“Baby, you can hold it against me for the rest of my life.”
“Unless I die.” It’s almost as if I realize the possibility in one swift moment.
“You’re not gonna die.”
“I may die.” Finally, feeling the fear set it.
“You’re not going to die.”
“Eli…” I start.
“No,” he shakes his head, speeding up and rounding another corner.
My eyes close as I lean against his chest again.
“Help!”he screams. I can hear something in the distance. “Stay with me.”
Something wet falls onto my face.
“I just got you back. Stay with me.”
My body feels cool, and I almost feel as if I’m floating.
“You’re too fucking stubborn to die.” His voice breaks this time with a sob, and another drop lands on my face.
Everything feels like it gets further away as I listen to Eli’s words through his chest. It’s weird because I can’t seem to understand any of what he’s saying, but the sound of his voice soothes me.
42
“And why were you here?” The agent asks me.
“Because she called me, and I heard someone take her.”
“Why didn’t you contact the police?”
“I did.” I laugh.
“He called me,” Collins tells her again. “I traced her watch to the station.”
“Right…” she nods her head.
“I had a feeling someone on the force was behind it.”
“Why would they?”
“Because… they wanted to hurt me.”
“So they knew you were together?”
“They figured it out.”
“How’d they do that?”
Collins starts this time. “They found a video of them together in his old cruiser.”
“And it was apparent that they were together?”
“Yeah…”
