Page 79 of The Golden Hour

Pale light filters through the blinds, striping her face with gold. Scooting forward, I reach for her cold fingers. They squeeze back, the handcuff clinking against the bedrail.

Her bruised eyelids flicker at the sound, then open. “Where—” Her face contorts as pain finds her.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m here.”

Some of the confusion leaves her eyes. “Callisto?” she croaks.

I stroke the blond hair from her brow. “You’re going to be just fine.”

“No,” she whispers, jerking her head away from my touch. “No.”

“Don’t worry,” I soothe. “They had to take out your spleen and some of your large intestine, but you’ll be right as rain in no time.”

She moans, eyes rolling in panic. She tries to yank her fingers from mine, but the handcuff stops her.

“Enzo?” she whispers.

“He’s gone. So is Franco.”

The beeping intensifies as her heart rate spikes. Any minute, an alarm will sound and a nurse will come.

But I don’t need long.

“I’m so glad you made it through surgery. It would have been a real tragedy if you’d died.”

She whimpers, chin quivering. Tears leak from her closed eyes. “Just kill me,” she whispers. “You want to, I know you do.”

I shake my head. “I’m not like you. And thank God for that. Plus, that would be too easy. You don’t deserve easy.”

I gather my purse, sweatshirt, and the small bag with my change of clothes and toiletries, then head for the door.

“Please.”

My hand on the doorknob, I pause. The officer outside sees me and stands, a question on his face. At my nod, he waves to someone down the hall.

“D-don’t leave me like this. No matter what’s happened, we’re family.”

“No, we’re not.” I meet her gaze a final time. “I hope you enjoy a long, healthy life in prison, then spend eternity rotting in Hell. Goodbye, Vivian.”

The door closes behind me, and I take my first deep breath in a week.

Detective Wilson strides toward me, two nurses on her heels. At Wilson’s nod, the officer opens Vivian’s door and follows the nurses inside.

“Finally awake, huh?”

I nod, fatigue rolling heavily across my shoulders. “She didn’t even ask about her. Whether or not she survived. What kind of mother…” I trail off, blinking rapidly.

Wilson touches my arm. “A shitty one. You can spend a lifetime trying to understand the pathology of a criminal like her, but you never will.”

I nod again. “You’re right. Thank you for everything.”

She smiles. “I couldn’t have done it without you. Do you want to go now, or do you need some downtime?”

I suck in a breath. “I’m ready. Unless you want to stay? You’ve been waiting days to question her…”

Wilson smiles gently. “She’s not going anywhere.”

“Okay. Let’s get this over with.”

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