Page 10 of Under Her Skin

“You couldn’t imagine the horrible things he did to her. Or maybe you can. He made me watch everything. I have never felt more useless than I did during those days.”

“Weeks,” Chase interjects, his expression solemn.

“What?”

“You were missing for 2 weeks. We were going into Day 15 when we found you and stormed his place in the mountains.” I’m momentarily disoriented at the realization ofhow much time has passed.

“And here? How long have I been in the hospital?” Chase looks like he doesn’t

want to answer, but he does anyway.

“This is Day 4. The doctors wanted to keep you asleep for a while. You were distressed when they brought you in and they needed to focus on refeeding and getting fluids in your system without worrying you’d make a run for it.”

“I don’t remember any of that.”

“Yeah, you probably wouldn’t. They said you were experiencing psychosis. The doctors honestly weren’t sure how you were still alive.” I know the reason, although it couldn’t be proved by medical science. I couldn’t leave Ava. While she was alive in that hellhole, I knew that I had to stay alive too.

“We have to get her, Chase. I don’t know how much longer she can withstand him.” The haunted look returns to his eyes.

“The twins are trying to get more information. They talked to the local Air Force base yesterday. They confirmed that a private aircraft took off the day we found you. It was only 100 miles away from his hideout, so it seems plausible. The flight wasn’t appropriately logged, though, so they couldn’t tell where he was going. Satellite imaging shows the aircraft flying over the Atlantic. I don’t know how they fucking missed that when it was happening, but it gives us some information.”

“He took her out of the country?”

“We think so. But we’re going to keep looking stateside too, just in case he’s trying to pull a bait and switch. I called in some of our old friends from Ops to help with the search, so we’re not spread so thin. It doesn’t help that I shot the one source we could have used. He was going to shoot me, but I should have gone for non-lethal. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Wait, what? Who are you talking about?” I have a guess, but I need to hear him say it.

“I’m not totally sure. He was wearing scrubs, like he was a nurse or doctor.” Chase may or may not have been able to get information out of him, but I can’t deny the satisfaction of knowing he’s dead.

“Did he suffer?” I ask, voice low. Understanding dawns in Chase’s eyes.

“I left him to bleed out, so he definitely didn’t go easy.”

“He deserved worse, but I’m glad we don’t have him to deal with, too.” Chase nods. For the first time, I see how exhausted my friend is. His shoulders are slumped and his clothes are wrinkly.

“You should go rest,” I tell him. He scoffs as he sits back in the cheap hospital chair, the vinyl squeaking beneath his weight.

“I’m not going anywhere. Paige is coming by in a little bit to bring me a change of clothes. I don’t trust you not to make a fucking run for it.” I roll my eyes at him.

“The doctors let me wake up. Obviously I’m not in psychosis anymore.” Chase narrows his eyes at me.

“That may be true, but you have a tendency to operate solo when you shouldn’t. So, I’m staying here until we can bring you home. We have to get you strong again because we’ll need you to bring Ava back.”

I must look confused because he continues.

“If Kiel went through all the trouble to take her instead of you, and then leave the country, I’m sure he’s taking her to some kind of stronghold. There’s no way he’s going to risk us storming the place like we did. So, we need you to get your strength back as soon as possible. Ava needs you to get better.”

Chase’s words flip a switch. I have a lot to process about the last couple weeks, but I can process when Ava is safe. The door bursts open and a tall woman strides in.

“Glad you’re alive. You ready to get our girl back?”

11

AVA

The room is breathtaking. I wish I could enjoy it. I can hear the ocean in the distance and the setting sun paints the room gold. My skin seems warm here. It’s almost as if I wasn’t in a basement for a couple weeks. Kiel moves behind me and I track his movements in the mirror. He rests his hands on my shoulders as he offers a soft smile.

“Isn’t it better here?” I nod truthfully. It’s still a prison, but it’s at least a pretty one. Kiel’s been giving me the good drugs again, so the transition hasn’t bothered me much.

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