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Jace
It could have been worse.
You’d think two stab wounds to the back would be enough to end someone’s life, but people are hard to kill, I guess. I would know.
Eugenia’s shitty little knife did some damage, though. I suppose I could’ve bled to death if Greer hadn’t thought to press her shirt against my wounds or if we’d had to wait for an ambulance. Stab wounds are damn bloody things.
The shock that had immobilized me faded quickly once Eugenia and Greer hit the ground together. I was back up—but unsteady—by the time Greer dashed away, and when I saw Eugenia disappear into the darkness in the other direction, I knew we were safe. For now.
As soon as Greer had hung up the phone in the parlor, she’d regretted her haste. She’d told me her instincts had warned her it was a bad idea to meet with Eugenia alone, but she’d been prepared to go anyway—until she’d thought about me. Waking up alone. Discovering that she again hadn’t bothered to confide in me.
“Jace?” she’d whispered, standing over the bed. “Jaaaccceee!”
“…need a little more time, sweetheart. Get under here and help.”
“Eugenia called,” she’d said simply. I’d immediately sat up in bed, scrubbing my hands down my face in an attempt to wake myself up fully. “She invited me out to this place she’s staying.”
“Now? Why?”
“Because we haven’t seen each other in a while. To talk.”
Yeah, right.
“Amato was on his way to talk to Eugenia when he disappeared. You’re not going.”
“That’s…that was a coincidence. Eugenia didn’t murder Danny.”
“Maybe not,” I’d conceded. “I can’t really picture it, but…”
“I’m only telling you because…I want to show you that I trust you. I wanted you to know what was going on.”
I’d covered the ‘G’ on my chest with my hand, Pledge of Allegiance-style. Only I was pledging allegiance to Greer. “Sweetheart…”
“And because I’m extending you that trust, that courtesy, you’re not going to stop me from going.”
What a little negotiator she was. “Then I’m going with you.”
“You have to stay in the car.”
“Or what?”
“Or I’ll seduce you, wait for you to fall back asleep, and leave on my own.”
“I’d find you,” I’d said, grinning. “You had to have written down directions somewhere. My Nancy Drew skills are unparalleled. A little old-fashioned shading on the notepad should reveal your location.”
“Try it,” she’d snapped. “Or you can just abide by my terms. Show me the same level of trust I’m showing you. Trust that I can handle myself.”
And she had. At least until Eugenia had pulled out a knife and started stabbing.
I’d found Greer shivering deep in the cemetery, the knife nowhere to be found. She did what she’d had to do, but I’m sure the police would be annoyed they now had to search the woods for it.
Greer had startled as I’d come toward her, scared until she saw it was me. Then she’d whipped into action, pulling her sweatshirt off and using it to stanch the blood still dripping down my back. I’d felt weak. We hadn’t had much time. Eventually, I would have needed to sit down. And who knew if I would’ve been able to get back up. Greer couldn’t carry me, so if I was going to collapse, I needed to do it in the truck.
“I’m okay, sweetheart. But you’re going to have to drive me to the hospital. Can you do that? Greer?”
She’d stared at me, and I’d realized she was likely in shock too. She’d kept trying to tie the arms of her sweatshirt around my back, not realizing that it was too broad. I’d taken her hand and led her the few hundred yards to the entrance to the cemetery and then back to the Bronco.
“Can you drive?”
