Page 73 of Dark Alliance
I jump from the bed and check the bathroom.
No Connor.
Shit. No time to find him.
I leave my room, following the screams down the halls and grand staircase, praying the tortured noises have nothing to do with the man missing from my bed.
My breath locks in my chest as the shrieks grow louder. When I realize where they’re coming from, my feet slow.
I freeze at the edge of the hall, peering into the dark.
Father!
I sprint the rest of the way into my father’s suite, bursting through the open door to his bedroom.
His night nurse, Lora, lies over his legs, wailing into the sheets.
“Lora, what happened? Are you hurt?” I cross the room in a few strides and touch her back. “What is it? Do you need an ambulance?”
She jerks, peering up at me with wide, foggy eyes before she registers my identity.
Her face crumples. “Oh, Miss Ricci…” She clutches the hem of my shirt, her shoulder shaking with a new round of sobs. “Miss Ricci, I… I’m so sorry…”
I grasp her hands, my eyes wide, my chest tight. “Sorry? Lora, I don’t…”
My gaze flicks away from her and up the bed.
My father’s hands lie pale against the peach bedsheet. That’s not right. His skin was a healthy olive earlier tonight. Is he cold?
My eyes travel over his still stomach and keep going until I encounter strange red stains on his chest and shoulders. That won’t come out easy. I’ll have to have Marlene treat his clothes well before washing…
An ugly gash mars his throat, the ragged edges obvious even in the moonlight.
His pale gray face stares up at the ceiling with open, unseeing eyes.
“Father?” I stumble toward him, my fingers falling on his shoulder.
They come away warm, clammy, and covered in deep crimson.
No air enters my lungs, and a weird ringing stings my ears.
A few moments tick by before I register the burning ache in my vocal chords and realize I’m the one screaming now.
My father is dead.
I collapse to my knees at his side, my hands clutching the sheet over his chest. “Father, no. Father, please…”
Warm arms hug me from behind. “Miss Ricci, come. Please come…”
I whirl around to cling to Lora, weeping against her chest as she embraces me.
No.No no no no…
This isn’t real. It’s a dream. Just a nightmare.
My dad…he…
Nino rushes in. “Father! Cat!” He charges to the bed, yanking me up out of Lora’s arms.
