I shake my head again. “I’m good,” I say in a small voice.
“Alright. Tell me what happened when Detective Harper got here,” she asks. The mask of the hardass cop shifts, and she looks a little concerned.
But she has nothing to worry about. Nicholas made sure to cover all his bases. He called his team here when he didn’t need them, knowing exactly how this was gonna go. He planted the gun in Dominic’s hand to justify his force.
So very un-Boy Scout of him.
“I’d been trying to get free since yesterday, and the ties had loosened enough that I got out when Dominic wasn’t here,” I point at the corpse, now surrounded by four people. “When he came in, I tried to fight him off. But then Nicholas showed up, and Dominic caught me from behind, holding his gun to my head. He was about to pull the trigger when Nicholas shot him.”
I’m completely sure Nicholas will say the same thing. The biggest rule of lying is to keep it as close to the truth as possible.
Serena sighs in relief. “Thank god.I thought the idiot went fully crazy seeing you here,” she says. “That’s all I have for now. I’ll go check on the paramedics.”
Within minutes, I’m escorted to an ambulance, and hands are poking me from every angle. The sunlight feels too much for my eyes after spending days in the dark basement.
The nice people in the ambulance agree with Serena. They drive me to the hospital despite all my protests.
“You might have a concussion, and they’ll need a sample of your blood to know what drugs he gave you. Stop grumbling,” a paramedic chides me.
Aren’t you supposed to beniceto abduction victims who were sure they were going to die?
I guess they have a hard boundary at the victim being annoying.
***
No concussion, but they still kept me for observation overnight. Because why not? Not like I have much to look forward to other than getting arrested soon. I lie on the clean, crisp bed with the sounds of machines beeping all around me. The sanitized smell of hospital grounds me as I wait for karma to catch up.
Nicholas didn’t make an appearance since he destroyed my escape attempt all those hours ago. But I don’t let myself get complacent. Not this time. Fool me twice and all.
I must have drifted off at some point because soft voices coming from somewhere close startle me awake.
“—he’ll be alright?” a worried voice asks.
“Yes, the doctor looked at him. He was just given mild tranquilizers. He’ll be discharged in a few hours. If he takes it easy for a few days, he’ll be good as new in a week max,” the voice I recognize as the nurse who stuck enough needles in me to make me feel like a fucking voodoo doll says.
“I’ll get the discharge process started,” Matt says in a low voice.
I assess the damage in my body. I don’t feel fatigued. I’m not well rested or anything, but it doesn’t feel like I can’t talk without hurting my throat anymore.
I blink my eyes open. No pain in the head, the bright light still stings a bit.
But what are Matt and Oliver doing here? Do they know what I’ve done? Aretheygoing to arrest me?
“Oh my god, I’m so glad you’re okay,” Oliver says as he leans over me.
Guess not. But why are they here then?
“Nicholas called Matt and asked us to pick you up. He has to deal with some internal investigation because of the whole discharging his weapon thing,” he explains.
I sit up, leaning back against the bed, and surprisingly, don’t feel any pain. Oliver helps me by sliding a pillow behind my back.
“I know you must have so many questions right now.Nicholas told us what happened.” My eyes bulge out. “Yes, they’re real.Yes, I knew about them. Andno, they aren’t all as bad as Dominic. Listen, we’ll talk more when we’re back at our place. Just trust me for now, okay? You’re safe, and no one will harm you.”
It takes a second to sink in that Oliver is talking about the existence of werewolves and not what really happened in that basement. Nicholas didn’t tell them the truth. Why?
I mechanically nod. I will not shoot myself in the foot. Besides, it’s hilarious how cute Oliver is being about this. I’m curious to see how this plays out.
Matt comes back with some forms, and we don’t talk about anything other than me rattling off my information until I’m sitting in the back of Matt’s car.
