Page 20 of Saved by Him

Ten

I suckedin a breath and jolted upright, eyes wide, and my mind brutally, andfinally, clear.

I was awake. Really, truly awake, and information inundated every one of my senses in an almost overwhelming flood.

I was in a hospital. The beeping that had made its way into my subconscious made sense now. Based on the quality of the sheets I felt under my palms and the fact that I appeared to be in a private room. I had an IV in my hand and one of those clip things on my finger. I was still sore, which meant I hadn’t been out that long, though I didn’t know specifics about when or where I was.

Or if I was safe.

A private room in a hospital didn’t necessarily mean that I’d been somehow rescued. Until I saw proof that I wasn’t still a prisoner, I needed to keep my wits about me. Who knew–

“Rona, thank God you’re awake.”

I turned toward the door, half hoping that I was mistaken and that I would see Jalen. Instead, I saw the person I second most wanted to see. “Clay.”

He crossed the room quickly, the relief obvious on his face. “I was so worried.”

I was glad to see him, I really was, but I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that Jalen wasn’t there. I wasn’t surprised though. He had a baby to think of now, after all. I refused to be sad. Clay was there, and I was alive. Not only alive, but free.

He crushed me in a hug, then cursed when I made a pained sound. He immediately released me but didn’t move away. He wrapped his hands around mine, mindful of the IV.

“What day is it?” I asked.

“Sunday,” he said, his eyes moving over my body, as if he was reassuring himself that I was real.

I knew the feeling.

“I’ve only been gone for three days?” I frowned. “It seemed like more.”

He shook his head. “You were missing for eight days, and you’ve been here since Friday night.”

A memory battled through the drug-induced fog of my time away.

“What about the others?” I looked around even though I’d already seen that I was alone.

“The others?”

“The other girls,” I said impatiently. “Are they okay?” More memories prompted more questions. “What about Serge and Yerik and the other men who took me? And those bastards at the auction? Did you get them all?”

The baffled expression on Clay’s face was the first indication that something was off.

“Clay,” I spoke slowly, unsure if I really wanted an answer, “what happened while I was gone?”

He sat down in a chair I hadn’t noticed before, pulling it closer so he could reach for my hand again. I was tempted to pull away until he explained whatever it was that had him looking like he’d been hit by a two-by-four, but I needed the comfort of a familiar touch.

“I tried calling you on Friday morning to ask you about one of the cases you were looking into for Jenna.” He looked down at our hands. “When you didn’t answer, I texted you. By noon, I knew something was wrong, so I went to see Jalen at work.”

I braced myself for whatever Jalen had told Clay about the last time we’d been together.

“He wasn’t there.”

A flash of pain went through me. Jalen had probably been busy with Elise. Doctor appointments. Shopping for baby stuff. Working out living arrangements.

“I finally got one of his employees to tell me where he was.” Clay’s eyes flicked up to my face, then fell again. “He was with Jenna.”

I frowned. Jenna?

“I went over and found the two of them in front of computers, looking like they hadn’t slept in a day and a half. They hadn’t been able to get ahold of you either.”

---