She nodded. “And yet I’m weirdly energized. Mentally, I feel more like myself, too. I don’t have that awful brain fog I was experiencing in the months leading up to the fall. Everything’s clearer, and I am so much more alert, so present and aware of everything around me.”
I sent her a sideways look. “Any sudden aversion to garlic? Urges to drink my blood?”
She slapped my arm. “I’m not a vampire.”
I snorted. “That’s exactly what a vampirewouldsay.”
“Noah.”
“Sorry, I’ve worked around the dead for so long that my humor has skewed a little morbid.” A glance sideways showed her shaking her head at me. “In all seriousness, do you think Beau might have medically induced your coma or something?”
“It seems possible. He had access to everything he needed. Plus, the constant control, not letting anyone else look at me? That’s so suspicious.”
My head spun. “Which means he would have known you weren’t really brain dead. So what did he do? Poison you right before pulling the plug and fuck up the dosage, so you lived?”
“Wouldn’t I be showing signs of being poisoned? I don’t even feel nauseous.”
“Well, then he could have ...” The sentence stalled out as my brain caught up to my mouth. No. It was too awful to say out loud, let alone contemplate.
“What?” Emma asked.
I shook my head.
“Just say it.”
I shook my head harder.
“Noah, say it.”
“Fuck.” I dragged a hand over my face. “I am really sorry for even going here, but he had control over you after you died, too. You went straight from the family-owned hospital to the family-owned mortuary, and Beau went with you every step of the way because he claimed he couldn’t stomach the thought of anyone else handling his wife. What if he kept you in an induced coma the whole time? The funeral was closed casket, despite how hard your parents pushed to see you one last time. He even rode with you in the back of the hearse. What if all that control and coercion was so no one was there to witness him administering drugs? What if the plan was to keep you out until you were buried, where he believed you’d just quietly suffocate to death in your sleep? Typically, there’s only enough oxygen in a grave for an hour or two of life, and he had to know that. The fact that you managed to stay alive for at least eight is a goddamn miracle. That’s why I begged you to stay calm. I was worried if you kept breathing hard, you’d burn through your air supply faster.”
Beside me, she curled in on herself, starting to cry again.
Damn it, Ialwaysdid this. Always made it worse.
I leaned over and undid her seat belt—my house was only a few hundred feet away—and dragged her across the bench seat. She didn’t fight me, collapsing into my side instead.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said any of that.”
“No, don’t apologize,” she said between sniffles. “I needed to hear it. And I think you might be right. God, what do Ido, Noah?”
I cranked the wheel with one hand, turning into my driveway. “Fucked if I know. Take it in steps, I guess? First one, we get you inside and into the shower. I got plenty of spare clothes for you to wear. Then we can worry about getting you fed. After that, we’ll figure out what comes next. Just know that you’re more than welcome to hide out at my place for as long as you like. My nearest neighbor is Mike Green half a mile back the way we came, and that old coot sticks to himself. No one will bother you out here, especially because, well ...”
“They all think I’m dead,” she finished for me.
Chapter 4
Noah
Igot the door open for Emma and let her walk in ahead of me. She paused on the threshold, her gaze taking in the dark interior.
I reached past her to flick the wall switch, and soft light filtered down from overhead. This log cabin was small, the kitchen to the right and the living room to the left, with a big stone fireplace taking up the far wall. Because of all the wood, the decor was simple, and on the lighter side, to balance it out. I couldn’t take credit for that. My ex, Maisie, was the one with the eye for design, and she’d done a good job helping me pick furniture that struck a balance between style and durability.
My eyes swept the space, hoping I hadn’t left a pair of boxers hanging from the back of the couch or anything. Thankfully, it looked clean.
“This is nice,” Emma said.
I nudged her forward so I could shut the door behind us. “You sound surprised.”
