Prologue


“I think she’s coming around.”

“Can you hear me, ma’am? Can you tell us what happened? Who did this to you? Who left you here like this?”

The voices buzzed in Sophia’s ear like pesky mosquitos. The irritation threatened to drag her from the comforting blackness where she’d taken refuge from the pain. She’d been floating in a blissful state where she didn’t have to think or feel or be afraid any longer. Now, the voices cajoled and called, trying to lure her back into the nightmare.

Leave me alone! I don’t want to come with you.

But the voices persisted. They dragged her, inch by reluctant inch, from the sheltering darkness. She fought against them, clinging to the void’s comforting embrace. But eventually, her strength weakened, and they drew her toward them like iron to a magnet.

Light, intensely white even behind her closed eyelids, was the first sign of her return. With the brightness came wracking pain and an agony so intense it nearly hurtled her back into the waiting arms of the comforting darkness.

However, the voices refused to let her slip from their grasp.

“Can you hear me, miss? I need you to tell me who did this to you,” a soft but insistent male voice urged.

She struggled to raise her eyelids, but they felt weighted down as if something tight and heavy lay across them. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she tried again and managed to raise them the tiniest bit. A blinding light speared through the slit, bringing tears to her eyes. With tears came remembrance.

He’d hit her. Not open-handed like in the past. This time, he’d used his fists, beating her until she’d been too weak to struggle and had fallen, broken, to the floor. He’d cursed at her, kicked her then dragged her to her feet so he could punch her some more. Finally, he’d tossed her in his fancy convertible and raced through the darkness, driving much too fast for the country roads. At least he’d stopped hitting her.

The squeal of the tires nearly drowned out his angry tirade. Maybe he’d realized how bad she was hurt. Maybe he was taking her somewhere for help. She cried out as the car reached a stretch of rutted, gravel road, and her lungs burned as she gasped for air. Where were they? This wasn’t the way to the hospital. She tried to ask but her lips were swollen, her mouth too dry to form the words. She sank against the seat as he raced through the night, still travelling way too fast.

The car swerved, and she felt a rush of air as the door opened beside her. “Now, die!” he screamed then shoved her from the moving car.

“Can you tell us what happened? Who did this to you?”

Shadowy figures leaned over her and blocked the brightness. A kindly face wavered into view. Another figure hovered on her opposite side.

Who are they, and where am I? Sophia heard the sound of distant traffic and crickets chirping somewhere nearby. So many questions flitted through her head. But her pain made it too hard to focus on them. She tried to look around to get her bearings, but something pressed against her forehead, preventing her from turning. She tensed, feeling more restraints on her arms and legs.

“It’s all right, miss,” the shadowy figure reassured in a soft voice. “We had to immobilize you, so we could lift you without risking any further injuries. We’re going to carry you up the hill and take you to the hospital now.”

Hospital? The word triggered a panicked reaction until one thought bubbled up through the confusion and pain.

What about my baby?