As the sound faded, Brandi knew they hadn’t seen her—they hadn’t stopped.
Brandi opened her eyes. The overhead lights sent sharp pulses through her skull. She moved her arm and felt a pinch on the inside of her elbow. Glancing down, she saw a clear tube taped to her skin, trailing into an IV bag.
“I’m in the hospital,” she whispered.
She patted the bed until she found the call button. Squinting at it, she pressed the top button, hoping it would call the nurse—not sound an alarm.
A disembodied voice answered, “May I help you?”
“Can someone come in and help me?”
“I’ll send someone down.”
She closed her eyes, waiting.
“Miss Kidd?”
She opened them again to find a young nurse standing beside her.
“Can you help me go to the bathroom?”
“Of course.”
The nurse helped her out of bed, steadying her as Brandi pushed the IV pole toward the bathroom. She gathered the loose gown and slowly lowered herself onto the cold seat, exhaling only once she made contact.
It took longer to get back up than it had to sit down. She wanted to laugh at herself—how ridiculous it all was. Sweating, she wiped her forehead and shuffled back to bed.
She had just lain down and closed her eyes when a deep male voice called her name.
“Miss Kidd?”
Two men stood inside her room, badges in hand.Cops.She blinked, her stomach sinking. She was going to jail.“Yes, sir?”
“I’m Officer Wellness. This is my partner, Officer Ness.”
“How are you feeling?” Wellness asked.
“Sore. I guess that’s to be expected.”
“It is.”
“Can you tell us what happened last night?” Officer Ness jumped in.
Brandi looked toward the window. “It was raining hard. A car in the opposite lane hit me with their brights. I panicked, hit the shoulder—and then the brakes. That’s when I went off the road.”
Ness barely let her finish before he cut in. “How did you get up the embankment?”
“I crawled. After I got out of the wreck.”
“The vehicle is registered to a Nicolea Petrovic. What’s your relationship to him?” Wellness asked, cutting in.
“He’s my friend’s husband. We’re up here on vacation.”
“Well, that’s all we needed, Miss Kidd,” Officer Wellness said. “Get some rest.”
“Thank you.”
She watched them leave, the room once again still and quiet. She wished she had her phone, but it—and her purse—had been in the SUV. It wouldn’t be long now. Quinn and Gypsy were going to find out everything.
