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No. No, that wasn’t right.
It wasn’t the sunlight that was groggy, it was me. Groggy from too much sleep and too little pain medicine. My wrist throbbed, but I kept telling the nurses it was fine, that I didn’t need a higher dose.
The last thing I needed was to get addicted to them.
I opened the trap door—my eyes—and blinked in the midday sun. Then I jolted when I saw someone perched on the end of the bed.
I was used to people being in my room now. In fact, I needed it. Being alone with my thoughts was too much. It made me spiral down into the same darkness that had overtaken me before I dunked my head into the ice water in Lee’s sink and slipped and slit my wrist. I needed to see my mom or my dad or my therapist or even one of the nurses who poked and prodded at me until I wanted to scream.
But the person sitting on my bed wasn’t any of those people.
The lady was beautiful. Long, dark hair. Pretty, kind eyes. She had an aura about her that felt so soothing I almost closed my eyes and went back to sleep. But she was a stranger, and she was in my hospital room.
And my mom and dad weren’t here.
“Who are you?”
She smiled—why did that feel so familiar?—and lifted her hand, waving her fingers in the air. “Hi Kelly. I’m Joslyn Monroe. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
Joslyn Monroe. Why did that name sound so familiar? Why did—
“Joss?”
She beamed, if you could call it that. Her bright smile lit up even more, until something strange was happening to my face. The corners of my lips started to tilt up too.
“That’s me.” She dipped her head and peered up at me through her long lashes. “Lee told me it’s you I have to thank for getting me my job.”
At the mention of his name, my heart leapt in my chest. “Where is he?” Lee or my mom or my dad. While Joss had this calming presence, I didn’t know her. I didn’t know what she wanted, and not knowing made my skin itch.
Joss sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and bit down, her smile faltering. She didn’t have time to respond, because the sight of her nervousness had me diving straight into dark thoughts.
“Where’s my mom? My dad?”
Joss frowned—why was she still so pretty when she frowned?—and tilted her head. “They stepped out to get some lunch. They said it was okay if we were here with you.”
“We?” My gaze darted around the hospital room, searching for another person even though it was clear there was no one else here. My attention was drawn back to Joss when she hooked her thumb over her shoulder and pointed toward the door.
“Van Thaylor’s in the hall.”
At the mention of his name, a man stuck his head in the door. Though he was smiling, his was not the bright, beautiful kind that Joss wore. Everything about him was hard and severe, and though I was sure I’d never seen him before, he, too, looked familiar.
“Van.” The name fell from my lips on a breath, and it seemed to entice him inside. Though only enough to lean his back against the door jamb.
“Good to finally meet you.”
Finally.
I recognized him. I had seen him before. He’d been at the club. He’d been with that woman, Carina. He’d been watching me, a steady presence that was as comforting as it was eerie.
Rather than responding, I pulled my bandaged hand to my chest, like it could fend him off.
This man had seen me almost naked, and now he was standing in my hospital room.
“We need your help, Kelly.” Joss’s voice pulled my attention away from Van.
“With what?”
She hesitated, tossing a glance over her shoulder at him before turning back to me. “Donald Baker, the former CEO of Guardian Group, was murdered the night before last.”
