He steps forward, running the back of his hand over my cheek so softly my body craves more. I just want to be back in his arms, where it was warm and safe. I’m so afraid. “It was an absolute pleasure meeting you, Lucy girl. Take care of yourself and stay just the way you are.”
I open my mouth to protest but something stabs into my arm and my body goes warm.
Then my world goes dark.
***
“Lucy, sweetheart, wake up.”
Hunter?
“Come on, please wake up.”
My eyes flutter open, and I’m momentarily blinded by a bright light. A few seconds later it goes out and I can focus on the man leaning over me, his eyes red and glassy, his hair disheveled. Gerard. Not Hunter. My chest tightens, and my heart pounds heavily against my ribcage. Where’s Hunter? Where is he? Is he alive? Is he dead? Oh god. What happened to him?
“H-h-h-Hunter,” I croak.
“No, honey, it’s Gerard. I’m here. You’re okay.”
“Where am—”
“You’re in the hospital.” A tear runs down his cheek. “Oh god, I was so scared. I could do nothing . . .” His voice hitches, and I focus on him.
“Gerard,” I whisper. “The baby?”
He looks away and more tears run down his face.
No.
“No,” I cry, my voice pained. “No.”
“I’m so sorry. It was too late when you arrived at the hospital.”
I jerk upright. “Those people. All those people.”
“It’s all over, Luc. They got them all out.”
Not all of them.
My heart aches, a deep, painful ache that I know will probably never leave. Yesterday morning, I woke with happiness; today, I wake with darkness. How quickly life can change.
“I need . . . I need to talk to an officer, please.”
I need to know if he lived. I need to know if he made it out.
“They’ll question you when you’re feeling better,” Gerard says, stroking a piece of hair from my face.
“No,” I say, my voice harder than it’s ever been. Gerard jerks back slightly, flinching. “No, I need to talk to them now.”
“Lucy . . .”
“Please,” I beg. “Please. I need this.”
I need to know he’s okay.
“Okay, all right, I’ll get someone.”
He studies me with a worried look in his eyes, then turns and walks out. My heart races as I look around the room, reliving every minute. Hunter saved my life. Hunter held me up. Hunter kept me breathing. Then he went back in. His last words ring through my head and desperation clutches my heart. I need to see him again. I just . . . need to.
“Ma’am.”
I turn and glance at an officer standing at the door with Gerard. He’s the same officer who was there when we got out. I start rambling before he even takes a step into my room. “I need to know if he’s okay. Can you please tell me if he made it out?”
“Who, ma’am?” he asks, coming in and stepping up to my bed.
“Hunter!” I cry. “He went back in and—”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
I blink at him. What does he mean he doesn’t know who I’m talking about? He was there; he spoke to Hunter—of course he knows who I’m talking about. I squeeze my eyes closed. Maybe it isn’t the same officer. I try to remember but it’s all a crazy, horrific blur. I focus on him again. It is him. It is.
“You . . . he got me out. He was right there. You spoke to him. He went back in.”
The officer shakes his head, eyes shifting back and forth in confusion. “Ma’am, I’m afraid you were out there alone. There was nobody with you.”
“There was!” I scream. “He was right there. He sat beside me. He saved me. He got me out. He was there.”
“You’ve experienced an extremely difficult time. Perhaps it’s best if you rest and we’ll talk to you when you’re feeling well again.”
“No,” I shriek. “No. I need to see him. He was there.”
“Lucy,” Gerard says, reaching for my hand. I jerk it back.
He looks hurt. “If the officer says he wasn’t there, perhaps you’ve gotten confused. Sometimes that happens in traumatic situations.”
“No,” I yell. “No, I was not confused. Go, look on the cameras, check the tickets. He was there. He saved me.”
“I’ll get a doctor,” the officer says, leaving the room.
“No,” I cry, trying to get out of the bed.
Gerard’s hands find my shoulders, and he pushes me back. “Lucy, calm down. You’re freaking out. I’m right here. I’ve got you.”
Squirming, I try to shove him off. “No. Let me go. You don’t understand.”
“Lucy, calm down.”
“No!” I scream so loudly he rears back startled.
A doctor appears, studying me, and then barking an order to the nurse. I fight against my husband, shoving desperate. They’re lying to me. Why are they lying to me? Tears soak my cheeks as I desperately try to force my way past Gerard.
A needle hits my arm and warmth once again spreads through me.
“Hunter,” I whisper as my body slumps backwards.
Where did you go?
CHAPTER 4