Page 35 of Haystacks and Hoaxes

Then a siren blared, men’s voices shouted back and forth, and she was lifted onto a stretcher. Something was pressed to her nose and mouth, and precious oxygen rushed into her starved lungs.

A large hand engulfed hers, and a low, choking voice sent up a desperate sounding prayer on her behalf. As soon as they reached the medical center, more hands and medical instruments descended on her.

Her stomach was pumped, and IV tubes were inserted. Someone gave the order to decontaminate her, start a blood transfusion, and administer her first round of antibiotics. Eventually, the voicesand activity faded.

The voices werethe first thing that returned. Male voices. Very concerned male voices. Voices that she soon recognized. Decker was nearby. So was Rock.

Her ears latched on to bits and pieces of what they were saying.

Poison.

Fruit.

Pesticide.

Can’t believe someone signed my name on the delivery note!

Though the topic was morbid, her heart leaped at the realization that she was still alive! It took her most focused efforts to crack her eyelids open.

The voices immediately stopped.

“Mila!” Decker’s concerned face appeared above her. “Can you hear me?”

“Yes,” she croaked, though the sound that came out of her was barely intelligible.

“Water,” Rock said. “She needs water.” There were a few scraping and clanging sounds as he poured her a glass of water from the pitcher on the roller cart beside her.

“You’re awake at last!” A nurse rushed into the room to help elevate Mila’s bed and prop her up against the pillows. “You gave us quite a scare, Miss Kingston. How are you feeling?”

“Better.” Mila didn’t need to be told it was a miracle she was alive. Someone had deliberately poisoned her.

The nurse checked her vitals. “I’ll update your doctor right away. He’ll be here shortly for another exam.” She bobbed her head at Decker and Rock before taking off again.

Decker moved out of the way so Rock could limp closer and hold the glass of water to her lips. “Glad you’re stillwith us, partner.” He looked a little pale around the gills himself.

The doctor appeared. “You ingested a substance called strychnine,” he explained gravely. He used a finger to push his eyeglasses higher on his nose. “I printed out some information about it, the treatments you’ve undergone so far, and best practices for reaching what we hope will be a full recovery.”

Treatments.Her insides constricted at the realization she didn’t have medical insurance. She needed to get out of the medical center as soon as possible. The tab she’d run up so far was probably enough to bankrupt her.

She took a sip of water that was suddenly harder to swallow as she watched the doctor leave the room. “Get me out of here,” she rasped at her stepbrother.

He huffed out a breath. “You’re not going anywhere, sis.”

“I don’t have medical insurance.” As embarrassing as it was to admit it, the relief she felt afterward was liberating.

His honey-gold gaze narrowed on hers. “Since when?”

She lifted her chin. “Since my new benefits don’t kick in until the first of the year.”

“I was going to say something to you about that,” Rock cut in, looking guilty. “Just haven’t had the chance to grab any face time with you.”

“You mean you knew my sister didn’t have insurance?” Decker’s voice rose with incredulity.

Mila’s temper flared. She didn’t appreciate being talked about like she wasn’t in the room. “Lots of people don’t have insurance,” she snapped. “If you’re looking for someone to blame, how about pointing the finger at Loretta Bentley? She’s the one who fired me without notice for refusing to marry her lying, cheatingson!”

Decker’s mouth flattened. “Just wish you’d have said something to me, Mila.”

“I’m not your problem,” she reminded. She was a grown woman who made her own decisions, however poor her mother and everyone else might think those decisions were.

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