Page 100 of Whispers of You
The words vibrated the air as I bellowed them.
A single tear slid from Wren’s eye, but she wiped it away quickly. “That’s not on me.”
I reared back. Of course, it wasn’t on her. I squeezed my eyes closed, struggling to breathe evenly. I was screwing this all up. And I couldn’t. There was too much at stake.
I moved in a flash, wrapping Wren in my arms. I fought the urge to tighten my hold, the instinct was so strong, but I didn’t want to hurt her. “I can’t lose you,” I croaked.
“I’m right here,” she whispered.
But someone could take her from me at any moment. How could I have forgotten that?
34
WREN
“It all happened so fast.I don’t think I saw anything.” My head pounded as I tried to search through my memories. “I heard gravel crunch and started to turn, but whoever it was, hit me before I saw anything.”
Holt’s hand tightened reflexively around mine.
Lawson gave me a gentle smile. “That’s okay. What about after they hit you? Did you hear or see anything?”
“Just a boot. They tried to kick me in the head, but I rolled, and they got my shoulder instead.” I glanced at the man beside me. “Holt gave me one of those personal alarm things. I managed to get it from my pocket and pulled the pin. It scared them enough that I heard them running away.”
“Probably pierced his eardrum, too,” Clint said with a small grin.
Holt scowled at him.
Lawson cleared his throat. “Did you get any sense of the person’s size?”
I shook my head and instantly regretted the action; the throbbing in my skull only intensified. “I don’t think so. They hit me before I could see them, and then I was on the ground.”
Holt’s hand tightened again, and I traced circles on the back of it, trying to soothe the demons that had clearly taken hold.
Lawson typed a few things into his phone. “We’ll have an officer pull any security camera footage we can get from the local stores tomorrow.”
“I want to see it,” Holt said.
Lawson’s mouth pressed into a hard line. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Holt narrowed his eyes as if to say,you’d better. “Are you done? I want to get Wren home.”
Worry etched itself across Lawson’s face. “Sure. We can talk tomorrow, Wren. I’ll have patrols going by the cabin.”
Holt nodded. “Thanks.”
But there was nothing in Holt’s voice. No emotion. It sounded dead. I’d heard that tone before. When I was in the hospital and in a rehab clinic. It was the sound of Holt turning off. Of blaming himself.
He turned to me. “Will you be okay to walk?”
I blinked up at him as the blood pounded in my ears. “Of course.” I slid off the massage table, ignoring the twinge in my shoulder and along my ribs. Things were going to be black and blue for a while.
“Call if you need anything,” Lawson said.
“Thank you,” I replied softly.
He reached out and gave my hand a quick squeeze. There was so much in that simple gesture. Lawson was telling me to hang on. To stick with Holt.
But it wasn’t me who had a hard time sticking.
