Blood Between Us

CHAPTER 19– The Visitor

Leo’s POV

She was still sleeping when I walked in the next morning.

Strapped down. Sedated. Pale.

The sight of her like that would haunt me longer than the night I pulled her from that warehouse.

I sat down next to her, careful not to touch her this time. She’d been flinching even in her sleep. Fighting nightmares only she could see.

I didn’t want to be another shadow in her mind.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

But she didn’t hear me.

Or maybe she did — but her body wasn’t ready to let go of the fear yet.

I stood, turned, and left quietly. There were things I needed to finish. Clues that still didn’t make sense. And one person I hadn’t spoken to since everything went to hell.

My father’s former assistant.

He knew the faces at those parties.

He’d know her.

---

Hospital Room – Later That Day

Olivia’s POV

The sedative had started to wear off.

My eyelids fluttered, heavy as bricks. My body felt numb but buzzed with discomfort.

I tried to speak, but my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth.

Then I felt it.

A presence.

Not Leo.

Not the nurses.

Something colder.

My lashes parted slowly.

Someone stood at the foot of my bed.

A woman.

Wearing a nurse’s coat.

But I knew that frame. That energy. That stillness.

Her face was turned slightly, just enough to stay hidden from the hallway window.

My throat seized.

No.

No no no.

I tried to move. The restraints held me down.

I couldn’t scream. My voice was a rasp.

She took one step closer.

And then another.

Her hand slid into her pocket.

I struggled, thrashed, but my arms were still tied.

She leaned forward.

Her lips barely moved.

“Tell Leo I said hello.”

Then she turned and walked out.

Before anyone came.

Before any monitor could catch the panic.

I screamed after her.

This time, loud enough.

Nurses rushed in.

I sobbed, shaking violently.

“She was here! She was in this room!”

“No one came in, Olivia,” one nurse said, clearly spooked.

“Check the cameras!” I screamed. “Please! She stood right there!”

But I could see the doubt forming in their eyes.

They thought I was breaking again.

Losing grip.

Maybe I was.

Or maybe she was just that good.

Either way, I knew what I felt.

And she was real.

Still close.

Still watching.

---

Unknown POV

I told her I’d see her again.

But she didn’t believe me.

Now she does.

And next time?

There won’t be a door between us.