Page 11 of Been There Dragon That
Touching her. Moving her.
Then she was lying flat and being strapped down. Her head was wrapped in something soft. Pressure was applied to her throat to check for a pulse. It was a female’s touch this time. Lighter. Gentler.
“Can you tell me your name, miss?” A female voice cut through the noise this time. Like she was speaking right into her ear.
“Rylee-ee,” she answered, lengthening the end. It didn’t sound right. Her tongue felt odd.
“That’s good, Rylee. I’m Lisa. We’re gonna get you loaded up in the ambulance now, okay. You stick with me, you hear.”
Rylee attempted a nod, but her head was stuck in place.
“What’s your last name Rylee?”
“Flor…” Pain flared again at a sharp jolt of the bed they’d put her on. Or gurney. That’s what they called it. It was really hard to focus. Her vision was so blurry. Everything looked like fuzzy shapes and shadows.
“Her last name is Florence. What hospital? I have her mom on the phone.” Ayla’s voice came through bright and strong, sending a note of assurance through Rylee’s scrambled mind.
“Medical City.”
“Thank you.”
“Ayla?”
“I’m good, Ry. I’ll be in the ambulance right behind you, okay.” Her friend shouted and then doors slammed shut, cutting out all the noise. It was better, but now she was alone, and the fear crept in even more as she replayed the scene in her mind over and over.
A similar car.
A similar description of the man.
Whoever had killed Michelle had just tried to kill her too.
ChapterFour
Rylee
Rylee glanced up at the clear sky one more time. It was hard to believe they thought a storm was coming when it looked this pristine right now. But weather could be unpredictable; she’d learned that growing up in Texas. Some days the Lone Star State would dish out all four seasons in one twenty-four-hour period. Alaska could be the same. Who was she to judge?
If the meteorologist said a winter storm was brewing on the other side of Denali, she’d prepare for it just to be safe. Her GPS said Mystery was only a few more miles up the road. She was glad for the quiet. Glad for the open and peaceful road.
Ten days at the hospital with two extremely freaked-out parents fussing over her every breath and groan was almost too much. Her doctors had informed her she was very lucky to have come out of such an accident with only some cracked ribs, bruises, and a concussion from hell itself.
The police had been to see her multiple times. The similarities between her accident and Michelle’s murder wasn’t lost on them. Unfortunately, she could not provide them with any more details about the man than anyone at the scene of the previous hit-and-run.
She’d refused to mention Jeff or anything she knew about his relationship with Michelle. The last thing she needed was her daddy finding out and saddling her with bodyguards. Cause he would.
Thankfully, Ayla had kept her lips sealed too. Although she’d given her a couple of stern talking-tos in private once Rylee had gotten back to her parents’ house.
Then she’d told her parents she wanted to recuperate somewhere else. That she’d needed some time to herself. Alone. Away from Dallas. Away from the city Jeff lived in.
That’s how she’d finally ended up on her parent’s private jet to Alaska two weeks later–the second she’d been cleared by her doctors. And now was driving up from Anchorage to some picturesque little town called Mystery where her father had bought a vacation home last year.
When she’d asked where was the furthest she could go away from Dallas, he’d laughed and said he had a house in Alaska. Then he’d laughed a bit more when she’d said that sounded perfect. But he’d still made all the arrangements. And now she was driving through some of the most beautiful countryside she’d ever seen.
The trees were vast carpets of red and gold and brown. The skies were open and cloudless for miles. The blueness reminded her of Texas. Of home.
The cold wasn’t overbearing yet, but she could smell it in the air. Texas didn’t really even know the meaning of winter.
She’d made a couple of pit stops on her way out of Anchorage to get some Alaska-winter-proof clothing and footwear. And a heavy coat since the news station had predicted bad weather rolling in by late this evening. She would be prepared, just in case.
