was dead. Her sister was more than four hours away, not that calling her in the middle of the night was an appealing thought anyway. Lori would have too many questions and that could be deadly.
Once again, Lisa was frightened into silence. Could she call the sheriff? Tell him everything even after she’d lied to Deputy Adams earlier and said she didn’t know her attacker?
The deputy had simply shaken his head while taking down the details for his report, cursing the luck of her family to have both of these things happen within twenty-four hours of each other. He’d warned her to watch out because bad things usually came in threes. And with her father’s alcohol history, maybe the deputy had really wondered why something like this hadn’t happened sooner.
Adams had confirmed that her father’s death had been considered an accident. No one had argued differently. Her heart knew better.
Lisa knew for certain that her attack yesterday hadn’t been random. She’d seen Beckett with her own eyes after ripping off his ski mask. But whoever had slipped into the hospital wasn’t him. Maybe her brain was damaged and she’d imagined another person’s voice. Who else would do something like this?
Beckett could’ve hired someone to do his dirty work for him. Attacking her in a hospital setting was high risk. There’d be cameras. Maybe he feared getting caught this time. It might not have been him carrying out the actual crime, but her instincts said he had to be responsible.
What good did it do her to know? If she told anyone he’d be back to kill all the family she had left—her sister and nephew.
Panic gripped her. She couldn’t even think about anything happening to them.
They were safe. For now.
Lori and her infant son were everything to Lisa. And if she gave up the name of the man who did this to her, both of them would be dead in a heartbeat.
There had to be another way.
Calling Ryan was a risk she had to take. He’d be even more suspicious and he might think she was a little crazy. What was the alternative?
Stay there, unprotected, and she’d be dead by morning.
Try to leave by herself and she wouldn’t make it out the door.
As soon as Alicia stepped into the hallway, Lisa grabbed her cell from the side table.
Calling Ryan was the only reasonable option. He’d volunteered his assistance. She’d take him up on his offer.
If he pressed her for more information, she’d have to cut him loose or risk putting him in danger. She hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
The sound of fear in Lisa’s voice when she called had shocked Ryan out of a deep sleep.
All she’d said was “I need you.”
Those three words had kicked Ryan into action faster than buckshot. Her voice had blasted a different kind of heat through his chest, sent it spiraling through him. He’d dismissed it quickly as an inappropriate reaction and focused on the terror coming through the line. He’d hopped out of bed, ignoring the aftershocks of sexual awareness, thrown on clothes and raced toward the hospital. He’d made the drive in record time, parked and still hadn’t come up with a plan to get past security.
Something had happened to Lisa. He intended to find out what was going on. She’d convinced him she’d been too tired to talk earlier that day and he hadn’t wanted to put undue pressure on her, given all that she’d been through. This was different. No way could he go back to sleep without answers. And no one could stop him from getting them, not even her.
“Sir, visiting hours are over,” the nurse warned as he stalked toward Lisa’s wing.
“I received a call from a patient of yours. She’s expecting me.” Like hell he wasn’t going into her room.
“I can’t allow it. Hospital policy.” The nurse sprang from her seat and moved around the desk too late to block him from entering Lisa’s hallway.
“Call your supervisor if you have to, but I’m not leaving until I know my wife is okay.” Ryan used the earlier lie he’d given in order for her to receive treatment. He’d had to think quickly then. Surely they wouldn’t refuse a husband access to his spouse now. He figured he had at least a few minutes before hospital security could catch up in order to toss him out of the building.
“Sir.” Her voice trailed off, which meant she wasn’t following him. She’d most likely doubled back so she could call the security desk.
Ryan
