Off Limits(122)

Mom followed the nurse, who stayed with us in the exam room, which was just a partitioned curtain. Still, the space felt eerily quiet after the chaos of the media scrum. I sat down on the stool, my head in my hands as we waited, Mom saying nothing the whole time.

My ears were aware the whole time to a single sound, the sound of the steady whine that meant that Derek’s heart wasn’t beating. The doctors must have been trying everything, because every once in a while there were a few beeps, but not enough. After what seemed like an eternity, the monitor was shut off, and Mom grew very calm. The entire treatment area was dead silent except for the squeak of the doctor’s shoes coming toward the waiting area.

The doctor pulled back the curtain, her face somber. “Mrs. Prescott, I’m sorry. Your husband . . . there was nothing we could do.”

Mom sat still as a statue, nearly unhearing until I saw a tremble in her shoulder that moved to the side of her face, then to her cheek. In almost slow motion her face cracked, her eyes filling with wild grief that left her sobbing, her face in her hands. “Derek, oh my Derek . . . ” she bawled. “No, not Derek.”

“Mom . . . ” I said, trying to come next to her. I couldn’t even complete my words though as Mom sprang to her feet and slapped me, cutting me off cleanly.

“You . . . you killed him,” she said coldly.

Mom turned and stormed out of the room, leaving me stunned before the world blurred before me, and my own tears started to fall down my face.



* * *



The next thing I was really aware of was a hand resting on my shoulder, and a quiet voice talking in my ear. “There you are, Alix. I’ve been looking all over for you for the past three hours.”

I was outside, not knowing how in the hell I got to where I was, or even where that happened to be. My eyes wouldn’t lift from the dark patch of grass between my feet, dimly illuminated by something behind my right shoulder. “Go away.”

“No can do, Alix,” the voice said again. “I’ve got orders. I’m to watch over you and keep you safe.”

“Who cares? I’m a killer, don’t you know that?” I muttered, staring at my palms. At some point, I’d dug my fingernails into my palms so deeply that there were bloody half-moons inscribed in each hand. “See? I’ve got the blood on my hands and everything.”

“You’re in shock and scared,” the voice said. I could hear that it was a woman’s voice, but that was all I could tell. My circuits were still scrambled, and I wasn’t putting two and two together well enough to make sense of what my surroundings were. “Come on, Princess, it’s after midnight. Let’s go inside.”

At the mention of Kade’s name for me, my head jerked up, that single word penetrating the fog surrounding my brain. Squatting in front of me was Rita, her blond hair barely visible in the dim lights. “How did you . . . ?”

“How do you think? He was so worried when the nurses reported that you’d run through the ER to disappear into the night, he called me. I’ve spent the past three hours trying to find you,” Rita said, standing up enough to sit down next to me. I was on a park bench, although I didn’t know which park I was at. “As you weren’t a patient, the police didn’t launch a search for you, and when hospital staff couldn’t find you on the grounds, I took it upon myself. Lucky I did, too. This isn’t the best neighborhood, you know.”

I looked around again, still not knowing where I was. “Where am I?”

“About a half mile from the hospital, in a park that’s not swarming with homeless junkies, but I still wouldn’t want to hang around here after dark,” Rita said. “Like we are right now.”

I sighed and looked around. “A half mile you say?”

“Half a mile. I’m just glad I didn’t find you wandering the breakdown lane of the freeway or something,” Rita replied. “Come on, sis, let’s get you home, and get some rest. We’ve got a busy day in the morning.”

“Why?” I asked. “And I don’t have a home go to any longer. Sydney violated my home, and Mom . . . Mom . . . ”

I broke down bawling, and Rita held me, letting my tears soak into her shirt. Patting my hair, she let me vent my sadness for long minutes before the tears trickled off. “I know,” Rita said quietly. “The staff told Kade, who told me over the phone. You’re not going to Laguna or back to your house. You’re coming to my place, and while I doubt I have anything that will fit you, Kade’s going to get some people down here to help out. Until then, I’m taking care of you.”

I nodded, then looked over at Rita. “Why? Why are you here?”

Rita put her arm around my shoulder and helped me stand up. “Because I love Kade, and through him I love you too. Because even though he and I will never hook up again, I’m still always going to serve him, because that’s what a good sub does. It’s also what a good mentor does, and that’s what I feel like I’ve been to you. Hell, if I hadn’t encouraged you to go after him, you wouldn’t be in this mess. Do you want to blame me for it now?”

I shook my head, exhaustion dropping over me. “Not your fault.”

“And it’s not yours, either,” Rita replied. “Now come on, before someone approaches us and I have to pull the damn pistol I’ve got in my pants pocket.”