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“Why don’t we start with yesterday afternoon?” Officer Nelson suggests. “We already talked to Mr. McKay, and he said he left around one-fifteen.” A beat passes. Her forehead wrinkles. “This is all confidential, Aurora. So if there’s something?—”

“No.” It bursts out, loud and adamant. I fight a wince at the tearing sensation in my throat. “Gage didn’t do anything… He wouldn’t. You can’t possibly think?—”

“We just have to cover all bases,” Officer Quillian soothes.

He takes another step towards my bed. The faint breeze from the air vent catches the little silver streamers on his pen, adding a welcome touch of lightness to the situation.

“It’s not that we think Gage was involved.

But we wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t inquire about anyone you saw yesterday. ”

My shoulders sag. “Sorry. I get it. But… I just don’t want you looking into Gage.

He wouldn’t hurt me. He helped me.” Taking a steadying breath, I add, “Honestly, I don’t think I can give you much information.

The last thing I remember was brushing my teeth before bed. And then waking up in the woods.”

Officer Nelson exchanges a quick glance with her partner. Then her attention comes back to me. “Okay. So maybe we’ll start a little earlier than that. Did you go anywhere yesterday? Did anyone else come to visit with the dogs? Any deliveries?”

“Um.” Scrunching my forehead as I think, I take a moment before replying. “The only place I went yesterday was to the farm stand just down the road. The one Mrs. Adamson runs. She wasn’t out there, though. I just took a carton of eggs and some blueberries and left the money in the lockbox.”

“Okay.” Officer Quillian jots something in his notebook. “And no one else was there while you were?”

“No one,” I affirm. “Later, the delivery guy came with some dog food. But he just left it on my porch. I never talked to him. Aside from some phone calls, Gage was the only person I spoke to all day.” Which sounds pretty pathetic, now that I’m thinking about it.

From there, the next few minutes are filled with more innocuous questions, like when I made dinner and my normal evening routine. Officers Nelson and Quillian are so nice about it; a few times I almost forget the reason they’re here in the first place.

Then we get to the end of the night, and the topic takes a scarier turn.

“Did you see anything outside?” Officer Nelson asks. “Headlights at the end of the driveway? Lights or movement in the yard?”

“I didn’t,” I reply. A weight settles on my chest. “Like I said, I watched some TV, read a little on my Kindle, and took Elmore and Toby out one last time before bedtime. Everything seemed normal.”

“What about when you were inside?” Officer Quillian’s dark blue eyes meet mine. “Did you hear any noises? Any sounds from the dogs in the barn?”

“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 in pain . Is this really the right time?”

“It’s okay,” I mumble. “He’s just doing his job. It’s not his fault I got upset.”

“She’s been doing great,” Officer Nelson tells Gage. She flashes a tiny smile at me before turning back to him. “We’re not pushing. You know that’s not how we do things.”

“Still,” Gage says, not sounding the least bit appeased.

“How about this?” Officer Quillian recaps his pen and slides it into his pocket. He turns to me. “With what you’ve given us and the evidence we’ve collected at your house, we have enough to go on for today. We can stop back tomorrow with any other questions we think of.”

“Will you still be here?” Officer Nelson asks. “Did they say when you’d be released?”

Sniffling as I brush away tears, I reply, “Tomorrow morning, as long as everything looks okay.” I force a joking tone to my voice. “They just want to make sure my throat doesn’t swell closed or I get a brain bleed or something. But if I’m still alive tomorrow, I can go home.”

“Rory.” Gage’s fingers convulse around mine. “Don’t say that. You’re going to be fine .”

“Who are you staying with?” Officer Nelson asks. “It’ll take us another day or two to clear your house. And I wouldn’t recommend going back there until you add some more security.”

My stomach lurches. Twists. In a low voice, I reply, “I don’t have anywhere to go.”

“Yes, you do.” Gage lifts his chin as he glances at Officers Quillian and Nelson. “Could you give me and Rory some time to talk? Please?”

“Sure.” Officer Nelson pats me on the arm again. “We’ll talk tomorrow. Unless you think of something in the meantime. If you do, call me anytime. And Rory? It’s going to be okay. I know it doesn’t seem that way now, but it will be.”

I nod at her. “Okay.”

But what else can I say? I’m completely overwhelmed? On the verge of bursting into tears again? My throat is on fire after this recent bout of crying, my head is pounding, and I feel seconds from a panic attack?

And I have no idea where I’m going to go since my house is an active crime scene, not to mention no clue how to take care of the dogs. Can I sleep in the barn? Maybe bring out an air mattress? And what if the person who hurt me comes back to finish the job?

God.

What am I going to do?

I’ve always prided myself on staying calm in all situations. Sick dogs, unexpected home repairs, fender benders, trying to get to a kill-shelter before it’s too late—I’ve always faced the challenges with a confidence that I can fix anything. That I can handle anything.

But this? I’m at a loss.

“Ror. It’s going to be okay.” Gage’s voice is gentle again. When I meet his gaze, his eyes are a soft chocolate instead of the chips of charcoal from a few minutes ago.

I look around the room, startled to find the police officers gone.

“They just left,” Gage explains. Reaching behind him, he drags a chair to the side of the bed and sinks into it. “I know this is overwhelming. But we’ll work this out. I promise.”

“How? I can’t go home yet. The dogs… I need to be there to take care of them.”

“Enzo and Ronan are there. Last text I got, they’re having a great time.”

“But they can’t stay all day. And what about tonight? Tomorrow? If I can’t stay in my house?—”

“Hey.” Gage takes my hand again, his touch so achingly gentle, I’m seized with a sudden desire to fling myself into his arms. “It’s alright.”

“How?” I repeat, my voice wobbling dangerously.