“Don’t worry, I’ll come up with a good lie. Seems it’s been going around lately.” Then he was gone, the kitchen door swinging shut behind him.
Chapter 20
Donovan
Consciousnessreturnedinslowdribs and drabs, fleeting seconds of awareness between bouts of darkness. I heard raised voices, but couldn’t stay awake long enough to understand what was being said. I felt a hand in mine, but my body wouldn’t respond when I tried to squeeze it. A chill tickled across my bare legs, but I couldn’t ask for a blanket.
The first time I stayed awake for more than a moment and my thoughts cleared, I opened my eyes to darkness. Vague shapes stood out in the shadows, enough for me to realize I was in a kitchen, but not the one at Alex’s house or the one in my rental. Wherever I was, it was quiet. Even in a small town like Lowery’s Crossing, it wasn’t unusual to hear the sound of cars going by at all hours of the night. Here, silence reigned. No glow from a streetlight filtered through the windows, only a faint hint of pale moonlight too weak to penetrate the darkness.
In any other situation, my instinct would have been to fight or flee, to get away from this place that I had no memory of coming to. Now, though, there was a hand in my own that I immediately recognized and when I shifted my head, I found Alex beside me, his cheek resting on the edge of whatever I was lying on. From the height and position, likely a table.
Why was I laying on a stranger’s kitchen table?
When I tried to muddle through my memories, they evaded me, slipping through my grasp. I remembered searching for Landon and finding the ledge. I remembered the argument with Ori’s group, then heading back to the cars with Alex and Raina and Camille. After that, everything went hazy.
I could focus on that later. Right now, I had a more pressing problem. Two of them, actually, but when I tried to move, pain shot up my leg and through my lower back, forcing a sharp gasp.
Alex immediately stirred, sitting up with a groan. He looked at me with bleary eyes, then blinked and nearly fell out of his chair when he realized I was awake.
“Donovan!” His free hand touched my forehead, then my cheek, like he just needed to touch me. “How do you feel?”
“Everything hurts right now,” I admitted. My throat was raw, like I’d swallowed broken glass. “I need a bathroom.”
“I’m not sure if you’re supposed to move yet. Let me get Ori and Lelo. Stay still, okay?” He pressed a kiss to my dry lips, then disappeared before I could gather my wits enough to ask who Lelo was.
I got my answer barely two minutes later when Alex returned with two people behind him. Ori was familiar, of course, so the tall Black woman with them must be Lelo.
“You’re awake. I was starting to worry,” she said, brushing past the other two. The overhead lights came on and I winced against the sudden brightness. “Lie still for a moment. Let me check your wound.”
“My wound?” I repeated. “What happened? Where are we?”
“I’ll explain everything. Let her look you over first, okay?” Alex resumed his place at the head of the table, taking my hand but remaining standing now so he could see what Lelo was doing. Her fingers were gentle as she did something to the back of my leg, but it still hurt like hell, a strange burning and tingling twining with the shooting pain.
“The lines have receded. One more application should do the trick,” she announced, which meant nothing to me but apparently meant everything to Alex.
“Good.” His shoulders slumped with relief. “Is he allowed to move yet?”
“I would prefer you didn’t until we do one more poultice,” she said to me. “I don’t want to risk elevating your heartbeat and moving the poison through your system.”
“Poison?” I’d beenpoisoned? Why couldn’t I remember any of this?
“It’s okay. I swear I’ll explain,” Alex said hurriedly, dropping into the chair so he could meet my eyes.
“Okay. I still need the bathroom, though.”
Footsteps walked away, and a cabinet opened, then Lelo appeared by Alex’s head.
“You’re not going to like it, but this is the best I can offer at the moment.”
She handed Alex a plastic container, one of those cheap ones people bought for meal prepping and leftovers. Well, she was right: I certainly didn’t like it. The need was urgent enough that I couldn’t wait, though.
“We’ll step out for a moment. When I come back, I’ll reapply the poultice and we can see about getting you home tonight,” Lelo said, then departed the room with Ori.
“I can handle it.” I tried to reach for the bowl, but even that little bit of effort left me shaking, my heart thudding heavily in my chest and a hint of sweat on my skin.
“Don’t be stubborn. We’re in this together, through thick and thin, right?”
I wanted to argue, but I was weaker than a newborn kitten right now and I couldn’t wait. Flushed with embarrassment, I allowed Alex to help me shift onto my side just enough to use the bowl. That was bad enough, but even worse was listening to him deal with it afterward. He stepped out what must be a back door behind me, but it couldn’t completely disguise the sound.
