Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
“Valentina?” one of them asks.
I nod.
“I’m Officer Davis and this is Detective Rodriguez. I apologize about the late visit, but we wanted to ask you some questions about the incident while it’s fresh in your mind, if that’s okay with you.”
“Okay,” I say, agreeing. I’d rather have this happen while Holden is out of the room anyway.
“Great. Can you tell me what happened?”
“I was driving back to campus when a car sped up behind me. I thought he wanted to pass, so I switched lanes, but he just followed me. At one point, he backed off, then stopped completely, but then he sped up again, and that time, he hit me from behind.”
“Did you notice what kind of vehicle it was, or a license plate number?”
“It was dark and he had his high beams on. Black, maybe? An SUV.” I close my eyes, searching my mind for anything else, but come up short.
When I open my eyes, I catch Shayne’s worried expression, the fear in her eyes, and I know she’s come to the same conclusion as me.
“You said he,” the detective chimes in, bringing my attention back to them. “It was a man then?”
I shake my head. “No, I just assumed.”
He jots something down onto a notepad. “Can you think of anyone who might want to hurt you?”
I open my mouth to tell them about Samuel, but I hesitate, seeing Holden approaching behind them, his right hand and arm wrapped in gauze. “Uh, no. Not that I can think of.”
Holden walks over to my side, crossing his arms over his chest.
“The tire marks indicate that this wasn’t an accident,” the officer says. I feel Holden tense up beside me. “Can you think of anything else that might be helpful other than the fact that it might’ve been a dark colored SUV?”
Holden and Shayne exchange a look that all but confirms my suspicions. I don’t know what kind of vehicle he drives, but from their reaction, my money’s on an SUV.
“It was dark,” I say again. “It happened fast.”
“I understand. If you think of anything else, give me a call.” He holds up a business card before walking over to the bedside table where my cup of forgotten hot chocolate sits, leaving the card there.
“Don’t,” I tell Holden. “We don’t know for sure.”
He scrubs a hand through his hair, blowing out a breath.
There’s another knock at the door before he can respond. Another interruption. This time it’s the nurse. “Just a heads-up, visiting hours were over a long time ago, but I’ll give you a few more minutes with your friends as long as you’re all quiet. We’ll monitor you for a few more hours, then you can most likely leave first thing in the morning.”
“Okay. Thank you,” I say, even though I want nothing more than a shower and to sleep in my own bed.
“Are you sure you don’t have any family members you’d like me to call?”
“God, no.”
“We are her family,” Shayne says.
The nurse gives me a sad smile, patting my leg. “If you need anything at all, let me know.”
Shayne rises from the chair when the nurse heads for the door, coming to stand next to the bed. “I’m going to run back to campus and get some clean clothes for when you leave.” She looks over to Holden, who’s wearing a pair of hospital provided scrubs that barely reach his ankles and hospital socks. “And some shoes for Holden. Do you need anything else?”
I shake my head. I don’t plan on being here any longer than I have to. She kisses my cheek goodbye, and when Holden starts to follow her out, my anxiety spikes at the thought of being left here alone. That only makes me even more anxious, because I used to thrive on solitude before Holden barged his way back into my life and made me need him.
“I’m just going to walk her out,” he says, reading my mind. Like always. “I’ll be right back.”
Holden
“Where’s Ryan?” I ask Thayer. He’s in the mostly empty waiting room, but Ryan isn’t with him.
“Told him to go home,” he explains. “He passed out in the chair.”
I nod. There was a game tonight and we both have practice early tomorrow. There’s no reason for him to stick around. “Valen said the car that hit her was a black SUV. You know who just bought a brand new, black BMW SUV?”
“Samuel,” Thayer says without hesitation. “Along with the rest of the world. Yourself included.”
“It had to be him.” And if my suspicions turn out to be right, I’ll put a bullet in him myself.
“Think about it,” Shayne says. “The governor just withdrew his nomination, people are coming out of the woodwork accusing him of shit, and he feels like he’s losing everything. He’s unraveling.”
“I know Samuel is a sadistic fuck, but why Valen? Why not one of us?” Thayer asks me.