Page 78 of Crushed
Lizzy got drunk, andthat’show she was abducted? “Did he drug you?” I asked.
“I don’t know, damn it.” Her chin dipped down. “I don’t know what’s more shameful; if he drugged me and I didn’t know, or if I just drank too much and let my guard down.”
It was sad, in a way. She was always trying to do more than she could handle, especially now.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Oh, shut up.” She shook her head. “Thankyoufor saving me.” She leaned forward, about to tap the back of Cormac’s seat, but then grimaced in pain. “And you too,” she muttered.
I touched Cormac’s shoulder. “Did you really know about my parents?”
He glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “I knew that Issac had used a hitman in his early years and that a few people involved died. When I blackmailed him, it was over a year ago. I didn’t know their connection to you.”
Relief flashed through me in a hot wave. “I didn’t think so,” I said. But it was still good to hear him say it.
“Who killed them, then?”
“Their target.”
My heart sank. I had always had a feeling that that’s what had happened, which meant it was true; there was nothing I could do. I leaned back into the seat.
While Dr. Davis seemed obedient with Cormac, once it was determined that Lizzy was his new patient, he didn’t back down when Lizzy tried to argue with him, not even when she cursed his family. He was a pediatrician but had worked in general family medicine for some time too. And because Lizzy hated hospitals, it was a gift to be able to receive treatment without the stress of a formal clinic.
“Go to hell, you dimwit,” Lizzy hissed.
“This is an exam, Ms. Fox,” he said. “I need to make sure I’m treating you correctly.” He turned to me. “She needs rest.”
“I don’t need a damn thing,” Lizzy snapped. He poked a bruise on her arm with a stoic look on his face. “Ouch!” she cried. “What the hell?”
He raised his brows, still locking eyes with me. “Do not let her do anything more than walk around the house. She shouldn’t be doinganything. Especially not anything where she ends up like this.”
“I told you. I’m a consultant,” Lizzy snarked.
“Whatever,” Dr. Davis said. “At her age, it takes much, much longer for the body to heal.”
“You don’t know how old I am, or who the hell you’re dealing with!”
After the argument passed, Cormac showed Lizzy to a guest room in the estate and introduced her to his staff. Once she knew that they were bringing her food,hotfood as she pointed out, something Issac hadn’t been giving her, Cormac took me to his room. At first, I thought he was going to lecture me, but he turned to leave.
“You can stay here as long as you’d like,” he said. I blinked, watching as he left the room.
I wandered through the area in shock. My whole body ached, and my skin was still cold from the pool, even though my clothes had dried. I had survived. I had lived through it. And I had drowned Issac. Someone who could have hurt my family. I had done what I had to in order to protect them, in the only way I knew possible.
And Cormac had somehow trusted me. He had put his life into my hands and let me do what I had to do.
And somehow, I trusted him too.
I paced around the room, rubbing my shoulders, touching the different objects. The smooth wall. The wooden bureaus. I opened the doors to the first one, and inside, an array of different impact play instruments were hung and shelved. Some I recognized, and some that made me shiver. Leather crops. Metal rulers. Handled objects with spiked wooden edges. But I kept coming back to the same thoughts: Lizzy was safe. Cormac was safe.My familywas safe.
Deep down, I knew that I still loved Cormac. Furiously. Even more so now, now that I knew he could let go of control if it meant helping those he loved. That he didn’t need to be in charge of every single detail of his life. Believe me, Iwantedhim to control everything. It was so much easier that way. But sometimes, I needed him to trustme, even if I couldn’t tell him every last detail.
A knock sounded on the door. I opened it, and a small woman dressed in a white uniform waved a hand.
“Ms. Fox would like to see you now,” she said.
I followed her to Lizzy’s room. A few carts covered in various trays of food were surrounding her bed. “I can’t even eat this,” she cried. “My jaw hurts too much.”
“What about ice cream?” I asked.
