Page 91 of Nowhere Good

TWENTY-SIX

A steady beeping filled the room—the soft thrum of Clementine’s heart. Claire sat beside her sister’s hospital bed, watching her sleep with a bandage wrapped around her throat and so many tubes sticking out of her, it was hard to tell what went where.

She was so pale. Her fake freckles had been wiped off, but evening light spilled through the curtains of the hospital and brightened up her hair. The dark blonde roots poked through along Clem’s hairline, and they reminded Claire of a sunset, a place where gold and orange met.

It served as a reminder now.

Right now, Sully was being cared for by pediatrics, and last Claire heard, the hospital had finally been able to contact Marty. He was on his way. Maybe then, Claire could go change out of these clothes that still had her sister’s blood on them.

God, Trevor.

The memory of his eyes haunted her. She’d been so close to losing Clementine forever. As many differences as they had, Claire hated to imagine a world without her in it.

She held onto Clementine’s cold hand. “I’m so sorry he did this to you. They’ll catch him. I know they will.”

With a heavy sigh, Claire stood up. She delicately placed Clem’s hand over her other, then stepped out of the room. The empty hospital hallway was quiet at this time of evening. She looked to her left.

Up the hall, Seth stood from a chair pressed up against the wall, concern all over his face. He was wearing a fresh shirt; he’d destroyed his other one to save Clementine’s life.

And he had saved her life.

He was the one who’d slowed the bleeding, who’d stepped in when Claire’s brain could do nothing but scramble. Seeing him overwhelmed her with weepy emotions.

“Hey, is she—”

She cut him off by jumping at him and looping her arms around his neck. He immediately hugged her back, supporting her weight as the tips of her toes touched the floor, lifting her easily. The skin of his neck was warm against her cheek, and the woody, masculine scent of his aftershave enveloped her. He held her tighter and buried his nose into her hair, breathing out like all his stress had melted away.

“Thank you,” she rasped.

For a moment, their faces were only inches apart. When her feet were firmly on the floor, they stepped back from each other. The spell broke, but the feeling of being in his arms didn’t fade. He was the only one who’d ever made her feel small in a good way.

“She’s okay then?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

Smiling through her tears, she nodded. “Yes. She’s okay. The doctors said she lost a lot of blood, but he missed her major arteries. She’ll recover.”

He sighed in relief. “Good. I’m glad.”

“Did you get Trevor?”

Remorse sank his features. When he sat down, she took the invitation to sit with him. This didn’t sound good. They angled themselves toward each other, to the point their knees practically touched.

“We… don’t have him yet.”

Her stomach fell. “How? It’s been hours.”

“I don’t know. We managed to get a helicopter and K-9 units from the state police, but we haven’t had eyes on Trevor yet. He could still be in the cornfield, but considering we haven’t seen him, it’s possible he escaped into the forest.”

“How does that happen?”

Seth ran his hands over his face. “I don’t know. The whole operation has been a mess. Jacobson never should’ve left his post—I’m still trying to figure that out. Claire, I’m so sorry we weren’t there for you when we should’ve been. You never should’ve been in that situation. Your sister shouldn’t have been hurt at all.”

Her heart pulled. She wanted to touch his hand. “You were there. You did everything you could. And my sister is alive because of you.”

“Because of you too. You stopped Trevor and held him until I could get there. Not an ideal situation for you to be in danger like that, but… that was brave. We don’t know when he was planning to do it, but I have no doubt he would’ve killed her.”

“I know, but I think you got to him. They told me the cut was superficial. Maybe it was an accident, heat of the moment type thing…”

“Hard to say. The other victims’ wounds were instantaneously fatal—nothing would’ve stopped them from bleeding out. Still, I wouldn’t give him any grace. He’s a killer. He’ll kill again if we don’t catch him.”