“Darling? What’s going on? Are you okay?”
Relief swept through Narelle at hearing her mum’s voice, and all the emotions of the last few minutes poured out and she burst into tears. Her mum gathered her close, the familiar scent of Red Door, her mum’s favorite perfume, comforted her.
The room bustled with activity. People entering the room. Her father, demanding answers as to why his daughter was in tears.
Why there seemed to be a trail of debris through the hallway?
Narelle could probably answer that one, but words were impossible, her sobs seemed never ending.
“Breathe, darling. Mum’s got you.” Her mum repeated the words over and over, and eventuallythey sank in, and her crying calmed down, until Narelle gathered control of herself.
“I’m okay.” She hiccupped as she spoke, but the flood of crying had been cathartic. Her mum gave her a pat on the back and pulled away. Narelle’s tears had left a wet patch on her mum’s red t-shirt.
“Can someone please explain what the hell is going on?” Her father’s rough voice filled the room.
“I think someone tried to drug me,” Narelle answered.
“What?” Dad’s brow furrowed.
“The nurse that was in here, she had a syringe, and told me that it was pain medication, but something about her and the way she was acting seemed off.”
Saying it out loud gave it a sense of fakeness to it all. As if she’d been hallucinating. But she hadn’t dreamed the hand over her mouth. Or the way she’d pushed Andy out of the way.
“Andy! Where is he?” Panic filled her again.
What if he was hurt?
What if whoever the nurse had been working with had got him?
What if he was lying on the ground somewhere, dead?
Her breaths started coming out in shallow gasps.
“Narelle, calm down, darling. You’re going to hyperventilate. Slow breaths.”
Despite what her mother was saying, she couldn’t stop how her body was reacting to the situation. This wasn’t like anything she’d ever experienced before. Even after her attempted kidnapping in Bali, she’d been able to regulate her breathing.
She didn’t want anything to happen to Andy. He’d just returned to her life, and it seemed so unfair if something bad happened to him.
“Did. Anyone. See. Where. He. Went?” she asked after a few seconds, her words hitching on every breath she took.
Her parents and the medical people in the room didn’t say a word. Did no one see what happened?
Had she imagined it all?
No, she hadn’t. What happened was real.
“I saw them running down the hall as I came in.” The doctor, who she recognized from her short bouts with consciousness, appeared by her bedside. “Now, how about we do give you something to help you relax? You’re not helping your recovery getting your heartrate up so high.”
The last thing she wanted was to be drugged, not after what had happened. “No, please don’t. I’ll be okay. Give me a couple of minutes.” She would bebetter if she knew what was happening with Andy, but she had a feeling she wasn’t going to be told anything if she didn’t get herself under control.
Focusing inwardly, she made a concerted effort to control her breathing. To slow it down and take normal breaths instead of the short, sharp ones she’d been sucking in.
Narelle had to believe that Andy was going to be okay. He was a former SAS soldier. He told her that. He also told her he did other things for other government agencies now. He could handle the nurse and whoever she was working with.
Tiredness lapped at her heels as she steadied her breathing. She wanted to stay awake, but after everything that happened, it was impossible. Her body was dictating what she needed to do. “Don’t leave me alone,” she mumbled.
“I won’t.”
