Free Shades of Deception by Amanda Meadows

famished.”
    The nurse checked her watch.
    “You're still in time to have breakfast sent up. Let me check your chart and see if the doctor placed any restrictions on what you can have.”
    Caleb leaned over and whispered in her ear.
    “If they don't have decent food, Megan and I will sneak you something later.”
    The nurse swatted Caleb with Amber's chart.
    “I heard that young man. Lucky for you, the doctor said she can have whatever she wants.”
    The nurse held up a pressure cuff.
    “Let me just check your vitals while I'm in here,” she said, smiling. “If the doctor clears you later this morning, you can go home this afternoon.”
    Amber filled out a request for pancakes, bacon, and juice and the nurse took it on the way out.
    “Okay, you two start filling me in,” she said, motioning for Caleb and Megan to pull chairs up.
    “Well, I think you knew that I was picking Caleb up yesterday morning so we could hang out at the park,” Megan started.
    Amber gave her friend a nod. Megan's eyes look tired from lack of sleep. Her coppery locks were pulled up in a messy ponytail and stray pieces floated around her face. Amber got the impression that none of her friends had slept while she was gone. She felt such a sense of gratitude that she had friends who cared so deeply.
    “So when I came by to pick him up, I saw a canvas bag in the drive,” she said. “Seemed a little weird so I asked Caleb about it before we left.”
    “I knew you always wore your sneakers to work,” Caleb jumped in. “So we figured you put them down and just forgot about them.”
    “Right,” agreed Megan. “So we decided to bring them to the store for you.”
    “We probably got there not more than a half hour after your shift started,” Caleb continued. “And that was when things got a little crazy.”
    “One of your co-workers said that you had gone out to say goodbye to a friend but never came back,” Megan said. “Nobody knew what to think. Your boss said that you were really responsible. She couldn't imagine you simply leaving without telling anyone.”
    “Hannah lied to me,” Amber whispered and Hunter put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
    “Then a bunch of us went back out and checked the whole parking lot,” Caleb said. He paused, looking as though he didn't want to say the next part.
    “We . . . um . . . We saw a purse on the ground and Megan recognized it.”
    Amber felt Hunter stiffen beside her. She knew he was remembering how she told the police how John had been pointing the gun at her.
    “It's okay,” she said. “It was scary as hell, but it's over now.”
    Caleb let out a breath and continued. “Your supervisor called the police and I called Hunter. We searched the parking lot for the Range Rover while we waited. But of course it was gone.”
    Caleb winced and Amber realized how hard that phone call must have been for him. He must have felt at least partially responsible. She suddenly knew that he needed to hear that it wasn't his fault.
    “Caleb,” she said carefully. “I was really stupid about Hannah. You tried to warn me that something was going on, but I let my ego get in the way.”
    “Amber, baby, don't,” Hunter tried to say.
    But Amber squeezed his hand firmly. “No, let me finish,” she said softly, just to him.
    Hunter didn't look happy, but he nodded.
    “When Hannah sent me the text, I should have immediately been suspicious. The whole time she had been trying to borrow . . .”
    Here, Amber paused for a breath and to gather her courage.
    “No . . . That's wrong. She was trying to steal the car. I kept telling myself that she would never actually go through with something like that. But the truth was that Hannah probably wasn't a true friend for the last couple of years.”
    “Amber, really. You don't have to explain to us,” Caleb said, his voice anxious. “Honest!”
    Amber faced her friends. “But I have to explain to myself. I had a lot of time to think yesterday. This is