“Jaxson?” Only silence and the sterile hospital smell greeted me. “Jaxson?”
A shadow moved and I nearly screamed until the familiar voice spoke. “Hello, London.”
“Caroline?”
There was a sneer to her voice which told me something was all wrong. I pushed the nurse’s button to be safe. Why was she here in the middle of the night? Why was she in Colorado?
The room was mostly bathed in darkness. “Yes, it’s me. Thought I would pay you a visit.”
The sarcasm in her voice was off. Not like the normal Caroline I was used to and came to love. Something was wrong. “Where’s Jaxson?”
“Detained. Don’t worry. We won’t be interrupted. If you scream, know I’ll have the boy killed.”
Ice chilled my veins as the answer presented itself. I felt the thump, thump, thump of my pulse. I moistened my lips. This was bad. Very very bad. “Why are you here?” My voice came out weaker than I intended.
I cleared my throat and tried again. “Why are you here?”
Caroline shook her head with an evil glint in her eye I’d never seen before. She was dressed in a nurse’s outfit which would allow her to slip through the corridors unnoticed. “I’m sure you’ve pieced it together, London. I’m surprised you didn’t before this.”
Bile rose in my throat. “You were the one responsible for my drugging. You were behind it all.”
“Yes, among many other things.” The nurses hadn’t responded. I pressed the button again. “Don’t worry with the nurses’ button. It’s been unplugged. Plus, they’re all indisposed with an emergency I arranged.” A few steps toward me, then Caroline stopped. “You see, being a senator’s wife requires me to get my hands . . . dirty at times, when it becomes a means to an end. My husband and I prefer for it to be handled within the family. Loose ends are dangerous.”
I was a means to an end?
She held up a syringe and I shuttered. Caroline was here to hurt me. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have revealed it was her behind it all. I had to think fast, thankful most of the fog from the accident had lifted with more sleep. Things were still fuzzy. I scanned the room.
My IV.
Unless she injected me directly, that would be the easiest place for her to administer whatever fatal concoction she had in that syringe. I wasn’t able to chance running at this point. If she escaped, I had no doubt Ty’s life would be in danger.
Naturally as possible, I folded my arms so I was able to imperceptibly remove the tape on my forearm. It was tough and stuck well. My movements had to be measured. Only tiny bits of progress were made as I stopped intermittently.
“Why did you drug me all those years ago?”
I told myself to keep her talking. Distracted.
Caroline moved closer to me and the IV pole. I pulled more tape off my skin. “I heard your conversation with Millie in the park when you were home on summer break. I happened to be walking by when I heard Charles’ name and hid around the corner. I heard about your misguided thoughts with how Charles wanted to be a lawyer and not in politics. Foolish girl. Charles is destined for politics. I learned of your plans to take the job on Broadway.” Disgustingly she scoffed. “His dick would have followed you. Through the years I tried many times to break you guys up. Nothing worked. I had to get you out of the picture. It was easy getting into your house and slipping you the drugs. You welcomed me as we toasted over water.”
Dramatically, she sighed. “The problem was I gave you too much. I had to drive you into town and position you in the seat. Your foot fell off the gas.”
“But what about Alec?”
Waving her hand as if no consequence. “Means to an end. It happens.”
A woman I thought I knew was a stranger to me. The evil thoughts and plans that lurked behind in the shadows were unbelievable. Alec was no means to an end. He was a person who deserved a chance at life.
Keep her talking, London.
“Who are you? You are not the Caroline I thought of like a mom.”
She leaned forward. “I’m a wolf in sheep’s clothing, sweetheart. Your worst nightmare. Someone who won’t be deterred because her son can’t stop fucking the thing that will mess up his life. Thank goodness you never got yourself pregnant like you did with the poor unsuspecting bastard you married.”
I winced. She knew I was pregnant.
“Rachel?”
A hand dismissively went through the air as she arrogantly gloated. “All planned. She drugged Charles. Pretended she was pregnant. He fell for it. After a few months she staged a miscarriage. You nearly fucked it all up. Everything was going to plan until you got out. Something was supposed to happen in prison that never did.”