Page 86 of Inked in Devotion

“Quiet a sec, princess,” I rumbled.

Theo caught my arm, clinging to the root. “Hold on!” he shouted. “Chloe, give me your hands.”

“Princess.” I pressed my mouth to the top of her head. “Reach your arms up to Theo.” I gritted my teeth as my right foot slid, but I forced my tone to be gentle. “I’ll count to three and heave you up. Help me here, baby.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

Hearing her acquiescence suppressed the panic threatening to shatter my veneer of calm. “Three, two, one. Now.” I pulled up with the arm clinging to the root and heaved Chloe up. It was enough for Theo to grab her wrists. I gave her an extra boost while she climbed over my body. When she was safely in Theo’s grasp and out of my reach, I twisted so I was facing the wall of the cliff and grabbed another root with my left hand. “I’m fine!” I shouted. “Chloe first.”

Even with hands reaching out to me, I still didn’t let go of the roots. My feet scrambled up the slope until finally, I was clear of the edge and on firmer ground.

Theo had his arms around Chloe.

She was sobbing. I approached warily.

“Chloe?”

“You should have let me go,” she croaked.

I couldn’t contain myself anymore. The fear I willed into ice melted back into the guilt that I’d driven her to suicide. I was going to fix this. Whatever she was going through, I would be with her every step of the way.

I dragged her into my arms. “I’m sorry, baby. Whatever I said that brought you to this…I’m so fucking sorry.”

I looked at Theo’s granite face over Chloe’s head as he was staring at us. He wasn’t pleased not to be in charge, but he didn’t have the information I did about what happened. A man in scrubs emerged from the tree line and handed him a zippered sleeve. Before we went after Chloe, we had talked about sedation. I mentioned she might be on a cocktail of drugs and to use the safest sedation possible.

Even with the guilt sitting in my chest, a logical part of me reasoned that her extreme reaction to our argument was unnatural. Something sinister was at play. It almost looked like a psychotic break. How could a mother go from fiercely protective of her kid to giving him away and committing suicide as an escape?

Chloe tried to push away, but I held her tight.

“No, you’re not,” she mumbled into my chest.

Theo handed me the syringe, ready to go. Seriously, Chloe might hate me after this, but I felt responsible for everything that was happening.

“Well, then you’ll have to forgive me for this.”

She stiffened, and before she could move, I plunged the needle into her neck.

She let out a tiny gasp before her body went limp. I caught her, swinging her up in my arms while handing off the needle.

“Now tell me what the fuck is going on,” Theo growled.

“Do you have a new gig I don’t know about?” Kirill walked into the room where Chloe was still asleep. Beside him was Lucy.

She gave me a once-over. “You look good in scrubs, Doctor.”

I gave a shake of my head and returned my attention to a sleeping Chloe. Theo put us in a room in the wellness center while we waited for the blood tests. I showered and borrowed some scrubs. No way was I leaving Chloe unattended for long.

Theo watched over Chloe while I cleaned up. Now he was barking orders left and right to get Chloe what she needed.

A doctor had already come in to check her vital signs, cuts, and bruises. He had a nurse draw blood for a toxicology report.

“Is Chloe on meds?” I asked.

Lucy slipped two bottles onto the side table. One was a typical prescription bottle, and the other was a dark brown one with a dropper.

“What are these?” I picked up the prescription bottle.

“Antidepressant. But she’s only been on it for two days.”