9. Jane Doe
CHAPTER 9
JANE DOE
E lliot is still sitting beside my bed when I wake.
Sunlight streams in through the crack between the curtain panels, casting his face in a golden light. His gaze is on his phone, but my hand is still firmly in his. The heaviness of his calloused palm feels heavenly against my skin.
He lifts his gaze from the phone to me, and it holds mine. For a moment, the rest of the world disappears, leaving only the two of us. “How do you feel?”
“Sore,” I admit, my voice still raspy. “I tore some stitches, and Lani had to fix them.”
“How is your throat?”
“It hurts.” I study him. “You stayed all night.” I check the clock on the wall just behind him, noting that it’s already dinner time. “And all day.”
“I told you I would stay until you woke up.”
“You must be exhausted. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m fine. Don’t apologize.” He uses his free hand to type something on his phone then sets it down. “I let my brother know you’re awake. He and Sheriff Lawson have been in and out all day, wanting to talk to you.”
“Oh, okay.”
A soft knock on the hospital door interrupts my response. “Come in,” I call out. Elliot releases my hand, and I hate the sudden emptiness that fills me.
The sheriff, who’d introduced himself to me as Gibson Lawson on that first day, steps inside with a smile, alongside a tall, muscled man who looks a whole lot like Elliot. I remember him as one of the men I’d seen that day Elliot rescued me.
“Hey, Elliot,” the sheriff greeted.
“Lawson.” He nods in response.
Gibson shifts his attention from Elliot to me. “Hi, ma’am, I’m Sheriff Lawson, and this is Bradyn Hunt. Can we talk to you for a few minutes?”
“Sure. Bradyn, you’re Kennedy’s fiancé?”
He smiles. “I am.”
“Bradyn and the other Hunt brothers are helping me on this case as consultants. I wanted to know if we could ask you a few questions?”
I look to Elliot, noting that he’s not the least surprised they’re here. Truthfully, he looks completely agitated at their presence. “Sure. Though I don’t know how much help I’ll be; I still can’t remember anything. As for the attack last night, that’s been documented already.”
“This isn’t about the incident last night.”
“You mean the attempted murder?” Elliot snaps.
Bradyn crosses his arms and shoots his brother a warning glare.
“Yes, it’s not about that,” Gibson replies, glaring at Elliot. “Though I am so incredibly sorry for what happened and want to assure you we’re looking into how your attacker gained access to you.”
“Thanks.”
He nods. “As for not remembering, don’t worry about that. This isn’t about your past, actually. At least, not entirely.” Gibson reaches into his pocket and withdraws his cell phone. After tapping on the screen, he turns it to face me. “Do you recognize this woman?”
I study the image. The woman’s dark hair is loose around her face, and she’s smiling brightly. There’s no spark of recognition, though. “If I knew her, I don’t remember her. I’m sorry. Who is she?”
“Her name was Rosalie Wallace. She was found dead last night in the same woods we believe you were attacked in.”
I can feel the blood drain from my face. Everything goes cold from my toes all the way to the top of my face. I shift my gaze to Elliot. He knew? For nearly a full day, he knew someone else was dead, and he didn’t say anything? Why? “What?”
“I know this is hard,” Bradyn says. “But that’s not all. She was wearing the same style white shirt you were found in, and underneath was a dress similar to the one you were wearing when Elliot found you.”
I can hardly hear anything he’s saying. It all sounds like I’m underwater, a loud echo surrounding me. Dead? She’s dead? Another woman?
“I—I don’t understand.”
“Breathe,” Elliot tells me. When he says it, we’re no longer in this room but back in that garden yesterday. “Breathe,” he’d told me. Just breathe . But how can I when the walls are closing in? First, someone tries to kill me; then they find a woman dead in the same woods I remember being in?
“I know this is hard, especially after last night, but we needed to know if you remember anything,” Gibson says.
“I— No.” Tears roll down my cheeks, and I quickly wipe them away. “She died?”
“I told you both this was going to be too much.” Elliot stands then faces both men and crosses his arms, standing between them and me like a wall of angry muscle.
“We needed to know,” Bradyn argues. “You know that’s how this works.”
“This is too much for her after what happened last night. You should have let her have some time. Some?—”
“We don’t have time,” Bradyn replies. “If we did, someone wouldn’t have tried to kill her last night.”
“It’s okay,” I tell Elliot then take a deep breath. And another. Letting the oxygen calm my nerves. “Do you think the man last night could have been the same one who killed her?”
“We’re running him through the system,” Gibson replies. “Based on first impressions, though, I’m thinking he was hired and had nothing to do with the woman in the woods.”
“Hired? Someone wants me dead so badly they’re willing to pay for it?”
“That’s my best theory,” Gibson replies.
“Mine, too,” Bradyn adds.
Elliot remains silent.
Bradyn offers me a friendly smile. “We’re going to figure it out, okay?” He and Gibson share a look. “I want to ask you something, and it’s okay if you want to say no.”
“What is it?”
“I would like to offer you a safe place to stay until we get all this figured out. We own a ranch here in town, and all of us have houses on the property. My parents have a spare bedroom, and they’ve agreed to take you in until this is all over. We can keep you safe there. But if you’re not comfortable?—”
“No,” Elliot snaps.
Disappointment slams into me.
“No?” Bradyn questions. “It’s her safest bet.”
“I agree. But she’s not staying with Mom and Dad. The stairs will be too much, and if someone is really after her, we shouldn’t put them at risk too.”
“Then what do you suggest?” Bradyn questions.
Elliot turns to me. “I have two spare rooms. You can sleep in one, and I’ll see if Lani is willing to come stay in the other. That way, you have someone there to look after you. No one will come within a hundred feet of the house without us knowing about it.”
I stare at him. I’d thought he was refusing to let me stay at the ranch, but instead, he’s offering me a room? In his house?
“Well?” he asks.
“Yes. That would be great.”
“Really?” He seems surprised.
“Yes. Maybe being out of this room will also help me remember something—anything that can help. I’m going crazy just lying here, and now another woman is dead. If I can help, I want to help.”
Elliot nods.
“Okay. Great,” Bradyn says. “I’ll coordinate with Lani about having you checked out. Then we’ll drive you out to the ranch.”
* * *
Being out of the hospital is the greatest feeling.
But the moment I think that, guilt crushes down on me. I’m only here because someone tried to kill me and another woman is dead. Because two other people lost their lives.
Even though I’m sitting in Elliot’s living room while he prepares the guest rooms for me and Lani, I can still see the woman smiling out from that photograph Gibson showed me. There’d been so much life in her eyes, and now she’ll never smile again. Emotion burns my throat. Why can’t I remember something that will help?
The image of her has me wondering so much. Did I know her? Were we friends? Did she like being outside too? Did she have a family? Loved ones?
Do I?
I run my hands over Echo’s soft fur as he lies beside me. Elliot’s dog has been at my side since the moment we got back to his house. I smile as I run my fingers through his thick fur.
I like dogs.
Another thing I learned about myself.
Elliot comes down the hall and steps into the living room, wearing dark jeans and a black T-shirt. Colored ink snakes up both arms, and the muscles of his biceps flex as he lifts a hand to remove his baseball cap. “He’s not normally so calm with people he just met.”
I smile down at Echo then up at his owner. “He’s a good boy.” Echo’s tail thumps in response.
“That he is.” Elliot takes a seat on the other side of Echo. “The room is ready.”
“Thank you so much for letting me stay here.”
He nods. “My parents have stairs, and I imagine those would not be easy on your injury.”
“You would be imagining right,” I reply. He’d had to carry me up the two steps onto his porch earlier because moving is beyond painful right now. Reopening those stitches last night certainly didn’t do me any favors.
“You’re sure you’re comfortable with this?” he asks. “We just met.”
“And you saved my life then sat by my bedside all night so I could get some sleep. I feel safe with you, Elliot.” Our gazes hold. “I don’t know how to explain it, but I do.”
“I won’t ever hurt you,” he says. “Or let anyone else hurt you.”
I smile. “Thanks.” Truth is, being here in his space, I’m more relaxed than I’ve been in—well—as long as I can remember. Not that that’s a tall bar to meet. His space is warm and inviting with soft, muted colors balanced with an accent of hunter green.
It’s peaceful.
“My mom is sending Lani over with dinner when she gets here.”
“She was okay with staying here, too?”
He nods. “She crashes with one of us occasionally. She has property here on the ranch too but hasn’t started building her house yet.”
“That’s so neat. That all of you are so close.”
“It’s always been this way.”
“You and Bradyn seemed a bit at odds earlier.”
Elliot’s jaw flexes, and he crosses his arms. “It wasn’t Bradyn I was annoyed with.”
“Gibson?”
He nods.
“What happened isn’t his fault, either. Truthfully, I don’t even blame the deputy. Everyone makes mistakes.”
“A fast-food restaurant might forget to pack an order of fries. That is a mistake. Not letting a complete stranger into a guarded room where he can murder the woman inside. There’s more to that. I know it. And Tucker is looking into it.”
“Tucker?”
“One of my younger brothers,” he replies. “Can I get you some water? Tea?”
“No, I’m okay right now, thanks.” I rest my head back against the soft couch.
“You’re sure?”
“Aside from being helpless, I’m fine.”
“You’re anything but helpless,” he replies. “Last night should have taught you that.”
“Sure, I survived last night. And I got away from whoever shot me. But that woman didn’t. Who knows how many others weren’t so lucky.”
His hazel gaze levels on me. “That’s not your fault.”
“I just feel like, if I could remember something—anything—then maybe I could tell you all something that will help.”
He reaches out and brushes a strand of hair out of my face. I freeze at the contact, the feel of his fingers brushing against my cheek. It feels far better than a simple touch should. “We’ve found people with much less to go on.” His tone is soft, his voice low.
“Thank you. For trying.”
He drops his hand. “We’ll get it figured out.” Elliot turns his head to study the setting sun through a large picture window overlooking the ranch.
“It’s beautiful out here.”
“My favorite place in the world.”
“Have you been to many places?” I ask.
He nods. “Far more than I wish I had. I need to go grab a shower before Lani gets here. Dylan is monitoring the perimeter of the house, so you’re covered as far as safety goes. Are you sure you don’t need anything?”
I hate that he’s leaving already. “I’m totally fine. Thanks.”
He nods. “I’ll only be about fifteen minutes. Call out if you need something, okay?”
“Okay. Thanks.”
He offers me another friendly smile then turns to head down the hall. Echo remains here with me, though his ears perk up as Elliot leaves the room. It’s strange how empty it feels now that he’s not sitting on the couch anymore.
I rest my head back again, my hand on the dog sleeping beside me, and close my eyes. As exhaustion pulls at my consciousness, I drift off to sleep, my thoughts on the handsome hero who burst into my hospital room last night, ready to go to war for me.