Page 8 of Sackett (Demented Souls #17)

H er stomach churning was the first thing Selina became aware of. She kept her eyes closed, trying to remember where she was. Something jostled her, then there was a series of thumps under her left ear. That’s when she realized she was moving and lying down.

She might have fallen asleep in a car, but not lying on her side like this.

How had she gotten here? She tried to keep her body as relaxed as she could because she had no idea if anyone was watching her, but at the same time searched her memory.

What was the last thing she remembered? Her head hurt as she tried to recall what she’d been doing today, but she pushed past it. She had to know.

She’d met with Judge Harris. They had discussed Ms. McKinney’s situation.

What had he told her? She couldn’t remember that right away, but she did remember leaving his office and the courthouse.

The walk from the courthouse to her rental was clear, but as hard as she tried, she couldn’t recall getting into her car, nor driving back to Boulder.

Struggling to push through the pain throbbing in the back of her head she tried to recall step by step.

She’d left the courthouse and walked across the street to the parking garage.

She remembered considering stopping at the Thai place for something to eat, but deciding to find something in Boulder when she realized they weren’t yet open.

She’d gone to the elevator and stepped inside.

The door had almost closed before someone hurried up and triggered the door to open.

She tried to remember who had joined her on the elevator, but for some reason the face kept coming up blank.

What had happened after the elevator door closed?

She couldn’t recall. She could see the elevator doors closing, she saw the hand reach out and hesitate when he noticed the button for the top floor had already been pushed, but then nothing.

She didn’t remember being hit, though that might explain why her head hurt so badly.

Slowly, she became aware of voices, muffled, as if through a wall or something else.

The more she pushed, the more aware of her surroundings she became.

Her body ached, not just her head, though that was worse than the rest of her.

she lay on her side, but curled in a tighter ball than she normally would lie.

She preferred to stretch out a little more.

The roughness against her cheek was odd, but it was the chemical scent, with odd hints of rubber now and then that made it really strange.

She still hadn’t figured out where she was or what had happened when darkness swam up and engulfed her once more.