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  He straightened his spine and glanced at Ryker, then back to Lyle. “Per favore, don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything before you leave.” He nodded at them both, turned, and headed to the back.

  Lyle pursed his lips and leaned back against the seat, steepling his fingers against his chin. He hated the DiGiovanni’s. The whole, entire, worthless family. Especially that damn sanctimonious Paolo. It wasn’t always that way, but once everything changed . . .

  He cleared his throat. Regardless, hate didn’t make connections or keep money flowing.

  “Mr. Hunt,” he sighed and reached for his tea. Instead, he stilled his hand, letting it fall back to his lap. Better not to risk it.

  “Ms. Holiday stays in the ward, Annalise stays out of the way, or your brother gets out of jail and ruins your whole little testing racket. That’s still the deal, is it not?”

  Ryker sat up, irritation bleeding through his words. “You want me to keep her busy, fine. But how long? And what if she finds out h—”

  Lyle shot his hand up. “It’s your job to keep that from happening. Keep her occupied. Use your imagination. Drag her kicking and screaming back to the center. Adjust her meds. I don’t really care one way or another, but she will be out of the way.” He smiled and let his hand fall back to his lap.

  Perhaps additional incentive was required.

  “I heard an inspector from the FDA would be in town later this week. Was considerin’ taking him to lunch, personally. Showing him around our wonderful city. What do you think? Would you like to join us?”

  Ryker glared. “That sounds like a threat, Mr. Valentine.”

  “Not a threat. Merely an opportunity to rid yourself of this deal, should you choose to take it. There’s room in Gavin’s cell.”

  Ryker swallowed and pushed away from the table. Lyle leaned back and crossed his arms with a smirk.

  “Good to see you again, Mr. Hunt. Do take care.”

  Two Weeks Later

  Nataly

  Nataly zig-zagged down the hall, hugging her arms and scuffing her sneakers against the tile, leaving little black streaks. Annalise was gone, and the room was too quiet. Far too quiet. She missed all the chitty chatter.

  A grin crept up on her mouth, and she did an extra-long scuff, then frowned. But they wouldn’t let her have any music to cut the silence. Them. She sneered. No music anymore. She slowed as she approached the open doorway to Olivia’s room and paused just on the other side.

  “. . . they can see you. I know . . . You’re too stupid to realize that. I’m not stupid . . . You’re stupid and no one loves you. No one will ever love you. Your own family doesn’t even come see you.”

  Nataly frowned and popped around the doorframe. The small woman’s boney back came into view, hunched over her knees on the floor. Her shoulder blades protruded, each of her vertebrae on display through the thin fabric of her shirt. She rocked back and forth with her hands to her head, muttering to herself helplessly.

  Poor, poor chickadee. Nataly stepped into the room. “Heya Olivia.”

  Olivia’s head whipped around, followed by her body. Tears streaked down her face and she smeared them away with the sleeve of her shirt.

  “H-hey.”

  Nataly plopped on the ground right beside her and laid her head on Olivia’s rail-thin shoulder.

  “I love you, Livey-livey. And ya sure aren’t stupid.” Olivia stuttered in a breath and hung her head as Nataly continued. “You know you’re the one I come to when I can’t figure out the damn crossword.”

  Olivia laughed and choked on a sob. “Yeah. Guess so.”

  She shrugged, bouncing Nataly’s head. Nataly wrapped her in a tight hug before pulling her up to her feet and smoothing down her shirt sleeves.

  “Let’s go baby bird.” She hooked her arm with Olivia’s and pulled her into the hallway.

  “Doc’ll fix ya up, yeah?”

  Olivia offered no resistance, save for her lumbering and deliberate steps. Her shoulders slumped in defeat as Nataly walked her four doors down and knocked on the frame of the tiny office. When Dr. David glanced up, he smiled and stood.

  “Hey ladies, come on in. What’s going on?”

  He gestured to the couch and raised his brows. Nataly released Olivia’s arm and gave her a quick, friendly peck on the cheek. The corners of Olivia’s raw lips pulled into a tiny smile. Nataly jerked her sleeves down over her hands and wiped them down Olivia’s face, snagging all the leftover tears, before urging her gently into the room.

  Olivia sat down hard on the couch and hung her head in her hands.

  Poor, poor chickadee with no nest.

  Dr. David glanced at Nataly, forehead pinched.

  Ah. Tick tock to the doc. She grinned. They always needed her help. Nataly cupped her hand and mimed putting it in her pocket. He nodded, mouthing ‘ah’.

  “Thank you, Ms. Holiday, I’ve got it from here.”

  “You betcha Doc, just punching the clock.” She winked and whirled hard on her heel, intentionally leaving a black circle skid mark on the tile. He sighed as the door closed behind her.

  Holiday. Was that her last name? She pursed her lips, then smiled. It was always best to help. Nataly smiled wider, and snagged her bottom lip under her teeth. That’s what he always said. And he was always right.

  Several steps further down the lengthening hallway, Nataly sucked in a pained breath and stumbled into the wall, slapping her palms against the cool, painted brick.

  A blue streak of light zoomed across her vision, her face scrunching in pain. A slow breath escaped as she leveled her head and reopened her eyes.

  Hopefully, the eye in the ceiling was closed that time. She didn’t like it when that happened out where everyone could see.

  Olivia wasn’t the only one palming meds.

  Nataly turned back to the common room, and her breath caught.

  “Can’t be.”

  He . . .

  All sound in the room crystallized into tiny silver and gold bubbles floating above everyone.

  He was there. After all this time, he’d finally come back. His frame was as large as ever, nearly a tower in the room. A massive, dark, sexy tower that gazed out over the courtyard from a high back chair Nataly had never seen.

  She straightened her shirt, and combed her fingers through her long ponytail, snagging several tangles as she strolled into the room, straight to him. He’d be so happy. She could see his smile already.

  She approached the back of the chair and nerves flowed through her palms. Slow breaths.

  She cleared her throat. “Heya Gavin, where ya been?”

  She wanted to sound unaffected, but the hitch at the end of the word was clear as glass, shattering all the sound bubbles with a rush of noise. Several other patients looked over at her. Oh how wrong, how wrong they were. He was there for her not them. Or maybe they thought he was a patient like the rest of them.

  Boy, they couldn’t be any more wrong about that.

  He turned in the chair to face her and held his arms open.

  She grinned and chewed on her thumbnail in thought for one second, before leaping onto his lap and burying her face in his neck.

  “Nataly.”

  Nataly frowned. Why wasn’t he hugging her until she couldn’t breathe? Why wasn’t he kissing her, leaving her gasping like he used to? Why didn’t he call her any of his nicknames for her?

  She pulled her face back and eyed him. His face seemed different. Distant. Colder? Maybe he’d changed since they were apart this time. One of the nurses made a frantic phone call and opened the glass door.

  Nataly scoffed. Probably coming to tell her to keep it down like they always did around here. Even the damn Doc popped his head around the corner, looking all freaked out. Couldn’t listen to music at a reasonable volume. Now she couldn’t even have a conversation. This place was going downhill fast. She lowered her voice and glared at him.

  “Why
ain’t ya hugging me? I ain’t gonna break!” Another blue streak crossed her vision, and she squinted. He chuckled and wrapped his arms tightly around her, melting her bones until she was a puddle against his firm chest.

  “See? Much better.” She wiggled in his arms and hummed in amusement. “I didn’t think I’d get to see you again. I missed ya like crazy.”

  He didn’t say anything. He just continued to clutch her around the waist. She sighed contentedly and he stood up, still holding her, readjusting before he sat back down.

  “So, why didn’t ya ever come see me?”

  He still didn’t answer. Something wasn’t right. Was he mad at her? She fought to come up with a reason, or anything she’d done, but there was nothing!

  She tried to pull away, but his grip got tighter. Then his hands gripped her wrists and she panicked. She struggled to free herself as his face melted away.

  She screamed and thrashed against the grip.

  “Gavin! No! Please stay! I need you! It hurts!” She sobbed and screamed again. “IT HURTS SO MUCH!”

  The common room faded, replaced by the white and silver space she knew too well. The fluffy chair replaced by a padded table.

  No . . .

  She clutched at the air as his hands and body were replaced by rough, tight straps. No! She stuttered sobs and breaths, surrounded by the empty faces of the staff.

  “I NEED YOU!”

  She jerked against the restraints, falling back in defeat. Why wasn’t he saving her?! Her guttural wails pummeled the walls and slammed back into her own ears. The table shifted with the weight of her sobs.

  Why . . . wasn’t he . . .

  She sucked in more fuel for her grief as a man in a shirt and tie came into view.

  “Nataly. Calm down, take a few deep breaths. We don’t want to hurt you.”

  She stopped struggling but continued to cry helplessly.

  Why wasn’t he there?

  Her tears fell in fat drops, soaking the mattress. “Ryker, I need him. I don’t need to be here, I just need . . . him . . . please!”

  Why didn’t they understand? She wasn’t crazy!

  She shook her head and tried to sit up, then dropped back down sobbing harder.

  “I ca—I can’t breathe!”

  Ryker looked over at that horrid nurse Kathy and gave her a slow nod. Nataly continued to wail, but as Kathy approached, she sucked in a sharp breath, fighting to steady herself.

  “NO! No, I’m fine. Ryker!” She took a slower breath that time. “I’m good. Not that. That’s the stuff you gave to Scott?” Ryker’s mouth turned up in a small smile and Nataly’s eyes widened as horns grew out of his head. “No. No, no. I don’t need that. I’m good, I swear. I just . . . I just . . . ” Panic welled in her and her throat turned to gravel. “I’m just tired! Yeah. I’ll go lay down.”

  Evil nurse kept coming, and Nataly lost control. “PLEASE!” She thrashed and jerked at the restraints, straining the material, then abruptly stilled. “I’ll stay in bed the rest of the day! PLEASE!”

  He had to let her go. He had to! She wasn’t crazy.

  She squeezed her eyes shut. “Ryker, please, I swear! Gimmie a chance! Please please please please please!”

  Ryker sighed and crossed his arms. He gestured to Kathy and the two orderlies with his head.

  “You guys go on. I’ll take care of her. Go make sure Dr. David doesn’t need any help with Olivia.”

  Nurse Kathy handed him the vial and winked, her eyes lingering on him a second longer. “Come on you two but hang outside the door,” she said, her voice like broken glass.

  They all left, the door closing with a muted thud behind them.

  Ryker walked over to the side of the bed and rested his hip against it, looking down at the clear liquid. Nataly continued to mutter “please” as he cleared his throat and squinted at her.

  “This isn’t what I gave Scott, Nataly.”

  Her breaths slowed and she blinked away several more tears. “What? W-what is it?”

  Ryker’s eyes flashed as he shifted his gaze from the vial to her, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Something new.”

  “Something good?”

  Maybe it would help. She wasn’t opposed if it’d help her get out. Even for a little while.

  Ryker’s smile grew as he pushed away from the table, causing it to shake and turn her stomach. Steady steps took him to the wall, where he opened a locked cabinet, coming away with a needle.

  Nataly shuddered. Needles. They loved needles in this place. Pincushions are all they were to the doctors and nurses.

  “Ryker?”

  “Hmm?” His eyes never left the needle as he drew the liquid out of the vial in a slow, steady motion.

  Fear zipped down her spine and she strained her wrists again. Why was he acting so freaky?

  “This won’t make your father happy, but . . . ” He walked back over to her with a grin. “I think it’s time.”

  She blew out a relieved breath. Maybe he was on her side after all.

  “Thank you,” she whispered and cleared her throat. “I ain’t crazy, pop just wants me to be quiet. I’d have been quiet, but he didn’t give me a chance!” She winced and shook her head to clear the bad memories, then refocused on his swimming face. “Is it gonna hurt?”

  His grin widened. “I have no idea. You’ll tell me in a few seconds though.”

  She nodded and let her head fall back on the thin, useless pillow.

  “Ryker, I just need my Gavin. If this—if it works, will ya let me out? So I can find him?”

  Ryker arched an eyebrow and shrugged. “Sure, Nataly. If it works, I’ll let you out. But we’ve been over this.” He thumped the syringe a couple of times. “Gavin’s dead.”

  Nataly laughed and Ryker pulled his head back a few inches. “Why is that funny?”

  “Nah. He ain’t gone, Doc. Know how I know?” She took his silence and cold stare as an invitation. “I’m still alive.” She shifted her gaze to the stark white ceiling and followed the swirling blue, gold and silver lights with her eyes. “I’d know if he were gone. My heart’d stop beatin’.”

  Ryker’s snort snapped her focus, making all the colors fall to the ground with an invisible bounce.

  “Since I’m pretty damn sure you won’t remember any of this in a few hours. I’m going to tell you a little secret, Nataly Valentine.”

  Her eyes bugged, and her brain buzzed. She almost forgot how that sounded. That was her real name. It’d been so long since she’d heard it sh—

  “You are crazy. He didn’t put you here to keep you quiet. For God’s sake, what do you even think you’re supposed to be quiet about?”

  Her lungs caved from the pressure of those words. What was it? It was something big. Sad. Scary. But everything was so murky, and it all hurt today.

  Her brows mashed together in concentration. “I . . . about . . .”

  Ryker’s grin widened, the glint in his eye like an ember from a sparkler. “Exactly. And I’ll tell you another secret. I want nothing more than to crack open your screwed up little brain. I bet it’s full of tasty information. Expensive information. But I have to settle for this.” He brandished the needle, quirking an eyebrow. “For now.”

  What did any of that mean? She just needed her Gavin. He always understood everything. Always fixed the words so she could, too. The back of her throat burned, and parts of Ryker’s face began moving in ways they weren’t supposed to.

  “But it might work?”

  Ryker let out a raspy sigh. “Well, I suppose that depends on what you want it to do.” He gripped her forearm just above the strap and pressed it down against the hard table. “If you want it to make you normal,” he jammed the needle into her arm without warning, and she yelped as he pushed down harder on her arm, bruising her skin. “No.”

  Tears fell again as the liquid slithered through her muscles in a ribbon of scalding fire. Her skin burned, her ne
rves buzzed, and she clenched her jaw to keep from screaming.

  Strong, right? If she was strong, she could get out.

  Ryker stared at her face, eyes like knives as he continued to push the plunger.

  It hurt too much. She screamed, her voice shredding like autumn leaves under a lawnmower as her entire body shuddered.

  Images swirled behind her eyes, jagged, torn pictures. Past? Future? She screamed again, the rips in her throat stinging like millions of paper cuts scrubbed with salt. Her arm, was it still even there? The table jerked and rocked, Ryker stepping back with his chin furrowed.

  Then everything dulled. Her body still thrashed, but her mind stilled. Cleared. Removed itself. For the first time in who knew how long, everything seemed different. Was that how it was for everyone else? She had too many things to say, but her mouth wouldn’t stop screaming.

  She remembered.

  Ryker winced and chucked the needle in the safety container on the wall as she continued to flail. Then he took a slow breath and opened the door.

  “She’s ready.”

  Two orderlies rushed in, hands grabbing everywhere.

  Ryker watched from the doorway with his arms crossed until his phone buzzed in his pocket and he snatched it out.

  “Ryker. Hey! Sure, I’d love to. What? Oh, that’s nothing, don’t worry about it. It’ll be a couple of hours; I have some paperwork to finish up . . . Sounds good! Bye, Anna. Right, sorry. Annalise.”

  Nataly’s brain managed one more thought before slipping into the black, the steps of the orderlies making her body jar. Plum! Be careful . . . he’s covered in demons.

  One Month Later

  Annalise

  Annalise dusted her hands off and swatted hair out of her eyes. One spot done, way too many to go. He would have been so prou—

  “Anna-li-say, where do you want these?”

  Ryker came from the back room carrying two large boxes, a light sheen of sweat on his forehead.

  She forced a smile in his direction. He liked to say her name in different ways whenever the mood struck him. Probably in some stupid attempt to amuse her. Lighten her ‘mood.’ That time it was like it was an Italian dessert.