“Maggie, wake up.”
Her eyes flashed open and she shot up with a choked gasp, yanking off the mask on her face, lungs burning like she’d really been underwater.
And she had. She’d almost drowned today. Or maybe yesterday? She had no idea of time or day. All she knew was that she’d almost died in the same exact way her mother had.
Tears gathered so quickly she didn’t have time to blink them back.
She swung her gaze to the side. “Ethan.”
He cursed and sat on the bed before tugging her into his chest.
The first ripples of warmth slipped over her skin, and she burrowed deeper into his body. She sat there for long minutes, just letting him hold her. Letting his warmth and strength fight off the nightmare.
“What happened just now?” he whispered.
Finally, she sat back, looking at the oxygen mask on her lap. She should put it back on, but the idea of something covering her face made her want to shudder. “It was just a dream.”
He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Do you want to tell me about it?”
“My mom was there…in the river with me.” She pressed a palm to her chest before looking at him again. “You pulled me out last night. But no one was there to pullherout.”
His throat bobbed as he gripped her thigh, anchoring her.
“Someone drugged and drowned her.” The words didn’t feel real. And they didn’t feel like hers. She lowered her head and closed her eyes, seeing her mother under that water again. “She must have been so scared. And she never got justice becauseno one ever looked into it. It just went down as an accidental drowning.”
Ethan’s warm finger touched her chin and tilted her head up. “Hey.”
She looked at him. At his moss-green eyes. The love and devotion in his expression. “My team and I will look into your mother’s death. We’ll figure out what happened to her and who’s responsible. I promise.”
She swallowed, wanting to believe him. Ethan never broke his promises. But it had been over twenty years since her mother died. How would he or his team find that person now? Any evidence would be long gone.
Still, she nodded. “Thank you. And thank you for being at the river exactly when I needed you.”
“I wish I’d gotten there sooner.”
She cupped his cheek. “You saved me.”
“You almost died.”
“Yousavedme.” She said the words slowly, needing him to hear them. “If you hadn’t been there, Nel would have gotten what she wanted.”
His eyes narrowed. “Thank God she didn’t.”
She swiped his cheek with her thumb. “How did you know where we were?”
“Jay found information on Nel’s past, which instigated a search of her home. We found the things she took from you. And information about your mother’s death. We figured out what her most likely next step was.”
“Jay helped?” After everything that had happened, it almost felt unbelievable.
“She did.”
“Wow. Does that mean… Are you going to be friends again?” She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. On one hand, thewoman had found the information that led them to Nel. But did that erase everything that had come before?
“No. But she left on a good note.”
Maggie nodded, scanning the room. “So…how long do I have to stay here?”
“We. I’m not leaving you. And the doctor wanted to monitor you for a minimum of twelve hours.”
