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Immediately, she tensed.
The idea of going anywhere with him was obviously a terrifying one.
Whatever she had been through had no doubt been traumatic, but he didn't have time for hysterics right now. Both of their lives depended on getting somewhere safe.
“Do you still want to be here if he comes?”
Her head shook against his shoulder.
“Don’t you want to go somewhere safe?”
A nod.
“Then let me take you to the hospital. You’ll be safe there, and we can call the police. They’ll be able to help you and find the man who hurt you, so you can remain safe. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”
Taylor paused for a moment, then nodded.
Taking that as her assent, Fin put one arm under her knees, the other around her shoulders, and lifted her up. He gave a quick glance around, and when he saw nothing out of place, he carried her to his car, managing to unlock it and open the door without dropping his still weeping bundle, and deposited her in the passenger seat.
She made no move to buckle her seatbelt, so he did it for her before going around and getting in the driver’s seat. Although he half expected the boogeyman to come jumping out at any moment, the drive to the hospital was uneventful. He drove and Taylor cried. Fin hoped that the girl had a strong family unit to help her deal with whatever she had been through. He knew better than most the struggle of dealing with tragedy on your own.
Parking in front of the hospital, he was ready to deliver the girl into the care of someone else, then go home and return to battling through the worst Christmas season of his life.
*****
10:37 P.M.
This was not how she had envisioned her evening turning out.
Special Agent Chloe Luckman had intended to spend the evening in bed, crying, until she wore herself out and finally fellinto a fitful sleep she knew would be full of bad dreams. She had done a lot of crying in the last seven months. She tried to be strong, to keep it together, to convince everyone that she had moved on and that she was doing okay, but alone in bed at night she couldn’t keep up the act. Her mask cracked, and her pain came pouring out.
She’d thought it would be better by now.
Seven months should be long enough to feel like she didn’t have to cry herself to sleep each night. It should be enough that she had come to terms with what happened and learned to deal with it. It wasn't like she could change it, so she had no choice but to accept it. It was justsohard.
Work was her salvation right now. It was pretty much the only thing that kept her getting out of bed each morning.
It was work that had her here at the hospital at nearly eleven at night, and she was thankful for the distraction. It never lasted long; the pain always crept back into the forefront of her mind; but when she was focused on something else, it hovered in the background.
Chloe wasn't paying attention to what she was doing or where she was going and walked straight into someone.
“Whoa,” the person said as they grabbed hold of her biceps to stop her falling as she bounced off them.
The voice was one she recognized. One she had come to know quite well in the last seven months. One that had comforted her more times than she could count.
“Chloe.” He sounded surprised to see her. “What are you doing here?”
“Work,” she replied.
“Oh, you're working Taylor Sallow’s case.”
“You are too?” she asked Dr. Eric Abbott.
“I just finished examining her.”
“How is she?”
“Mild hypothermia and a partially healed broken bone in her leg. Other than that, she’s in reasonable physical condition.”
