Chapter Twenty-Six
I t was late morning when the medical staff got Keira settled into a private room. The stress of the move gave Daniel a headache and made the already solid ball of misery stuck in his stomach grow larger and denser.
After the nurses left, Daniel snagged a chair from the corner and sat as close to Keira’s bed as possible. Daniel straightened the blanket over her chest and smoothed out her hair that was still tangled from the attack.
The door opened again. The nurse smiled compassionately at Daniel before checking the IVs and heart sensors.
“Would it be okay if I wiped some of the blood and dirt from her?”
The nurse smiled. “Of course. I was planning on doing that later, but if you’d like to do it, I’ll bring a bowl of warm water and a washcloth for you in a bit.”
“That would be great. Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Daniel’s voice stopped her on the way out the door. “She’s getting better, right?”
The nurse turned, but still had a hold on the partially open door. “I would say it’s a good sign her vitals are stronger today and her color’s better.”
“Why isn’t she waking up?”
“Her body’s tired and needs time to heal,” the woman said.
“Will she wake up soon?”
The nurse paused. “That’s up to her. I know this is hard for you, but just know she is healing.”
Daniel sucked in a breath and nodded without taking his gaze off of Keira. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll be back in a bit.”
Conner came through the door less than a half an hour later to find Daniel gently bathing Keira’s face, chest, and the skin on her arms that wasn’t bandaged.
“How’s she doing?” Conner asked.
Daniel’s hand jerked. He hadn’t realized anyone had come through the door. “They’ve told me her vitals are getting stronger.”
Conner stood on the other side of the bed. “She has more color.” He looked up at Daniel. “Has she woken up?”
“No.”
“Have they given you a time frame on when that will happen?”
“They told me it’s up to her.” Daniel was silent for a moment as he rinsed out the washcloth and went after some blood stuck to her ear. “Have you found anything?”
“We have his blood type.”
“I want to know how the hell he got past my door sensors?”
“We found he was coming in through the attic.”
“I never saw an attic.”
“It’s in the guest bedroom closet. He climbed the tree and had jimmied the window open. He was able to come and go as he pleased.”
“Son of a bitch. Any fingerprints? Anything that can help us get him?”
“Not yet.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed at the expression on Conner’s face. “What? What aren’t you telling me?”
Conner ran his hand up and down the back of his neck. “He destroyed her bedroom. He left most of her clothes intact, but everything else in the bedroom and bathroom was either cut up or broken. There’s more.”
Daniel placed the washcloth in the tepid water, keeping his eyes from focusing on the red, dirty water in the bowl. He sat down and placed his hand on her arm, needing to feel her warmth. “What is it?” He didn’t want to ask, knowing somehow it wasn’t going to be good.
“It shows he did it the night before he attacked her.”
“What? How?” Daniel asked, shocked.
“Her products in the bathroom were on the floor, and some of her clothes were very dry. Our CSI determined the liquids had been spilled thirty hours ago or more.”
Daniel’s shocked eyes flew to Conner’s before he stood abruptly and walked to the window with his back to the room. “She was there all night. That bastard terrorized her and destroyed her home, and she stayed. Why?”
Conner sighed. “I don’t know. Most people would have left right away and called the police.”
“She didn’t trust the cops to help her, and calling me would have been the last thing she would ever do.” Daniel leaned forward and placed his hands on the windowsill and bowed his head. “God, what did I do wrong? How did I fuck this up so much?”
Conner listened to the torment in his friend’s voice. “I want to tell you it wasn’t your fault, but right now you wouldn’t believe me.”
Daniel shook his head. “No, I wouldn’t. I can’t talk anymore right now.”
“I get it. I’ll take off and check back with you later.”
Conner hadn’t made it out the door before a sob tore from Daniel’s throat. He cried until there was nothing left, wiped his eyes, got fresh water, and went back to work cleaning Keira. He wanted to make her feel as comfortable as he could. It was the only thing he could do now.