“You overdosed. Here.” Will—no longer a stranger—takes a glass of water and puts it to Owen’s parched lips. He drinks slowly, enjoying the liquid swimming down his sore throat.
Will puts the empty glass on the counter and slides his chair closer to the bed. Owen’s brain clears, allowing him to process Will’s statement. “I overdosed?”
“At Eminence, with those two men. They gave you heroin.”
He remembers. His body was on fire: his heart, his skin, and his veins. “It was horrible.”
“I know. I performed CPR on you until the ambulance came.”
He reaches for Will’s hand and squeezes it. With his sight sharper, he notices the bump on Will’s forehead. “What happened to you?”
“It doesn’t matter now. I’ll tell you later.”
“How did you know where to find me? Did Nate help?”
Will looks away. “He was made to help, yes. But don’t think about it now.”
“I heard thunder. Was it gunshots?”
“Yes. The two men are dead. Your aunt was wounded—she’s fine. A bullet to the shoulder, but she’ll be okay. She’s in a room down the hall. You’ve been out for almost a day.”
Owen exhales. He should at least be relieved thatthose who kidnapped him are dead, but he can’t help but remember meeting Small-Town Joe for the first time. He liked the guy. “I’m sorry about all of this.”
“You didn’t choose to get kidnapped. Focus on getting stronger.”
“Is he awake?”
Will tenses at the sound of the sheriff’s voice. “He’s awake, but weak.”
“I can talk to him,” Owen says. He tries to sit, but it makes him dizzy, so he remains lying. He hopes they’ll take the IV out of him soon—the thought of those needles buried in his flesh is unsettling.
The sheriff comes closer, holding his hat. “How are you, son?”
“This isn’t my finest hour, but I’m okay.”
The sheriff’s eyes slide down to where Owen and Will are holding hands. Owen prepares himself for a look of disapproval and disgust, but the sheriff simply looks away and asks, “Do you remember what happened?”
“They kidnapped me when I was on my way back home.”
“Did they threaten you before?”
“No, and I can’t think of anything I might have done that was suspicious. It’s been a while since I went there, and I told you that I wasn’t going to continue doing undercover work. I don’t know why they decided to kill me all of a sudden, but it sounded like they got an order from someone.”
The sheriff nods. “I know more details now that we have Nate in custody, but we can talk more when you’re out of here.”
“Nate is in custody? Was he behind what happened to me?”
“No, but he seemed to have known that you were at risk, and after attacking Will—”
“Excuse me?!” He watches the bump on Will’s head. “Hedid that to you?”
Will gives a warning look to the sheriff. “I was going to tell him later.”
The sheriff nods. “We’ll talk more tomorrow. Go say hello to your aunt if you can.”
The sheriff leaves, and Owen asks Will, “Do you really think Nate wanted me dead?”
“I… I don’t know. Maybe.” He seems troubled.
