And I remember now that I’ve never really liked the sun. I burn too easily, especially the top of my head. I don’t want a margarita. I don’t even want a surfer dude.

Mostly, I want to see Evan again.

Eighth floor, they said. Maybe I could creep upstairs, gaze in on him sleeping….

I will tell him that I love him, whisper it in his ear, the way I used to do every night when he was a baby.

I’ll touch a blonde curl, the stubborn cowlick above his right eye. I’ll finger its softness, and that’ll remind me of all the times Evan hugged me, Evan kissed me, Evan told me he loved me.

To the moon and the stars and back again …

I don’t want to run away. I just want to hold my son. I want us to be all right again.

Eighth floor. Not so far. Not so hard. A short elevator ride to Evan.

I crack open my door, peer down the hall. Coast is clear. I make a break for it, hobbling my way to freedom.

I pass the nurses’ station, getting halfway down the hall, then three-quarters of the way. Almost to the elevator banks. So close. Fifteen more feet. Ten. Five. Two more steps, I’ll be able to reach out—

“Victoria?”

The voice behind me brings me up short. I turn reluctantly, feeling doomed. I can’t go back, I think wildly. I need my son. I need my freedom. I need something other than this incredible ache in my chest.

“Victoria?” my lover says again. His face a picture of concern. “What are you doing up? You shouldn’t be out of bed.”

“I’m feeling much better, thank you.”

“Victoria, I think your side …”

I look down. What do you know? I’m bleeding.

He holds out an arm. “Come on, follow me.”

“No.”

“Victoria?”

“I have to go upstairs. Find Evan. Please. Please help me.”

I realize for the first time that he’s holding a large black gadget between his hands. It looks like a gun, but not really. “What’s that?” I ask.

He looks around. Still no nurses in sight. “Expediency,” he says.

He points it at me. I feel a sudden electric jolt, and then …

Chapter Thirty-Six

CHAPTER
THIRTY-SIX

D.D. and Alex bypassed the elevators in favor of the stairs. They needed to stretch their legs, and the empty stairwell was excellent for talking.

“What d’you think?” she asked Alex the moment the heavy fire door closed behind them.

“About Gym Coach Greg?”

“About all of them. We have Nurse Danielle, whose family history dovetails with the crimes, as well as having a personal connection to both Lucy and Lightfoot.”

“Lightfoot?”

“He was into her, even if she wasn’t into him.”