you and I finally agree on something. How did your uncle even have my phone number?” This question was directed to me.
“I have no idea, but it’s Callum. He’s probably had it since you and I started dating. Perks of being a king, he just knows stuff.”
Cash got to his feet as the paramedics arrived. I was grateful to the sheriff for his decision to plan for the worst, even though the worst ended up with him dead.
The crew gently moved me aside, replacing my hand with a big gauze pad. I waited as long as I could before letting go of his hand. When they pulled him away, my heart sank, not knowing if it would be the last time I’d see him alive.
Another paramedic wrapped me in a blanket and led me outside. The parking lot was swarming with police cars, not all of which had the Franklinton Sheriff’s Department logo. Josie was talking to a female plainclothes officer, and I was taken to an ambulance before I could talk to her.
I wanted to thank her. To let her know, somehow, that what she’d done was worth it. The paramedics were having none of it. They sat me in the back of an empty ambulance and checked me for injuries and signs of shock. I barely noticed them. Cash and Matt were talking to officers next to a big police van, and two body bags were wheeled out one after the other.
At least it’s not three.
“There’s a fur…rug inside. I need it,” I announced, trying to get to my feet.
“We’ll get her,” a male paramedic assured me. When I blinked at him in confusion, he blushed. “The videos are everywhere. That one… The one with all the things he had?” He shook his head. “I’m sorry for your loss. I wish we’d all known right away where you were.”
I nodded dumbly. I guess I hadn’t made that clear initially.
“Is my friend going to be okay?”
The two paramedics taking care of me exchanged uneasy looks. “It’s hard to say. But his accelerated healing gives him a better chance.”
I stared at the church again, wishing I could burn the whole place to the ground. I was grateful my body was too weak and too tired to make that wish a reality.
“You need to send someone to the rural road near the turn for Folsom. There’s a family there. You’ll need police.” Probably a whole team of therapists. “Someone needs to help them.”
They waved over a cop, who took my directions, nodding vigorously no matter what I said. “We’ll take care of it. You rest, y’hear?”
There was no chance of me sleeping again for a very long time.
I thought about Callum’s voice and about my home. I thought about Wilder and his willingness to sacrifice his life for my stupid plan. I put my face in my hands and cried until my eyelids felt like sandpaper and I’d scared everyone around me into leaving.
I’d wanted so badly to prove I could help by coming here.
All I’d done was get people killed.
Some queen I was shaping up to be.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Light fell across my eyes and I squinted, pulling my duvet up to cover my face. It was too warm to be using a heavy down-filled comforter, but I liked the way it made me feel like I was being cuddled. It literally comforted me.
Bacon, however, was a siren song I couldn’t resist.
I pushed back the covers, blinking away the sun, and fumbled with my toes for my slippers. Warm sunlight was painted across the floor, my balcony doors fully open to let in the fresh morning air. The world smelled clean and bright, and the birds outside wouldn’t shut up about the perfect day coming.
With a lightweight kimono wrapped over my cotton nightgown, I made my way downstairs to the kitchen. Lina had an industrial-size grill out and was frying about seventeen pounds of bacon on it. Three cartons of eggs were stacked next to the grill, waiting their turn.
“Morning, lovey.” Lina smiled, dumping a dozen strips of bacon onto a tray covered in paper towels.
I went to grab one, but she whacked me with her spatula. Hard.
“Ow.” I yanked back my hand and gave her a pouty expression.
“You get nothing until you go talk to your uncle. Some stunt, leaving that note with me, you sneaky pup. You’re just lucky all that stomping and snarling doesn’t scare me.” She smiled again, loading more tempting bacon onto the grill.
My stomach rumbled loud