“Nate, the dispatcher’s asking where we’re at,” the woman—Gayle—called out.
“Tell her we’re at the ten-mile mark above Aspen Meadow.” The man took out a water bottle from his backpack and helped Ricky guide it to his dried and cracked lips. “Easy, kid. You can’t have too much. How long you been out here?” Ricky shrugged. “That’s okay. Help will be here in no time.”
Ricky nodded then closed his eyes, tears trickling down his bruised face.
***
When Kylie receivedthe call on Tuesday morning from the police department informing her Ricky had been found, Jerry had already left for Pinewood Springs. Elation coursed through her, and she said a silent prayer of thanks that he was alive. It was torture sitting through her back-to-back classes, and when she finished with her last one, she sprinted to her car, anxious to see him.
Peakview Hospital was only a fifteen-minute drive from the university, and Kylie made it in ten. She passed through the automatic glass doors and approached a shiny black counter with an elderly woman behind it, staring at a computer screen.
“May I help you?” the woman asked cheerfully.
“Which room is Ricky Lanning in?”
The woman’s fingers flew over the keyboard, and in a few seconds she’d provided the room number and directions for the elevators. Kylie rushed over to them and punched the key to the third floor. When she exited, she walked slowly down the hallway, the polished linoleum tiles shining like glass. Locating his room, she softly padded in, passing the first bed. She quietly pulled the flimsy curtain back that separated the room in half. Ricky lay on the hospital bed encased in brilliant white bedding, his head elevated and IV fluids flowing through his veins.
She came close to him and placed her hand over his. His eyes flew open, the swelling still apparent, although lessened by the ice pack treatment the nurse administered throughout the day.
“Hey,” Kylie said, her lips trembling. She couldn’t believe how horrible he looked. Who the hell had done something so vicious to him?
“Hey,” he said hoarsely, a small smile playing on cracked lips.
“I’m so glad they found you. I was so worried.” She wiped away the tear that escaped down her cheek. He squeezed her hand. “If you wanted some alone time, you should’ve just told us.” She smiled and ran her thumb across his rough skin.
“You’re in real danger, Kylie.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The guy who did this to me drove a purple Corvette, and he knows you.”
A sudden sense of terror ran through her like the chill of an icy wind. She felt weak in the knees and collapsed on the chair near the bed. The color drained from her face. “Hedid this to you? How awful.”
“Do you know who he is?”
Kylie shook her head. “No. I thought he was just a jerk who got off on intimidating women. But he did this to you because of me. It’s my fault you’re here.”
“Stop it. I’m here because the guy is a goddamned psychopath. You have to tell the police.”
“I’m going to tell my dad. He’ll take care of the fucker.” Anger crept into her voice.
“Oh, yeah. He said he knew your dad, and that they went back a long time.”
“A long time? How old was he?”
“I couldn’t see his face so well because he had on these sunglasses with mirrored lenses. Every time I looked at him, I saw my reflection. It was bizarre. He told me he was a senior. I believed him at the time, but now I know it was a lie.”
“Did you tell the police everything?”
“Yeah. I’m sure they’ll be contacting you.” He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it. “The guy’s obsessed with you. He kept telling me you’re his. I don’t want to lose you.”
“You won’t. My dad will know how to handle this. You look tired. I should go.”
Holding her hand, he said, “Don’t go. Stay with me until I fall asleep. The meds I’m taking make me so tired.
“I’ll stay, don’t worry. You just get better.”
She stayed long after he’d fallen asleep, the image of the guy in the purple Corvette haunting her thoughts.
