Already Gone (A Laura Frost FBI Suspense Thriller—Book 1) by Blake Pierce (notion reading list .txt) 📗

would end up getting to know each other. And ifshe dared to admit it to herself, Laura hoped they would. Amy was a sweetlittle girl, and Laura wanted to look out for her if she wasn’t going to beable to look out for Lacey.

“I should let you get some rest,” Laurasaid. She’d done what she needed to do. She was convinced, now, that there wasno darkness hanging over Amy. It had all just been a hangover, a bad feelingborn from the double whammy of the two visions slamming into her brain. Thechild was going to be all right.

“Wait,” Amy said, arresting Laura’smotion as she made to stand up. “I want a hug!”

Laura paused. Well, that was to beexpected, probably. She’d held Amy close when she pulled her out of the box,after all. It was the only way children really knew to show affection. She gaveAmy a warm smile and shuffled to the edge of her chair, keeping herself at theright height for Amy to throw her arms around her neck.

And that was when she felt it. A sharppulse of pain behind her eyes, like an electric shock. Laura drew in a sharpbreath, her arms tightening around Amy’s tiny form—

Amy was lying against the pillows in herbed, surrounded by stuffed animals. It was early in the morning, and she wasplaying with her toys as daylight filtered through the curtains. Laura could onlyjust make out the scene.

There was some kind of noise out in thehall, beyond the room. Shouting. Crashing. An angry voice cursing, rising andslicing sharply through the air. The governor. Laura knew his voice, even ifshe couldn’t turn the vision around and look at his face. The edges of thescene were completely out of focus. She couldn’t sharpen it, no matter how shetried. She was still tired.

Amy looked up at the sound and huggedher stuffed bunny closer. Laura found herself turning now, slowly, as the soundcontinued. Turning and moving until she was behind Amy, looking over her head.The door to the bedroom was closed—but then it burst open with a loud clatter,slamming back against the opposite wall.

“No, let her alone, it’s not her fault!”A woman, the woman Laura recognized as Amy’s mother, said. She was frantic,pale, hurrying after her husband.

The governor filled the doorway like awall of rage, his face red and twisted, his hands swinging in fists. “She drewon the papers—and she needs to learn!” he yelled, spit flying from his mouth.Amy cowered back from him. “She needs to be punished!”

He was brandishing something in hishand. Pieces of paper crumpled now in his fist. A child’s drawing of adistorted pony in purple pen on the front of one of them. That was all Lauramade out before the governor cast them to the ground, stomping toward Amy withfurious movements.

“No, please,” his wife begged, rushingforward and taking hold of his elbow, trying to pull him back. “Don’t—”

Her voice was cut off as the governorslammed his elbow sharply back into her chest, throwing her off and making herstumble into the door before dropping to the floor. She clutched at her chest,and Amy cried out, afraid for her mother.

“Now, it’s time for you to learn yourlesson about messing with important things,” the governor said darkly, startingto undo his belt and pull it off his waist, pulling it between his hands untilit formed a kind of club.

CHAPTER SIX

Laura shuddered with shock as she cameback to herself, the pain in her head turned all the way back up. But that wasn’tthe thing that was making her feel sick to her stomach. That wasn’t why shewanted to keep hold of Amy and walk right out of the hospital and never lookback.

“Are you okay, miss angel lady?” Amyasked, trying to pull away from her. Laura realized she was holding on tightand let go, allowing her to rock back onto the bed.

“Yes,” Laura said, attempting to smilebrightly. Inside, she could barely keep it up. She just wanted to cry. Shecouldn’t tell this girl what was waiting for her at home. She couldn’t tell thedoctors. What was she supposed to do to stop this from happening? “Yes, Amy, I’mfine. I’ll come and visit you soon, okay?”

“Yeah!” Amy cheered, but even as she satback against the pillows, Laura could see that she was halfway to fallingasleep. “We’re going to have a tea party, and the best time, and you can meetmy doll.”

“I will, honey,” Laura said, turning togo, because she couldn’t keep up the smile any longer.

She only had a few steps between the bedand the door. Only the time it took for her to open it before she had to putthe mask back on again. She couldn’t explain to anyone what she had just seen.Couldn’t tell them how she knew that Amy would be abused. If she told themabout the vision, she’d be laughed out of the room—even more so, given the governor’spower.

Laura walked the few steps toward thedoor, losing control over her face. Inside her chest, her heart was breaking.She could barely stand to walk away. But she had to.

As her hand rested on the door handle,Laura made a promise to herself. She would visit the governor at his home, asearly as next week. As soon as she could. It was the only way she could livewith walking out of that hospital and leaving Amy behind.

Laura opened the door and steppedoutside, smiling up at Nate and the governor’s wife, studiously avoiding theeyes of the man she knew now to be a monster.

“Everything all right?” the governorasked, his tone sounding falsely bright.

“What?” Laura asked, then remembered herruse. “Oh, yes. Everything’s fine.” It made her want to bite out her own tongueto say those words, but she had to play it safe. She’d been here so many timesbefore—knowing something that she couldn’t possibly know. She couldn’t accusehim yet. There was no evidence. If there had been signs of long-lastingphysical abuse on Amy’s body, the doctors would already have seen them.

This was new behavior. Something thatwould start soon. And until it did, there was no way she could stop