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“Please tell me you have my release papers,” she tells him, and that’s when I notice it’s the same guy who took the report the night of the accident.
“No, ma’am. I’m Officer Proctor. I’m glad to see you’re awake this time.”
“Am I under arrest?” Everleigh teases. “At this rate, it might be the only way for me to break out of this place in a timely manner.”
“No.” He chuckles. “I’m here to get a statement from you so we can finalize the report on your case. We take this violent act very seriously, and we’d like to find who’s responsible for doing this to you. We’ve gotten some information from your roommate already, but now that you’re awake, I wanted to see if you could add anything that might be helpful.”
“I only remember the night before I was attacked. It’s like my memory was erased.”
“Traumatic experiences typically do that,” he explains, then pulls out his card. “If anything comes to mind, please call me. We ran the license plate to figure out who it’s registered to, but it’s under an LLC, so we can’t determine who’s been driving it. I’ll contact you if we find anything else out.” He reads out her cell number. “Is that correct?”
“Yep, that’s right. Thanks,” Everleigh tells him.
“You’re welcome. Get to feeling better. We’ll be in touch.”
Everleigh continues flipping through the channels after the officer leaves. After she’s watched two full episodes of Friends, she huffs. Before the third one ends, the nurse enters with her discharge paperwork.
“Sorry it took so long. Just needed a few signatures, and it’s hard to track people down these days.”
The woman goes through all the disclaimers, follow-ups, and privacy acts. After Everleigh has signed her name several times, the nurse offers to get a wheelchair to bring her downstairs.
“Can you help me change?” Everleigh asks her. If Tyler weren’t here, I would’ve been happy to assist.
“Sure.” She turns and looks at Tyler and me. We stand, knowing it’s time to leave the room.
“I’ll pull the car around,” I say. Tyler follows as relief washes over me. Having Everleigh back home is something I’ve been anxiously waiting for. We step into the elevator and make small talk. It’s been awkward between us, but it could just be my guilt making something out of nothing. He hasn’t asked me if Everleigh and I are a thing, but I wouldn’t lie if he did.
“Glad she’s going home,” he tells me. “Hopefully, she listens and actually takes it easy.”
“Me too. Sassy’s gonna be happy to see her too.”
Tyler grins. “Yeah, she will, though I’m sure Mimi has given her way too many treats. She might’ve forgotten about everyone else at this point.”
I chuckle. “Well, that’s what grandmas do.”
“Oh yeah. She spoils the hell out of Scarlett, and she’s only six months old.”
“She’s a very generous woman. You’re lucky to have her.”
He nods. “Don’t know what we would’ve done without her after my mom left. Mimi is an angel.”
The doors slide open, and we walk through the halls. Once we’re in the parking lot, I scan my eyes around and make sure everything looks okay.
“I’ll wait here,” Tyler says as I walk toward Everleigh’s car.
After I start the engine and move around to the covered area, I tap the brakes a few times just in case that psycho bitch has decided to cut the lines. Though I blame it on my paranoia, nothing is out of the realm of possibilities.
I leave the car idle, then stand next to Tyler as we wait. His eyes move over the area too. “I’m really reluctant to let Everleigh out of my sight,” he admits, and I see the worry lines above his brows.
“I am too.” I ball my hands into fists, ready to fight anyone—man or woman—who tries to hurt her again.
Tyler frowns. “It’s hard because of work and my family. I can’t be around her twenty-four seven like I used to, so I’m struggling with it.”
“Listen, I promise I’ll do whatever I can to keep her safe, and if that means all of my clients get rescheduled until she’s fully recovered, then so be it. I can be her full-time bodyguard.”
He shakes his head. “I can’t let you take on all of the responsibility, Archer. I have a friend I could call to help keep an eye on her, but I’m not sure that’s a good idea after what happened to Eric. They still don’t know who’s responsible for his murder.”
“I guess none of us are truly safe, but the truth is you have a family now. Your wife and daughter have to come first. You gotta stay out of danger for their sake. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of Everleigh like she’s my own sister.”
