Read Online Aftermath by Rachel Trautmiller - Free Book Online Page A

anything he said? Were they destined to live out their lives in this weird paragon of him pressing her to enjoy a normal life? And her refusal to acknowledge anything or anyone.
    Except, in the most inopportune moments.
    “Is Amanda with her?” The words came out slow, as if Lilly had committed them to memory a million times and it pained her to repeat the phrase.
    “I know you don’t like her, but—”
    Lilly’s gaze flashed to him. She readjusted the purse hanging from her shoulder. “I never said that.” Again, the words were well-practiced. Deliberate and almost part automation.
    No. She hadn’t said the exact sentence. Instead, a lot of other words had come from her mouth, all mixed up and angry. And aimed at the woman he loved, on a day that should have been a happy memory.
    Anger’s dangerous cousin bubbled in his chest, the boiling point the thought of his niece in a blue and white checkered gown.
    He didn’t have time for the Robinson reactor meltdown. The one where he told his sister to get out of his house until she could deal with the past, in a manner resembling the woman who’d helped raise him after their mother’s unexpected death.
    In this boiling pit of ugly disease, Amanda wouldn’t be spared. Sure, she’d never deserved any of the things Lilly said, but where was his in-your-face detective who didn’t take crap? The woman who would befriend the least deserving individual. Take the worst situation and turn it into something spectacular.
    Instead, she’d disappeared when they’d needed her most. When he’d needed her most.
    He wiped a hand over his face. A blowout of that magnitude would only produce more of the same. He took a deep breath and buried every simmering emotion as far as his keyed up body would allow him.
    His niece needed him just as much as she needed her own mother. He wouldn’t let her down. Couldn’t bear the thought.
    “Amanda coaxed Ariana from hiding in the ravine overpass. And she hasn’t let Amanda leave her sight since. This kind of thing is expected.” How many times had he said something like it to concerned parents?
    Your child will return to a semblance of normal. Give it time.
    What a load of crap. The phrase tasted like lumpy pencil shavings in his mouth. Thick and unmanageable. All he had to do was swallow. And he didn’t want to. Wanted to spit it back out and rage at whatever manufacturer had promised something far different.
    “It’s normal for cops to hang around after saving someone?” Disdain dripped from the sentence.
    What did she want from him? From any of them?
    Robinson hit the button on the security door leading to the ER bays a little harder than necessary. Wondered if Lilly even noticed his frustration or if she enjoyed spiking his blood pressure at random intervals throughout the day.
    He made a slow count to ten. Waited for the bored kid on the other side to answer his call. “In this case, yes. The men who chased your daughter from a crime scene know what she looks like.” He glared at her. “Probably even have her backpack. So, they might know a lot of other things about her. Like where she goes to school. And lives. Who her friends are.”
    Lilly’s complexion took on a pale hue. A harsh swallow filled the silence. Her gaze found the checkered floor.
    He stuck his tongue in his cheek. He couldn’t win.
    The logical part of his brain urged him to apologize for his callous words. Find a way to comfort a woman still struggling to regain her own life.
    The words and actions were nowhere to be found. She’d have to deal with it, because he was done playing nursemaid.
    “Room number and patient, please.” A male voice came over the intercom.
    He bent near it. Kept his voice low. “One-oh-two.”
    “Your name?” The voice was full of high-alert, now. Probably because Robinson had scared the piss out of him before he’d left. Made it pretty clear he’d better do his job well, today. Not dink around on the Internet and let