Evidence of Mercy by Terri Blackstock Page A

she said, putting her arms around her and guiding her back to the door. “You’re the lady who was in the crash with him, aren’t you?”
    Unable to speak, Lynda nodded her head.
    â€œHoney, I’m so sorry,” the nurse said, taking her to her wheelchair and lowering her into it. “But you shouldn’t be out of your room. You should be in bed. Jake will still be here tomorrow.”
    â€œWill he?” Lynda asked, looking up at her. “He looks like—like he may not make it.”
    â€œLooks can be deceiving,” the nurse said. “I don’t know you, but I’d say you’ve probably looked better yourself.”
    â€œBut he’s still . . . unconscious. What if he doesn’t wake up? And what’s wrong with his face? It’s all bandaged.”
    â€œHe was in a plane crash, darlin’. His face is the least of his problems.”
    Lynda grabbed the nurse’s arm and started to stand, her face pleading for the truth. “Just tell me if—if he’s expected to die.”
    The woman gently lowered her back to the chair. “I can’t lie to you. It could go either way. But if he makes it through tonight, I’ll feel a lot better about his chances tomorrow.”
    Finally leaning back, Lynda wailed into her hands.
    â€œI’m gonna take you back to your room now, darlin’, and tomorrow, if he wakes up, I’ll make sure you get to see him. My name’s Abby, and you can call me anytime tomorrow to get a report.”
    Lynda couldn’t talk as the nurse rolled her back to the elevator.

CHAPTER NINE
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    P aige lay still as she heard a car door slam in front of her motel room. Footsteps passed her door, and then she heard the door to the next room open and a woman’s shrill laughter.
    It wasn’t Keith. She turned onto her side and looked at her daughter, sleeping only in her underwear since they hadn’t brought any extra clothes with them. The child slept soundly. Why not? She feared her father, but she didn’t understand that her father was stalking them, threatening to take her from her mother and make her little life one nightmare after another, just as Paige’s marriage had been.
    What was he doing right now? Was he still waiting at her house, expecting Paige to breeze in and confront him? Or was he at his own apartment, devising another way of getting close to Brianna, inventing more lies about Paige’s being an unfit mother, a child abuser, and a general danger to society?
    â€œWhat am I gonna do?” she whispered to the darkness.
    Brianna muttered a string of nonsense words under her breath. Turning on her side, Paige pulled her daughter against her. “It’s okay, sweetheart,” she said softly. “Mommy’s here.”
    Brianna’s breathing settled back into a peaceful rhythm, and Paige checked the clock. Only three hours before she had to be at work, she thought. What was she going to do with Brianna? She couldn’t take her to day care again. Keith could come back and intimidate Brianna’s teachers into handing her over. No, she couldn’t take that chance. But she couldn’t call in sick, either. She’d used up all her sick days earlier in the year when Keith had broken her arm and blackened both eyes. The shame of going to work like that had kept her home until makeup could disguise her bruises. But there were no sick days left.
    There was no choice, she told herself. She would take Brianna to work with her. Brianna could sit on the floor and color as Paige typed; maybe if she explained it to her boss, he would understand. Maybe, just this once, fate would have a little mercy on her.

CHAPTER TEN
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    S omeone had driven a stake through his temples, Jake thought as he opened the eye that wasn’t bandaged. And if his pain was any indication, that someone had done the same through his cheekbone, his neck, down his arms, and across his shoulders.