Page 101 of Dead Love

“He was on duty; plain-clothes officer, something like that. But yeah, you were right that he was the first man on the scene.” She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. “Of course, that’s why they think you were doped with the new line of Echo.”

“They’re trying to spin the attack as a figment of my imagination?”

Catie leaned in closer to me. “I believe you,” she said carefully. “But you have to be very careful with how you handle the next couple of days.” She made sure there were no other nurses or hospital staff near us, then whispered: “Kora can’t get you out a second time.”

I clenched my fists, the IVs shifting in my veins. “This is bullshit.”

“I told them I hadn’t seen you drink since your brother.” I grit my teeth. It had been a long damn time. “You haven’t done anything since then, right?”

I paused, thinking it over.

“Right?” she asked.

I lifted my chin. I had taken that half of an Echo pill right before wrapping Kora in plastic. But it had done nothing to me.

“How long does Echo stay in your system?” I asked.

Catie narrowed her eyes at me. “Fucking hell, Vincent. You can’t be serious?”

I shrugged. “It didn’t do anything.”

She rubbed her forehead. “For your sake, I hope it doesn’t last.” She tapped her fingers on the side of her head. “I would play their game. Pretend like those accusations aren’t serious. That youwerehallucinating about Andrew. Then, when you’re out of here, try to get all the evidence you can and bring it to court.”

“And what if the judge is in their pocket too, like we thought before?”

Her eyes flicked to the ground, then back up to me. “I don’t know,” she said. “But you have to be careful.Wehave to be careful.”

How was I supposed to find evidence against a cop? There was a good chance that one of the reasons none of the Echo deaths had been linked to Andrew was because heknewhow to hide evidence. My stomach sank, then Kora’s face filled my mind.

“What about Kora?” I asked.

“What about her?”

“Andrew. She—” The fact that the only two men allowed in her life were Mike and Andrew, made me sick. “Mike wants Kora to date Andrew.” Adrenaline shot through me. “We have to stop—”

“Stop thinking about her for a second,” Catie hissed. “She can’t help you anymore. I’m not even sure I can. And you need to keep your voice down.”

“She’s in danger,” I said, leveling my tone. Catie chewed on her lip, staring at me. “Where’s my phone?” Catie handed me hers. I scrolled through her contacts until I found Kora.

“Hello?” Kora answered. My heart stopped, my chest tingling: she was safe. “Catie? Is Vincent okay?” A warmth washed over me.

“Kora,” I said. A small intake of breath crackled through the speaker. “You need to listen carefully.”

“Oh,Catie,” she said, her voice distracted and awkward. She must have been putting on an act for someone else. “Right now isn’t a good time.”

And I didn’t have time to argue about when would be a good time to call her back.

“Andrew is dangerous,” I said. Catie’s head popped up to remind me that I was supposed to stay quiet about this. But I didn’t care. I had to warn Kora. “Andrew Pompinoisthe Echo Killer. It’s a setup. The whole thing is a hoax.”

“What are you talking about?”

“For the reelection.” I paused, trying to figure out what I could say. “The ice pick. The truck. He was right by 52 Peaks. Every single time. Everything points to him.”

The line was quiet. Catie shifted uncomfortably on the other side of the room.

“Vincent?” Kora whispered. “Are you okay?”

Was I okay?That’s what she wanted to ask? My head pounded, my body was bruised to shit, I was half-dead, and a dangerous, corrupt cop was constantly around the woman I loved. A woman who was more concerned withmyhealth than she was with her own safety.