Page 120 of Betrayal of a Billionaire
“How?”
“You don’t remember?” Alicia asked.
Julia furrowed her brow, trying to bring back the memories. “It’s fuzzy.”
“You…got yourself out. You walked into the police station,” Alicia said.
“Then you collapsed,” Luke added. “You were dehydrated and exhausted. The doctors gave you a sedative to let you rest. You’ve been out for about twelve hours.”
“Wow, really?” She shifted in her bed, trying to sit up. The sterile atmosphere and beeping heart monitor conjured up bad memories. Not again, she thought with an inward sigh. She’d had too many close calls lately.
Alicia eased her back into the bed as she sank onto the edge of the mattress. “Easy, Juju, take it easy. You’ve just been through way too much.”
Julia eased back into the rubber mattress, her features pinching as she tried to call back the memories of her escape.
“Do you need anything? Are you in any pain?” Alicia asked.
She shook her head. “No.”
“Okay,” Alicia said as she stroked Julia’s hair again. “If you need something, you just let me know, okay? Anything, baby sis. Anything.”
Julia lay there for a few minutes before she flicked her gaze back to her sister’s face. “Could I get a burger, fries, and a shake from Ruby’s?”
Alicia burst into a watery laugh. “Julia, are you serious?”
“I’m hungry. And I went like twenty-four hours without eating. I think I’m entitled. Besides, you said anything.”
“I did,” Alicia said with a grin.
“I’ll get it,” Luke said, squeezing Julia’s hand again.
Julia shifted in the bed again before she tried to sit up.
“Easy, Julia,” Alicia said.
“I want to sit up. I’m uncomfortable.”
Alicia leapt from her perch and helped Julia sit up, adjusting her pillow and blankets. “Better?”
“Much, though getting out of here would be a lot better.” Julia let her head fall back against the thin pillow. “I’ve been in hospitals way too much lately.”
Guilt crept up inside her, and she flicked her gaze to Alicia. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to bring all of that up.”
“Don’t worry about it, Juju. It’s over now, okay? It’s in the past. I’m just so happy to have you back. When those rocks came down, I just…I thought I lost you.”
Julia grabbed her sister’s hand with a slight smile. “I’m too hard to get rid of.”
“Thank goodness. That was way too close of a call.”
Julia patted her sister’s hand before she flicked her gaze around the room.
“What do you need?” Alicia asked.
“Uh, my phone.”
Alicia winced as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Oh, uh, it’s dead. We didn’t charge it yet. With everything going on with you, I didn’t even think about it. Why do you need it?”
“I wanted to check on Sierra. Is she okay?”
