Run To Me (Lazarus Rising #4)(36)

“Willow hates being locked away.” He already regretted his order of containment. But when Wyman had been bleeding out, when Willow had lunged forward and had been fighting Flynn…I just wanted to get her to a safe spot. An area where she’d be protected. No threat to anyone. Sonofabitch. He’d done this.

Sawyer’s face was grim. “I can get Cecelia to meet you at your house. Let her talk to Willow. Let her figure out this trigger stuff. If Wyman somehow turned on Willow’s mind to follow his commands, then Cecelia can figure out a way to turn off what he did. She’s the best shrink out there. That’s the whole reason Wyman hired her. She can help your girl.”

“Willow isn’t mine.” His hands had fisted.

Sawyer just gave a rough laugh. “Try telling that BS to someone who isn’t a human lie detector.” He inclined his head. “Get to her, and I’ll make sure nothing happens here.”

Jay didn’t waste any additional time. He’d already been away from Willow for too long.

***

She was in prison again.

Willow sat on the bed. It was a big, comfortable, four-poster bed. A large TV was positioned on a nearby table. A heavy dresser was to the right. A small bathroom, complete with shower and toilet, waited to the left.

It looked like a typical bedroom. Except for the giant mirror that made up the wall directly across from her. A one-way mirror. People could see her from the other side of that mirror. She wasn’t supposed to be able to see them.

But then, she wasn’t supposed to be able to do a lot of things.

The walls were reinforced. So strong that even someone like her couldn’t break out of the room. Not that she was trying to break out. Not right then. She was just trying to figure out what the hell had happened.

Bits and pieces were in her mind. She shoved her palms against her pounding temples. She’d been in Jay’s study. Standing in the doorway. That stupid dream—memory?—had come to her again, and she’d left his bedroom because she’d needed to find him. She’d just wanted to be close to him, as crazy as that seemed. But when she’d found him, Jay hadn’t been alone. Another man had been in there with him. She hadn’t seen his face, but his voice had been familiar and Jay had said—

Wyman.

Then she’d…she’d lost track of what happened after that. She remembered being on top of Jay, having her fist ready to strike him.

Had she hit Jay?

Her temples pounded harder.

She couldn’t remember anything else about being in the study. But…but she’d also been on the porch of Jay’s house. She’d seen him, crouched over Wyman. Wyman had been bleeding. So much blood. And when she’d seen that blood, Willow had sworn she’d felt something just break inside of herself. She’d been screaming. Screaming on the inside, screaming out loud, and a red haze of fury and fear had overtaken her. She’d attacked…

Attacked Jay?

Why? They’d been on the same side. They’d been lovers. She’d started to lower her guard with him. He’d treated her as if she were normal.

But normal women didn’t get locked up like this.

And Jay—he’d been the one to order her containment. That was one memory she had that remained crystal clear. “Take her to containment.” His order. His shouted words. His face had been so hard and angry.

Her shoulders hunched. She pulled her legs up toward her. She was still just wearing Jay’s shirt and a pair of panties. The shirt smelled like him. Her legs were bare, and she wrapped her arms around her knees, rocking a little bit, the movement instinctive. Why couldn’t she remember everything that had happened that night? And why, why did her heart hurt so much?

She kept seeing Wyman. Bleeding.

And her heart hurt.

“Willow.”

Her head whipped up. She stared straight at the mirror. Narrowed her eyes. Saw beyond the glass.

“Willow, I’m coming into the room.” Jay’s voice. Not cold, not like it had been before. But tired. Sad?

She rocked forward a bit more, but didn’t get off the bed.

“Don’t attack, Willow.” His low order.

She’d attacked before. Tears stung her eyes. He’d made love to her, and she’d attacked him right after that. Talk about being a freak.

He must hate her.

Or fear her.

Both, probably.

Her head lowered, pressing against her knees. She didn’t want to look at her reflection in the glass. She didn’t want to look at him. She didn’t want to see his disgust or his fear. “Go away.” Her words were hoarse.

Instead of leaving, she heard the soft tread of his steps approaching. The keypad outside of the containment room beeped, and the door opened a moment later. She held her breath as he entered. His steps were hesitant, and Jay walked forward just a bit before he stopped.

“Willow…” Her name seemed to sigh from him.

A lump rose in her throat, but she swallowed it down. She should look at him. But she was afraid of what she’d see.

“Wyman is alive, Willow.”

The pain in her chest actually got worse.

“He’s in surgery. He’s going to need a lot of blood.”

She still didn’t look at him.

“I didn’t mean to shoot him. Hell, I wasn’t even holding the gun when it fired. I tackled him. He had the gun. It went off. The bullet hit Wyman in the stomach when we fell. When you saw me, I was trying to keep him alive. I wasn’t trying to kill him.”