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“You’re in the hospital. You’re safe.”
It’s only then that I get a really good look at her neck. The column of her throat is entirely ringed with bruises.
“I couldn’t breathe,” she says, sounding a bit dazed. She pulls her hands free and touches her throat, searching gently. “It still hurts.”
“Someone choked you.” I read it in the police report.
She nods. “I remember him the most. He liked it. He laughed when I choked and gagged.”
My chest burns, and I see red. I’d give anything to get my hands on whoever did that to her. I’d like to see how he fares when the tables are turned and someone’s choking him.
Layla snaps her head to face the wall, and she stares into space, suddenly distracted. When she shakes her head, I see glittering tears in her dark eyes.
“No,” she hisses. She shakes her head vehemently. “No.”
I know she’s not talking to me. “What’d she say to you?”
Layla turns her startled gaze to me. “She said he should have choked me to death. Put me out of my misery and everyone else’s.”
On impulse, I reach for her hand. “She’s wrong. Don’t listen to her.”
Layla looks skeptical. “You—” She falters.
“I what?”
“You believe me? You believe I hear the voice?”
“Of course I do.”
She shakes her head. “Most people think I’m crazy. They think I’m making it up or imagining it.”
I squeeze her hand. “You hear it. That’s all that matters. The rest of us can’t, so it’s hard for us to relate.” Her fingers are soft and warm in my grasp. I shouldn’t be touching her—it’s inappropriate—so I release her hand. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”
She gives me a small smile. “It’s okay.”
“Do you want to talk about your nightmare?”
She shakes her head. “Not really.”
“Maybe it would help.”
She laughs. “You sound just like Dr. Hartigan, my psychiatrist.”
“Well, your psychiatrist is right. It does help to talk about the things that scare us the most.”
“It was awful.” Her voice cracks as she looks away.
I’m not sure if she’s referring to the nightmare or her abduction. She’s shaking now. When she lies back down, I cover her with the blankets and tuck her in. “You experienced something pretty awful, Layla.”
“Yes, but it was my own fault.”
“Why do you say that? None of it was your fault.”
“Sean’s dead because of me.”
“No. Your former bodyguard got himself into trouble with his roommate, and it got him killed. That had absolutely nothing to do with you. And as for the abduction, for god’s sake, that wasn’t your fault. Human traffickers are human scum, and I hope they all rot in jail. You know, it’s because Ian and Tyler foundyouthat all those other girls were rescued too. So, when you think about it, you were responsible for saving all those young women.”
“I never saw any of the other girls. I only heard their screams. I still hear them in my nightmares.”
