The Way to Her Heart (22 page)

She found her way to the kitchen but didn’t see any nonalcoholic options. She was starving, so she helped herself to a handful of chips to tide her over until she got home to some real food. She wished Josh were here. She had no idea how to go about chatting people up like he had at the last party. She realized she had some level of social anxiety, but the realization didn’t help much at the moment. She ate the last of the potato chips, brushed the crumbs off on her jeans, and went forth to do battle, social anxiety be damned. Her best bet would be to find Natalia and/or Sofia and get them to introduce her to the host.

“Hi. You here alone?” The speaker was a dark-haired guy who looked to be in his early twenties and had a friendly smile on his face.

“Um, no. I came with some friends, but they seem to have disappeared.” She looked around vaguely and shrugged.

“Bummer. I’m Ben, by the way. You want something to drink?”

“Oh, no thanks.” She was pleased when he simply nodded and continued to chat in a friendly way. He didn’t give her any creepy vibes, so she decided to see if she could solicit his help. “I’m Bernie. Hey, do you know the guy who lives here?”

“Cory? Yeah, I know him. Why?”

That didn’t sound right. Diego had told her a different name, she was almost sure, but she couldn’t remember it. “Could you introduce me to him? I think he knew a friend of mine.” She smiled in what she hoped was a charming way.

It must have worked because he smiled and stepped a bit closer. “Sure. He’s around here somewhere.” He gestured for her to follow him. “Bernie, huh? That’s an unusual name.”

She smiled crookedly and shrugged, not wanting to explain her full name to this stranger. They worked their way through the various rooms in the large house, stopping to chat with quite a few people. Ben was obviously popular and seemed happy to introduce his new acquaintance around. Nearly everyone was friendly, and Bernie was forced to rethink her earlier sense of discomfort.

They were talking to a group in the living room when the front door opened to admit several new guests, including Diego. He stopped when he noticed Bernie and gave her a smile, which looked more like a grimace.

“Hey, Bernie. What’s up? I haven’t seen much of you lately.”

“Hi, Diego.” She was still embarrassed by the way things had turned out on their last date. She knew she had used him and didn’t like how it made her feel. She was relieved when he moved on.

They finally found their host in the den. “There he is.” Ben put his hand at the small of Bernie’s back and led her forward. “Hey, Cory. This is Bernie. She says you know a friend of hers.”

A young man around Ben’s age stood and shook Bernie’s hand with a friendly grin. She didn’t see any sign of the creeper Natalia had called him but decided to reserve judgment. “Hi. What’s your friend’s name?”

“Gabby Rodriguez.”

“Hmm. Doesn’t ring a bell.” He appeared to think. “What does she look like? Is she here tonight?”

Bernie narrowed her eyes, trying to discern if this Cory was telling the truth. She wasn’t very good at judging people, but he seemed sincere. “No, she’s not here. She’s dead. She was murdered.”

“No shit? Wow. No, I don’t think I ever met her.” He appeared concerned. “Hey, is that the body they found a couple months ago in the arroyo?”

Bernie nodded, unable to speak. His bald statement had brought it all back suddenly.

“She was your friend, huh? I’m really sorry. Well, I don’t know who told you I knew her, but I’m pretty sure we never met. Have they figured out what happened?”

“She was my friend. Thanks. No, they haven’t figured anything out.” She was livid with Natalia for lying to her and manipulating her into coming to this party. What was her game? Bernie was so tired she could hardly think straight and she just wanted to get home. “Sorry I bothered you.” She turned to leave, determined to find Natalia and Sofia and make them take her home.

“Hey, where are you going?” Ben had followed her as she headed off to search for the girls.

“I need to find my, uh, the people I came with.” She refused to call them “friends” after tonight. “They’re my ride.”

“I’ll take you home,” he offered.

She was tempted by the expediency of the offer but hesitated. She didn’t know him, nor did she know how much he’d had to drink before she met him. She was considering calling a cab, regardless of the expense, when Sofia appeared at her side.

“There you are! We’ve been looking all over for you. We have to go. Nat’s mom called and told her to come home. Are you ready?” She made it sound as if the entire evening had been a favor to Bernie.

Bernie was so irritated she couldn’t say anything. She nodded tersely and turned to Ben. “It was nice to meet you. Thanks for introducing me to everyone.”

“My pleasure.” He pulled her slightly away from Sofia. “Can I get your number? I’d love to see you again.”

Bernie was flattered enough to give it to him. Her heart belonged to Josh, but she didn’t hold out much hope he’d ever return her feelings. Ben was attractive and she had enjoyed spending time with him this evening.

“Come on, Bernie! Nat’s already in trouble.”

Bernie rolled her eyes at Sofia’s dramatic tone. “Fine. I’m ready.” She mumbled under her breath that she’d been ready for over an hour and she’d never wanted to come in the first place. Once in the backseat of Natalia’s car, she leaned her head against the headrest and closed her eyes, unable to pretend anymore.

“Anyone want water?” Sofia’s grating voice penetrated Bernie’s fogginess.

“Yeah, thanks.” She hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since before noon except the handful of salty potato chips, which had left her parched. She accepted the bottle Sofia handed her, unscrewed the top, and drank deeply. Something about it bothered her, niggling in the recesses of her mind, but she was too tired to focus and figure it out. She caught Natalia’s glance at Sofia in the rearview mirror and frowned. She took another gulp of water, closed her eyes again, and drifted off for several minutes.

She was startled awake as the car hit a pothole. She tried to lift her head, but it felt incredibly heavy. She managed to roll it to the side and glanced out the window. “Where are we?” She was astonished to realize her words were garbled; it was so hard to speak and even to think. What was going on? They were clearly headed east toward the foothills. Bernie’s car was down near the university. She fumbled with the lid to her water bottle, hoping a drink would clear her fuzzy mind. This time she noticed a weird aftertaste, and her heart pounded hard as she realized what had bothered her earlier. The water bottled hadn’t been sealed. It had opened easily, without a snap as the factory seal was broken.
Did they put something in my water? What is going on here?
Bernie closed her eyes again and tried to corral her swirling thoughts. First, Natalia and Sofia had manipulated her into attending a party by telling her she would meet a guy who had come on to Gabby the night she disappeared. After meeting Cory, Bernie believed Natalia had lied. And now they had apparently roofied her water bottle. She didn’t know why, but she knew she was in danger and needed to get out of this car—now. If she waited to see where they were taking her, well, it would be a very bad thing. What could she do? “Pull over, Nat! I’m gonna barf!” She held her hand in front of her mouth and reached for the door handle.

Natalia reacted like most people would—she jerked the steering wheel and pulled the car to the shoulder. Bernie pushed the door open and stumbled through the weeds. She bent over and pushed her middle finger down her throat as far as it would go, making herself throw up, some for show and some to hopefully rid her system of whatever drug she’d ingested. She could hear footsteps in the gravel behind her. “Sorry about this. I must have—agh!” Her shoulder exploded in pain.

“You just couldn’t leave it alone, could you, Bernie?” Natalia hissed in her ear and twisted the knife she’d plunged into Bernie’s upper back. “Do it, Sofia!”

“No!” Sofia sobbed. “I don’t want to!”

“Do it!” Natalia screamed, nearly bursting Bernie’s eardrum.

Bernie screamed and kept screaming as Sofia stabbed her in the side. She collapsed to the gravel into the puddle of vomit and tumbleweeds, groaning as she struggled to remain conscious.

The other girls knelt beside her, and Bernie was sure they were prepared to finish her off. She squeezed her eyes shut and thought of Josh; his smile, his kindness, how much she loved him. She regretted he would have to deal with another death in his life and hoped he wouldn’t grieve too long. Time seemed to stand still as she waited for the pain to begin again; had it ever stopped?

“I guess you know what happened to Gabby now, huh?” Natalia growled the question into Bernie’s ear as she pushed the knife deeper. “Too bad you’re the only one who’ll ever know.”

“Nat, we gotta go! This is a busy road! People are going to drive by and we’ll get caught!” Sofia was crying. “What are we gonna do?”

“Shut
up
, Sofia! Help me get her back in the car. We can’t leave her here.”

“Why?” Bernie wasn’t sure if she’d actually managed to get the word out. “Why Gabby?”

“Why?” Natalia stopped and laughed in Bernie’s face. “Because she was a bitch and she needed to die! You should have let it go, Bernie.” She grabbed Bernie under her arms and began dragging her to the car.

The pain was beyond excruciating, and she felt herself slipping away. It was too much; she had to get beyond it. Her eyes drifted closed and she gave up.

A blindingly bright light seared through her eyelids as she heard tires screech to a halt in the gravel. She was fading fast but realized Natalia and Sofia had left her, crunching through the gravel as they ran toward their car. She heard wheels throwing rocks and dirt as it pulled away from the shoulder.

“Bernie? Oh my God! You’re bleeding! Shit! There’s too much blood!”

She felt something shoved against her side as more throbbing pain enveloped her. “Diego? What—?” Her question faded along with the last vestiges of her consciousness. Merciful blackness welcomed her.

Chapter Thirteen

Josh

“
It’s
time, Josh.”

“Caleb?” Josh ran to his little brother and threw his arms around him.

“Oof! Can’t breathe!”

“But aren’t you—I mean, I thought—” Josh pulled back and stared into his brother’s face.

Caleb burst out laughing. “You should see your face! Oh my God, it’s priceless!”

“Hilarious. Really.” Josh crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at him.

Caleb finally stopped laughing and threw an arm around Josh’s neck. “Sorry, bro. I couldn’t resist.”

“You said ‘It’s time.’ What did you mean?”

Caleb’s smile disappeared. “Yeah. It’s Bernie. She’s in danger. It’s happening.”

“What’s happening?” Josh grabbed Caleb’s upper arms.

“I don’t know. I just know she’s in danger. She needs you.”

“Shit! I’m in San Francisco, Caleb! She’s like a thousand miles away! What am I supposed to do?”

But Caleb was gone.

Josh woke up sweaty and tangled in the hotel sheets. He didn’t know what to make of the dream. It was just a dream, the product of his overactive imagination and anxiety about Bernie. Wasn’t it?
Crap.
It was too early to text her, only 5:00 a.m. in Albuquerque; he didn’t want to wake her on one of her only days to sleep in. He was due to fly home early the next morning. He’d call her later during one of his breaks. He was wide awake, so he decided to get in a workout in the hotel gym before classes started for the day. He pushed himself to his physical limits, trying to forget the disturbing dream. He’d never mentioned the previous dream to his therapist or anyone else, believing it to be an aberration brought about by his brother’s birthday. He’d thought it was a one-time thing. Apparently not.

He was distracted and cranky during the cooking class. His final project, a complicated four-course meal, didn’t turn out as well as he’d hoped. He’d only been able to reach Bernie via text message and he really needed to hear her voice. She’d said she was fine, of course, and he shouldn’t worry about her. She was working all day and planning a quiet evening at home. She’d texted,

Relax
.
I’ll see you tomorrow at the airport
.

The eternal day finally ended, and he ordered room service, opting for a quiet evening in his hotel room with the worst cable TV had to offer. Two episodes of
Naked and Alone
were enough for him; he clicked the TV off, disgusted, and read for an hour before falling into a restless sleep.

His phone buzzing woke him several hours later. He saw it was his mother and his gut clenched with apprehension. He couldn’t imagine a scenario where she called in the middle of the night with good news. “Mom? What’s wrong?”

“Josh, honey.” She sniffed, and he could tell she’d been crying. “It’s Bernie.”

He leapt from the bed and began pacing. “Tell me.”

“She’s in the hospital. She’s in surgery.”

He felt his knees give out, and he sank to the carpet. “What happened?”

***

Josh stared out at the rain lashing the windows of Bernie’s hospital room. He thought he’d left the rain behind in San Francisco, but it seemed to have followed him home to Albuquerque. He was exhausted but refused to leave until she awoke. The doctor had been in a half hour ago and tried to reassure him.

“She’s had major surgery and is on some heavy painkillers. She lost a lot of blood, but we were able to repair the damage. Go home and get some rest. She won’t wake for hours yet.”

He’d refused, of course. He hadn’t left her room since he arrived. The steady beep of her heart monitor was the only thing keeping him sane at the moment.

“Josh, honey? I brought you a sandwich,” Claire whispered as she tiptoed into the room. She and Detective Garcia had gone down to the cafeteria together an hour before. They seemed pretty chummy with each other. Josh was sure it would bother him later, but right now he couldn’t spare the energy.

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll eat it later.”

She sighed and set it on the tray, realizing the futility of trying to get him to eat before Bernie woke up.

“Any change?” The detective stepped to Bernie’s bedside and took her hand.

Josh shook his head and turned back to stare out the window.

Claire walked across the room and hugged him from behind. “Mike’s going to drive me home. I need to feed Freddie. I’ll be back in the morning.”

Mike? Oh, great!
“Yeah, okay.”

“Did you find them yet?” Josh addressed the detective. Natalia and Sofia were missing, on the run apparently. Garcia had filled Josh in on how Diego had interrupted the girls, most likely saving Bernie’s life. He said he’d followed them from the party because he hadn’t liked the whispering he’d seen the two girls engaged in before ushering Bernie away. He’d never trusted them, even when he and Gabby had dated. Something had told him Bernie was in danger. Josh owed him…everything.

“Not yet. But we’ll get them. Don’t worry. In the meantime, I have a uniform posted outside this room 24/7. She’s safe.”

She was safe now, but Josh would never forgive himself for not immediately hopping on an airplane and coming home to keep her safe yesterday morning. Caleb had warned him! Why hadn’t he listened? He ran his hands through his hair and nodded at Garcia.

He was dozing in the chair beside her bed when the nurse came in to check Bernie’s vitals. He took the opportunity to use the bathroom and grab a cup of coffee from the nurses’ station. They had told him to help himself when they’d realized he wouldn’t leave Bernie’s side long enough to go to the cafeteria.

“She’s doing fine,” the night nurse assured him when he returned to the room.

“Why doesn’t she wake up?”

The nurse smiled. “She’s healing, Josh. Her body knows what it needs. She’ll wake up when she’s ready. You need to have faith, young man.” She patted his shoulder and left.

As dawn was seeping between the aluminum blinds, chasing the shadows from the sterile hospital room, Bernie finally woke. Josh was asleep in the chair next to her bed, his neck bent at an awkward angle that would most likely pain him all day. He felt her hand, held loosely in his, flinch and squeeze lightly. She coughed and groaned restlessly.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m here. You’re okay, Bernie.” He leaned over her, brushing the hair off her forehead.

“Josh?” Her whisper was barely distinguishable.

“Yeah. I’m here.”

Her eyelids fluttered and she smiled ever so slightly before she fell back asleep.

***

He
was finally convinced to go home and get some sleep. He had stubbornly refused until Bernie had woken up fully, assured him she would be fine, and ordered him to leave.

“No offense, but you look like crap.” She’d tried to sound stern but ended with a hiss of pain as she tried to shift her position.

He’d reached across her to press the button for the nurse. “I’ll leave as soon as you get some pain meds. Deal?”

She’d grimaced but agreed. He waited until her eyes were drooping, then drove his mother’s Lexus home. She’d left it when
Mike
had driven her home earlier. She was planning to take his place at the hospital while he got some sleep. It was the only way he’d agreed to leave Bernie.

He thought he would collapse into his bed, but he found himself too tightly wound to sleep yet. He stood under the shower spray, as hot as he could stand, and thought about what Detective Garcia had told him this morning when he’d stopped by. He’d been unable to find Bernie’s mother at their trailer; it was obvious no one had been living there recently. He had no idea where she was and had no way of informing her about her daughter. Josh dried himself, then shaved the two days of blond scruff on his face and pulled on a pair of sweatpants. He knew he wouldn’t sleep, so he spent twenty minutes throwing a ball for Freddie in the backyard, then watched a few game shows before finally falling asleep on the couch.

He woke four hours later, ravenous and cramped from not sleeping in his bed. He downed a power bar and a few gulps of milk straight from the carton before heading out for a quick run. He was anxious to get back to the hospital but knew he needed to work out a few kinks and clear his head before he resumed his watch over Bernie. He would most likely be sleeping in the chair beside her bed tonight since he had no intention of leaving her by herself. He showered again before backing his truck out of the garage and driving to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where Bernie had been taken because of its level one trauma facilities. He shuddered as he thought of the horror she’d gone through. Thank God Diego had followed her. She’d lost a lot of blood and had internal damage the surgeons assured him they had repaired, but they’d had to remove her spleen. They wouldn’t know how much damage had been done to her shoulder until she was able to stay awake for more than a few minutes. They planned to keep her several more days to make sure she was well on the road to recovery, and then Josh and Claire could take her home.

Maurice and Drew were there when Josh arrived. They had brought a giant arrangement of flowers in various shades of pink and purple and a dish of crème brûlée she might be allowed to eat after dinner.

“Here he is!” Maurice announced unnecessarily. “She’s been anxious for you to get back.”

“Sorry I took so long.” He bent to kiss her forehead and look carefully in her face for signs of pain or distress.

“Mmm. You smell so good, Josh,” she murmured groggily.

He raised an eyebrow at the two men.

Drew snickered as Maurice explained, “The nurse came in with her pain meds a few minutes ago. It appears they’ve started working. We’ll get out of your hair so she can get some rest. Claire’s downstairs getting some lunch.”

“Thanks for coming by, guys. It means a lot.”

“Of course, Josh.” Drew gave him a quick hug. “We’ll stop by tomorrow.”

“You get better, little missy, you hear?” Maurice bent to kiss Bernie’s head. She managed to pry her eyes open long enough to mumble something unintelligible.

“You came back,” she whispered as he sat in the chair beside her bed. He’d thought she was already asleep.

“Of course I did.”

She smiled as her eyes drifted closed again. “Thirsty.”

He poured some water into the paper cup on her tray and held the straw to her mouth. She managed to sip a small amount and sighed. “Go to sleep, sweetheart. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

She slept two hours. Claire left shortly after Maurice and Drew but promised to stop by later, after she’d checked in at both restaurants. Josh had brought a book and was reading when Bernie woke.

“
1984
?
Sitting here isn’t boring enough?”

He set the book aside and stood, leaning over her bed. “Yeah, well, I was supposed to have it read by today. How are you feeling?”

“Like I got stabbed by a couple of crazy, psychotic bitches.” She grimaced in pain as she tried to shift positions. “Why aren’t you at school?”

“Here, let me help.” He raised the bed, helping her sit up. “Stop squirming. You’re going to bust something open. I’m not at school because I’m here with you.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “You need to go to school, Josh.”

“Well, then I guess you better recover fast. I’m not leaving you here by yourself.”

She gave him a wobbly smile. “Thanks. Can you get the nurse?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just need to go to the bathroom. They took my catheter out earlier. Wow that makes the top ten list of things I never wanted to say to you.”

He laughed and exited the room but returned within moments. “They’re slammed right now, so it’ll be a little while.”

She bit her lip, looking worried. “I really need to go.”

“I’ll help.”

“Also on my top ten list,” she muttered. She eased her legs over the edge of the hospital bed and let them dangle for a moment before gripping Josh’s arm to stand.

“Okay, take it slow. We don’t need you passing out.”

“I’m not going to pass out. Can you get this IV thingy? And don’t stand behind me! I don’t have anything on under this stupid gown!”

He helped her into the bathroom and made sure she was directly in front of the toilet before stepping outside, leaving the door cracked. He waited until he heard the toilet flush. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

He helped her back to the bed and got her settled. She was trembling and white about the lips. “You need some more pain medication.”

She shook her head. “Later. It puts me to sleep.” She wiped away a tear that had leaked out. “Can you talk to me for a while? Please?”