Page 68 of Kiss of Deceit

A mechanical noise from the back caught my attention, and it took me a moment to realize it was the printer. Clutching my purse, I passed the desks, glancing between the cubicle walls.The back of my neck prickled, making nerves skate down my spine. Something was wrong.

The printer continued to buzz as I got closer. I rounded the last cubicle, halting in my tracks. The floor was covered with papers that the printer continued spitting out. Before I could catch sight of the black text on the papers, something else stole my attention.

My purse fell from my grip as dread slithered around my limbs, cementing me in place. My lungs constricted, making it impossible to suck in a breath. I stared at the unmoving body laying in a puddle of blood. Papers were still falling out of the small printer, scattering all over the floor.

“Natalie?” I choked out.

Her pained groan knocked me out of my shock, and I raced across the small space, nearly slipping and sliding on the papers. I fell beside her, horror filling me at all the shallow cuts covering her bare skin. She was on her side, curled up, and I leaned over her to see her pressing her hands to her stomach.

Blood was seeping between her fingers, proving this wound was far worse than the others I’d seen.

“Keep pressure on it,” I ordered hoarsely. “I’ll call for help.”

I climbed to my feet, staggering a couple of steps as the room spun around me. I grabbed my own stomach as bile burned the back of my throat. I closed my eyes, regretting my choice when I found myself trapped in my own nightmare. The knife sliding into my stomach. The burning, unbearable anguish. Natalie was stabbed in nearly the same exact spot that I had been all those years ago.

“No. No. No,” I chanted, forcing myself back to the present. She was still alive. I needed to help her.

I stumbled into the closest desk, grabbing the corded phone. Reflex had me punching in the numbers 911, until I remembered where I was. This town didn’t have an official emergency linelike the rest of the country. I recited the seven-digit emergency number for the clinic as I punched in the numbers.

I looked back at Natalie as the phone rang and rang. Knots coiled painfully in my stomach as each second seemed like an eternity. I cursed, slamming the phone back down when no one answered. So much for it being a twenty-four hour line.

“It’s okay,” I said, more to myself than to Natalie. “I’ll get help.”

I ripped open the top drawer, reaching for the paper that every person in here had. It listed all the business phone numbers. I squinted in the dim lighting, looking closer, looking for the number I needed.

I pushed the numbers and put it to my ear. It rang twice before his voice filtered through the line.

“Last Call,” Kole answered.

Relief sliced through me. “Kole?—”

A quiet beep interrupted me, and then all I heard was silence. Fear clawed in my chest as I pulled the phone from my ear. I rushed to the next desk, picking up that phone, only to hear absolutely nothing.

“Shit,” I muttered, backing away.

Someone cut the phone line. Terror lit through me as I ran back to Natalie. Whoever did it was probably the one who attacked her. Meaning they were still close. That they weren’t done.

“I have to get you out of here,” I whispered as I fell to my knees beside her. “They could come back.”

I scanned her battered body. If I carried her, she might not survive. But she also could die if I left her here. Her wound was still bleeding, her chest rising and falling so slowly that I knew she didn’t have much time if I didn’t get her help.

“Dani.” Her voice was barely audible, thick with pain.

“Shh. Save your energy. Can you move at all?”

My eyes kept darting around, hoping to everything I had time to get her out of here. What if the killer was still in the building?

“Listen to me,” she croaked out, desperation coating her voice. “Please.”

I dropped lower to hear her. “I’m listening.”

She rolled onto her back, letting out a small cry. I stiffened when she rested her head on my lap, her hands still pressed to her bleeding stomach.

“Don’t move.” I ordered in a shaky voice. “Stay still, Natalie.”

I cupped her cheeks as she looked up at me, terror gleaming in her eyes. Her face was ghostly pale, her body trembling uncontrollably. Guilt swallowed me for leaving her alone for an hour while I was at the bar. If I’d stayed, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.

“Did you see who attacked you?”