7. Jane Doe
CHAPTER 7
JANE DOE
“H ow long have you known the Hunts?” I ask then eat another salty fry. I learned something else about myself tonight—fries are one of my favorite foods. Crisp, salty French fries.
“About a year and a half,” Kennedy replies. “I’m engaged to Bradyn. The oldest brother.” She shows me a beautiful ring on her left hand, and the look on her face is one of pure love. “We’re getting married in a day shy of three weeks. I’m counting down the hours,” she adds with a bright smile.
“Three weeks? That’s soon.”
“It is. And I couldn’t be more excited. Pretty much everything is done, so now it’s just the waiting.”
“I imagine that’s hard.”
“It is,” she admits. “We’ve been through a lot, the two of us. And I’m ready to make it official so we can start our lives.”
“What do you mean you’ve been through a lot?” I immediately want to kick myself. “Sorry, that was intrusive. Everyone knows as much about me as I do, so I’m being nosy.”
She laughs. “Not intrusive at all.” Her expression falls a bit. “My best friend was murdered, and I got pulled into a pretty nasty fight. I actually ended up on the run and was hiding at the Hunt ranch. Bradyn and his brothers helped me get the proof I needed to clear my name.”
“Oh, wow. That’s—” I stare at her. “That is a lot.”
She smiles. “It was. Bradyn came to me when I was at my lowest. And even though I’d made mistakes, he stayed by my side. What we have—I never thought I’d find it.” Her eyes get a bit misty.
“That’s wonderful.” I can’t help a pang of jealousy. Have I ever felt such love? Is there someone out there looking for me? Or was I all alone?
“It is.” She wipes her eyes. “Oh, sorry, I’m a mess. The closer we get to the wedding, the more emotional I get.” Kennedy laughs. “Let’s talk about you.”
“Well, I know that I like French fries. And being outside.”
“That’s something.”
“Not much.” Frustration ebbs at my pleasant mood.
“You don’t seem like a bundle of nerves, given everything that’s going on.”
“No,” I admit. “I’m not.”
“So that’s something too. You’re strong.”
“Or not worried about self-preservation,” I reply with a laugh.
Kennedy shakes her head. “You are strong. I can see it.”
“Maybe.” I don’t vocalize the same fear to her as I did to Elliot. But every hour that passes, I become more and more convinced that I must have been wrapped up in something. I mean, why would I have that memory of running through the woods? What was I even doing out there?
“Well, we’re all certain of it.” She takes a bite of her cheeseburger and swallows it down with a drink of water. Silence surrounds us, and with it, I find my mind drifting back to the earlier walk I took with Elliot.
For a moment, he softens toward me, and I feel so comfortable with him that it’s as though we’ve known each other for years, not hours. “Kennedy, can I ask you something?”
“Absolutely. What is it?” She looks at me expectantly.
“What do you know about Elliot?”
She smiles softly. “Elliot Hunt is one of the most genuine, kindest men I’ve ever met,” she replies. “He was the first to welcome me to the ranch, aside from Ruth and Tommy, of course.”
“Tommy?”
“Elliot’s dad.”
“Oh, gotcha. So he’s not normally—blocked off?” I try to find a way to put it that won’t sound as though I’m being judgmental.
“Not usually.” Her brow furrows. “Why? Did something happen?”
“What? Oh, no. He’s been nothing but kind. He just seems like he gets a little distant. I wasn’t sure if it was me or if that’s just how he usually is.”
“Oh no, it’s not you. Elliot gets a bit wrapped up in his own head sometimes. And right now, I know he’s focused on the case.”
“Case?”
She cocks her head to the side, clearly expecting me to know what she’s talking about. “Your case. He and the brothers are looking for the place you were attacked.”
Fear sneaks up on me out of nowhere. My heart begins to pound, and suddenly the room might as well have had all the air sucked out of it. They don’t know what they’re walking into . It’s the first thought that pops into my head, though I have no idea what it means.
The forest comes back, the tall dark trees passing by in a blur as I run for my life. “No, they need to let the police do it. The police?—”
“Honey, calm down.” Kennedy reaches forward and touches my hand. “Do you not know what they do?”
“What do you mean?”
“The Hunt brothers. They run a search and rescue company. Finding people is what they do.”
That fear dissipates just slightly. “Search and rescue,” I repeat, letting it soak in. That horrible sinking feeling remains, though. The fear that they have no idea what they’re up against, and I can’t even remember what it is so I can clue them in.
“Yeah.” She squeezes my hand gently. “You don’t have to worry about them. They’re really good at what they do.”
“But I was shot. Whoever is after me is dangerous. What if something happens to them because of me?”
“They were soldiers first,” she assures me. “Special Ops. And you should’ve seen the place they pulled me out of.” She offers me a smile. “They’ll be just fine, okay? Besides, aren’t you ready for some answers?”
“More than ready,” I admit. Elliot’s words come rushing back to me. He said that he’d been shot, stabbed—and he’s still standing. They all are. So why can’t I have more confidence that everything will be okay? What is this dread coiling in my belly? Fear—not for myself but for innocent men wrapped up in my nightmare?
“Then trust them,” Kennedy says. “If there’s anything to be found, they’re your best bet.”
* * *
The silence is echoing as it surrounds me.
A sliver of light sneaks in from where the door is cracked, but aside from that, the room is cast in shadows. Kennedy left hours ago, but I haven’t been able to sleep. Not while Elliot and his brothers are out risking their lives for me.
I didn’t even ask them to. I wouldn’t have asked them to.
Yet they went out anyway. What if they don’t come back?
Closing my eyes for the millionth time tonight, I take a deep, steadying breath. Kennedy said they’re good at what they do. Survivors. So I have to trust in that. It’s not like I can call and ask them to back down.
The door opens, but since I don’t want to argue with the nurse again about how I’m not interested in medication to make me sleep, I keep my eyes closed and my breathing steady. That way she can simply peek in and leave me to silently panic alone.
Soft footsteps carry farther into the room, and the door clicks closed.
What?
I open my eyes.
A man stares back at me. He’s wearing the same blue scrubs as the nurses, but there’s something hard in his eyes. Something that sets off an alarm within me.
“He—” I start to yell, but he’s faster. He lunges across the distance and grips my throat with his hands, squeezing so hard I can’t get a sound out. Pain shoots through my throat as all oxygen is cut off.
I thrash in the bed, adrenaline silencing the pain from my still-healing injuries. I raise my arm up and slam my fist into the side of his face. He loosens his grip just enough that I can raise my head and slam my forehead into his.
He stumbles back, releasing me, and it takes a moment for my vision to clear. I note the vase Ruth brought for me, and when the man charges again, I grip it and slam it into the side of his head. He falls backward, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
I throw myself off the side of the bed. I have to get to the door. “Help!” I choke out, but the sound is raspy, barely over a whisper.
A hand grips my ankle and tries to drag me back. My fingers close over a chunk of the broken vase, and I cling to it. He flips me onto my back and straddles me, but when he reaches for my throat again, I use what little energy I have left and slice out with the glass.
His eyes go wide, and he stares down at me as he grips his own throat. Blood pours from the wound on the side of his throat.
I push him off of me, and he falls to the side, holding his throat.
“Help!” I scream again, this time louder.
The door is ripped open, and Lani races in. “Get security!” she yells. “And find out where that deputy is!” She rushes in and checks the man. I watch as she feels for his pulse.
“Did I kill him?” I can’t move. I don’t even have the energy to make myself sit up. Every inch of my body hurts, and when Lani turns toward me, I see the answer in her eyes. “He attacked me. I didn’t have a choice.” My voice is shaky as tremors take over my body. I can’t stop shaking.
“I know you didn’t,” she says softly as she comes to my side. “You’re okay, Jane, but I need you to breathe.”
I try, but it’s ragged, every single breath like acid in my throat.
The door opens again, and a man wearing a black security uniform rushes in alongside a deputy.
“I only stepped away for a minute!” he insists. “The nurse, he said he’d—” He stares down at the dead man.
“He’s not a nurse,” Lani growls. “Call Gibson. Now.”
“I— I’m so sorry,” the deputy says, his face twisted in horror.
“You’re lucky she’s not dead. Call Gibson now …before I have to.”
“Okay.” He steps from the room.
“Get me a wheelchair,” she orders a nurse.
I close my eyes.
My body continues to tremble, tremors that cause my teeth to chatter.
“Breathe, Jane. You’re safe, okay?”
I nod. Breathe. I can do that. Right?