Blood Between Us

CHAPTER 21 – No Safe Place

Olivia’s POV

I refused the sedatives that night.

The nurses offered. Twice.

But I couldn’t sleep.

Wouldn’t.

I stayed awake with my back to the wall, blankets wrapped around me, one hand always resting on my stomach.

If anyone came, I needed to be ready.

I didn’t care if they thought I was paranoid.

Paranoia is what’s kept me alive.

I could still hear the heartbeat.

My baby.

The one good sound in this nightmare.

The only reason I was still breathing.

A knock came around midnight.

I jumped, eyes wide.

It was a nurse — a real one this time. Name badge. Familiar face.

"Sorry to wake you," she said. "Dr. Harlow wants to do a final check tonight. He’s heading home for a few days and wants to be sure everything’s stable."

I nodded slowly.

She entered and began checking vitals.

But I kept watching the door.

Then I noticed something.

The hallway.

The two guards Leo assigned were gone.

I sat upright. "Where are the men outside my door?"

The nurse froze.

Just for a second.

But I saw it.

That hesitation.

That shift in her expression.

Before she could answer, the lights flickered.

Twice.

Then shut off.

Darkness.

Total.

I screamed.

Not because I was being touched.

Not because someone attacked.

Just because I knew.

She was coming.

Again.

---

Leo’s POV

I was standing across town in a cold, rusting basement.

The man in front of me shook with every word.

“She was there, Leo. The woman in the photo. She worked for your father years ago. Cleaning up things. Tying loose ends. Getting rid of… problems.”

“What kind of problems?”

“People. Witnesses. Girls.”

I gritted my teeth.

“What’s her name?”

“We didn’t know. They just called her Dahlia.”

Dahlia.

A name wrapped in poison.

I stepped back, my heart thudding.

I had to get back to Olivia.

But my phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

I answered.

No voice.

Just a sound.

Static.

Then...

Olivia’s scream.

And the line went dead.

I didn’t even breathe.

I just ran.