Southern Secrets (Southern #7) - Natasha Madison Page 0,32

the back.

I spot Reed coming back and picking up the empty beer bottles left on the tables. "Reed!" I shout his name, and he walks over to us. "Have you seen Amelia?"

"Yeah, she was going out back to take out the trash," he says, and I look over at Ethan, who has stopped cleaning at this point.

Mayson stands up and so does Quinn. "She isn’t back there," Chelsea says, and the four of us all move at the same pace.

I push out of the door first, and I’m shocked at how dark it is. "Where are the lights?" Ethan asks, and we look up to see the two spotlights are out.

"They were working last week. I checked them when I changed the ones in the front," I say.

The sound of truck doors close in the distance as people are leaving. "I’m going to go and check the garbage," Ethan says. "You go and check to see if she is in the front. Maybe she’s talking to someone."

I nod at him as I turn to walk toward the end of the building, jogging a bit, and all I see when I turn the corner of the building is people walking to their cars. The sound of rocks crunching and women laughing fill the air.

"I found her!" Ethan yells, and I can tell from the sound of his voice that something is wrong. "Call nine-one-one." Quinn has his phone out already.

My breathing starts to come in pants as I run back to Ethan as he squats next to her. She lies there not moving with the garbage bag beside her. "I need light!” I shout, my hands shaking as I look at her lying there in the dark. The fact that I don’t know what is wrong with her makes my whole body go cold. "Mayson!" I yell his name, and he comes over. "Block off this whole area," I start to tell him. "No one comes here except the ambulance." I look back down at Amelia, scared to touch her in case she is cold. "Quinn," I call his name, and he looks at me. "Make sure no one leaves the fucking bar until we get statements from everyone." I grab my phone out of my pocket and open the flashlight. "Did you check to see if she’s …?"

"I checked her pulse," Ethan says, and Chelsea comes running out.

"What happened to her?" she asks frantically. "Don’t move her." She grabs my phone out of my hands, and I feel helpless, but I know Chelsea can help. She moves the phone to her head. "No blood," she says with a sigh of relief. "That’s a good thing." My hand comes out to grab hers, and I feel the heat.

"Did she fall?" I ask, looking around. The sound of rocks crunching comes closer and closer.

"Guess my dad is here," Ethan says. I hear two doors shut, and I know he didn’t come by himself.

"Amelia," Jacob says, followed by Kallie. "What happened?" Ethan moves over as Kallie comes to squat next to him. Her hand comes out to grab Amelia.

"We don’t know," I answer before Ethan. "We found her out here. She was lying there unconscious." I’m about to continue talking when we hear Amelia groan.

Everyone stops talking and moving as we look at her. She moves her head side to side, and her eyes slowly flutter open. Kallie sobs out in relief, and all I can do is squeeze her hand tighter. "Hey," Chelsea says, leaning in to look at Amelia. Amelia moans out and tries to sit up, but Chelsea puts her hand on her shoulder. "Don’t move until the medics get here."

"They are three minutes out," Jacob says, and Amelia turns her head to look at her father.

"What are you doing here?" she asks him.

"Someone get her water!" I shout, and Willow nods her head at me and turns to run back into the bar. "What do you remember?" I ask, and she looks at me. What feels like an electric shock runs through me.

"I was coming out to bring the garbage," she says. "Then I felt burning in my head." She moves. "I want to sit up."

"You shouldn’t move until the medics get here," Chelsea says, but Amelia, with her stubbornness, ignores her and sits up.

She slips her hand out of mine as she touches the back of her head. She winces. "There is a bump."

"Were you outside by yourself?" I ask, and she looks at me. "I don’t really