Page 144 of Until Joy

“Oh God.” The memory hit me like a punch to the gut. “Glenda. She's dead, isn't she?”

Graham nodded, his jaw tight.

“There was blood on me. Her blood.” My voice cracked as the image crystallized in my mind. Glenda’s head… Ah God! The image in my mind made me gag.

The sobs came without warning, tearing out of my chest in great heaving gasps. Graham was out of his chair and perched on the edge of my bed before I could blink, his good arm pulling me against his chest.

“Shh, baby. It's over. She can't hurt you anymore.”

“I know I should feel bad that she's dead,” I hiccupped against his shirt. “But I don't. I'm glad she's gone. Does that make me a terrible person?”

“No.” His voice was fierce. “That makes you human. She terrorized you for weeks and weeks. She drugged you. She kidnapped you. You don't owe her your grief.”

I clung to him, breathing in his familiar scent. Slowly, the panic ebbed away, replaced by his solid presence.

“How did you get there? You were in the hospital.”

Graham laughed, the sound rusty but genuine.

“Nothing would have stopped me from coming after you. I could have had two broken legs, and I still would have been leading the charge.”

Despite everything, I found myself smiling.

“You're an idiot.”

“I’m your idiot.”

“My idiot.” I reached up and touched the bandage on his neck. “Are you okay? Really okay?”

“Couple of stitches. Nothing that won't heal.” He caught my hand and pressed it flat against his chest, right over his heart. “What about you? How's the shoulder?”

I flexed it experimentally and winced. “Hurts. But just a little.”

“Liar.”

I gave him a small grin.

“The doctors said the surgery went well. Full range of motion should return with physical therapy.”

“What about everyone else? Randy and Seth? Wes and Z?”

“Everyone's fine. Your brothers have been driving the nursing staff crazy, demanding updates every fifteen minutes.” Graham's mouth quirked up at the corner. “July had to threaten to sedate Randy to get him to calm down.”

Relief washed over me. My family was safe. Graham was safe. It really was over.

“How did you find me?” I asked.

“It was Kayan and July thinking about Glenda’s boyfriend Rob, who Evan couldn’t trace. It got everybody thinking. They finally got a lead on a dead co-worker named Robert Chen who was run over the night you sang karaoke.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Glenda didn’t have a long-term boyfriend named Rob. From what we could gather she had a onetime date with a co-worker named Robert, who she killed after they went to Louey’s. It was his lake house where you were being held.”

I didn’t understand it all completely, but I tracked it enough. What I understood was that Glenda had killed a man after hearing me sing. I’d think about it later. What I would focus on is that they found me. That was what mattered.

A soft knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. Graham looked toward the sound, then back at me.

“You up for some visitors? Your parents are driving over from Jasper Creek, but they won't be here for another hour.”