Free Faithless Angel by Kimberly Raye Page B

press the button and Vivian over there”—the nurse pointed to a gray-haired woman who sat in front of the monitors—“will let you out.”
    Faith took two steps forward and the door shut behind her. She found herself alone in a dimly lit hospital room that looked like any other, with the exception of bars built into the thick window glass and the padded furniture—what little there was. The sparse furnishings consisted of a single chair and a hospital bed.
    Her attention went to Daniel, who lay so calm and serene in the small bed that for a fleeting second, an image rushed to her mind of a young girl huddled in the darkness, haunted by nightmares, by her loneliness….
    I’m scared
.
    She shook the memory away. This wasn’t Jane. It didn’t matter that this boy was just as needy, just as scared. Daniel wasn’t Jane.
    With that firmly in mind, Faith fixed her attention on the boy, his arm hidden in a thick white cast that covered from mid-bicep to wrist. The smell of disinfectant filled her nostrils and she closed her eyes to another wave of memories.
    Sorry, Ms. Jansen. Sorry
.
    She forced her eyes open and concentrated on Daniel. She would look in on him, make sure everything was okay; then her duty would be done. Tomorrow she would have new papers drawn up and sign the whole responsibility of Faith’s House over to Bradley. First thing tomorrow.
    As she drew closer, she realized Daniel looked much smaller than she remembered. Younger, with his fine blond hair and his pale, almost sickly looking skin. Before she could stop herself, she reached out and traced a finger along his cheekbone. Dark circles rimmed his eyes. Her gaze traveled farther down his body. Fresh bruises covered the upper half of his chest, the marks disappearing beneath the thick white cast on his left arm.
    So young, and so undeserving …
    She closed her eyes to the thought, her mind filled with another image—a young girl with dark hair and lightly tanned skin and an entire future ahead of her.
    Sorry we can’t do more
.
    Severe trauma …
    Sorry
…
    Faith’s eyes snapped open to the sudden lash of rain against the hospital window. Water began running in thick rivers down the tinted glass. Her gaze went to the nasty abrasion on Daniel’s cheek, obviously from the fall.
    Correction—jump. Suicide. Daniel had
wanted
to hurt himself. To kill himself.
Three suicide attempts
.
    He wanted to die, and Jane had desperately wanted to live.
    The realization brought a bitter smile to Faith’s lips. It was so unfair. Every day people took their lives, wasted them, while others yearned to live—
    “What the hell are you doing here?” Daniel’s voice, a hoarse whisper, shattered the silence.
    A wave of doubt swamped her and she tried to move, to back up. But his hand closed around her wrist with surprising strength and she froze.
    Trapped
.

Chapter Five
    “I …” Faith swallowed against the sudden panic.
    Panic, and he was only holding her wrist. Where had the feeling been yesterday when he’d held a knife to her throat?
    She took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and disengaged her hand. Unconsciously, her fingers stroked the spot on her wrist where he’d held her. “I was just looking in on you. How are you feeling?”
    “Alive, unfortunately.” Accusing blue eyes glared up at her. “Couldn’t mind your own business, could you?”
    “Why did you do it?” As if he could answer, she thought. As if any explanation could help her understand why he was so eager to give up what Jane had fought so desperately for.
    “Why not?” he countered, the question flip, cold, and Faith felt the irony gripping her harder. “You think living in some hellhole with strangers is better?”He shook his head, his words dripping with venom. “Go on back to your kids, lady. I don’t need your pity, or your help. Just leave me alone.”
    She would have gone, but something—something wrought from years of pushing and fighting and helping—prodded her