Page 78 of Trick
“You gotta be shittin’ me…the do-gooder who helps homeless vets?”
I nodded grimly, then walked back into the breakroom to check on Lauren. Rome had arrived at some point, and he and Jagger were sitting on either side of Lauren, comforting her. Someone had given her a bottle of water, and she winced as she swallowed a small sip. They’d also filled a plastic baggie with ice, and she was holding that against her neck.
“Careful, darlin’. Don’t drink too much until we get you checked out to make sure that bastard didn’t do any real damage to your throat.”
She nodded, then set the bottle down. Jag and Rome both stood up, and I took Rome’s seat next to Lauren. I wrapped my arms around her and she collapsed against me, crying.
“He’s sick, Jase,” she whimpered. “He…he thought I was her.”
I had no idea what she was talking about, but it was obvious that every word was painful to get out. “Shh, don’t try to talk.”
She shook her head, and tears started falling again. “He killed her. He told me that he…”
Her voice cracked as she broke down completely. My entire body tensed as her words sank in. My eyes flew to the others in the room, and they all looked as shocked as I felt.
“He killed who, sweetheart,” King asked softly, walking over to crouch down in front of us.
“His g-g-girlfriend,” she said, sobbing so hard that she could barely get the word out.
Rome swore under his breath. “I’m callin’ Randy,” he muttered, taking his cell phone out.
Sirens could be heard in the distance, and Bull crossed the room to look out the window.
“Two patrol cars and an unmarked unit just rolled in, and the ambulance is right behind it,” he informed us, then said he’d go out front to meet them.
Randy walked into the breakroom a minute later, followed by several uniformed officers and two paramedics rolling a gurney.
“I’m on shift tonight and recognized the name of the recording studio, so I was already responding to the 911 call. We’d just pulled into the parking lot when Rome called me.”
The paramedics tended to JD first, and it pissed me off.
“He attacked her,” I pointed out angrily, and Randy gave me an understanding nod.
“I get it, but they still have to take him first because his injuries are a lot more severe than Lauren’s or Tony’s. Don’t worry, we’ve already called for another ambulance to take careof them, and that asshole will be arrested as soon as he regains consciousness.”
Chapter 24
Lauren
I adjusted the bag of ice on my throat and curled into Jase’s side as I listened to the conversation swirling around me, when Tony’s name caught my attention.
“How is he?” I gasped. With everything that had happened, I hadn’t realized he’d been injured.
King answered, “One of the paramedics checked him over while her partner worked on that fucker who attacked you. His vitals are stable, but his pupils are enlarged and he was having some double vision. She said the docs will likely do a CT scan to rule out anything else, but he has a concussion at the very least. They’ve called for another ambulance to transport him.”
I nodded, relieved to hear that he was going to be OK.
“Lauren, I’m Detective Randy Hayes, with the homicide division. I’m also Abby’s dad, by the way,” he said kindly. “I understand that you’ve been through a traumatic event, and I’m very sorry about that. I know that your throat hurts, but I need to ask you at least a few questions now, if you’re up to it. We can have you write down your answers for us if that’s easier for you.”
I nodded, then replied softly, “I’m OK to talk.”
Jase didn’t look very happy with my answer, but he didn’t object. The detective pulled up a chair next to the couch and took a seat.
“When Rome called me, he said you mentioned that the suspect had killed someone?”
I closed my eyes as the horror of that moment washed over me. “Yes,” I croaked, then stopped to clear my throat as Jase reached for my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “His girlfriend. I think it happened a long time ago because he mentioned something about school. He was…I’m not sure how to explain it,” I whispered. “Nothing he said made sense, almost like he’s lost touch with reality. He acted like he thought I was her, that she’d been reincarnated as me or something. He said he was happy that I – orsheI guess – had come back to him.”
I shook my head in frustration at not being able to explain it more clearly. “It was so bizarre. He apologized for hurting me, but he was talking about hurtingher,I think. He called me Nadia at one point.”
