So Far from Safe Eden #2
So I stepped out of the room. I walked down the hall.
I used the restroom, splashed water on my face.
I cried for all that I’d lost, for what might have been, for the souls of Lucy and Andy, and then I pulled myself together, because my loss was being overshadowed by my gain.
Andrew’s children were counting on me. Margot was counting on me. Brooklyn was counting on me.
Somehow, that meant Andrew was counting on me, too. Eventually, I knew that was going to matter. At some point, he and I would be face-to-face again. I wasn’t going to mess it up this time.
And screw the stranger Theresa warned me about. If he came anywhere near us, I would end him, too.
I wiped my nose and got myself a coffee in the family room.
I stepped out into the hall just in time to hear an alarm going off.
It was coming from the hallway where Brooklyn’s room was located.
That made my heart speed up. I started toward her room, and a man turned the corner at speed, running right into me.
The coffee splashed on my blouse, boiling hot.
I let out a screech; it burned terribly.
But he didn’t stop, he kept going, right into the elevator.
The doors slid shut before I could get a good look at him.
Soaked, I hurried to Brooklyn’s room, only to find the whole staff gathered. People were running in and out, calling for medications, support, and doctors. I managed to get close enough to see inside. They were working on her like she wasn’t breathing.
A nurse saw me staring and immediately blocked me.
“You need to step away, ma’am.”
“I’m with her. I’m Eden Barrow. I’m on the list. I’m staying the night. I just went for a coffee. What’s happening?”
“We don’t know. She’s tachycardic, her blood pressure went through the roof, and she’s vomiting. Not totally uncommon with a TBI. She didn’t drink or eat anything when you were with her, did she?”
“No, she was out of it. But there was a man, a few minutes ago, who came running from her room. He smashed into me as I left the family room. He didn’t even apologize, just kept going. He got into the elevator.”
“Do you have any idea who it was?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t recognize him. He was wearing scrubs. I assumed he was a doctor in a hurry. You don’t think he tried to hurt her, do you?”
“Stay right here. I’m getting security.”
They saved her. Thank God. I mean, I don’t know how close to dying she was, but it was very dramatic there for a bit, with all the shouting and the meds being pushed and getting her electrolytes back in order. The doctors chalked it up to the concussion. Poor thing.
But the timing of the man in her room felt too ominous to ignore. Dr. Christie, being an extremely intelligent woman, was suspicious and asked for some more comprehensive blood work that would take days to complete.
I spent two hours being interviewed, first by hospital security, then by a policeman from Atlanta, then, finally, by Theresa, who arrived in the wee hours of the morning, her right hand bandaged, looking like she hadn’t slept in days.
It was Theresa who told me the scary parts—the man who’d been in Brooklyn’s room wasn’t on the security video because somehow, the video feeds had been offline starting an hour before the incident.
“It wasn’t Andrew, was it? Who ran into you?”
“I don’t . . . Well, honestly, I don’t know. It happened so fast.”
“Well, we’re afraid someone’s trying to eliminate Brooklyn. This is the second attempt on her life.”
“What do you mean? The SUV outside my house? Was that on purpose?”
“We think it was. The SUV was parked up the street, waiting. We can see it on a traffic camera that’s at the stoplight there on Fox Run.
When the door to the house opened, the engine turned on and it pulled away from the curb.
Whoever was driving was trying to hit her.
Add in this attempt on her life, and she’s not safe. ”
She looked at me, really looked at me, like it was the first time she’d seen me in years. Which, in many ways, is the truth—Theresa had been ignoring me for a very long time. I got it. I was an inconvenience. My sister was dead, the case was unsolved, and I reminded her of her failures.
She put her hand on my shoulder. “I think you’re in danger, too, Eden. So is Brooklyn’s sister. With Andrew’s parents murdered yesterday, how they were killed . . . This is bigger than we know.”
“What? You’re kidding, right?”
“I wish I were. Is there someplace safe for you to go?”
“I can’t leave them, Theresa. Margot and the kids are at my house.”
“Alone?” At my nod, she held up a finger and opened her phone. “I need a car to head to this address . . .” I told her, and she repeated it into the phone. “Do a welfare check and a full security sweep. Then await my instructions.”
“Thank you.” I couldn’t stomach the idea of those kids getting hurt. “Why did Andrew kill his parents? Do you know?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I can’t discuss the details. All I can say is it’s not safe for you to be anywhere near this family. So if you do decide to stay, be aware that you could get caught in the cross fire.”
After that, Grady Memorial didn’t stand a chance.
While it was medically safe but not recommended, Margot insisted on moving Brooklyn.
I’d never seen anything like it. She was ferocious.
She badgered the insurance company to agree, found a bed at Vanderbilt, hired a medical ambulance service, and otherwise worked tirelessly to get her sister home.
It was impressive. Very impressive. She was organized and dedicated, and unwilling to compromise.
And she managed to pull it all off in six hours.
I think the hospital was relieved, actually.
The last thing they needed getting out to the press was the news that someone was stalking their halls, trying to murder the patients.
While all that was happening, hulking men and women with weapons appeared at the door to Brooklyn’s room, a combination of FBI and GBI. No one was going to take a chance with her life again.
So three days after the accident, two days after Andrew’s parents were murdered, and one day after the second attempt on Brooklyn’s life, we moved to Nashville.
I drove us there. I wasn’t about to step away from them now. I wasn’t going to make that mistake again.