Free As Darkness Gathers (Dark Betrayals Book 2) by Emma Elliot Page A

rasping against my neck, and I pulled him closer, rocking back and forth.
    “Stay with me. Stay with me now. Don’t leave me.” I chanted it over and over until my voice was a soundless croak.  
    The wind began its haunting symphony in the trees, and the river rushed on.  
    As darkness gathered, Clay stopped shivering. I patted his face, stroked my fingers over his short hair, and rubbed his chest. My lips moved, but no sound escaped.
    It wasn’t until I heard a whine and felt a cold, damp nose against my ear that I realized I’d slipped into a doze hunched over Clay. I couldn’t find the strength to lift my head as the nose nuzzled under my chin. My forehead dropped onto Clay’s as a deep bark resonated in the air and then the large, warm, furry body curled around my back.
    I didn’t know if it was moments or hours later when I saw the lights and heard the growl of engines.  
    There was more barking, and then voices, and then there was only silence and darkness.  

Chapter Six
    Slow, steady beeping and the hushed murmur of voices woke me. I blinked at the ceiling, frowning at the unfamiliar surroundings.
    “Jacob, she’s awake.”
    My mother’s face appeared above me, my father behind her with his hands on her shoulders.
    “Mama?”
    “Oh, sweetheart.” Her red-rimmed eyes filled, and her hand trembled as she stroked the hair back from my forehead.
    Awareness rolled over me. “I tried . . .” I licked my lips, and my mother raised the head of my bed and held a purple plastic cup to my mouth. I gulped at the water until I almost choked. The cool wetness was such a relief that my eyes slid closed. “I tried to go for help.”
    “And you succeeded,” my father said, his voice gruff with emotion. “You’re in a hospital in Ottawa.”
    “They . . . they found the others?’
    “Everyone’s here, except the first officer. He was flown to another hospital with a larger intensive care unit.”
    “They’re all okay?”
    “There were some broken bones. They’ve been monitoring Mrs. Mason’s heart, and the young man you pulled out of the river was in bad shape when he got here, but he’s out of ICU now. You had a concussion and a bruised shoulder, and everyone was suffering severe dehydration and stages of hypothermia.”
    My teeth started chattering.
    “Are you cold, sweetheart?” My mother tucked the bed linens closer around me.
    “No, I was . . . I was so scared.”
    A tear slid down my mother’s cheek, and my father cleared his throat before he spoke. “We’re proud of you, Finch. Incredibly proud.”
    “Edgar?”
    “They didn’t leave him behind.”
    I felt as if my entire body had been pulverized, but I was warm and the others were safe. My eyes grew heavy.
    “Are you in pain?”
    “No, Mama. Tired. Just . . . tired.” I felt her cool lips against my brow.  
    “Rest now.”
       
    I awoke to a dip in the mattress and the soft clasp of a hand around my own.
    Julia’s chin wobbled. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t wake you. But you were lying so still, and I needed to see your eyes.”
    I squeezed her fingers and smiled. “I’ve really been craving one of your cupcakes.”
    Her sob hiccupped into a laugh. “Well, you’re in luck. I brought five dozen with me.” She knuckled away the tears collecting on her lashes. “You’re okay? I won’t hurt you if I hug you?”
    “Of course not.”
    My eyes slid closed, tears burning behind my lids as we hugged.  
    I was enveloped in the scent that always clung to her, sugar and flour, and the familiarity of it was piercing. Both our eyes were damp when she drew back.
    “I talked to Sydney,” she said. “She wishes she were here, but she’s on a three-day trip. And you know how she is about hospitals.”
    I nodded.  
    Sydney’s aversion to hospitals had escalated during her brother William’s long stint of rehabilitation after his accident but had been building all her life. Her mother had been a frequent visitor in the