Page 50

Oscar

We’ve been pacing this goddamn hospital waiting room while the city police sit on their fucking asses.

If we leave here, the new police chief will have us arrested.

Carrie swore she would keep us updated, and she has.

She tells us about her every movement. There is a lot she hasn’t told us, but it was for the girls’ safety.

I trust she will find her, but I should be out here. I should be looking for her.

Poor Julian is going through all of the stages of grief right now.

He switches from being inconsolable to enraged within seconds, but Calder is keeping him as calm as he can.

Eliza is in surgery. They got her back soon after they got into the ambulance, and she never coded again as far as I know.

The last update was that she was in surgery, and she was alive.

We all got complacent because we were desperate to live a normal life.

We thought there was safety in numbers, so now Julian is blaming himself because he and Eliza snuck off to fuck in the alley.

Truth be told, it would have happened either way.

It didn’t matter how many people were around, because he had planned this for months.

He was fully prepared to shoot Eliza and take Cassidy.

Some things are inevitable when we don’t know what to avoid.

We had no way of knowing what he would do and when.

Hell, we didn’t even know if he was watching the girls. There was no sign of him anywhere.

I turn to make another pass across the room when I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I quickly pull it out to see I have a text from Carrie in the group chat.

Carrie

Tracker in her anklet. Lake Middleton. You are closer. Find a way out and go.

I look up at everyone and nod to Julian.

I need him to make a scene so I can slip away.

As if we are all on the same wavelength, he dramatically drops to his knees and screams out to God to save Eliza.

He gets louder and louder until he finally catches everyone’s attention.

When they all go to him, including the officers left behind to watch us, I slip out of the door.

I then turn and bolt to the stairwell. As I race down, I call Carrie.

“You out?” she answers.

“Yeah. Running to the truck now. How far am I?”

“Ten minutes,” she says. “I am about fifteen away. Oscar, I don’t care if you have to run every goddamn red light and get the entirety of the police department chasing you. Get to that fucking lake.”

“What are you not telling me?” I ask as I bust out of the stairwell and run to the exit.

“An anonymous caller reported a camper van in the lake five minutes ago,” she says. “They literally just stopped at the lake, Oscar… He’s going to kill her. You need to get there.”

“Fuck,” I hiss as I jump into the truck. “At the truck. You are on Bluetooth.”

“They’re looking for you. They know you ran,” she says. “Don’t stop. The others are gone too.”

“Julian’s dramatic ass helped make a distraction,” I say calmly as I tear out of the parking lot. I weave around traffic, making people honk and flip me off as I drive like the biggest asshole out here.

“If you wreck, you can’t get to her. Be careful, Oscar,” she says.

“How fast are you driving, Carrie?” I ask.

“We’re not talking about me,” she says.

“Mhmm,” I reply. Talking helps me stay focused, so I do that.

I tell her about Eliza being pregnant and dinner.

I talk as though I am not about to possibly find Cassidy dead.

If I lose her… I can’t. I simply cannot lose her.

She is my fucking world, and I am nothing without her.

I don’t want to live in a world without her, and I won’t.

I love the others, but I have something with Cassidy that will leave me hollow if she dies.

“I’m here,” I say as I bounce down the only road that leads to the shore.

When it opens up and I see Jason watching a van disappear into the water, rage takes hold, and I stomp on the gas.

Jason turns just before I slam into him.

I go a few more feet before slamming on my brakes and throwing the truck into park.

“It’s underwater. I hit Jason with the truck,” I say as I get out of the truck and run to the shore. Without hesitation, I dive down where I saw the van disappear and make my way through the murky water.

When I get to the camper van, I try to locate a way in.

When I find the door, I pull myself in and see her tied to a table.

Her body is limp, and her eyes are closed.

When I get to her, I pull my knife from my jean pocket and cut the leather bindings.

I keep the knife with me as I drag her out of the van and kick off to get us back to the surface.

I am gasping for air and coughing as I get her on the shore.

It is dark, but the headlights from my truck have the area lit up.

I start CPR, praying Carrie or really anyone gets here soon.

I know she would have sent units here, but knew I would get here before anyone.

By the time I hear others approaching, I am crying.

“Oscar!” Gunner screams as they run toward me. I ignore them and hold her nose while I blow into her mouth.

I let out a sigh of relief when she starts coughing and spitting up water. I get her to her side and pat her back, still focused on just her. As I pull her up to cradle her body, she clings to me. Emotions finally break out of me, and tears roll down my cheeks as I rock her in my lap.

“I’ve got you. You’re safe now,” I whisper tearfully to her. She is still coughing and gasping for air, but she starts calming down. I don’t even realize the paramedics are here until one kneels down and puts an oxygen mask on her.

“Just hold her,” the woman says. “She’s calm with you. That’s what matters. Do you know how long she was down?”

“Not long. I saw the van go under when I got here. I hit Jason with the truck as I stopped and dove in,” I say. “I got her out, and she started coughing up water in just a few minutes. It felt like forever, though.”

“You did good. Boyfriend?” she asks as she checks Cassidy’s pulse.

“Yeah,” I say.

“Can you hear me?” The woman asks Cassidy.

“Mhmm,” Cassidy coughs.

“Can you tell me your name, sweetheart?”

“Cassidy Greene,” she says. Her voice is hoarse and scratchy, but strong.

“Do you remember what happened?” The paramedic asks. As Carrie kneels down to listen. She pats me on the shoulder, and I know it’s finally over.

“He stopped driving and came back to untie my ankles. I was tied to this table thing that was bolted to the floor,” she says.

“He… raped me. He kept saying he forgave me. When he was done, he shifted the van and just… jumped out. I tried so hard to get free, but the water came up too fast. I really tried.”

“Well, your boyfriend here got back to shore and saved your life,” the paramedic says. “You look good, but I think it would be a good idea for you to come get checked out.”

“Yeah,” she coughs. After a second, she snaps her head to me. “Liza. Is she…”

“She was in surgery and alive when I left,” I say. “Julian started CPR, and Calder helped control the bleeding until the paramedics took over. They got her heartbeat back when they got her in the ambulance.”

“Oh good,” she sighs. I stand with her in my arms and lay her on the gurney. “Where is he? Did he get away?”

“Oh, that guy?” the paramedic asks, gesturing to the white sheet lying on the ground in front of the truck. “He was dead when we arrived.”

“My bad,” I say. “I misjudged where I was stopping.”

“Darn,” the paramedic says with a shrug.

“Looked to me like he jumped in front of you,” Carrie says. “It’s a good thing I was a witness to it for reports.”

“Oh yeah, he did. What a shame,” I say, making Cassidy laugh and lay back on the gurney.

“Should have backed up and run him over again,” Jasper says as he leans down and kisses Cassidy. The others take their turn kissing her, and the paramedic just smiles.

“Where are Kimmy and Gina?” Cassidy asks.

“At the hospital, in case she gets out and can have visitors,” Jasper says. “We didn’t want her waking up alone.”

“Can I go where she went?” Cassidy asks the paramedic.

“Atrium Health Mercy,” Julian says. The paramedic looks at him and tilts her head. “Sorry, blood is old. Not mine.”

“Gotcha,” she says. “Okay, boyfriend, you can ride with her. Everyone else will have to follow.”

“We will meet you there,” Calder says, hugging me. “You did good, man.”

“Thanks,” I sigh.

When we get into the ambulance, she calls in that we are coming before sitting down with a tablet. “Okay, Cassidy. Are you on any medications?”

“Uh, bupropion and trazodone,” she says.

“Any chance you are pregnant?” she asks as she taps on the screen.

“Uhhh… Yeah… I’m ten weeks,” she says, glancing at me.

“Baby, you left one of the tests in the bathroom last week,” I say, and a shy smile breaks out across her face.

“I will add that so they can check on the baby then,” she says with a smile.