AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Think!Her mind raced with possible solutions. There appeared to be one door, and it was behind him. Window. Closet. Where was that cell phone from Faith?
“Is Retta with you, or is she coming later?” she asked in the calmest voice she could muster.
The question had him frowning. “What?”
His name came to her. If she could keep up the ruse while she figured out an exit plan... “Retta told me to meet her here. I assumed you drove her. Trent, right?”
“How do you—”
She turned and reached for the nearest object. Hardcover books. She grabbed them double-fisted. Lobbed one then another at him. Slammed the first into his head. Aimed for theknife but hit his stomach with the second. She screamed as she threw. Dodged around the desk, racing as fast as she could for the door.
She touched the knob right as he grabbed the back of her shirt.
“Not today!” She kept moving, dragging him with her. “Gabby!”
She slipped on the marble but managed to stay on her feet. Only a few steps to the front door and freedom, but his hand clamped down on her shoulder. A stinging pain had her stopping.
He was on top of her then. A muscled arm wrapped around her waist and lifted her off the floor. Dark spots blurred her vision as she lashed out, trying to smash the back of her head into his face. She clawed at the arm banded around her. Her fingers slipped as he whipped her around in the air.
One minute she was on her feet, the next she hit the ground. Hard. A harsh sound escaped her. She knew it came from her because the noise vibrated through her.
Dazed and dizzy, she lay on her back and looked up at her attacker. Trent stood over her with the knife. Blood dripped off the end.
“Stabbed?” She’d sliced him? That had to be it.
She tried to kick out, but her body refused to move. A strange numbness moved through her. Her hands felt wet. Lifting her head grew impossible as the sound of labored breathing registered in her brain.
Her eyes closed, and she forced them open again. She was so tired. The exhaustion crept up on her and stole all her strength.She strained to get up but couldn’t move. As the minutes ticked by, the last of her energy drained away. Her right hand slipped off her stomach and fell to the floor beside her.
The wetness. Blood. A slick fiery red covered her closed fist. She couldn’t remember making a fist but couldn’t stop. Her hand remained clenched even as she fought to open it. More red. Running out from under her, around her.
She heard a click and what sounded like a sharp intake of breath. Gabby was here.Finally.She would fix this. Jessa couldn’t form the words, but Gabby knew the truth. She knew everything.
Rest now.Peace. Quiet. Jessa savored the soothing comfort of both. This time she let her eyes close, but they opened again at the sound of Retta’s trembling voice.
“No! What did you do?”
Chapter Seventy-Three
Jessa
There was an odd sucking noise that made it hard for Jessa to hear the words. Retta entered the room, all animated and yelling. More emotion than Jessa had ever seen from her. Retta shoved the man... What was it again? Trent? Yeah, that was it.
Retta’s pantsuit today was a Wedgwood blue. Jessa had no idea why that mattered or stuck in her mind. Her eyes were so heavy. The blue popped through the fuzziness.
“You had no right,” Retta yelled.
He probably shouldn’t be here. That made sense. Jessa struggled to remember why she was here... Where was she? She focused on the leather chair and ottoman in the far corner of the room, but they didn’t look familiar. Faith had once joked that she couldn’t afford real leather, so not hers. Maybe Tim... Wait, no. That wasn’t right.
The wheezing grew louder. Like a gurgling. The sound bounced around Jessa’s head.
Where is that coming from?
She opened her mouth to ask and started coughing. The thick, rattling kind. That probably explained the wetness on her cheeks. But her stomach and back? The odd pulsing. She faded in and out, but the pain only increased.
Retta and the man watched her now. Neither moved or said a word. The look on Retta’s face... Was it guilt? She had her fist to her mouth as she shook her head.
A rush of strange sounds, then a voice broke through. “What happened?”
