Page 31 of Last Resort

“There she is.” Brax rushed over and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank goodness. Luke was out sobbing over having to file paperwork himself.”

Luke grunted with a smile. “That’s not completely untrue. We’re glad you’re okay, Maci.”

Weston, solemn as always, nodded. “You gave us quite a scare.”

“She’s feeling up to talking about what she remembers, before the doctor comes back in,” Chance said.

He sat back down next to her and grabbed her hand. It gave her the strength she needed to tell what had happened.

“You dropped me off and I rushed upstairs. I was so nervous the whole way up, but I knew once I saw the door, I was okay. I got inside Stella’s apartment and locked it, but he must’ve already been inside.”

Chance squeezed her hand and she concentrated on that.

“I went into the kitchen to grab some tea and he came up behind me. Pushed me against the wall and told me he knew I wasn’t Stella.”

“Did he say anything else to you?” Chance asked.

“Yeah. But his voice was weird. A low whisper.” She grit her teeth. She was never going to forget how his voice sounded, how terrified she was, the words he said. She dropped her voice in an imitation of his. “How stupid do you think I am? I know you aren’t her. A pale imitation of the real thing. Then again, there’s strength in you. You stayed to battle while she ran. There’s honor in that.”

She looked at each of the Pattersons. “Those maybe weren’t the exact words, but it’s pretty close.”

“How did you get hurt?” Weston asked quietly.

“He shoved me into the cabinet and I hit the knob.” Maci remembered the pain of hitting the sharp metal, the warmth of blood dripping down her face. The man had scoffed at it, and when she lost her balance, he let her fall. “When he saw me bleeding, he let me go. I don’t even remember seeing him leave. I passed out. I don’t know if he meant to take me or not.”

“He might have but then once you were hurt it changed his plans. Harder to hide in plain sight with a bleeding woman.” Brax’s frown said he didn’t like the idea.

“Maybe worried about a blood trail leading us to him?” Luke guessed.

“He may have gotten word from the driver that we’d caught up to them.” Weston and Chance looked at each other, but neither looked convinced. “We’ll take a look at surveillance around the apartment and see what we can find.”

A knock interrupted and an older woman in a white coat stepped in. “Hello, Maci. I’m Dr. Ashburn. It’s good to see you awake and alert.”

She did the same routine as the nurse, shining a small light in Maci’s eyes and having her follow the finger.

“We did an initial CT scan when you first came in and that showed very minor swelling—good news. Your tox screen and blood work came back normal.”

“CT scan?” Maci could feel herself tensing. “Could that be...bad for me?”

The doctor seemed to understand what Maci was truly asking about and shook her head kindly. “CT scans pose very minimal risks.”

“I had CT scans all the time when I played sports in high school.” Brax knocked on his head. “I wasn’t great about avoiding concussions, but a CT scan was never any issue.”

“Everything about you is just as healthy as it was yesterday,” Dr. Ashburn said. “Except for the bump on your head.”

“Is there anything we need to look out for?” Chance’s fingers tightened on Maci’s briefly, but he kept his focus on the doctor.

“Other than signs of a worsening concussion, no. The cut is superficial. It won’t even need stitches. The butterfly bandage will keep it closed so it heals on its own.”

“Should we watch her overnight or something?”

As much as she liked how protective he was, Maci didn’t need Chance focused on her. It would be so much harder to hide the baby. “Chance, I’m fine.”

“But what happens if—”

“Chance.” He looked at her, and Maci saw the fear that drove him to nearly smother her. She’d been hurt on his watch and he was suffering for it. She squeezed his hand softly. “I’m fine. Tell him, Doc.”

“We’ll send you home with instructions for the next few days, but all in all, Ms. Ford is fine. She’s in great health.” She turned to Maci. “You don’t need to be concerned about anything but your head. Okay? Everything else is fine.”

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