Page 87 of Tangled Up

My supervising physician skidded to a stop, taking in the scene, the carnage, the monitors. His expression darkened as he quickly scanned the notes, then he leveled his gaze, first on me then on the nurse.

“Call it. Date, time…” His voice seemed to drift away as he pronounced Carly’s husband dead.

I staggered from the room, pressing my back to the wall as they recorded the end of Tyler Covington’s life. Tension knotted the breath in my lungs, and I lowered my face to my hands.

It was my fault.

I wanted this to happen.

* * *

Silence fills the Rover, and my gaze is fixed on the horizon. Again, just like the day it happened, my chest is tight. I’ve never allowed myself to revisit that scene. I’ve never wanted to return and face the moment I allowed him to die, when I stood in that hallway and believed it was my selfish wish that brought him there.

I left the hospital before the family arrived, and Dr. Roberts signed off on all the paperwork. Everyone said we did all we could do, he succumbed to his injuries.

It wasn’t my fault, they’d said. I was inexperienced, and I couldn’t blame myself for not knowing what to do.

But I did blame myself. I still do.

Only Carly can release me from this guilt, and tonight, I’ll share it with her. I’ll go back and face the past and beg her forgiveness. I don’t know if she’ll accept it, but I can’t run from it anymore. It’s killing me from the inside out.

* * *

Instead of going straight to Carly’s aunt’s house, I stop at the Pearl to drop off my bags and the rings. I want to take a quick shower, but first I send her a text.

At the Pearl, need to shower. See you in twenty minutes?I hit send, wondering if I can shave some minutes off that time.

I want to hold her again. I want to bury my face in her hair and inhale her scent of ocean-kissed roses. I want to believe whatever happened in the past can’t touch us, but above all, I want her in my arms.

I’ve showered, changed, and I’m heading out on foot in the direction of her aunt’s in less than fifteen minutes. My pace is fast, and adrenaline surges through my bloodstream as I replay the words in my mind. I don’t even notice the time it takes to cover the distance between our houses, but I pull up short when I see a white police cruiser on the street in front of Aunt Viv’s.

Blinking fast, I break into a jog. My shoes thud on the wooden ramp, and I bang on the door, shouting her name. The house is vacant. I run around to the front, checking all the windows, but no one is home.

Grasping my phone, Carly hasn’t replied to my texts, and a weight drops in my stomach. I hit the call icon, pacing, scrubbing my fingers in my hair as I listen to the ringtone. Finally, after five or six rings, it goes to her voicemail.

“Carly, it’s me, Beck. Give me a call as soon as you get this. I’m at your aunt’s.” I disconnect and immediately call Henry.

The pulse in my temple is pounding, and I feel like I’m crawling out of my skin. Where is she? Why is a police car here? Why isn’t she returning my texts or answering my calls?

Listening to the ring-tone, I force myself to breathe. I’m a doctor, I deal with emergency situations every day. It could be anything, perhaps Aunt Viv had another accident, God forbid.

Only I can’t shake the ominous sense it’s her. Something happened to my girl, or she would have called me.

“Beck?” Henry’s voice on the line snaps me into focus. “Where are you?”

“I’m at your aunt’s house. Where’s Carly? Why is a police car here?”

“Come to the clinic.” Worry strains his tone. “Carly is missing.”

I’m already headed in that direction. “But I just talked to her last night…” I say it more to myself as I start to jog.

“Nobody’s seen her since this morning. Kevin was with her at the food truck, and she just disappeared.”

“Who the fuck is Kevin?”

“He’s the officer they sent from Pensacola to keep an eye on her. Sadie was at the toll booth all morning. She didn’t see Carly in any of the vehicles leaving the island. Everyone’s out searching. We don’t know if she fell or…”

“No.” Pain twists in my stomach, and my breath is fire in my lungs as I break into a sprint.

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