It took her a second to understand his words, but it was too late. He already had his arm around her neck as he choked her out. Her feet kicked against the floor, her shoes scuffing on the hardwood. No simple white linoleum tiles in this place. His room looked like a suite at a five-star hotel, less the frivolous decorations one could use as a weapon. Still, he had fine linens, soft blankets, a sofa where he could relax and read or watch TV.
He didn’t belong here.
This place was too good for him.
Nell stopped fighting and soon went limp.
He gently pushed her back onto the bed and checked her pulse and the rise and fall of her chest. She’d be out for a little while.
Until then…he tucked her into his bed on her side, facing away from the door, and covered her up. Anyone looking in would think it was him. Hopefully. At least for a little while.
Long enough for him to use her security card and the keys in her purse that she always left outside the door because he was her last stop each night before she left through a convenient side door just outside his room.
No one would be the wiser as he drove away.
He pulled up the hood on his sweatshirt, flipped off the light, and checked the corridor as he opened the door. He grabbed the purse, found the keys, then tucked it under his sweatshirt, andmade his way to the end of the hall. He pressed the badge to the reader and heard a buzz. He opened the door, didn’t hear an alarm go off that security monitoring the cameras noted he wasn’t Nurse Nell, and booked it to the employee parking area. He used the key fob to find Nell’s older model Toyota Corolla. He got in and drove out of the lot with one thought for Brooke:We’re not over.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Brooke had spent the whole morning training her new employees in preparation for the big opening tomorrow. She couldn’t wait to start working in the shop and café. Nervous butterflies swarmed in her belly.
What if no one came?
What if she failed?
What if she had to close?
Those were the same questions she’d asked Cody this morning over breakfast—which she could barely eat—when he’d tugged her out of her chair and into his lap and told her in no uncertain terms that she was going to be a rousing success. He assured her she had nothing to worry about. Everything was going to be amazing, because she’d planned and executed everything to ensure success.
She loved him so much for being so supportive and one of her biggest cheerleaders. Her mom had also been right there to echo Cody’s thoughts.
She was so lucky to have them.
And since she hadn’t eaten very much of her breakfast, she’d left her mom in the café overseeing the final prep for tomorrow’s grand opening and headed out to grab some lunch.
She loved the downtown area but not the traffic. Even at this hour, just as the time was nearing the end of lunch for most, who’d head back to their nearby offices, the car and pedestrian traffic was rather busy.
She hit the end of the street and stood with a group of others waiting for the light to turn green so she could cross the street and meet Cody at the pizza place on the corner. They would check it out before she made her offer next month.
Cars were whizzing by as she stood shoulder to shoulder with about six other people. Just as the light turned yellow for the cars driving past them, Brooke felt a hand slam into her back, sending her into the street. A minivan came barreling at her as her feet hit the pavement and she fell forward.
Tires screeched. People gasped.
Someone yelled her name, though it seemed to echo.
Her right hand hit the pavement first. The brace still on her arm took most of the hit. She held her left hand up toward the car skidding toward her and her palm connected to the hot grill. Her knees hit the ground just before the force of the car pushing on her hand shoved her back. She landed on her hip and side and slid a couple feet.
Suddenly, everything stopped and she crumpled to the ground, her heart pounding as she heaved for breath.
Then it seemed like chaos with so many bystanders asking if she was all right.
The driver rushed out of the car and squatted next to her. “I’m a nurse. Don’t move. Stay still until we assess your injuries.” She ran a shaking hand through her long brown hair. “I didn’t think I could make the yellow, so I started slowing down. Thank God.But then you jumped out in front of me and I slammed on the breaks.”
Brooke locked eyes with the nurse. “Someone pushed me.”
“What?” Cody suddenly appeared next to her.
She nearly smiled with relief, but caught a face in the crowd of bystanders on the sidewalk she’d just been pushed from. Her gaze locked on the monster who starred in all her nightmares. “Adam.” His name barely came out a whisper.
