Page 3 of Be Very Quiet

“What’s your name?”

“Liliana Lima.”

“That’s a beautiful name, Liliana.”

“Thanks. What’s yours?”

“Luca Russo.”

A sudden commotion caused Luca to stand up. All at once, the hallway flooded with people. Paramedics dropped to her side and began working on her injuries. They removed her shirt, leaving her in her bra, but Liliana felt disconnected from her body, so she didn’t care. Pain didn’t register because she was completely numb. The only time she felt anything was when Luca touched her.

Liliana was barely aware when a needle was jabbed into her arm or when she was lifted onto a gurney. It wasn’t until she was being wheeled away that she came to her senses. “Stop!”

The paramedics did as she asked. “Are you in pain?”

Instead of answering, she called out, “Luca.” He was instantly by her side. She reached for his hand. “Come with me.” She had an irrational fear of being away from him.

He didn’t say anything right away, and she was afraid his answer would be no. She wasn’t too proud to beg.

“I have to take care of a couple of things here, and then I promise I’ll meet you there.”

“I need you.”

He squeezed her hand and smiled. She watched his face until they rolled her around a corner and out to the waiting ambulance. They must’ve put something in the IV because she fell asleep on the ride to the hospital and didn’t wake until they transferred her to a table in the emergency room. She’d hoped the last hour had been a bad dream, only to realize it was a veritable nightmare.

The nurses asked her questions, but she didn’t know if she answered correctly. They stitched her up, slapped an ice pack on her cheek, and transferred her to a room to rest. She would’ve asked to go home but didn’t have one now. She would never step foot in that house again. It could burn to the ground for all she cared. Erin had died there.

Liliana wanted to cry, but she felt dead inside. Sweet Erin, who’d wanted to be a social worker to help others, who’d volunteered at food banks and children’s hospitals, couldn’t be gone. It wasn’t fair. There were bad people in the world who deserved to die. Not Erin.

Liliana’s eyes jerked to the door when it opened, afraid she’d see the man who had tried to kill her. He promised he would come back for her, and she believed him. Instead, it was a tall man with black hair and eyes the color of smooth whiskey. Luca. He was so handsome she couldn’t look away. He’d changed out of his police uniform into a cream cable-knit sweater and blue jeans. When he stopped a foot away from the bed, she reached for his hand, and he clasped it.

“Hey. How do you feel?”

Safe, now that he was here. “Okay. Did you catch him?” She hated the thought of having to look at that hideous monster across a courtroom as she testified against him, but she wanted him to rot for what he’d done. She’d prefer hell but would settle for a maximum-security prison.

A grim look crossed Luca’s face, and Liliana’s stomach fell. “No, we didn’t.”

Those three words sent her pulse skyrocketing. What if he came for her here? He could pretend to be a doctor or a nurse and waltz right into her room. The hospital personnel would be none the wiser. What if she was asleep when he did it? He might slit her throat before she could scream.

“Liliana, calm down and breathe.” She hadn’t realized Luca had moved. He was suddenly holding her shoulders. Evidently, she hadn’t inhaled lately. White spots danced before her eyes.

“I’m going to get a nurse.”

She clutched his hand and gasped in a breath, shaking her head. She didn’t want him to leave. “He-he’s coming for me.”

“Who? The doctor?”

“No, the killer.”

“Rader?”

“I don’t know his name. He called himself The Mortician.” There was no way she’d close her eyes again. He could get to her while she slept.

“No, he won’t. We’ll find him first and stop him.”

Apparently, she’d spoken out loud. It didn’t matter what Luca said. She wouldn’t be able to rest until he was caught.

Luca carefully replaced the ice pack on her cheek. “Were you able to call your family, or do you need me to contact them?”

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