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“No. I don’t even recall being in a car,” I insist. Bile sears the back of my throat as panic wraps its icy fingers around my lungs.
This has to be a nightmare.
The alarm attached to me screams, and my chest burns as I fight to catch my breath. All around me, people are moving, but I can’t hear anything they’re saying. I can’t see anything.
What is happening?
“Miss Swanson, you’re having a panic attack. I need you to focus on me,” Doctor Edwards says.
“I can’t—” I clutch a hand to my chest. Missing drugs. In my system. Car off of a bridge. No. No.
And then, the world turns black, and I fall into blissful oblivion.
Maybe this time when I wake up, everything will be right side up again.
Chapter 4
Ryker
Dahlia’s eyes flutter closed, and she falls back. Doctor Edwards rushes forward to check her vitals, but the monitor quiets, her heart rate returning to a normal rhythm. As I watch it, I can feel my own system trying to regulate.
She’d been terrified.
“Is she going to be okay?” Captain Leopold asks.
“Given she’s likely still coming down from the high levels of diazepam in her system, the emotional stress must have been too much for her system. I’m going to order an EKG just in case, but her vitals all appear fine.”
“What about the fact that she claims she doesn’t take meds? Is it possible she was drugged?” I question.
“After I stepped out, I made a call to the care facility she mentioned working at. Two days ago, one of her patients died. She was there with him when it happened, and the next day, they noticed a bottle of Valium missing from the medicine supply. She never showed back up to work.” The doctor glances over at her, so I follow him, noting the way her dark hair fans out over the white pillow.
“My contact over there also told me that three months ago, she lost her grandfather, who was also a resident at that same facility. It’s entirely possible that it all just became too much for her and she was looking for an escape.”
Even as he says the words, the gnawing in my gut grows. Something isn’t sitting right. One look at Katelyn and I see the same unease reflected on her own expression. I asked her to come for two reasons. One, given the bruising on Dahlia’s neck, it seemed plausible a man did it, and I wanted a woman here to put her at ease.
And two, she’s nearly as good at reading people as her husband and Zane. Likely a result of having an abusive ex-husband. She’d had to read a room every time he walked into it.
“And the bruising on her neck?” I question.
“The seatbelt,” he replies.
“Since when do seatbelts leave finger marks on someone?” Captain Leopold questions. “Because that’s what they look like to me.”
The doctor shrugs. “Unfortunately, we won’t know everything until she remembers what happened. We’ll keep you posted on when she wakes up, Captain. Mr. Granger, thanks again for what you did. If you want to leave your number, we can call you when she’s awake.”
I don’t want to leave, but there really isn’t much of a reason for me to stay. Not when I’m not family or even a close friend. I’m just the guy who pulled her out of the water, and clearly she needs people who actually know her.
I take my phone off the bed, where she’d dropped it, and fight the urge to cover her hand with mine just so she won’t feel alone. “That would be great, thanks.”
“Of course. Leave it at the nurse’s station. We’ll have it added to her chart.” He offers me a final smile, then leaves the room.
“This isn’t sitting well with me,” I tell Alan.
“Same here. I’m going to do some digging into her. See what I can find.” He turns to me. “I assume you’re going to do the same?” He arches a brow and crosses his arms.
It’s no secret that my team and I still operate occasionally. Mainly when life doesn’t give us another option. I can’t shake the feeling that I found her on that bridge for a reason, so until I know the facts, I have no intention of letting it slide.
“I’ll keep you posted.”
