Page 3 of Undying Thirst

The door creaked. The nurse was just in time . . .

“Cat.” Ren’s voice sent chills up my spine. Then he was in my face, grinning down at me as he bared his teeth.

I screamed and jerked back. Ignoring the agony spiking to my injuries, I dragged myself back, cringing away from him. His palm settled over my mouth, cutting me off. Ren lowered his head—long, smokey eyelashes rimming chocolate-colored eyes. His eyes held no emotion of any kind, akin to a serial killer. A ball of fear jammed my esophagus, making it difficult to breathe.

“You say or try anything, I will kill her in front of you. And it will not be a peaceful death.”

I whimpered, nodding frantically with his hand over my mouth. The door creaked and he let me go in a smooth motion, crossing his bulging arms.

“Hi hun, glad to see you’re awake.” She strode over to the side of the bed and checked the monitors.

“How long have I been out?” I croaked with my abused voice. Probably from the screaming.

“You slept for roughly eighteen hours.” She clicked her tongue as she studied the screen. “Your husband showed up a few hours ago. Just in the nick of time before visiting hours ended. He hasn’t left your side since.” Husband. Ha. Ha.

“Oh,” I mumbled, eyeing Ren. He looked much too calm for my peace of mind—like a snake before it struck. “How long will I be here for?”

“You best prepare to hang out with us for a while,” she said, sympathy coating her voice. “The cops wanted to talk with you about whether you saw the person involved in the hit and run.” She clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “If a passerby hadn’t called for help, you could have bled out in the middle of the intersection.”

I heard the words and I understood them, but I still felt like I was floating outside of my body. The bright lights . . . the impact . . . excruciating pain, then nothing.

“I’ll let them know you’re awake when they?—”

Ren straightened, arms dropping to his side.

“No.”

I stiffened, my stomach dropping.

The nurse frowned and looked up from her computer to Ren standing before her. He’d moved impossibly fast. She visibly startled, but quickly collected herself.

“She will be discharged tonight,” Ren announced.

“It’s the middle of the night—” His finger went up and I shut up.

Lovely. Bitterness spread through my chest, mingling with defeat.

“Do whatever you have to, but destroy the record of Catalina Herrera,” he continued, his tone remaining simultaneously soft and demanding. I gritted my teeth; there was nothing I could do. Helplessness gnawed on my insides. “Now.”

The nurse stiffly strode toward the door like a puppet. I dropped my head forward. I could feel his gaze on me.

“Up, human, we have to get back before sunrise.”

Why was he so cheerful? I gritted my teeth, wanting nothing more than to cuss at him, but I had a feeling he’d just get off on it. Gingerly scooching to the edge of the bed, I slipped my good hand under my thigh and braced to lift it off the mattress. My leg hung off the edge, the weight of the cast shooting agony into my bones. I hissed out a breath to hide the whimper.

The room spun so I focused on my surroundings to ground myself. I sat on an abrasive bed sheet, the nightstand held a large plastic container with water, and . . . my phone rested on the side stand, the screen shattered.

“If you don’t keep up, I’ll get bored, and when I get bored, I start killing,” Ren announced matter-of-factly with a slight shrug.

After sliding the broken phone into my pajama pocket, I plucked the single crutch leaning against the wall and dragged myself after Ren. Nausea twisted my stomach. Everything hurt so badly, and the pain increased with each beat of my heart. Whatever drugs I’d been given were likely leaving my system and now I felt like nails were being hammered into every inch of my body. The crutch creaked with my quick step and hop. The smooth material of my pjs rubbed between my thighs.

Ren’s stride was much too long. Was he doing it on purpose? A woman rounded the corner, attention fastening on him. His rumbling voice echoed to me, but it was too low for me to make out the words. The woman straightened and continued walking past me, a stiff expression fixed on her features. Her appearance offered me a reprieve in the sense that I’d managed to catch up, or to at least not be fifteen feet behind him.

“Please, just let me leave. I won’t tell anyone about your existence.” I huffed between words, gritting my teeth at thecreak of my limb’s protesting movement. He suddenly stopped and my forehead smacked right into the middle of his back. I hissed out a breath, wincing from the impact.

His neck bent and the full weight of his dark, almost black eyes seemed to spear into my chest. With my next breath, he was in my face.

I gasped, jerking back.

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