Chapter 9
It was weird. I was having an out of body experience or I was dreaming. Others talked around me, but I couldn’t move or talk. The voices sounded like Roy and Elaine, but I wasn’t sure. My brain wasn’t processing properly. Everything was jumbled.
“… do with him?”
“Shot him …”
“Concussion …”
“… where’s Tim?”
At that, I forced myself out of whatever state I was in. My fingers twitched at my command. My consciousness became clearer. I could sense light all around me.
“She’s waking up. Pass me that!” the female voice demanded.
Hands gripped my arm.
“Bailey?” a male voice asked.
“Wha—?” My mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton.
“Don’t speak,” the female voice said.
My eyelids opened like a blind being yanked up on a window. The light burned my eyes, and I snapped them shut. Nausea rolled over me in a fierce wave. I turned and heaved.
“Here!” Someone passed me a pail-shaped item.
My arms wrapped around it as my stomach emptied its contents. Tears stung my eyes from the force of my heaving and my headed throbbed like an open wound. Thud, thud, thud. My head pounded in an increasing tempo. More nausea and more vomiting until my stomach was completely devoid of its contents. I could finally breathe now that the retching and rolling in my stomach had subsided.
I cracked my eyelids open. Two concerned faces, Elaine’s and Roy’s, were staring intently at me.
“Chloe?” I croaked.
“Chloe’s fine. She’s in the common room with Amanda,” Roy said.
My body sagged in relief.
“Do you know where you are?” Elaine asked, her voice as clinical as her office.
“Your office,” I answered.
I’d spotted the desk behind them and the cabinet against the wall. She must be evaluating my head injury.
“Good. Do you know what happened to you?”
I swallowed, my mouth tasting like battery acid. “My head hit something—hard.”
“Yes, you have a concussion. Do you remember being attacked?” Elaine asked softly.
“Yes, two men. I got one and was the other threw me.”
“Are you still feeling nauseous?”
“No.”
She took the garbage can from me.
“I want you to rest for a little while longer, then you can get up, as long as you take it slow,” she instructed.
I obeyed and lay back down. “Can I have some water?”
Elaine moved to her desk and came back with a water bottle with a straw in it. “Sips only.”
She allowed me to hold the bottle as I took small drinks. The water helped to wash away the acrid taste in my mouth and sooth my burning throat.
“What happened to the other man? Did he get to Chloe?”
“I heard her scream as I was heading up the stairs,” Roy told me, his face pinched. “I saw you unconscious on the ground and found the guy trying to subdue Chloe. He pulled his gun on me, but I shot first.”
I closed my eyes as I groaned. I’d failed to protect her—again—and she’d witnessed a man get shot.
“She’s doing very well, considering,” Elaine added. “She’s been here every five minutes, banging at the door, demanding to see you.”
I smiled at that and opened my eyes. “What about the other guy?”
“Dead. His lung collapsed and he couldn’t breathe,” Elaine said matter-of-factly.
She was basically saying the man had drowned in his own blood. A sick feeling washed over me again and it had nothing to do with the concussion. Two people had died at my hands. A few more and I’d be considered a serial killer. I let out a harsh laugh.
Elaine and Roy exchanged a look. I recognized that look; Zoe used to give it to me. They were concerned about my mental well-being.
“You did what you had to, just like I did,” Roy reasoned.
“Mmm.” He didn’t understand. Neither of them could.
“I have a feeling you were always in the nurse’s office at school,” Elaine said, changing the subject. “Oh, and thanks to you, I won’t be getting any sleep tonight. I have to wake you up every three hours.”
I could tell she was joking, but either she wasn’t very good at it, or I was beyond that right now. I touched my head; a bandage was wrapped around it and a chunk of gauze stuck out in the back. That explained the throbbing pain.
“The laceration has stopped bleeding, and I sutured you up while you were out,” Elaine continued. “Only took three stitches since the cut wasn’t deep. The impact was more the problem.”
Great, another injury to add to my growing list. Someone banged on the door.
“Is she awake?” a little voice demanded from the other side of the door.
Roy walked over and opened it. As soon as he did, Chloe burst through and ran to the stretcher I was on.
“Bailey! Thank God you’re okay!” Her face was right beside mine. Her eyes were red and dried tear streaks ran down her cheeks.
“Hey, kid. Yep, I’ll be okay as per the good nurse Elaine.” I said.
Chloe looked at Elaine as if for conformation, and the nurse nodded. Chloe turned back to me, her smile wavering.
Tears welled in her eyes. “I was so scared.”
My vision blurred in response, but I blinked the tears away. I was beyond happy that she was okay, but I was also rotten with guilt that she’d gone through that.
“Want to know something? I was scared too, but we got through it,” I said.
“Yeah, we sure did.”
“She’s alive!” Mac boomed from the entrance and then came over to gawk at me with the rest of the onlookers.
“It would seem,” I replied. “Can I try to sit up now?”
Elaine grabbed my forearm. “All right, but slowly.”
My body creaked as I rose into a sitting position, the edges of my vision swimming but steadying with each breath. Elaine was watching me closely, making sure I didn’t pale and pass out again. I blinked to clear my eyes, but otherwise, I felt stable. She let my arm go when she saw I was okay.
Mac moved closer to pass something to me. “Here’s a juice box. You’ll need sugar and calories to get your strength back.”
With a trembling hand, I accepted the drink and took a tentative sip. It was grape. Not my favorite flavor, but I was grateful.
“If you can keep that down, we’ll give you some solid food in a bit,” Elaine said, returning to her desk.
“How long was I out for?”
“Forever!” Chloe threw her hands in the air.
Elaine gave us a rare grin. “More like an hour and a half.”
“Did anything else happen?” I needed to tell them about Tim, but I also had to tread carefully.
He was involved in this, but I didn’t know the extent. Tim had taken that bag in exchange for telling them where my room was. He’d seen the scratches on my side and knew I was immune. That was why he’d stalled my leaving and involved me: so I’d remain here until those gang members came to grab me. He was lucky I was too weak to kill him myself; another step closer to that serial killer title.
I shook with anger, and Elaine rushed to my side.
“Do you feel like you’re going to faint again?”
I took a deep breath through my nose to contain my rage. “Chloe, can you grab me some food? I think I’m good to eat.”
Chloe’s eyes widened. “Sure can. Be right back.”
She took off out of the office.
“Close the door,” I said.
Mac shut the door and came right back. “What is it?”
I had to make sure I worded this right. Maybe it would be better if I started off with a bit of show and tell? I moved to get off the stretcher.
“Hey, you don’t need to stand yet,” Elaine said.
“Trust me,” I said and steadied myself on my feet.
; All eyes were on me. I lifted my shirt to reveal the scars that ran up my side. Mac’s face lit up. Roy’s face was a mask of anger, and Elaine peered at the marks curiously.
“These are from an infected person. I got them months ago and never turned,” I explained. “Tim saw these the other day and deduced I was immune. I knew he was up to something when he kept trying to keep me here. Then before the attack, I saw him with those two guys outside my window. He took a bag from them and pointed to my apartment, and then they came after me.”
Stunned silence filled the room. I didn’t need to be a mind reader to know what they were thinking. Mac’s theory. Roy’s wife and dead child. Elaine’s clinical logic. They were putting the pieces together.
“Are you sure it was Tim?” Elaine asked.
“A hundred percent.”
“I believe you,” Mac said. “I always thought he was off.”
“All right, how do we proceed from here?” Elaine asked. “I mean we need a little more evidence than just what you saw.”
“I’d say it’s pretty damn incriminating,” I shot back. “How else would you explain it?”
“Makes sense.” Mac crossed his arms. “He always makes these extraordinary finds. Like the time he came back with half a trunk full of guns and ammo when every place that sold weapons for miles had been picked clean. I’m willing to bet that bag he they gave him was filled with supplies and food and maybe guns.”
Mac was probably right. That bag wouldn’t contain hundred dollar bills. Money was useless these days, but weapons and food were gold. Whatever was in that bag was what Tim considered me worth.
“You know, come to think of it,” Mac continued, “during the attack on the apartment, Tim was coincidently on watch with Karla at the interstate entrance. He even traded shifts with Roy if I remember correctly.”
“But why would Tim send them after you?” Elaine asked.
“I’m immune. Mac has a theory about it, and I think he’s right.” I touched my side, feeling the raised scars underneath my shirt.
Mac told them what he’d told me in the kitchen.
“That’s all circumstantial,” Elaine said. “Is it true, Roy? Was your wife bitten?”
Roy hadn’t said one word since I’d revealed my scratches. He was tense, his fists clenched at his side. Instead of answering, Roy stormed out of the room, the door slamming against the wall. We all looked at one another and followed him out of the room. I tested my legs, taking a few shaky steps, and found I was okay to walk.
He rounded the corner to the common room and marched up to Karla.
“Where is he?” he demanded.
Karla was shocked into silence. Roy grabbed her forearms and shook her.
“Where’s Tim?” he yelled into her face.
Mac grabbed him and yanked him off Karla.
She looked at us, confused. “I-I don’t know. He’s still out, I think.”
Curious faces watched the scene from their spots all over the common room. Everyone should have been in their rooms with the doors locked, but no one had common sense around here. Chloe and Amanda chose that moment to reappear, their arms full of food.
I didn’t need that much.
“Dad?” Amanda asked hesitantly.
His shoulders stiffened, and Roy turned to his daughter. “You and Chloe need to go to your rooms.”
“But why?”
“Just do it!” Roy shouted.
His daughter looked on the verge of crying. I’d never seen Roy like this, and I didn’t think Amanda had either. I walked over to them and took some of the food from their hands.
“Thank you guys for getting me food, but now you need to go to Amanda’s room, okay?” I said.
“Do you think the bad guys are comin’ back?” Chloe asked.
“We don’t know, but you need to stay safe in your room. I’ll explain later.” The abbreviated version anyway.
Chloe looked at me, her face serious. She turned to Amanda. “Come on, let’s go to your room.”
Chloe led them out, and they headed upstairs.
Roy was so agitated that he was pacing. Karla retreated as far from him as she could, and stern eyes watched Roy walk his circuit. I had no idea what to do. I hadn’t expected this from Roy, but his wife was missing and the gang members had killed his daughter. Someone would pay.
Chapter 10
Time ticked by and Roy continued to pace. An hour had gone by and Tim still hadn’t shown his face. As far as he knew, we were all oblivious to his involvement. We hadn’t let Karla leave; she’d more than likely warn him.
I picked at some of the food the girls had rounded up—the crackers and another juice box—but my nerves prevented me from eating anything else.
We barely talked, other than to explain what had happened to Karla. She vehemently denied that Tim could have done anything like that until she was red in the face. Mac suggested she was too close to Tim to see the situation clearly, and I swore Karla considered punching him in the face.
Mac came over to me and took a cracker from the box.
“What should we do?” he half whispered.
I set down the cracker I was nibbling on. Why is he asking me?
“I don’t know,” I replied just as quietly. “Short of locking Roy up, there’s nothing we can do until Tim shows up.”
Elaine joined our little think-tank. “This will go really badly once Tim shows up. Roy is just getting angrier.”
We all looked over at Roy. I could almost feel waves of anger radiating off him.
“We need to intercept Tim before Roy does something,” I said. “Maybe handcuff Tim as soon as we see him. The element of surprise is all we have.”
“There are some zip ties in the storage room. I’ll go grab some.” Mac took off in search of our handcuffs substitute.
Karla glared suspiciously at us but remained sitting and kept chewing her nails. Mac came back and showed us the black zip ties in his coat pocket, then asked, “How do we do this?”
“Unless there’s a secret entrance you guys didn’t tell me about, there’s only one way in,” I said. “Someone strong should open the door when Tim comes in, so they’ll be behind him when he enters. We’ll talk to him to distract him until the doorman tackles him to the ground. And then we’ll tie his hands behind his back.”
“Why not just grab him?” Elaine asked.
“He’s military. I’d say he’s trained in combat. Our best bet is to knock him to the ground and use our weight against him to pin him down while we tie his hands up.” This was all guesswork on my part.
Mac raised an eyebrow. “I take it I’m the doorman?”
I bit my lip. “Sorry. It’s nothing personal. But the more weight we have to hold him down, the better.”
“That’s the nicest way to call someone fat I’ve ever heard,” Mac said. If he was offended, he didn’t show it.
I shrugged. I had nothing to say that would make it any less rude.
“You should probably get up there then,” Elaine said. “Who knows when he might return?”
Mac grumbled but left to go play doorman and give José a break. Karla watched him disappear with narrowed eyes. She got up, but Roy’s glare returned her to her seat. I didn’t see Bernice down here with her sniper rifle; she must have gone back to the roof. In total, there were only ten of us in the common room. Hardly a worthy defense.
Elaine grilled me again on how I was feeling. The wound on my head was throbbing again, so she left to get me some painkillers. A loud cough came from the front entrance—Mac signaling that Tim was here. I took a deep breath.
“I’m just bringing him a water bottle. Tell Elaine I’ll be right back,” I announced to the people in the room, trying to sound aloof.
Roy looked suspicious but returned to fidgeting. I walked calmly to the entrance. Please let this work.
I was in no shape to fight and this would get messy if we had to resort to violence.
Mac jerked his head toward the doors as
I approached. “Just saw the truck headlights pull up.”
The outline of a figure solidified as it approached the front door.
“Hand me the ties!” I hissed when I reached Mac.
We hadn’t planned this very well, but I had myself to thank for that. I grabbed the ties and retreated as I stuffed them up my sleeve. Mac opened the door, and Tim walked through. I pretended like I just came around the corner.
“What happened?” Tim had the gall to ask.
“There was another attack,” I started as I saw Mac widened his stance.
With a shoulder in the lead, Mac flattened Tim. They flew to the floor, and I ran up to them as fast as I could. Tim was in shock, but he recovered fast and tried to buck Mac off. Mac had managed to gather Tim’s hands behind his back, and I tightened the zip ties around his wrists, binding them together.
“What is this?” he demanded, attracting an audience from the other room.
With his arms secured behind his back, Mac yanked Tim up. Roy dashed for Tim, his eyes full of pain. I jumped in front of Tim, intercepting Roy.
“Settle down! We need to do this the right way!” I yelled.
Roy shoved me out of the way, and before I could grab him, he swung at Tim. I heard the sound of cartilage crunching. Tim’s nose was now bent to the side and blood trickled down his chin. Mac released Tim in favor of restraining the enraged Roy. Tim fell backward with a groan, landing on his side, his arms still behind his back. Karla went to run for him, but Elaine got in her way.
“No you don’t,” Elaine calmly said to Karla.
Karla’s hand flew to her belt.
“I don’t think so.” One of the older ladies pointed her gun at Karla.
We all stood frozen in the weirdest Mexican standoff ever, except for Roy, who was still struggling against Mac, trying to get to Tim.
“Roy, you need to calm down.” I jabbed at finger at him. “We won’t get anything out of him if you beat the shit out of him.”
Tim was military—brutal force wouldn’t work—but I had to admit, I found myself wanting to kick his teeth in too. That would have to wait. I controlled my temper and turned to Tim, who was wiggling his face, trying to assess the damage.
I walked up to him and he eyed me through narrowed slits. I crouched next to his fallen form.
This Would Be Paradise (Book 2) Page 6