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“Is there a problem?” the nurse asks.
“She needed help getting to the bathroom,” I explain, taking a step away from the door.
“I’ll help her back to bed after she’s done,” she says, taking position near the door and forcing me even further away.
“I wasn’t—” My phone rings, giving me the escape I need from the awkwardness. “I have to take this call.”
She nods, as if she’s telling me to get lost as I pull it from my pocket.
Kincaid’s name is lighting up the screen, but I wait until I step out of the room to answer.
“Yeah,” I grunt once the call connects.
Silence fills the line.
“Hello?”
“If this is too difficult for you, I can have Rivet stay with her,” my boss says.
I appreciate him understanding that I’d prefer a woman over anyone else, but the fact remains that I’m not going to leave her side until I know she’s going to be fine on her own. I don’t know that I’d even go very far if she outright told me to fuck off.
“I’ve got it under control.”
“You seem out of sorts.”
“It’s a lot to witness,” I confess, once again scrubbing my face with my free hand.
“Understandably,” he quickly agrees. “I’ve made arrangements with the police department for her to go through their mug books. The sheriff’s department is going to help out by bringing theirs over as well since we know she was held in a rural location. This way she doesn’t have to go to two different places.”
“Can they not come to her?”
“There’s some red tape involved in making that happen, and it’ll be quicker if she goes to the station.”
I can’t argue with the reasoning, but I’d like her to be more comfortable than sitting at a police station.
“She’s going to get discharged shortly. She’s going to need rest.”
“Do you think she’s going to agree to rest?”
I huff a humorless laugh. “No.”
“Then we might as well strike while the iron is hot. They’re working on getting a sketch artist in, but there’s no telling how long that will take.”
“Can’t that be done over the phone?”
“Arrangements are being made. Listen, Grinch, I know you’re frustrated. We all are, but there’s a process.”
I’m well aware of the process, but I don’t voice this to him. Getting shitty with my boss won’t get us any closer to finding Alyssa Dansby.
“I know resting all of this on Grace’s shoulders is the last thing you want to do, but she’s the only person with a connection to these people. If she’s willing to help, it could mean the difference between finding Alyssa alive and having to make the notification to her parents about her death.”
“And what about what it will do to her if the girl isn’t recovered.”
“Maybe the peace of helping will ease some of that guilt.”
“I hope you’re right,” I mutter.
We talk a little longer, but there’s no more intel to disclose.
By the time I get back in the room, the nurse has Grace back in the bed and she’s telling her about her imminent discharge from the hospital.
Chapter 14
Grace
“Signing the paperwork is just the beginning. It’s still going to take at least twenty minutes before you can finally leave,” the nurse says as I sign my name to the paperwork she’s presented.
“I understand,” I tell her, but honestly, I’ve never been admitted to the hospital before, so I have no clue how the procedure actually works.
“Just make sure your address and all the personal information is correct before signing,” she instructs.
I look at the address at the top, wondering if I’ll ever feel like going back to my apartment. I was less than two blocks from the place I considered home when I was taken. The concept of ever feeling safe there again is foreign to me. Remembering Kincaid’s insistence on having a place for me at the clubhouse in New Mexico, I finish signing the documents before smiling up at her.
“We can keep you a little longer if you’re not comfortable leaving with that man.” Her eyes search mine, and I know what’s running through her head.
I arrived in an ambulance after having been abducted and beaten. She’s worried that the guy in the biker vest is somehow connected to the people who took me.
“He’s an old friend,” I assure her. “I’m safe with him.”
She looks wary, but she nods before leaving the room. Hell, I’m wary of him, not so sure that I’m safe, but I know I’m not in any physical danger. It’s my heart I have to worry about at this point. He’s bringing up so many old memories and regrets. It’s like my brain is just glossing over all the problems we had and choosing only to remember the good times.
For years, I chalked up my inability to forget him on the great sex and endorphins I experienced when we were together. When you live a life after a person who gave you the best experiences of your life, your mind tends to hold on to that person whether you want it to or not.
