Page 28 of Nowhere to Hide

“Miss Barlow?”

My eyes snapped open at the detective’s voice. “Yes,” I croaked.

Her dark eyes hardened as she stuffed her phone into her blazer pocket. “I wanted to apologize. There’s no excuse for what happened, but it was a series of unfortunate events that culminated in?—”

“How did he get in?” I coughed. My throat was ravaged from two separate attempts to strangle me. I reached for my cup of water and the detective pushed it toward me. I nodded my thanks as I took a few drinks. “You said you’d protect me.”

Her face went blank. “We truly thought it was an isolated event.”

“Then why did I have a guard to begin with?” I whispered.

Her jaw tightened. “It was a precaution.”

“Can you give me any details about the man who attacked you? Was it the same man?”

“It had to be.”

“But was it?”

I slumped down on my bed, pulling the pillow from my side out to hug. “I can’t remember. It was dark on the wharf ,and he came at me from behind. Knocked me out for...I don’t even know how long.” I shut my eyes, and the pier came back in Technicolor clarity.

Running.

I’d been almost afraid to look at him.

“I just remember really high cheekbones. He was wearing a hood of some sort. Like he was deliberately putting his face in shadows. But his eyes were”—I opened my own and met thedetective’s gaze—“black. But not just black, like the whole eye was black.”

The detective’s face softened. “You were rightfully terrified. Maybe you are misremembering.”

“No. I know it doesn’t make sense, but they were black. But this time, they weren’t. Whatever they put in my IV for the pain had me fuzzy. He had a mask, but I remember his eyes.” I pulled the pillow up to my chin. “Light colored eyes. Gray, I think or a really light blue.”

“Nothing else? Was he white? Black? Mixed race?”

“White.” That much I could tell. “I was asleep then...” My words were muffled through the pillow. Then he was choking me with something. Not rope this time.

I frowned.

“It wasn’t a rope,” I said shakily.

Detective Diaz shook her head. “He used the cord from one of the machines. We bagged it, but I don’t think we’re going to find prints. The officer on your door thinks he was wearing gloves. Unfortunately he didn’t get a good luck and has a concussion.”

“Is he okay?”

She nodded. “He will be. He’s just not a lot of help. I was hoping you would have more details.”

My eyes stung. “I was asleep. At first, I—” I broke off as a cough rattled through me. My throat felt tighter somehow.

“Okay, that’s enough.” A nurse bustled in. “Priscilla needs her rest. She shouldn’t even be talking to you. Her throat was damaged twice within a short time.”

The detective looked annoyed, but she nodded. “I’ll be back in the morning, Miss Barlow. We have an officer on the door with another rotating to make sure there’s never a moment without a guard for the night.”

My eyes stung as a few tears leaked down my temples.

“I promise, no one will get in here tonight.”

I nodded.

The nurse checked my IV and pushed a syringe into the line. “This will help with the swelling since we don’t want you trying to take a pill right now. And with the pain.”