Free Soul by Audrey Carlan

She tries to tug it out of my grasp.
    “Gigi, you’re okay, we’re right here,” Kat says, but it doesn’t really get through.
    I close my eyes then open them. Chase. He’s not there. “Where is he?” I yell, the sound bouncing off the walls of the small white room. My entire body is hot and my vision comes in and out. I shake my head, but, instead of seeing clearly, I see colors. A rainbow of color everywhere forces me to blink furiously. “He’s gone! He’s not here!”
Chase
    I walk down the hall whistling. The world is not perfect, but having Gillian back goes a long way toward making it possible for me to breathe a little easier. We’ll find the fucker who did this to her, and I’ll ruin him. One way or another, he’ll be paying for what he’s done to Gillian and her friends.
    Dana is by my side reading through the list of things that need handling at work. When Gillian fell asleep, I called the girls and told them they could come see her when she woke. When they arrived, I slipped out for my meeting with the second-in-command of Chase Industries. Knowing there are two bodyguards outside her door and a team still in the vicinity relieves a bit of the stress of leaving her. Plus, she has the three crazy sisters to keep her company. I feel relief for the first time in days…until I hear her blood curdling scream.
    “He’s gone! He’s not here!” Gillian is screaming into the face of a nurse who entered only moments before I did.
    “Baby, Jesus Christ!” I rush over to her and pull her into my arms.
    She sobs into my chest like earlier. “You weren’t here. You left me! You promised you wouldn’t fucking leave!” Tears track down her bruised face. Her nose runs, but that’s not what gets to me. It’s the eyes. Her beautiful emerald eyes show everything. Fear, anger, betrayal, three things I never want to see when she’s looking at me. “How could you?” her voice cracks with emotion.
    I sit down on the bed and she crawls into my lap like a frightened animal. Over and over she chants you promised, you promised, you promised. Every time she utters the word, it crushes my soul a little more.
    With as much courage as I can muster, I pull her head from the cavern of my chest and look into her eyes once more. “I didn’t leave you. I wasn’t gone. I was down the hall speaking to a business associate and Dana.” I look over at the door. Dana is standing in the doorway holding the MacBook up against her chest as if she too needs to comfort something. Maria, Bree, and Kathleen are standing stock still and staring unbelievably at their friend. This woman, she’s Gillian, but not the Gigi they know. “See,” I gesture to the doorway. “Dana is right there. She came to meet me and to see you.” I shoot for my most placating tone.
    Dana clears her throat, and Gillian looks up at her. Then her eyes go to her friend’s concerned ones. Her face crumbles and tears rush down her face. She hiccups into my chest. “What the fuck is wrong with me?”
    That’s the question of the century, and one I fear only Dr. Madison is going to be able to answer.
    Once I’ve soothed Gillian, the nurse gives her a dose of pain medication and a sedative, and after a short while, she falls back asleep. Leaving the door open enough that she can see me if she wakes up, I walk over to her friends.
    “Ladies, I’m sorry you had to see that.”
    Maria’s face contorts from concern to anger instantly. Fits with her fiery Italian-Spanish heritage. I have many people working under me from similar ethnic backgrounds who can also go from cool as a cucumber to red hot in mere seconds. Those are also the most passionate, loyal and dedicated of my employees but also the individuals who give me headaches.
    Maria points to the room that Gillian is in. “What. The. Fuck. Was. That.” Her words are a short staccato sound.
    I shake my head and let out a breath I’ve been holding. “She’s going through something. It happened