Page 16 of Mountain Defender

“I don’t remember anything strange. I had let them all out at ten PM, which usually takes around fifteen minutes. Everything was quiet. Then I came back inside to finish the chapter I was reading.”

As I cast my mind back to last night, my lungs squeeze. My jaw clenches, making my head throb even worse than it already was.

“And you said you went up to bed around eleven thirty,” Officer Quillian says, consulting his notes. “And you remember going into the bathroom to brush your teeth. What about after that?”

It should be so simple. I can see myself reaching for the toothbrush, absently thinking I needed to buy a new one soon. I even remember standing there, looking into the mirror, allowing myself a rare moment of self-pity. But after that?

It’s a blank.

Just a vast expanse of nothingness.

Then the cold. The pain. Confusion. Fear.

And Gage’s voice, somehow breaking through all that, making me think that things just might be okay.

That I was safe.

“What happened while you were in the bathroom?” Officer Nelson asks gently. “Did you finish brushing your teeth? Do you recall getting into bed after that?”

Tears prick at my eyes. My throat goes tight as I whisper, “I don’t remember.”

“It’s okay,” Officer Quillian says. “Let’s move on for now. What do you remember next?”

“The cold. I was so cold. And my head—” My voice cracks. “I was confused. I didn’t know… I heard noise. But I couldn’t tell…”

“It’s okay, Aurora.” Officer Nelson pats my arm. “Take your time.”

But it doesn’t feel okay. Not when I’m tossed back to one of the most frightening experiences of my life. Not when the sensations are crashing into me in a choking tidal wave of horror and fear.

“I’m sorry.” Biting my lip to the point of pain, I try to rein my rampaging emotions in. “I heard a voice. I couldn’t recognize it at first. But I was so scared…”

But I cut myself off as footsteps approach. My pulse lurches into the stratosphere again, setting off another flurry of unhappy beeping.

“Rory. I’m so sorry?—”

Gage!

My head jerks in the direction of his voice. “You’re here.”

He pauses in the doorway, his gaze sliding between the two officers before landing on me. “I would have come back sooner. First the doctors wouldn’t let me see you, then I had to talk to the police, and I’ve been checking on the dogs?—”

The dogs!

“Are they okay?” I interrupt. “Are they safe? Fed? Is someone watching them? What if the person who… what if they come back for the dogs? What if?—”

“Rory.” Gage crosses the small hospital room to come to the other side of the bed. His hand rests on my arm, his reassuring warmth seeping through my thin bathrobe and into my skin. “They’re all fine. Enzo and Ronan went over. They’re staying in the barn to keep an eye on them. I just talked to Enzo and he said all the dogs seem perfectly healthy.”

The dual surges of relief—Gage is here and the dogs are okay—are so intense, I can’t hold back my tears.

Mortified at my loss of control, I duck my head as I press my hand to my mouth, trying to stifle my sobs.

“Ror.”Gage grabs my hand, wrapping his big fingers around it. “Aw, don’t cry. It’s okay. You’re safe.” Then, in a colder voice that he directs at the police officers, he says, “I told the others it’s too soon. Rory’s been through a terrible experience. She’s in pain?—”

Pausing, he gives my hand a gentle squeeze. “Ror. How’s your pain? Have you taken anything for it?”

“No,” I reply, still staring at my lap. “With my concussion, they wanted to wait…”

“Dammit.” It’s sharp. Angry. I sneak a glance up at Gage, and his features are set in hard lines and angles. A scowl shadows his face. He pins Officer Quillian with a glare. “She’s inpain. Is this really the right time?”