AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I can wait, though. We need to. It’s the closest thing we’ll have to a lead.” I gulp, trying to focus on that rather than the trauma.
“Can you remember anything specific about the person? Anything they said, alluded to?” His father presses me.
I nod, knowing I need to give them and the PI enough to go on but not enough to reveal what the ransom ask was.
“He mentioned my father, that my father ruined ‘us.’ Not that it narrows it down, my father hurt a lot of people in this town.” I’ve never loathed him more than when his consequences were coming for me. “And he said that it didn’t matter if the Ashton family protected me, he could get to me.”
“Motherfucker,” Patrick swears under his breath, turning away as his jaw tightens so violently, I think he might break a tooth.
“Can you remember anything else?” Patrick asks me, trying to sound a little gentler than his curse a moment ago.
Breath traps itself in my lungs because this would be the time to tell him. Tell them. Except the only thing I can see is Patrick, dead because of me.
“No.” A sob wracks me.
“Okay, okay. It’s okay. You’re okay now.” Patrick can’t touch me, but he’s as close as he can get.
The PI, Robert, arrives within thirty minutes, already having been in New Jersey for something else, as fate would have it. He does a full workup just like the cops would; fingerprints, dusting, hair samples, pulling at things with tweezers, and a statement. He swabs my cheeks and clothes and has me recount the entire story again. He promises to rush the lab samples and try to keep it discreet. The last thing we need is this attack made public; not only for the town but also because a huge media circus would surround me if the world knew.
“Now, let’s take you to the hospital and get you cleaned up,” Patrick says, pulling me into his arms the minute Robert says it’s acceptable.
His warmth and love are all I want to focus on
“No hospital,” Robert says, his gruff voice matching his personality.
“Yeah, no,” I agree, even with the blood drying on my cheeks.
But no one knows I’m only saying that because their safety is my utmost priority.
“They’ll want to do their own tests and they’ll contact law enforcement, who have already screwed this up and shown us they don’t care. Can you manage the injuries at home?” he asks me.
I nod. “Nothing feels broken—”
“Are you crazy? We’re getting you to the ER.” Patrick looks bewildered.
I press my hand to his cheek, fighting every second that I want to break down and hide away. “It’s scrapes and bruises. I don’t need to go, I’m telling you. I just want you to take me home. I want to get out of here, be alone with you, and …”
I can feel the tears coming, the knot in my throat loosening.
Patrick seems to sense this because he scoops me up until I’m being carried and can lay my head against his chest.
“You’ll tell Mom?” he asks his dad as he starts toward the car.
“Don’t worry about us. Take her home, take care of her. Cassandra?” His father touches my hand that’s pressed to his son’s chest. “You’re incredibly brave.”
If only they knew. If only they knew what I’m about to do, the risk I’m about to take. I wish I didn’t have to face it all alone but isn’t that balance what I was just wishing for before?
God, the universe really took me to heart on that one.
The ride home is a blur, and I keep it together until we get to the guesthouse, where I tell Patrick I want to shower while he makes me tea.
Only then do I sob violently, silently, into my fist as the hot water washes away the traces of the attack. Because I have one chance to keep everyone I love safe, and I’m not sure it will even work.
29
CASSANDRA
Two days of hiding out with Patrick has me on edge, skittish, and feeling like prey.
