Page 19 of Code Trauma

Raina swept through the doors and flopped onto the couch next to Penny. “Looks like I arrived just in time. I caught ‘status of you and Andy.’ I’m assuming there’s an update?”

Holly bit back the sigh that wanted to escape. “I mean, he’s apologized for ghosting me, and told me why he did, but I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around it.”

“You want to share that?” Raina asked. “And if you don’t, that’s okay.”

“I know.” Holly walked over to the recliner and sat, curling her legs beneath her. “It’s fear.”

Raina raised a brow. “Fear? Andy? I never got the impression that he’s afraid of much of anything.”

“Hm.” Holly swigged her water. “Well, apparently, he allowed a bad experience from his past to influence him, and that’s why he shut me out.”

Penny wrinkled her nose. “Well, that stinks.”

“No kidding. I mean, it’s not that I don’t understand. I can, on some level, if I look at it like some PTSD reaction to the situation. And, I mean, we all make mistakes.”

“Then why do I get the feeling there’s more going on here?” Raina leaned forward, eyes narrowed, hands clasped.

Holly studied her friends—women she was closer to than her own sister. “You know, I’ve had it pretty easy, all things considered. Life hasn’t been a huge struggle for me like it has been for you guys.”

“Don’t sound like you feel guilty about that,” Penny said. “That’s a blessing.”

“Oh, I know. I don’t feelguilty, Ijust ... I don’t know what the word is ... like, maybe I shouldn’t vent or whine or complain when something rotten happens because it was bound to happen eventually, and I’ve been fortunate to avoid it up to this point?” She dropped her head in her hands. “I sound ridiculous, don’t I?” They were silent, and Holly peered up through her fingers.

Raina shook her head. “Yes, completely crazy. And I mean that in the nicest way possible. Life hurts sometimes. Sometimes it hurts certain people more than others, but that doesn’t mean you should trivialize your pain. Now, is there anything Penny or I can do?”

“No, I don’t think so, but thank you for being my friends and letting me be sad and whine.”

“It’s not whining,” Penny said. She and Raina enveloped Holly in a tight group hug before Penny stepped back. “Now, we need to figure out who attacked you in the supply closet, tried to run you off the road, and broke into your home. I’m assuming it’s the same person.”

“Yeah. I think it is, and so does Andy. I think it’s the person who’s done all this other stuff, and they’re escalating.”

“Well,” Raina said, “if it’s not Dr. Mann, who else could it be?”

Holly leaned back and stared at the ceiling. “I have absolutely no idea.”

* * *

Andy chuggedthe first two cups of coffee, then slowly sipped the third. Thanks to a restless night in his motel room, he’d managed to watch hours of security footage that Sheriff Lewis had kindly shared with him.

He’d focused mostly on the hospital attack. Cameras had picked up Holly walking into the supply closet, but it was a busy area, and others had come and gone. No one looked suspicious—like they’d just attacked someone and were in a hurry to get away. Andy had also requested the footage from the ER because he knew Holly had spent some time there before going out on the call.

He saw Dr. Mann approach her in the ER and noted Holly’s body language. Stiff shoulders, tight smile, cool eyes. She didnotlike the guy. Which meant Andy wanted to punch him for continuing to push his attentions on her. Or, at the very least, make it so she never had to see the man again.

Although after the interrogation at the police department, Andy had a feeling the doctor might be giving Holly a wide berth from now on.

At least something good had happened in the last twenty-four hours.

When the hospital footage hadn’t enlightened him, he’d switched to her townhome complex and studied footage from different cameras with multiple angles. There, he’d found something he thought might be interesting. A car had pulled into the parking lot and sat there for an hour and fifteen minutes with the driver staying put. It was also in a good spot to see Holly’s townhome door. Andy straightened when the driver finally got out of the car. Of course he had a hoodie on. He shoved his hands into the front pocket of the sweatshirt and hurried toward the residential building. Then bypassed Holly’s door and disappeared around the corner of the building.

Andy sighed and kept going. Watching.

Until the same person reappeared, walked to Holly’s door and opened it.

He had a key. Well, at least they knew what happened to Penny’s key.

Five minutes later, the door opened, and the person reappeared, head down, face hidden. He shoved a can—which Andy figured was the red spray paint used to deface Holly’s wall—into the front pocket of the hoodie, hurried to his vehicle, climbed in, and drove away.

Andy saved the clip of footage on his laptop, then went back to the shot of the vehicle and tried to get a plate. He was able to make it out and ran it.

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