the attack. Two men, dressed all in black, tall and muscular and all business, even when they were terrorizing her . . .
A chill ran down her spine. She didn’t know why the possibility hadn’t occurred to her before.
“I don’t know. M-maybe.”
“Damn it to hell.” She could hear his teeth grinding. “What did they say? What did they do?”
Her stomach knotted. Her pulse revved up. An upsurge of remembered fear tasted sour in her mouth. She wet her dry lips.
“They said they wanted my jewelry. When I couldn’t give it to them, they beat me up, then they tried to kill me. They sh-shot Lisa dead.”
“Tell me what happened. Start at the beginning.”
Taking a deep breath, she did, although she gave him the edited version. She just didn’t like talking about it, she discovered. And some parts, like the details of how Lisa had died, were just too raw right now. She needed time to process what had happened herself before she spelled it out for anyone else.
“Did they take anything? What did they take?”
The tension vibrating in his voice ratcheted up her own burgeoning agitation.
“I don’t know. I didn’t see. They were in the den . . . they found the safe. You never—” Told me there was a hidden safe was what she meant to say, but he cut her off with an explosion of curses.
“Did they get into it? Did they take anything? What did they take?” Ed practically screamed that last part, making her jump.
Bully. The thought popped into her mind unbidden, surprising her with its cool detachment. Did he always yell like that? The unsettling thing was, she didn’t know.
She did know she didn’t like being screamed at.
“I don’t know.” The sudden chill she felt was reflected in her voice. How many times did she have to say it? Her fingers hurt from gripping the phone so hard, and she shifted the receiver into her other hand, flexing her cramped fingers as she continued. “What was in that safe, anyway? Was there jewelry?”
She heard him inhale. The ensuing silence was as loud as a shout.
“Yeah,” he said after a minute. “Along with some other things. Valuables. Cash. You know.”
Yeah, she knew—knew that he was lying. It was there in his voice, plain as anything.
Don’t call him on it. The warning sprang into her head as clearly as if she had heard someone say it aloud. Instinctively, she felt that her own interests would be best served by pretending to believe whatever he said.
“I’m coming home,” he said abruptly, before she could reply. “Quick as I can get there. In the meantime, I’ll send some people to you in the hospital. They’ll watch over you. When you’re ready to leave, they’ll take you somewhere safe.”
Somewhere safe . . . As his words sank in, her heart skipped a beat. That implied, unless she was mightily mistaken, that she wasn’t safe where she was.
“Oh,” she answered faintly, and realized that the thought of seeing him in the flesh sent butterflies swooping through her stomach. And not the good kind of butterflies. Anxious butterflies. Fearful butterflies.
“Love ya, babe,” he said, and hung up before she could reply.
Katharine slowly pulled the receiver away from her ear. Her pulse raced, and looking down at her hand gripping the phone, she saw that her knuckles were white from holding on to it so hard.
“Is everything all right?”
She had forgotten Dan was there until he spoke. She glanced over to find that he was still standing a few feet away beside the medical equipment but was now openly watching her, and she wondered if her expression was as discombobulated as her thoughts.
He was a doctor. She latched on to that thought like a drowning man to a branch. She could tell him about the apparent gaps in her memory, about the odd sense of disassociation she was experiencing, about how generally weird she felt. About Ed, and not recognizing his voice, and her conviction that she needed to do what he said or the consequences would
A chill ran down her spine. She didn’t know why the possibility hadn’t occurred to her before.
“I don’t know. M-maybe.”
“Damn it to hell.” She could hear his teeth grinding. “What did they say? What did they do?”
Her stomach knotted. Her pulse revved up. An upsurge of remembered fear tasted sour in her mouth. She wet her dry lips.
“They said they wanted my jewelry. When I couldn’t give it to them, they beat me up, then they tried to kill me. They sh-shot Lisa dead.”
“Tell me what happened. Start at the beginning.”
Taking a deep breath, she did, although she gave him the edited version. She just didn’t like talking about it, she discovered. And some parts, like the details of how Lisa had died, were just too raw right now. She needed time to process what had happened herself before she spelled it out for anyone else.
“Did they take anything? What did they take?”
The tension vibrating in his voice ratcheted up her own burgeoning agitation.
“I don’t know. I didn’t see. They were in the den . . . they found the safe. You never—” Told me there was a hidden safe was what she meant to say, but he cut her off with an explosion of curses.
“Did they get into it? Did they take anything? What did they take?” Ed practically screamed that last part, making her jump.
Bully. The thought popped into her mind unbidden, surprising her with its cool detachment. Did he always yell like that? The unsettling thing was, she didn’t know.
She did know she didn’t like being screamed at.
“I don’t know.” The sudden chill she felt was reflected in her voice. How many times did she have to say it? Her fingers hurt from gripping the phone so hard, and she shifted the receiver into her other hand, flexing her cramped fingers as she continued. “What was in that safe, anyway? Was there jewelry?”
She heard him inhale. The ensuing silence was as loud as a shout.
“Yeah,” he said after a minute. “Along with some other things. Valuables. Cash. You know.”
Yeah, she knew—knew that he was lying. It was there in his voice, plain as anything.
Don’t call him on it. The warning sprang into her head as clearly as if she had heard someone say it aloud. Instinctively, she felt that her own interests would be best served by pretending to believe whatever he said.
“I’m coming home,” he said abruptly, before she could reply. “Quick as I can get there. In the meantime, I’ll send some people to you in the hospital. They’ll watch over you. When you’re ready to leave, they’ll take you somewhere safe.”
Somewhere safe . . . As his words sank in, her heart skipped a beat. That implied, unless she was mightily mistaken, that she wasn’t safe where she was.
“Oh,” she answered faintly, and realized that the thought of seeing him in the flesh sent butterflies swooping through her stomach. And not the good kind of butterflies. Anxious butterflies. Fearful butterflies.
“Love ya, babe,” he said, and hung up before she could reply.
Katharine slowly pulled the receiver away from her ear. Her pulse raced, and looking down at her hand gripping the phone, she saw that her knuckles were white from holding on to it so hard.
“Is everything all right?”
She had forgotten Dan was there until he spoke. She glanced over to find that he was still standing a few feet away beside the medical equipment but was now openly watching her, and she wondered if her expression was as discombobulated as her thoughts.
He was a doctor. She latched on to that thought like a drowning man to a branch. She could tell him about the apparent gaps in her memory, about the odd sense of disassociation she was experiencing, about how generally weird she felt. About Ed, and not recognizing his voice, and her conviction that she needed to do what he said or the consequences would
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