Scorched to Ash Beneath the Blazing Sun novel · Chapter 6 of 24

Chapter 6: What I Felt

The ambulance took Lance to Redrock County Hospital, and so did I, in the back of Brice's truck, because my pass said I had two hours and I had used one.

By the time we reached the ER hallway, a crowd had formed outside the bay.

Two deputies, a nurse with a clipboard, and a couple I had never met.

The woman wore pearls and a cream silk blouse.

The man was big and gray and held his phone.

I knew them from a single framed photograph on Lance's dresser.

Mr. and Mrs. Lyle.

They had never once come to dinner in three years.

"That's her," Mrs. Lyle said.

She crossed the hall in four quick steps, and her hand cracked across my face.

My head snapped sideways.

Rhonda hissed through her teeth.

"What did you do to my son?" Mrs. Lyle said. Her voice shook. "What have you done?"

"Ma'am," Brice said.

He was between us before I could take a breath.

"Your son collapsed in a parking lot twenty feet from her. She had an IV port in her arm. Touch her again and I'll arrest you for assault."

"This girl is a witch," Mrs. Lyle said. "He's never been sick a day in his life!"

"I know," I said.

My cheek was burning, and my voice was steady.

"He's never been sick a day in his life, and I've been sick for three years."

Mrs. Lyle opened her mouth and could not find the next word.

Mr. Lyle did.

"Ms. Hartwell," he said, and he gave the name a flat little weight. "My lawyer would like a quiet word."

A man in a gray suit stepped out of the crowd with a leather folder.

He didn't introduce himself.

"My clients are prepared to be generous," he said. "Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, paid today."

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