Her eyes squeezed shut.“He kept choking.And I, I started to see spots.And then it was fuzzy.Like I was floating.”
My throat tightened.“You passed out.”
She nodded faintly.Then her gaze shifted slightly, toward her arm.Toward the bandage.
“I remember pain,” she whispered.“Here.”
I followed her eyes, heart pounding.
“He injected you,” I said, voice low and deadly.“I think.The hospital think you were drugged.And looking at the marks, the state you were in, I think you were drugged and possibly overdosed.”
Char’s face crumpled.“I think so.I remember his hand.Something sharp.And then cold all over.And then nothing.”
The nurse at the corner of the room shifted, expression hardening.
I swallowed, forcing myself to keep my voice steady.“Do you remember what he injected?A syringe?A pen?Anything?”
Char shook her head weakly.“No.”
“Do you remember him saying anything?About what it was?”I asked.
She blinked slowly.“He said, ‘This’ll make you quiet.’”
My vision blurred with rage.I exhaled through my nose, trying to keep from shaking.“Char, listen to me.Nita is here.She’s been trying to see you.They won’t let her in yet, but she’s here.You’re not alone.”
A sob escaped her, quiet and broken.“Nita, she’s gonna worry.”
“Shhh.Baby, yes,” I said.“She’s here.She’ll be in here as soon as she can.”
Char’s eyes drifted again, heavy with exhaustion, but she fought to keep them open.“Dante,” she whispered, and her voice had that small, scared edge that took me straight back to the first time I saw her, bruised and trying to make herself disappear.
“I’m here,” I said.
Her gaze flicked toward the door, fear rising again.“Is he caught?Is he in jail?”
For a moment, I wondered if I should tell her the truth because I don’t want her to be in fear.But I also knew people function better on facts.“He ran,” I said.“But he’s not coming back in here.I promise you.We’ve got officers outside.And we’re going to find him.I’m going to find him.”
Char’s breathing hitched, her chest rising and falling faster.Panic.
I leaned in closer, lowering my voice.“Look at me.Char.Look at me.”
Her eyes found mine.“You’re safe,” I repeated, slow and steady.“You’re safe right now.Just breathe with me.In… out…close your eyes.”
Her breaths gradually slowed, though tears continued to slip down her temples into her hair.
The nurse stepped forward.“That’s enough, officer.She needs rest.”
I nodded sharply, even though it felt like I was being asked to leave someone behind on a battlefield.Every instinct inside me screamed to stay with her, but I had to go.I squeezed Char’s hand one more time.“I’m going to talk to Nita,” I whispered.“I’ll come back.”
Her lips parted like she wanted to say something else, but her eyes fluttered.And then she was slipping under again.Before I turned away, I looked at her throat one more time.Those bruises weren’t just injuries.They were evidence.A map of what he did.
And I felt something change inside me, something hard and cold sliding into place.I had been a cop long enough to know there were bad men.But this wasn’t just bad.
This was fundamentally wrong.People weren’t possessions.They weren’t pets to be punished for getting off a leash.This was a man out of control.This was the work of a monster disguised as a man.And it had my people in its teeth.
Chapter8
Loco
