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wild eyes. Somehow, he’d tracked her down; somehow, he’d
found her. He’d come to Southport to take her home or kill her,
and he’d almost succeeded. In one night, he had destroyed the
fragile illusion of security she had managed to construct since
she’d arrived in town.
The terrifying visions of Kevin kept coming back, recurring
endlessly with variations, sometimes changing entirely; there
were moments she saw herself bleeding and dying on the porch,
staring up at the man she hated. When that happened, she
instinctively groped at her stomach, searching for wounds that
didn’t exist, but then she was back in the hospital, sitting and
waiting under fluorescent lights.
She worried about Kristen and Josh. They’d be here soon; Joyce
would bring them in to see their father. She wondered if they
would hate her because of everything that happened, and the
thought made tears sting her eyes. She covered her face with her
hands, wishing she could burrow into a hole so deep that no one
would ever find her. So that Kevin would never find her, she
thought, and then remembered again that she’d watched him die
on the porch. The words He’s dead echoed like a mantra she
couldn’t escape.
“Katie?”
She looked up and saw the doctor who was now treating Alex.
“I can bring you back now,” he said. “He woke up about ten
minutes ago. He’s still in ICU, so you can’t stay long, but he wants
to see you.”
“Is he okay?”
“Right now, he’s about as good as can be expected. He took a
nasty blow.”
Limping slightly, she followed the doctor as they made their way
to Alex’s room. She took a deep breath and straightened her