strolling to her door, pushing it open.
“Excuse me, sir!” the nurse calls. “We aren’t having visitors yet.”
“Tough shit,” I snap at her. Then, looking over to Diana I change my tone. “Hey!” I say, and immediately feel the pressure in my chest release at the sight of her awake. “I was so worried about you!” I say, crossing over to her and sitting on the bed to the amazement of Kenton .
“As you were saying,” he says, turning to face the nurse. “What about her condition?”
“Yes, there will be some bruising. But overall, he got to her in time, and I think that we’ll be able to release her in a couple of hours. The doctor wants to run a couple more tests just to make sure, but if all goes well, it sounds like you’ll be able to go home.
“No,” Kenton and I say, at the same time, turning to face the nurse.
“What?” Diana asks.
“I think it’s best that she’s kept here overnight for observation. As chief of police, her safety and well-being are paramount to me,” Kenton says with a nod, and the nurse smiles.
“Of course. I’ll talk to the doctor, but if you’re insisting, I’m sure he will keep her. I’ll be back shortly,” she says, patting Diana’s foot on the top of the blanket.
“Diana,” I say turning to face her as the nurse leaves, “I’m so sorry. I’m so glad you’re okay.” I remain there as she raises a hand and places it on my cheek. It amazes me the comfort that I take from the simple touch. A part of me wants to pull away from it, deny that there is any kind of true connection between us.
“Yeah. She’s fine. No thanks to you,” Chief murmurs.
“Are we really going to start that again?” Noah’s cool voice calls in from behind us, and I turn to face him. I didn’t hear him come in. I swear the man is as silent as a mouse.
“How many people are here to see me?” she asks, confused.
“Oh, a fair few,” chief murmurs, looking back to the hallway. “We want you to stay here overnight and meet with our sketch artists. I’ll have one sent here,” he informs, turning back to face her. “The sooner we can ID this man, the better.”
“Okay,” she says with a nod, “I should be fine. When will he be here?” she asks.
“Within the next couple hours; it shouldn’t take longer than thirty minutes, tops. And I will have him meet with you after her,” he says to me, and I nod.
Chapter Fifteen
Diana
“Is this the face that you saw?” The handsome young artist asks, turning the sketch to me as I sit in a hospital bed, hugging my arms around my knees.
“Yeah, that’s definitely him,” I say, “that’s the man who tried to kill me earlier.”
“Okay, thank you. I will give the sketch to the chief of police, and we will go from there.” He nods, rising from the chair beside my hospital bed.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“You’re welcome. Is there anything else I can do for you, ma’am?”
“No, that’s it.”
“Okay, well you have a nice day, and I hope you start feeling better soon,” he says, his eyes full of sympathy.
Watching him walk away, I think back to the face that I saw. Those cold blue eyes that stared into mine as icy fingers crushed my throat. He wasn’t much bigger than I am, but he was fast and so angry.
I slide my hand up around my throat, feeling the places where it hurts the most. I haven’t had the opportunity to look in the mirror yet. Before this, I was unconscious, then I was flighted back to the hospital in my local town, and when I woke up, I was here in bed. There were people all around me: Doctors, nurses, detectives asking questions. The only thing that made sense in the chaos, was the moment that Jake walked in and came to my side. That was such a relief. I don’t know if he realizes how much that meant to me to have him there. The only way it could be perfect is if Holly had been here too. That would have been the best part of the day.
God I miss her. Reaching over and grabbing the hospital phone. I decided to call her. So what if her phone is being tapped odds are, everyone knows that I’m here. And there’s a guard outside my door.
“Hello?” I say, hearing the phone pick up.
“Hey