Page 121 of Things I Read About
More screaming.
Oh, it’s still me.
“Sally? Baby? What is it? Sally?”Nate.“Everybody! MOVE!”
I’m airborne. And crying.
“Shhh, baby. I have you. I have you now. Breathe, Sally. Breathe.”
I close my eyes and focus on breathing, because I wasn’t. I was gasping, gagging, choking. I hear Kat, Sadie, and Shep—maybe Dean—all talking around us, but they’re muffled.
“Is this man ever not carrying you?”
“Nate’s got you, Sal. We’re getting you out of here.”
“Follow me.”
“What the hell happened?”
“Sally? Are you hurt?”
“She’s not hurt. Here.” Nate, who now has my phone, hands it to someone, Sadie, I think. Then in my ear, much softer, I hear him. “You’re okay. You’re okay. You’re okay.”
Shep curses. “Bambi, give me your phone! Dean, did you check? Did they all get these?”
I’m gently placed on a chair. I’m shaking so badly I can’t quite stay upright.
“Sally, baby, open your eyes.” Nate’s voice is scratchy. But I smell him. And I feel his calloused fingers on my neck. Am I dreaming? Am I dead? “Sally. Open your eyes for me.” His voice is firmer now.
I obey. But at the sight of him, in his loose black tie, black shirt, and black suit, my eyes start to water. So, I close them again. The trembling gets worse.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Nate sounds frantic again. “You’re okay. Sally? Baby? I’ve got you, okay? Talk to me. Sal, talk to me.”
“Brenner!” Dean’s voice cuts in.
“Kat?” Nate calls out.
I feel his calloused fingers leave me, and cold smooth hands take mine and rest in my lap.
“I’m right here,” Kat says. Her voice is shaky, but not terrified. “Sally. We’re safe now. Here, have some water, okay?”
I open my eyes again. We’re in a tiny conference room, just Nate, Dean, Sadie, Shep, myself, and Kat. The door is closed and there are no windows, just a polished wood table and a television on the wall.
“There you go. See, honey? Just us. Here.” Kat hands me an open water bottle.
“I knew those drones were way too curious,” Nate says slamming his hand against the wall. We all jump at the noise.
“Brenner,” Dean says, glaring at Nate, who is pacing, furious. “Focus. Other than the drones, anything else? Repeated drive-bys? Anything tonight?”
“You’ve already read my reports, Dean, there’s nothing else. You were there this week what didyousee?”
“You read my reports, too. There was nothing. Sally.” Dean squats down in front of me. He’s also wearing a suit tonight. I didn’t even notice. “Kat’s right, you’re safe. This is freaky, I know, but it’s good. It’s a lead for us to hunt down.”
“Shouldn’t you be out there, hunting, like, right the hell now?” Shep demands, also furious.
“He’s long gone, Shep, if he was even here to begin with. We’ll watch the security footage; the hotel is already sending it to us.”
“Do the messages and images tell you anything? I mean, is Sally the target? I didn’t get any messages like that,” Sadie says, from above me. She has her hand on my shoulder. I didn’t even register that she was there.
