I look around. Woods border each side of us, and the road ahead disappears into the darkness. No one flees from an accident unless they’ve caused it.
Maybe it’s a coincidence. Maybe it was some drunk driver. But then who took off Freya’s boot and tried to remove the tracking device? And where the hell are they now?
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Freya
I WAKE TO find River glaring down at me. It’s a look I’ve seen so often recently it’s almost comforting.
The soft beeps of the monitor and the chemical clean smell tells me I’m in the hospital and just one look at River’s face lets me know he’s somehow going to blame this mess on me.
I close my eyes and wonder if I can get away with pretending to be asleep until he leaves.
“Nice try, darling.” River’s voice rumbles over me. The deep timbre soothes my headache which only irritates me more. I feel betrayed by my own body. We’re not supposed to like him.
I give up my pretense at sleep and ease myself up till I’m propped against the pillows. I’m still a little woozy and my left side burns like a bitch. I can feel bandages wrapped around my middle and my ankle is heavy.I look around the room. The curtains are drawn across the window and brightly colored switches and wires interrupt the cream walls.
River’s not my only visitor. Jude’s sitting by my side to the left of the bed, Oz is on a chair in the corner of the room and Eli’s leaning against the door, arms crossed.He should trademark the pose.
“Eyes on me, Freya,” River orders.
I scowl at the demand but turn to face him. “What happened?” I ask.
“That’s what we’ve been wondering.” He holds up the tracker anklet between us. The surface is scuffed but it’s still intact. It’s just not where it should be.
“I didn’t take it off,” I swear. The tracker was still on my ankle when I passed out but if somehow it wasn’t when they found me, they’re not going to believe I wasn’t the one to remove it.
Jude reaches out and squeezes my hand. “We know, Angel. We took it off once we got you to the hospital. Your ankle was pretty bruised, and the doctors wanted to wrap it.”
I glance at my feet, hidden by the blanket, then look back at the battered tracker. “My ankle’s bruised?” I ask, starting to put together what must have happened.
Eli scoffs. “I told you she would play dumb.”
I stare at him.
It’s really rather easy to kill someone, Angelica. Just a simple flick of a knife.
I push my father’s words away. “Do you not have any ounce of empathy?” I ask. “I’m in a hospital bed after getting fucking chased and crashing my bike. Do you really think I planned that?”
“Just tell us what happened,” River says.
I turn away from Eli and sort through the blurry mess of my memories. “I was at the bar, but you already knew that.” I give River a pointed look.
“I put the tracker on you for a reason darling, it’s not my fault if you thought I wouldn’t use it.”
I scowl at him.
“Your text said you were going home,” River prompts me to continue.
I nod. “I was halfway back when I started feeling off. Dizzy. Confused. I was losing control of my bike.”
Jude’s hand tightens around mine. “Why didn’t you pull over?”
“There was a car behind me. I figured I must have been drugged but I couldn’t reach my phone and I didn’t want to stop while I was being followed. It was stupid, but the only way I could think of to call for help was to cross the boundary and set the tracker alarm off. I didn’t know whether I’d made it far enough or not.”
My hand shakes a little as I think about what might have happened if I hadn’t. I tuck it under the blanket before anyone sees.
“You made it,” Oz speaks up from the corner. “We got the alert and came after you. We thought you were trying to run.”
