CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

COLTON

I MAKE MY way down the spiraling staircase and into the basement at the Cathedral with Alex on my ass. Tyson is already here along with Gavin, the doctor.

“She passed out on the way,” I tell them, laying her unconscious body on a metal table. Her bloody face falls to the side. “I couldn’t get her to wake up.” Raising my hands, I shove my hair from my forehead, letting out a nervous breath.

She was sobbing one second, then out the next. I felt her body go slack in my arms, and I kept checking for a pulse, afraid she had died on me.

Alex called Tyson on the drive to fill them in on what we knew so the doctor knew what to expect.

Gavin points over to a tray and orders Tyson to grab something for him. After Tyson hands it off, I watch Gavin start an IV in her arm.

“I-I don’t know …”

“Take a breath.” Tyson grabs my shoulders and pulls me back from the table. Placing his face in front of mine. “You brought her to get help. Now let her get the help, okay?”

I nod, stepping away from him, and his hands fall from my shoulders. I clench my fists while I watch Gavin open her eyes, flashing a light in them. He pulls the blanket down, exposing the top part of her body to the room. I haven’t had a chance to look at her. She had her knees to her chest when we found her and then she was wrapped in a blanket on the way here. But she’s got a bruise across her chest. “What is that from?” I ask, wondering out loud.

“Seat belt,” the doctor answers.

I close my eyes and let out a sigh. Her car. Where the fuck was her car? It wasn’t at Mike’s, and neither was Nate’s. There was a truck there, but I’m not sure whose it was. Finn had told me she ran out with a bag packed. She had left the house but somehow ended up at Mike’s with Nate.

“Her neck?” I ask, looking at the bruises all over it.

He tilts her head back, frowning to get a better look. “I see handprints, but also looks like a …” He pauses. “My best guess is a boot print.”

“Your best guess?” I snap. He fucking stepped on her? Nate’s lucky he’s already fucking dead.

“Colt!” Tyson warns. “If you want to stay in here, then calm down.”

Nodding again, I raise my hands at him so he doesn’t knock my ass out. When he turns to talk to the doctor, I walk over to Alex, who stands silently in the corner, and pull out my cell, calling Finn.

“Hey, we’re still here,” he answers.

Good.“Go outside and tell me if you see her car.” So much was going on that maybe I missed it.

“One sec.” I hear a rustling of something before he answers. “No. Just a truck. I’ll have Jenks run the plates ...” He trails off.

“Find something?” I ask.

“Yeah, could be nothing, but it’s been wrecked. Back bumper.” He sighs heavily. “It’s got white paint on it.”

“Finish up and get here.” I hang up and look at Alex “Find her car,” I order. “And when you do, make sure there’s nothing left of it.”

He nods.

“She was leaving our house going one of two places, our parents’ or yours.” His sister, Tatum, still lives with their parents, and for the first five miles, there would only be one road she’d take. But once she hits the highway, each one is in a different direction. I feel like he’d make sure to grab her before she made it to the highway. Too many eyes and people willing to stop and help if they see a wreck.

“On it.” Then he’s sprinting up the stairs and out of the basement.

Working for Tyson over the past year has taught us that you don’t leave anything behind. Nothing that can give the cops a lead. I don’t want anything out there that has to do with her. Her car popping up somewhere wrecked, then her being reported missing would be a problem.

Finding a chair, I sit in it and watch Gavin pull a cap off a syringe. I jump back to my feet. “What is that for?” I ask.

“Sedative,” he answers.

“Why does she need that?” I want her awake. I need her to talk to me. Show me that she’s okay. Tell me what the fuck happened.

He turns to face me. “I’m going to clean up the wounds before I stitch them. I don’t want her waking up and becoming combative.”

I walk over to the table, gritting my teeth. “She won’t—”

“You don’t know what happened to her,” Tyson interrupts me. “Either he sedates her, or we tie her down for safety measures. Which do you prefer?” He arches a brow.

My chest tightens at that thought. She looked terrified when I found her at Mike’s house. I’d hate for her to wake up restrained and get scared all over again. I told her she was okay. That I had her. Nodding, I sit back down in my chair and watch Gavin inject the medication into her IV.

RAYLEE

I FEEL LIKEI’m floating, and it’s really warm. Everything seems foggy, and my tongue is heavy. I open my eyes and see bright lights, but images go in and out. Things are blurry all around, and there’s a ringing in my ears.

“Where was it?” I hear what sounds like Colt’s voice.

“I found it on the side of the road. Front end smashed. Airbags deployed.” It’s Alex who answers. “I recovered two cell phones, a purse, and her bag.”

“Where is the car now?” Colt asks.

“Taken care of. And the truck also.”

“Hello, Raylee.” A man’s blurry face appears above mine. “How do you feel? Any pain?” He shines a light in my eyes, and I try to blink, but he holds them open.

All I feel is high. Like I smoked a lot of weed and can’t keep my eyes open. My skin feels clammy, and that ringing intensifies.

When I don’t respond, he turns the light off. “The pain meds are doing their job.”

“Where’s Nate?” I hear Colt question.

I try to turn my head to look in the direction I hear the voices, but instead, my heavy eyes close.

“Finn has Mike helping bury him in the cemetery back behind the Cathedral,” Jenks answers.

“Colt,” the older man leaning over me calls out. “She’s waking up.”

I blink a few times, my eyes so heavy it’s hard to keep them open. So I allow them to close. It could be two seconds, or it could be two hours before I open them again. Looking up, a set of green eyes are staring down at me. My vision is a little clearer now than before. “Hey, princess,” Colt says softly.

I can’t make my lips move to say anything. But I feel the sting of tears in my eyes.

“Don’t cry,” he whispers, reaching out and running his knuckles down the side of my face. “You’re okay. You’re safe now. It’s over.”

I try to open my mouth, but nothing comes out. Panic grips my chest that there’s still tape on my face. My chest gets heavy, and I feel like I can’t breathe.

“Raylee,” Colt warns. “Raylee, stop.” He’s bent over me, holding both of my wrists in his hands.

I blink, confused. Stop what? I can’t breathe. The tape. Get it off.

He yanks me to sit up, and the room sways while he pulls my legs to hang off the side of a table.

“Don’t.” He looks over my shoulder and snaps, “Don’t. I’ll calm her down.” His eyes come back to mine. “Look at me, princess.”

I blink again, clearing my vision, and he gives me a soft smile. “That’s it. Breathe for me.” He sucks in a deep breath, and I do the same. “The tape is gone.”

I shake my head.

He nods. “Yes, it is. Feel.” He lowers my heavy arms to my lap, and then I feel his warm hands on my neck. He runs them up my jawline and over my chin. Then cups my face. I lift my hands and place them over his. “See. It’s gone.”

I lick my lips and taste blood. Parting them again, I take in a deep breath.

“That’s it.” He smiles.

“Co … lt,” I choke out.

“Yeah, it’s me, princess.”

My eyes dart around the large room. I see Alex and Jenks leaning up against a wall. Alex’s arms are crossed over his chest while Jenks stares at me. I see the guy who held the light to my eyes dressed in a white lab coat. He’s standing beside a guy I don’t know who has his hands shoved into the pockets of his black dress slacks. My breathing picks up again, my pulse racing.

“Look at me.” Colt brings my eyes back to his. “You’re doing great, princess.”

My teeth start to chatter, that warm feeling leaving me shivering, and I whisper, “I’m cold.”

“Here.” He pulls the blanket up and around my back, tucking it right under my chin and crossing it, pinning my arms inside. I wrap them around my stomach. “Better?”

I nod. “Thank you.”

Leaning in, he kisses my forehead, and I sniff, trying to will my body to wake up. Where are we? How did I get here? The guy I’m assuming is a doctor said the pain medication was working. Is that why I feel numb and sluggish at the same time?

Someone clears their throat, and out of the corner of my eye, I see it’s the older guy with the white coat on. “I need everyone to clear the room.”

Colt stands to his full height, jaw sharp. “I’m not going anywhere.”

The doctor walks over to us. “I need to speak to her,” he argues.

“Then fucking speak,” Colt snaps.

The doctor looks over at the man dressed in a button-up and slacks. He nods to the doctor, who then averts his eyes down to mine. “Raylee, I know this is hard. But with your consent, I’d like to have a sexual assault nurse examiner come in and see you. I can have her here in thirty minutes.”

I feel Colt’s body stiffen against my legs since he stands so close to me.

“There’s no need,” I say, swallowing the lump in my throat.

Colt lets out a long breath as if he was holding it in.

“I know this is hard,” the doctor repeats. “But there could have been drugs involved,” he goes on. “You could have been unconscious—”

“I was awake when he started to rape me,” I interrupt the doctor, and the room falls silent. Blood starts rushing in my ears. I’m glad I’m wrapped in the blanket because it helps shield the fact that my body is now trembling at having to admit that out loud. But I don’t want a nurse to give me an exam. It won’t do me any good. Nate is dead. I’m not going to be pressing charges.

“Started?” the man in the slacks asks, breaking the silence.

I nod and whisper, “I killed him before he could finish.” At least I think I did. He was dead, right?

The doctor asks, “Did he use a condom?”

I lick my lips and taste the blood that still lingers. “I … I don’t know.” I guess he could have put one on. I almost blacked out from him choking me right before. We always used them when we were dating. But as much as I was fighting, I can’t see him taking the time to do that. The only person I’ve never used a condom with is Colt.

The older man looks from Colt to me. “There’s always a chance of pregnancy—”

“I’m on the shot,” I offer.

Silence falls over the room again and I look up at Colt. His green eyes are already on mine. A mask placed over his face, hiding how he feels for me right now, and my heart races at what he could be thinking.

I will not bow my head. I will not be ashamed of what Nate did to me. He tried to make me a victim. I turned myself into a survivor. That’s nothing to be embarrassed about.