Page 118 of Keep This Promise
“I wish I could tell you it gets better, but I still see shit I wish I could forget,” Emmett admits. “What you have to hold on to is the fact that she was alive when we found her. That Blakely was able to get to her and give her insulin so you had time to get her to the hospital. I know it’s hard, believe me, but if you keep your mind on the right path, it gets a little easier.”
All of that sounds great, but it’s not that easy. “I just want to focus on finding this asshole.”
“Which is whatwe’redoing,” Jackson says, appearing out of nowhere and slapping his hand on my back. “You should be with Eden.”
I turn to him. “I want to hire an entire army to protect her and prevent her from ever living through this again.”
“And you basically have. Let us all do our jobs and work through the evidence. Come on, I’ll give you a ride back to the hospital.”
The ten-minute ride is silent, and I’m honestly thankful. So many conflicting thoughts are rattling around my head, and none of them are lining up to any conclusion. I want to run, take the two of them where no one knows us, and figure it out from there. I have enough money saved that we could last about six months, but I wouldn’t be able to work as a doctor again. We would have to become new people, which Sophie has already done once.
Still, even if she agreed to it, who’s to say they wouldn’t find us again anyway? Then, if they did, we’d be completely without aid.
The car stops, and Jackson sighs. “I can only imagine what you’re thinking, but I can promise none of it is a good idea.”
“Which is why I haven’t acted on it.”
“Good. I got a call from my guys in Virginia Beach, and after Zach asked them to run Theo and Sophie’s bank records again, they found a bank account number that matches your medical license. It wasn’t in the records we initially pulled, but it seems as if only you or Sophie can access it. I’d like to talk to you both and get your permission to see what exactly is there. Come on, let’s head inside.”
The two of us head inside and walk down the hall where security is standing along with Jackson’s guys. “Any issues?” he asks.
“None. The psychiatrist and a nurse came to talk to Sophie and Eden. They’re still in there evaluating them now.”
That would be normal protocol. They want to have someone make sure Eden is okay mentally, and a guard in the room would make things uncomfortable.
“I’m going in,” I tell them. I’m her father and am allowed there, and besides, I miss them.
When I enter the room, my blood runs cold. Sophie is sprawled out on the floor unconscious, and Kate is standing by Eden’s bedside, needle in hand, about to inject something into her IV.
“What are you doing?” I demand, taking a step forward and then freezing again as the cold barrel of a gun presses against my neck. “Kate? What the hell is going on?”
“I’m so sorry to do this, Holden,” Kate says, glancing back toward Eden. “If you had just given me back the money, it wouldn’t have gone this way. I never would have to do this to the people you love. Believe it or not, I actually like you, Holden.”
“Stop!” I say quickly. “Jesus, Kate! What are you doing?”
“I’m doing what I have to.”
“Have to what? What the fuck is going on?”
She shakes her head. “I will not let you people destroy everything. I heard all about the files and the box you have. No, I’m sorry, but I won’t leave any more loose ends.”
“You already have. What, are you going to kill everyone in Rose Canyon? Everyone you’ve ever met?”
Kate huffs. “No need. I’ll be long gone by then. But first, I’m going to get the money, and you’re going to help me.”
I shake my head. “You’re out of your fucking mind if you think I’ll help you.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
My heart is pounding, and I want to glance to Sophie to make sure she’s still breathing, but I can’t tear my eyes away from the needle in Kate’s hand. “She’s alive—for now. I’ve given her just enough to make you help. So, are you going to get the money her husband stole from me, or do I dose her up with more?”
Sophie isn’t moving, her breathing is shallow, and this woman is a goddamn maniac. “Don’t do this, Kate. You’re not this villain. You’re a doctor, and you even told me how you lost your daughter and husband.” She moves the needle closer to Eden, and my panic spikes. “Stop! Kate, just stop. Sophie and Eden have done nothing to you.”
“Nothing? I came to this town to keep an eye on things after Ryan was arrested. I had no idea that Theo’s widow would find her way here. Maybe I would have let her be, she was so naïve, after all. But then all my money went missing, and I know she has it.”
“So, you took a kid? And now you’re going to kill her? Think about this, Kate. I don’t have your money. If anyone can find it, it’s Sophie, and she can’t do that if she’s dead, and she won’t do it if you kill our daughter.”
Kate is beyond listening to reason as she taps the tip of the needle against the clear tube of Eden’s IV.
