Page 42 of Hit the Ground
They saved me.
If they’d been even a minute later...but they hadn’t. Whether it was luck, the universe, or something more divine, they’d come in time. They’d stopped him.
And now, I was here. Alive. Safe. He had taken something from me, but not anything I couldn’t get back with time.
James had been arrested on the spot. The tests confirmed what everyone had suspected—I’d been drugged. The officers couldn’t promise anything, but they said it looked like an open-and-shut case.
When they left, I was so tired I could barely see straight. More than that, I needed to be alone. I couldn’t bear to even look at Caleb, and he wouldn’t turn away from me.
“I’d like to take a nap,” I whispered.
He was so tuned in, he had no trouble hearing me. “Of course. I’ll show you the guest room.” He took my hand in his and pulled me up from the couch. “I’ve got you. Come on.”
Any second, he would let go. There was no need for him to hold my hand all the way down the hall. I wouldn’t get lost. Not when I was following him.
But he didn’t. He cradled my hand in his until we reached the guest room, and at the door, he gave it a squeeze.
“If you’d let me give you flowers, they’d be a so-damn-sorry-this-happened-to-youbouquet,” he said.
I sighed so heavily my shoulders rolled, and my chest felt hollow. “That would be a terrible first bouquet. I’m glad you’re not giving them to me.”
“Yeah.” He ducked his head, scuffing his socked foot on the floor. “I hate everything those cops just told us. But I almost wish they hadn’t caught him so I could take care of him myself.”
“Then you’d be in jail.” I laughed dryly. “I’m okay, Caleb. I feel like the dumbest person on the planet, but I’ll survive.”
“Allie,” he breathed, cupping the side of my face. “You’re not dumb. Nothing that man did was on you. You are right about one thing, though. You’ll survive out here in the light, and he’s gonna rot, locked away in the dark.”
My nose tingled, and a huge lump formed in my throat. All I could do was nod.
He dipped down, pressing a quick kiss to the top of my head. “Sleep well. I won’t go far. All you have to do is call for me, and I’ll be here.”
I didn’t know why he was doing any of this for me, but I wasn’t questioning it. Not now. Wordlessly, I stepped into the guest room. It smelled faintly of cedar and laundry soap. The quilt was plain but fluffy. Sunlight slipped in between the curtains in hazy golden bars across the bed. I sat down on the side and waited until his footsteps faded down the hall.
Then, safe and warm in Caleb Kelly’s house, I pulled the covers over my shoulders and fell asleep.
Chapter Fifteen
Alice
Ididn’tletmyselfsleep long. Just enough to take the unbearable edge off. When I woke, I washed my face in the bathroom, careful not to look too hard at my reflection. I wasn’t quite ready to see what I looked like—especially not when I had to face Caleb.
Not that he cared what I looked like.
But I did.
I found him in the kitchen, and he wasn’t alone. His mom was pouring coffee into a mug, looking as put together as always. Her pale-blonde hair was a silky sheet over her shoulder, and her casual athleisure seemed tailored to her body. She moved with easy confidence, tipping a splash of milk into the mug and humming softly as she stirred it.
Caleb was leaning against the counter, his arms folded across the vast expanse of his chest. He was scruffy and rumpled and beautiful.
Elena’s only reaction to the sight of me—to the mess I knew I was—was a slight flare of her pretty blue eyes.
“Alice, darling, there you are. I brought you clothes.” She patted the pile of folded cotton on the island. “I assumed you wouldn’t want to stay in those scrubs any longer than necessary.”
“Thank you so much.” I practically fell on the new clothes. “I want to feel terrible you went out of your way for me, but you’re right. I can’t stand to be in these scrubs another minute.”
“Don’t you dare feel terrible.” She rounded the island to stand in front of me, smoothed my hair away from my face, and dropped her voice to barely above a whisper. “Go change. When you’re ready to face the day, I’ll make you something to eat and we can get on with it.”
“I can make Alice food,” Caleb grumbled.
