“She won’t be getting far, I can assure you,” Maureen stated steely, her eyes the color of glacial ice.
“He’s in room three-fifteen, literally down the hall, and there’s a cop assigned to both your rooms,” Paula explained.
“Regardless, I think you need to come home,” Rupert interjected, grabbing hold of her hand.
“I’m not leaving him, Dad. No way’s going to happen,” she objected.
“Becauseof all this, you should be running for the hills in my opinion,” Veronica chimed.
Maureen shot Veronica a glare, and the two women eye challenged each other for several tense moments.
“I think we’ll let you rest, OK?” Paula blurted, feeling the energy in the room turn from sad to dangerous in a nanosecond.
Lana nodded at her, then Maureen leaned in close.
“I know we didn’t get off to a great start, Lana, and I’m sorry about that, truly. As far as Kim goes, there won’t be a crevice in hell that bitch can hide in that I won’t find,” she declared and then stalked out of the room, cool, calm, and collected. The most dangerous trifecta Maureen possessed.
“I need to sleep,” Lana stated, glaring at Sam, hoping he would take the hint.
Veronica planted another kiss on her forehead and didn’t push the issue anymore, and Lana appreciated it.
“We’re staying at Tavarian Inn, not two blocks away. If you need anything, you can call us. Please,” she said, grabbing her purse from the couch.
“I will, but I’ll be fine here,” Lana insisted.
Rupert leaned in and kissed her head, “Goodnight, baby girl.”
They both left the room, leaving Sam behind.
He leaned over her now that the coast was clear and gazed down at her. He wore the same expression he had when she fell on her ass in front of him and his girlfriend at a grocery store a few months ago.
“I don’t need your damned pity, Sam,” she chided, sick of looking like a charity case to him.
“I know. You’re a big girl,” he replied, “But I’m going to stick around a while longer.”
Lana knew it was useless to argue and shifted her weight in the bed away from him and closed her eyes. Sam grabbed a worn magazine from the bedside table and made himself comfortable on the loveseat. She said a silent prayer for Kayden and then drifted off to sleep.
KIM GASPED,WINDEDasshe climbed the final flight of stairs to the third floor of Shelby General in search of Kayden’s room. Earlier that evening, she overheard a nurse talking about his condition at the local bar amongst her friends. It was a place most of the employees frequented after their shifts, and she herself had been sticking to the dark corners nightly, keeping herself out of sight and her ears wide open.
Kayden was located in room three-fifteen, and that was all Kim needed to know before she set off into the night. Being on the lam sucked, and her face was on every news station and the local paper in town. She managed to find a motel that only required cash and didn’t ask for ID, so it was perfect for her immediate needs. With cops at every turn, her disguise was a pair of huge dark sunglasses and a hat; not original, but it was all she could put together in a pinch.
Hearing about the condition Kayden was in, almost killed her inside, and she couldn’t leave town yet without seeing him first. It was risky, but she couldn’t help herself. She had to say goodbye—even if it meant getting caught. The look on his face as the car slammed into him kept playing over and over in her head.
She was blinded with rage watching them stand on that sidewalk—the way he looked at her, the way he kissed her. They were so happy. It felt like everyone got what they wanted thatnight, except her, and no one cared aboutherfeelings or what she had just gone through.
Lana would get to ride off into the sunset and live the lifesheshould have had, that she worked so hard to get, and she had to stop it. Kim finally stood outside the large metal door of the third-floor landing, pulled on the handle, and entered the wing.
“Ready or not, here goes,” she whispered under her breath and marched down the hall.
A BUMPAGAINST thebed woke Lana from her deep sleep. As she adjusted her eyes to the darkened room, she found someone standing over her bed. Her heart beat against her chest violently.Was it Sam, or worse, Kim?What would she do in her condition? Besides, there was no time to react if it was her.
“I’m sorry to wake you, sweetie, but I have to give you your shot,” the Nurse explained in a soothing tone.
Lana let out the breath she was holding as her eyes adjusted. She could now see the meds arranged on her overbed table. She gave the room a quick scan as the nurse turned on the overhead light above her bed. It was dim, but enough to see she was alone—Sam had gone.
Probably to his hotel for the night,she thought. The nurse rubbed the inside of her arm with an alcohol pad, then tied an uncomfortable tourniquet around her bicep, in search of a vein. That’s when the idea struck. She would go and see Kayden tonight, broken leg or not.
“Is there a wheelchair for me anywhere?” she asked, hoping that the Nurse didn’t get suspicious of the question.
