Chapter 60
CHAPTER SIXTY
kole
I stormed through the hospital entrance ignoring Harry as he chased after me. The nurse jumped from her seat, her eyes widening at my bloodied face before she glanced at the sling on my arm.
“Dani Henderson,” I gritted out, attempting to stay calm. “I need to know what room she’s in.”
“Uh—I think we need to look at your injuries,” she said, rounding the counter. “A few of those need stitches—”
“That can wait. I need to see her now.” I paused, blowing out a breath. “Please.”
“Kole, calm down,” Harry huffed, finally catching up to me.
“I’ve been fucking calm,” I growled, turning my anger on him. “You all forced me to stay in Winterlake so Nolan could pop my shoulder back into place, and I downed some pain pills. I’m fine. I need to see Dani.”
“She’s sleeping.”
I whirled around to see Susan sitting in the waiting area. Her lips were set in a scowl, her tired eyes examining me as she stood up. She glanced at Harry, her frown deepening.
“Who gave you permission to leave Winterlake?” she asked in a low voice.
“Things were hectic there,” I replied, my impatience flaring. “They were trying to round up everyone who had left the factory. No one cared what I was doing.”
All the inmates roaming the streets of Winterlake would be back in the prison by morning. Harry had informed me about the mechanical failure at the factory, and while he believed it was an accident, I knew the truth. Miles and Leo had done it to create chaos when they went after Dani.
“Both of you can’t just get on a helicopter and leave.” Susan met my stare again. “I expected you to show up, which was why I’m waiting.”
“Nolan didn’t want me traveling alone,” I told her, barely hanging onto my last thread of control. “There were officers on the helicopter too. They must not have cared much since they dropped us off here and then left. Tell me what room Dani is in.”
“203. I’ll take you.”
She led the way, and it took everything not to snap about how slowly she was walking.
Harry trudged along next to me with his hands shoved into his pockets.
This was the first time he’d been out of prison and Winterlake in over fifteen years.
I was sure he would have chosen anywhere else to go other than a hospital during his slice of freedom.
We finally arrived at the room, and my heart rate sped up when I spotted two armed cops standing guard in front of her door.
“I thought Leo was found dead,” I breathed out.
“He was,” Susan answered, nodding at the policemen before opening the door.
“Then why does she need a detail—”
My words faded when my eyes fell on Dani. She was laying in the hospital bed, a bandage covering her cheek where Leo had cut her. Her hair was still matted and red from dried blood.
But as she slept, I couldn’t stop the breath of relief that slipped out. She looked…peaceful. As if even while unconscious, she was aware her monster was gone.
“She has a few cuts that needed stitches, two ribs and her ankle are broken,” Susan listed out her injuries with no emotion. “It’ll take a while, but she should heal with no permanent issues.”
The relief I’d just felt fizzled out when my eyes stopped on her wrist. I took a step forward before facing Susan.
“Why the hell is she handcuffed to the bed?” I snapped.
She crossed her arms. “Do you know her history?”
I paused. “Yes. I also know Winterlake was supposed to be a fresh start for her.”
“That was before she murdered Miles.”
My jaw dropped. “He tried killing her—”
“She deliberately killed him when he was not a threat anymore. And… the search helicopter saw what she did to Leo.”
My heart stuttered. “What did she do?”
“She murdered him when she was specifically told to leave him alone.”
The only sound was the beeping of the machines that Dani was hooked up to as I processed her words. Harry muttered something about food before scurrying out of the room.
“Those two deserved to die,” I hissed, keeping my voice quiet. “You can’t charge her—”
“It’s not just up to me. It’s already been decided.”
“This is not fucking happening,” I cursed, looking back at Dani. “She doesn’t deserve this.”
“She does.” Susan shrugged. “She was arrested four years ago for one murder. They were sure there were more, but it was never proven. But her skills in profiling were good—more than good. She could have helped find people who deserve to be behind bars.”
“She can,” I argued, trying to stay quiet so I didn’t wake her. “She loves the work she does—”
“She proved the opposite tonight by killing two men when she didn’t have to.” Her voice was firm. “A murderer needs to face their punishment. And that’s what she is.”
I was seeing red. Rage slithered through my chest and squeezed. “You have no idea what they did to her—”
“Kole.”
I glanced over my shoulder to see Sean standing in the doorway.
The man who was responsible for where my life was today.
Without him, I’d most likely be rotting away in jail.
I hadn’t seen him in years, ever since I arrived in Winterlake.
We’d stayed in touch with only emails, but most of those were work related.
In any other circumstance, I’d be happy to see him, but right now all I could think of was Dani.
“We need to talk,” I gritted out. “Now.”
Sean nodded, running a hand over his short black hair.
His brown eyes brimmed with regret and worry as he motioned for me to leave the room with him.
I stole one more look at Dani before following him into the hall.
He slid his hands into his suit jacket pockets as we walked away until we were out of earshot of the cops standing at her door.
“Susan informed me of your relationship with her,” Sean started the conversation. “I warned you about this when you first signed up to go to Winterlake. Falling in love with an inmate…it would never end well.”
“She was an intern,” I hissed.
“With a record. Who is more dangerous than half of the others in that town.” He blew out a breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. “The only reason her arrest was quiet was because of who she killed.”
“What does that mean?”
“She murdered the son of a prominent senator who was making a run for the presidential election. If it came out that his son was not only a stalker, but had murdered two women, it would have ruined his career,” he explained tightly.
“Money talked, and his past never came out. Dani was arrested, but they never named her as his killer.” His tone softened.
“I know about her past. What happened to her when she was eighteen. That could mess anyone up. But it doesn’t give her a right to kill.
It’s what I’ve always told you—you choose your path.
You took the right one and straightened out. She didn’t.”
“Sean, please,” I said roughly, not giving a shit how I sounded. “The two men she killed tonight? One of them was her attacker. The other was the asshole’s son. They’d been stalking her for years. They were going to kill her.”
“I can’t make this go away for her,” he murmured quietly. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” I repeated flatly. “It’s your fucking fault she did it.”
His eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”
“The murders in Winterlake. It went on for months.” My anger grew as I spoke. “You and whoever the fuck else is running the town could have shut it down. You chose not to.”
He scowled in annoyance. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You decided to keep the town open because if you shut it down, it would have wasted years and years of research.” I leaned closer.
“Not to mention the millions of dollars it has cost to keep the town open. Everything you and the team worked for in the last decade would have been lost. The lives of the inmates weren’t important enough.
You wanted to prove your hypothesis correct—that criminals could be rehabilitated without spending years in prison.
If you had chosen differently, those people would still be alive, and Dani never would have been in the position she was in last night.
It’s your fucking fault, Sean. Now, you need to fix it. ”
Guilt splashed on his face for a moment before he frowned.
“Winterlake is extremely important. We are so close to getting approved to try this with more prisons and more people who can do well with a second chance. We could go public with it and gain more support. We can make a change. Don’t get me wrong, I feel horrible about what happened.
But this is larger than that woman. It’s larger than just me or you. ”
I lashed my good arm up, grabbing his shirt collar. His eyes widened in shock when I shoved him against the wall.
“Winterlake wouldn’t be nearly as successful without me,” I growled, rage lining my voice.
“I’m the reason you had personal details about everyone.
I made it easier to choose who would be best for rehabilitation.
I was only supposed to stay there for three years, but I remained there to help you.
Because I believed in what you were doing.
” I shoved him again when he tried pushing me away.
“You’ve known me for more than half of my life.
You trust my judge of character—and I’m telling you she is not the fucking cold-blooded murderer you’re all saying she is. ”
“Hey,” one of the cops yelled from down the hall. “What the hell is going on?”
“Let me go, Kole. Before you do something you’ll regret,” Sean said, attempting to placate me. “We can talk about this later.”
“Fix it,” I warned. “Or you won’t like what I do.”
With those words, I let him go and strode down the hall, heading back to Dani.