Chapter 13

Harrow arrived two minutes later.

An ambulance followed ten minutes after that.

By then, I was in so much pain, I would have let Harrow carry me to the hospital on foot.

"Here." He handed me my phone. "No luck on the license plate?"

"No, sorry, I was too busy being roadkill."

"I didn't mean…" He dragged a shaking hand over his mouth. "I can't say the right thing around you."

Not to brag, but I seemed to have that effect on guys.

"I've noticed." I happily surrendered to the EMTs as they eased me onto the stretcher. "It's fine."

A fresh siren screamed onto the road, tires kicking up grit as a mammoth black truck squealed to a halt. I could have stabbed Harrow in the eye with a stick, and he would have looked happier than when Carter bulled her way through to us.

Wearing sweaty SPD gym clothes, she stared down at me. "Why did the necromancer cross the road?"

The weak attempt at humor earned her points with me. I preferred it to pity. "To avoid being run over?"

"Yeah, well, look how that worked out for you." She scanned the street. "Public place for a hit-and-run."

"Early enough there were no witnesses," Harrow countered. "None we've found so far."

"Maybe we'll get lucky with a video doorbell." She jerked her chin toward the house in front of us. "They didn't hear anything? See anything?" She grunted when he shook his head. "They don't leave a porch light on. They must feel safe at night." She plucked a leaf out of my hair. "Want me to call Josie?"

"Want has nothing to do with it." I groaned, causing a flutter among the EMTs until Harrow explained I suffered emotional pain they couldn't treat. "She'll skin me alive if I don't tell her."

And Matty would sharpen the knife.

"I can do the honors." Harrow set his hand on my shoulder, jerked it back, rested it on my arm, yanked it away, then gave up and stuck it in his pants pocket. "She already hates me."

"In that case, can you call Matty too?" I unlocked my phone and handed it over. "They're in my contacts. And my recent calls." I slumped onto the stretcher. "You'll figure it out."

Walking away from the noise and the clutter, Harrow began dialing, which meant I had minutes before my siblings descended on me. They would ban me from running solo, driving solo, and any other solo activity that occurred outside my apartment. Assuming they let me have that much privacy.

Matty might force me to room with him on his plush couch until he felt safe letting me out of his sight. Better him than Josie. He didn't bring girls home. He went to them. There were no sex cooties at his place.

"We're going to give you something for the pain now," a sweet-faced boy with blue-tinged skin told me, definitely a para paramedic. "You're going to drift. Don't fight it. The best medicine is rest."

Ice flooded my veins, and I shivered, wishing I had a blanket.

Then I didn't wish for anything at all.

"I hear you, little one,"a honeyed voice coaxed. "Come out. All will be well. Your sin is already forgiven."

From where I stood in the hall, peering around the corner into the kitchen, I figured Josie was in one of the lower cabinets. That meant I had to lure the sister away. If she caught Josie sneaking food again…

"Sister?" I used my most polite voice and avoided eye contact. "Is something the matter?"

"No, darling child." The sister, dressed in a full nun habit, laced her spindly fingers at the level of her belt. "All is well."

"Do you need help cleaning the chapel?" I kept my head low. "I can get the broom."

"Helpful, aren't you, Mary Frances?" Her hem made no sound against the stone as she approached me. "You are close to Mary Josephine. I have heard you call her sister. Do you know where I might find her?"

"I haven't seen her since lunch."

"I do not enjoy punishing those in my charge." Her shadow grew taller, leaner. "I am but a caretaker."

"Yes, Sister." A tremor shook my voice. "You are merciful."

Fingers lengthened to needlelike tips. The sister grew until she hunched to avoid a hanging pot rack. Her breath, which had been sweet a minute ago, blew sour across the space between us. Her bones creaked when she moved closer, and her sinew popped as muscle protested the change in her nature.

"Where is Mary Josephine?" She loomed over me, dark and hungry. "I will be lenient if you tell me."

"I—I—I haven't seen her s-s-since lunch."

Hooking a finger under my chin, she wrenched my head up until my nose pointed at the ceiling, forcing me to stare into the empty sockets of her eyes. "You're lying to me, Mary Frances, and lying is a sin."

I was screaming before her smile revealed rows of serrated teeth with rotting meat stuck between them.

Terror burned hot in my gut while icy cold spread down my arms into my hands.

And I reached.

I startled awake on a scream,jerking upright and headbutting Harrow, who stumbled back into the chair he had pulled next to the bed. Sweat soaked my skin, and damp tendrils of hair stuck to my face. I could smell the rot…the decay… The thudding of my heart rattled my ribs and deafened me to everything else.

Firm hands clamped down on my upper arms, and I peeled my lips away from my teeth.

Soft moans and louder groans from the dead and the dying drifted to me in gentle question.

The pull to them, always strong in hospitals, was more powerful than it had ever been.

Something is wrong with me.

"Frankie." Harrow dodged a second headbutt as I thrashed. He sat and enclosed me in his arms. "Shh."

"Sister," I panted, melting against him, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Carter wanted a statement from Josie. She'll be up in a minute. Matty too."

Biting down on my bottom lip to hold in the truth of my nightmares, I didn't correct him.

"You need to lie down." He smoothed the hair off my forehead. "You'll hurt yourself."

"Don't…hurt…" I slurred, my tongue thickening in my mouth. "Stay."

"I'm not going anywhere." He cradled me against him, his hands as gentle as a breeze rustling live oak leaves. "Until your siblings get here." He chuckled softly. "I'll be lucky if they don't drag me out by my hair."

"Stay," I said again, curling my fingers into his shirt. "Please, Samuel."

"Okay." His breath caught, and his voice turned to gravel. "I promise."

"Good thing you're an old pro at breaking those," Josie snarled from the doorway. "Get out."

Behind her, Matty held the door open. "We would like to see our sister in private."

"Frankie asked me to stay." He fisted the back of my hospital gown. "She can tell me to go."

"I heard raised voices." Carter brushed past Matty. "Do we have a problem?"

"No." I forced myself to let Harrow go. "Problem."

Leaning in, he lowered his voice for my ears alone. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." I was perking up, thanks to the adrenaline dump from the nightmare. "Thank you."

"Come on, Daisy." Carter waved him out into the hall. "Let the Talbots have a moment alone."

"I'll be right outside." Harrow rose slowly, careful not to tip me. "Call if you need me."

"She has us." Josie swooped down on me like an avenging angel. "That's all she needs."

Matty sank into the chair Harrow had vacated as the door shut, leaving us Marys alone.

As always.

"What's going on?" Matty took my hand. "They asked us about your exes."

"That must have been a brief conversation."

"And if you had any angry clients." Josie took my other hand. "They act like this wasn't random."

Randomwas a strong word for the week I was having, but I didn't want to frighten her or Matty yet.

"Harrow was muttering about how he should have seen it sooner, whatever that means." Matty brushed a few grains of sand off my knuckles. "That speaks to a pattern. Not incidental events."

"It must be incidental. Or accidental." I settled against my pillows. "No one knew I was going out. Not even me. I don't usually run on my days off, and I didn't go to the cemetery. There was no pattern to what I did."

"Which means…" Josie shared a dark look with Matty, "…whoever did this followed you."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." I tugged their hands. "No one is staking out our house. Why would they?" I let them go when sweat pooled in my palms. "I'm careful, I don't attract attention, and I keep to myself."

"You're working with these 514 people." Josie scowled at the shut door. "That's gaining you exposure."

"What if the guy who hit you is the same person targeting the loaners?" Matty raked his fingers through his hair. "Harrow needs to find a new source. He dragged you into this mess, and now you've been hurt. You've done all you can do." Matty gripped the silver rail on my bed. "Tell him you're done with him."

So much for not frightening my siblings.

"The last person seen with the first victim was Kierce." I knotted the scratchy sheet around my finger. "I've already agreed to visit the cemetery Tuesday morning to look for him. Harrow will be there. So will you, Matty. I won't be alone."

"I told you he was a psycho killer." Josie groaned into her hands. "For all we know, he followed you after one of your chats, found out where you live, and has been stalking you from the bushes."

The urge to defend Kierce rose like acid up my throat, but I tamped it back down using one simple truth.

I don't know him.

I had no idea who he really was, what he really was, or why he was really haunting the cemetery.

"I can't think of anyone who would want to hurt me." I replayed that soundbite in my head. "Crap. I'm a Dateline special."

The door swung open, and a short man with a fringe of gray hair entered the room with a tablet.

"I'm Dr. Panthaki." He skimmed his notes. "I understand you had a disagreement with a moving vehicle."

"And an ornamental hedge." I had scratches down one arm. "What's the verdict?"

"You're a very lucky young woman. The driver plowed down the homeowner's mailbox before reaching you. It was on a steel pipe cemented two feet deep. The car was going maybe five miles per hour, according to the accident report, and that bit of resistance slowed it further. By knocking you into the hedges, they softened impact even more." He set the tablet down and washed his hands. "All that to say you have the bruises to prove you fought a car—and a hedge—and won. You also have a sprained hip."

"A sprained hip?" I let him begin his examination. "That's a thing?"

"Impact tore the ligaments in your hip joint."

"That sounds fun." I flexed my toes. "How long before it heals?"

"Six weeks on average, but a med-witch performed an intensive healing on you. Now that you're awake and can answer her questions, I'll send her around again. As soon as you've seen her, you're free to leave. You'll need to be careful during the next two weeks. No running, no stairs, no?—"

"I have to take a flight of stairs to reach my apartment."

"No stairs," he emphasized. "Do you have somewhere else you can stay?"

Josie and Matty lived up higher than me, so that was a no-go. "I can get a hotel."

"For two weeks?" Josie's eyes bulged out of her head. "That will cost a fortune."

"For tonight." Matty aimed the concession toward the doctor. "Then we'll figure out the rest."

With that settled, the doctor finished listing my do's and don'ts then left us to arrange for lodgings.

By the time I had booked myself a room with handicap access, figuring the wall-mounted rails in the bathroom could only help with my temporarily limited mobility, I had guests. A tall woman with rich-brown skin, and…Harrow.

Before either of my siblings could snap and snarl, I uttered a low warning to behave for their ears alone.

"I'm Aretha." She wore purple scrubs and a lab coat that jingled as she walked. "You must be Conscious Frankie." She grinned, flashing dimples. "I already met Unconscious Frankie. She was an A-plus patient."

"Guilty as charged." I slid my gaze past her to Harrow. "Hey."

"I just wanted to let you know Carter and I are on our way out." He hovered near the threshold. "Do you need anything?"

"I'm good." I watched Aretha set up her supplies with interest. "I'll be discharged shortly."

"You were hit by a car." Harrow's fists tightened at his sides. "They don't want to keep you overnight?"

"You asked for the best, Samuel." Aretha rolled her eyes at his dramatics. "I am the best."

Not Harrow. Samuel. These two knew one another.

"What does she mean?" Matty twisted toward Harrow. "Why do you have any say in her care?"

"When you told me they hated you," Aretha mock-whispered to Harrow, "I didn't think you meant they despised you." She fixed her attention on Matty. "He's paying me. That's why he's got a say. You're welcome to pay if you'd rather, but I don't come cheap. I wouldn't have come period if Samuel hadn't called in a favor."

Yep. There was history there. I just hoped they didn't stroll memory lane right in front of me.

"I can afford my own treatment." I didn't want strings attached to this gift. "You can bill me."

"I'm paying." Harrow kept his eyes everywhere but on me. "Just…let me do this one thing for you."

"We accept." Matty rubbed his knuckle down his thigh. "Thank you."

"Yeah." Josie picked at lint on her pants. "We appreciate you having Frankie's back."

"You're welcome," he told them, met my eyes, then exited with his shoulders bowed by exhaustion.

"I'm going to send you into a trance." Aretha lifted a crystal on a chain. "You might feel a little sleepy…"