Page 53 of A Man of Power

“That’s OK. Sometimes, when you have trauma like this, it can affect your memory. We ran scans and everything looks fine with your brain. Your vitals are back to normal. Whatever was going on seems to have corrected itself. We’d like to keep you at least until we get your bloodwork back in a few hours. And you should rest. I started my shift when you arrived a few hours ago, so let’s look at maybe discharging you at the end of my shift. Rest for a few hours and I’ll come back by once we know more,” Dr. Farley says.

“OK,” I say quietly.

“Call if you need anything,” she says to me, but Sebastian nods.

They leave us in silence, shutting the door as they go. Sebastian stands and leans over me to plant a tender kiss on my forehead.

“What did you remember?” he asks.

I look up at him in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“When she asked if you remembered something…I could see it in your eyes. You did.”

I take a breath. He leans over to the side table to grab me more water. After a few sips, I hand it back to him.

“A man’s voice. But…I couldn’t see anything, and he wasn’t talking to me. And I don’t remember what he said. That’s all.”

He nods. “Would you recognize the voice if you heard it?”

I shrug. “Maybe.”

“Why the fuck were you out there by yourself?” he growls as though he can no longer hold back his anger over my stupid actions.

I chew on my bottom lip before answering. “I thought it would be safer. I…it was daytime. None of the women have been taken in broad daylight. And it was a busy trail.”

“You went off the trail.”

I blush. “I know, but not far. I could have screamed.”

“But no one would see you if you were unconscious,” he snarls.

I close my eyes. I’m so very tired still. “I know. It…was stupid of me. I just…” I trail off and look up at his eyes, but he doesn’t look angry, at least not at me. I daresay he looks like he cares about me. “I was upset about us, and I needed to get out of the house.”

His grip on the metal of my hospital bed has his knuckles turning white. I place a hand over his. “I won’t do it again.”

He looks down at me. “Damn right you won’t because I won’t allow it.”

I roll my eyes, but my sleepiness rears its head and I yawn.

Sebastian frowns. “You should rest. We can talk more about this later.”

“Where was I found?” I ask as I lean back into the pillow behind me.

“You were in northwest on a small trail in Rock Creek. I…found you.”

I stare at him trying to comprehend his words. “You found me?”

He nods. “I…Erin and Whitney were worried sick. They’ve been here, by the way. I sent them home to rest for a few hours. They’ll be back soon. I had to tell them that you’d need your things in order to get them to go. You have good friends.”

I smile. I can only imagine what Erin would have said. “I know,” I whisper.

“I called Conner and Aiden. We were all looking for you for hours. Erin reported you missing to the police. I was driving and ended up near where I used to live. I started walking and there you were.”

I frown again. “Isn’t that over where that woman was found? The one you told me about.”

Sebastian’s face pales and I know I’m right before he speaks. “It was exactly where she was found.”

Now it’s my face that pales.

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