Page 14 of Wicked Promises
Pain crashes through me. It goes straight to my head, and so do my hands.
Someone rushes in. Their warm fingers wrap around my wrists, pulling my arms down.
“Margo, Margo. Can you hear me? You’re safe. You’re in the hospital.”
Stars burst behind my eyelids, but I recognize Lenora’s voice. She eases me back, muttering about the lights. A second later, everything in my peripherals goes dim. I lower my fingers away from my eyes and blink.
It still hurts, but not nearly as bad.
Lenora hovers at the side of the bed. She strokes my hair, leaning in. “I was so worried, honey. Oh my God. You gave us a scare.”
A nurse comes in, followed quickly by a doctor. My foster mother’s expression is worried… and afraid. Why is she afraid?
“You have a concussion,” the doctor says. “Expect headaches, maybe memory fragments. And… there’s a detective outside who wants to speak with you.”
I just woke up.
I glance at Lenora, whose lips flatten into a straight line. “Do you think she’s in any state?—”
“No,” the doctor agrees. “We can put him off for a little while, but he knows you’re awake. Now, ma’am, let us check out your daughter.”
The nurse takes Lenora’s place. She checks my eyes, blood pressure, heart rate.
“You’re not going to tell me how I got here?” I ask her.
“The detective wanted to speak with you.” He gives Lenora a look. “You should be present, as her guardian.”
“Of course.”
I think back. It’s hard with the headache pulsing behind my eyes. I was at the prison visiting my father. He said some upsetting things… like how he was there because he murdered Caleb’s dad.
He said he didn’t do it.
There was the plea deal. I told him I went to see his lawyer, and that upset him.
When I got outside, I fell into Robert’s arms…
The collision of cars is suddenly all around me. Like I’m reliving it. I jerk. The weightless feeling of rolling, the crush of my seat belt across my chest…
“Where is Robert?” I grab for Lenora.
She slides her palm against mine, gripping tightly. “He’s in intensive care. His lung collapsed, and he has a few broken ribs, but he’s going to be okay.”
I bite my lip. The metallic taste of blood blooms across my tongue.
Someone pulled me out of the upside-down car. Away from the wreck. But instead of helping me, they were taking me away.
They knocked me out, and when I woke up…
Shit.
“Where’s Caleb?”
A man walks into the room as I’m asking. “He really fooled you, huh?”
Who the hell is this?
The doctor groans. “Really, Masters? You’re supposed to wait for Angela?—”