Page 31 of Tracing Her Stolen Identity (Secure Watch #2)

The machines beeped in alternating rhythms and reminded Skylar of all the days and nights she’d spent in the hospital over the years. Today, though, they reminded her that she was a survivor and had saved herself.

She’d been paralyzed with fear when he threw her against the side of the van, but terror had ripped through her when she recognized Miles’s voice.

He was supposed to be dead, but there he was, taking her only God knew where, and she was the only person who could stop it.

She’d used the momentum to slide forward on the cargo van floor toward the driver’s seat as they flew down the hill.

She’d had one chance to push herself up and grab the wheel.

It was a risk and she could have died, but she’d hadn’t known Reece was right behind her then, so she’d had no choice.

Even lying in a hospital bed with broken ribs and a fractured pelvis, she didn’t regret it.

She was alive because she took a chance.

If only she could find the same courage to take a chance with Land.

Until a few moments ago, he hadn’t left her side since they’d pulled her from the van nearly six hours ago.

He’d kept in contact with Cal and the team as they tried to find the driver, but so far, nothing.

It didn’t help that Miles wasn’t talking about the identity of his companion.

Even when the cops read the list of charges against him, including first-degree murder, he’d refused to answer any of their questions.

That was his right, but it wouldn’t end well for him.

Then again, as far as she was concerned, that was fitting for a man like Miles Bradshaw.

Now that Land had stepped out of the room to take a call from Mina, she thought back to the first few moments in the van when she’d started to come around after the crash.

He’d been begging her to wake up by telling her he loved her.

He hadn’t said it since she opened her eyes, and she wondered if it had just been a ploy to get her to wake up.

The thing was, it had sounded sincere to her concussed ears.

He’d also looked sincere when she opened her eyes and gazed into his, filled with worry and fear.

That emotion she could never name before was also there, and that was the moment she’d realized she could name it.

Love. It was love. Somehow, she had to find the courage to open up her soul and say the words back.

Let him know she’d heard him and felt the same way.

Skylar had accepted one thing on the short ambulance ride to the hospital with Land holding her hand the whole way. She wanted a chance with him—deserved a chance with him—and nothing else mattered.

There was a knock on the door. “Phlebotomy,” a voice said, and she called for them to come in. A man dressed in scrubs stepped inside the room wearing a surgical mask and carrying a tool kit.

“Are you sure you have the right room?” she asked when he set the tub on the bedside table. “Someone just drew my blood about thirty minutes ago.”

“I’m positive I’ve got the right room,” he said as he lowered his mask. The man before her had a giant bruise covering the left side of his face, but she didn’t need to see that side to recognize him.

“Silas?”

“You act surprised, little sister.” He frowned in an exaggerated, scary dipping of his lips. “Let me guess, our mutual friend found the article about my untimely death? I figured if anyone was going to uncover that little tidbit, it would be him. He always stuck his nose where it didn’t belong.”

This wasn’t good. If her brother was in the room, that meant Land hadn’t seen him come in or Silas had done something to him.

“Did you hurt Reece?”

Her brother made the same sarcastic snorting sound he’d made since they were kids. “No, I didn’t touch a hair on his pretty little head. He was talking on the phone, completely ignoring your room. I’m sure he’s tired of all your dramatics by now. God knows I am.”

It looked like she would have to be her own hero again, but this time, it would be much harder to beat the man before her. She’d have to keep him talking until she figured out a plan.

* * *

“T HANKS FOR ARRANGING their flights, Mina,” Reece said from the lounge.

He had a full view of Sky’s door and was watching it, but he didn’t want her to overhear him talking to Mina.

“I know Sky’s mom won’t sleep until she has seen her with her own two eyes.

We also want to tell them about Silas in person. ”

“Do you think they’ll be surprised to learn he’s dead?”

“Logically? No. Emotionally? Yes. They’re his parents, regardless of everything that’s happened. I think it’s fair to say it will still be a gut punch.”

“True,” Mina agreed. “Lucas stayed behind with Haven. He’s on his way to the hospital now to help you keep an eye on Sky’s room. When it’s time for their flight to arrive, he’ll meet them at the airport and bring them to the hospital. We thought Haven might be a useful addition to the party.”

Reece sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “Tell Cal I’m fine.”

“Haven is a calming presence when emotions are high and people are facing memories of the past, so we thought he’d be useful when they learned their son was dead. That said, the fact you felt the need to tell me you’re fine concerns me.”

He shook his head with a smile. “I had a moment after the accident, but Cal was there and set me back on the right path. I’m good now.”

“Cal’s good at that,” she agreed.

“Tell Lucas we’re on floor five West. If he texts me when he’s in the parking garage, I’ll run down and meet him.”

“You won’t do that. I don’t want you to leave her there alone. I’ve already sent him her room number. He’ll meet you there.”

“Whatever you say, boss,” he said with a smirk.

“Tell Sky we’re all looking forward to the day when we can share dinner with her again. Sadie is itching to cook for her to help her heal.”

“I’ll tell her. Thanks for everything, Mina. You’ve all gone above and beyond for someone you had never met.”

“We didn’t need to meet her, Reece. She was yours, which made her ours. That’s what makes us Secure One.”

“I still feel fortunate to be part of this team.” He noticed an orderly with a toolbox in his hand knock on Sky’s door before he entered. “It looks like they’re back for more blood on Sky. I better go check on her.”

“Tell her we’re rooting for her. Whiskey, out,” she said, and the line went dead before he could respond.

Reece stood and stretched, his back sore from the hours of sitting once the adrenaline had drained away.

The CT scans on Sky had shown broken ribs and a fractured pelvis, not to mention the concussion, but she was going to be okay.

They’d keep her in the hospital for at least a week to treat the fractures and prevent bed sores from developing.

Once she was released to home, she’d need specially made cushions in her chair and bed that would prevent sores while she finished healing.

Despite her osteoporosis, the doctors were confident the fractures would heal well if she took the new medication to promote bone healing and followed their orders.

Knowing her injuries wouldn’t give her any problems in the future was a relief to hear after the day they’d had.

The one elephant in the room that hadn’t been addressed was his declaration of love inside the van.

He couldn’t be sure she’d heard him, so rather than say anything while she had a head injury and was in pain, he decided to wait until tomorrow—unless she said something today.

Cowardly? Yes, but he wasn’t ready to deal with Sky trying to push him away again.

She would try, but he wouldn’t allow it.

He just needed a day to be with her without making her angry.

He stood to the side of the door and listened, not wanting to walk in and distract the person with a needle in her arm. They had just drawn blood a bit ago, so it was strange they were back, but in a hospital, you came to expect the unexpected.

“Why, Silas? Why do all this?” he heard Sky ask, and his blood ran cold. Silas? He was dead. Was she dreaming? Was the head injury worse than initially thought?

Ready to run in, he paused when a man spoke and he recognized the voice.

“The answer is simple. Revenge. From the day you were born, I spent my childhood in your shadow, and I was the oldest,” the man shouted, lowering his voice before he spoke again.

“It was really annoying when that accident didn’t kill you.

I did take great pleasure in knowing you’d never have a normal life and, at the same time, I destroyed the life of Reece Palmer.

Honestly, that was the only balm when you survived. ”

“Wait, you caused the accident that night on the field? How? You weren’t driving the golf cart.”

Reece pulled out his phone and sent a text with three letters: SOS . Then, he opened his recording app and hit Record before he pulled his gun from his holster.

“See, this is so typical. Everyone thinks I was too stupid to know basic things like how to cut the brake lines on a golf cart. That was child’s play, little sis. Then you drug the person driving it and wait for the carnage to ensue.”

“You’re a monster,” she said. Reece heard the sound of skin slapping, and then Sky gasped.

“I am a monster, and now is my chance to finish what I started fourteen years ago. Thank God, as I’m tired of this game.”

“Who did you hire to obliterate me from the internet?” Sky asked.

“Again, I’m not as dumb as you all thought I was.

You’ve heard about online classes now, right?

They’re easy to sign up for with a fake identification, and since you never have to show up to class, no one really knows who’s behind that computer.

In a matter of a year, I’d graduated with a degree in cybersecurity, just like your little lover boy.

” He said the words with so much venom it sent a shiver through Reece.

“Were you the one behind the mask in the videos?”

“Iconic, right?” Silas asked as though he should get an Oscar for his performances. “It was such fun. I wanted to make more but, alas, it’s time to end this now.”

Silas was right about one thing. It was time to end this. “Stop right there, Silas,” he said, swinging into the room with his gun pointed at the man holding a hypodermic needle.

Silas spun in surprise but didn’t drop the needle in his hand.

“Cripes. Not you again. I should have killed you before I put all this into motion. I never dreamed my baby sister would call you after shunning you for fourteen years, but what they say must be true. Our past always comes back to haunt us.”

“Put the needle down and back away from the bed, Silas,” he said, walking toward the man who’d grabbed Sky’s intravenous line and held the needle near the port.

“I don’t think you’re in any position to give orders, Reece. Now, put the gun down on the floor and back up. This is between me and my sister. You’ve got no place here.”

He had to think fast if he was going to keep him from injecting whatever was in that syringe into her vein.

“I mean it,” Silas growled. “There’s enough fentanyl in this needle to kill her three times. Put the gun down.”

That was not the answer he wanted. Reece glanced at Sky, who nodded for him to do it, but he caught the way she flicked her gaze down and followed it, noting she had the call button in her hand, her thumb hovering over it.

Whatever she was planning, between his SOS and her, maybe they’d get out of this alive. They just had to keep him talking.

“Okay,” Reece said, lowering the gun to the floor and kicking it to the edge of her bed, his hands in the air. “You don’t want to hurt anyone else here. Where’s Camille?”

Silas rolled his eyes but lowered the syringe a hair with the motion.

“Wasn’t it Gordon Lightfoot who said the Lady of the Lake never gives up her dead?

” His laughter was deranged before he spoke again.

“She went overboard somewhere between Two Harbors and Grand Marais. The wheelchair and vest full of rocks probably didn’t help her float. ”

“Were you going to kill Miles after he helped you get Sky?”

“Miles.” He spat the name like it was poison.

“Such a whiny crybaby.” He motioned around in the air with the needle.

“He was one of those guys who wanted all the credit for doing very little. I’m over here working hard to take care of my problems and he wants to cry about how my sister is better than him.

It was sickening. I wish I’d had time to end him earlier, but of course, there you were to save the day again and I had to disappear. He won’t last long in prison.”

“Neither will you,” Reece said, raising a brow. “Especially in the general population. Then again, maybe you’ll end up in an institution for the criminally insane. Seeing as how you’ve killed four people now? At least?”

“Four?” Sky asked, glancing between them. “You mean two, right?”

“Two that we know of,” Reece answered. “I’m betting that your grandparents’ deaths in Nebraska weren’t accidental.”

“Well, look at the investigative cojones on Reece Palmer,” Silas said, his words dripping with sarcasm. He scrunched up his nose for a moment. “It was almost too easy to knock those two off, but satisfying nonetheless. When I finish here, I’ll have to pay Mommy and Daddy dearest a visit.”

“You killed our grandparents?” Sky asked, her words dripping with shock and disdain.

“You weren’t the one who had to suffer through multiple summers listening to that old windbag go on about how repenting to Jesus was the answer to all my problems. I made sure he met Jesus, that’s all.” Silas shrugged as though it was completely normal.

The curtain billowed back as a nurse walked in. “I’m here with your…”

The intrusion drew Silas’s attention, and Reece took his chance, charging the man, head down, until he slammed into him.

They went down to the floor, Reece trying to prevent Silas from stabbing him with the needle.

The nurse was at the door screaming for security, and Sky kept screaming his name repeatedly while Silas grunted.

Reece swung at him with his right fist just as Silas moved, and the needle jabbed him between two tendons in his hand. “Night-night,” Silas sang right before he hit the plunger. The last thing Reece remembered was the look of terror on Sky’s face when she realized what had happened.