“I know this is hard for you to say, but it’s part of the healing. Anything else?”

“They threatened me, that if I threw up, they’d kill me. Even that first time, when I saw them…”

“Saw them what?”

“My friend Luke Walker. The kid Ryan and I were looking for that first day we went—when I got taken. He was already dead, but they made me watch as they—” My skin got cold and tightened around me, my bowels gurgled, and my stomach threatened to empty.

“It’s okay. Breathe. When things get rough, it’s always best to go back to the simple essence of life. Breathing.”

I breathed in and out. In. Out. In. Out. My body was not relieved of tension, but it was a start. “They told me if I threw up or shit my pants…they…”

The horrors formed in my mind’s eye. Luke Walker, thankfully already dead, as his body was cut apart, butchered, the splintering sounds as his bones cracked. His brains and eyeballs as they beat his head in.

“Breathe, Talon.”

 

“Don’t you dare puke, you little pussy. Watch. Don’t close your eyes.”

I gagged, swallowing compulsively, trying desperately to ease the nausea that rose in my throat.

“See this? This is what happens when we’re done. This is what will happen to you when we’re done with you.”

My knees buckled, but because one of the men was holding me up, I didn’t fall to the floor. His hands were clamped over my shoulders and upper arms, holding me still, while the other…

At least Luke wasn’t screaming.

He was already dead.

No one should have to know what beat-in brains look like. But I would know. For the rest of my short life, I would know. Red sticky jelly, splattering, oozing…

For the rest of my short life, I would know.

 

“They chopped him up. Chopped his arms and legs off.” I gulped. “Beat his head in and then chopped it off.”

Dr. Carmichael’s lips trembled. Just a bit, but I noticed. She was trying to keep her cool. She specialized in childhood trauma, but this could easily have been the worst she’d ever heard. I wasn’t about to ask.

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” she said, clearing her throat.

“Sometimes, I look back, and I just don’t get it, Doc. Why, in the face of everything that happened to me—why did I fight so hard to survive?”

Chapter Fifteen

Jade

I had gotten a phone call from my father at about noon. My mother was finally awake for more than a few seconds at a time, and she wanted to see me. It was Friday, and since I was now the acting city attorney, I gave myself the rest of the day off. I said goodbye to Michelle and David and drove the Mustang I had borrowed from the Steels to Valleycrest Hospital in Grand Junction.

My father was waiting for me in the waiting area outside the ICU. He gave me a quick hug.

“She’s looking better, Jade. But still she’s not Brooke Bailey yet.” He smiled. “We haven’t let her look at herself in the mirror.”

I couldn’t help a small chuckle. “Yes, that would probably devastate her.” But maybe now she would learn that looks were not the most important thing in the world.

“She’s been asking for you. She also keeps asking for that Nico character.”

My blood chilled at his name. The way Talon had reacted, I wanted Nico Kostas to stay far away from my mother. “So he hasn’t been back around?” I asked hopefully.

My father shook his head. “Not that I know of. Of course I wouldn’t recognize him if I saw him.”

“He’s a tall and burly Mediterranean type. Good-looking enough.”

“And he probably buys her pretty things.” My father smiled.

I couldn’t help but smile back. “Should I go on in?”

My father nodded. “I know she’ll be happy to see you.”

I squeezed my father’s hand and then left him and walked into the ICU. A nurse was in with my mother, checking her vitals.

“I’m sorry to intrude. Should I come back in a few minutes?”

My mother’s cracked lips curved slightly upward. “No, that’s my daughter. I want her to stay.”

The nurse smiled, finishing up. “You heard the patient. I’m done here anyway. Just a few minutes,” she said to me. “Ms. Bailey tires easily.”

“I understand.” I sat down in the chair next to my mother’s bed. “How are you doing, Mother?”

She sighed. “Could be better, of course.” Her voice was soft and tired. “Glad to see you though.”

“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to be here this week.”

“Don’t worry about that. Your father explained everything. Your work is important, Jade.”

Was this my mother I was talking to? My mother who always put Brooke Bailey first and everything else second? My mother was saying my work was important?

“I can probably stay here for the weekend if you want me to. I have to go back for work on Monday. I’m the acting city attorney right now, so it’s kind of necessary that I be in the office.”

“The acting city attorney? How did that happen?”

I shook my head. “It’s a long story, Mom. I’ll explain later, when you’re stronger.”

She sighed. “All right. If you think that’s best.”

I did a double take. Was this truly Brooke Bailey I was talking to? Never before had she been concerned with what I thought was best. Never before had she been concerned with what anyone else other than she thought was best.

“So do you know what happened to you?”

“An accident. Airbag didn’t deploy, evidently.”

“That’s right,” I said. “You’re really lucky to be alive.”

“Yes, I suppose I am. I guess my modeling days are over, though they’ve kind of been over for a while.”

“Are you in a lot of pain?”

“No. They’ve got me good and drugged up. I don’t want to think about what the shattered knee is going to feel like.”

“They’ll take good care of you here. They have so far. The doctors saved your life.”

“I know that. I just don’t understand.”