Chapter 30

The pain in my stomach made it hard to breathe. Every bump in the road sent a sharp stab through the wound, and I could feel the bandage under my shirt growing damp again. I kept my left hand clamped over it, the other gripping the steering wheel so tight my knuckles were white. The car felt too warm inside, even with the windows cracked open. Sweat slid down the back of my neck. My head was light, my vision unfocused at the edges, but I forced my eyes to stay on the road. The hospital was behind me. I just needed to make it to the airport. At first, I thought the headlights in my mirror were nothing. Just another car heading the same way. But after three turns, they were still there, the same distance, the same steady glow. My chest tightened as I pressed harder on the accelerator. The wound protested immediately. My breath hitched, and a wave of nausea rolled through me. I swallowed hard, trying not to lose control. The lights behind me sped up, too.

I took the next turn faster than I should have, tires squealing on the asphalt. My stomach throbbed so badly I had to bite down on my lip to keep from crying out. I didn’t know if they were following me for sure, but I couldn’t risk stopping to find out. Then something distracted me, the vision came without warning, a sudden, crushing weight in my head. My eyes stayed open, but the road blurred and shifted. I could see the airport terminal, the crowd of people moving past the glass doors. And there she was, the witch I’d met before, standing by the entrance as if she had been waiting all this time.

The image was so sharp, so real, I almost forgot I was still driving. A horn blared, yanking me back. I swerved, narrowly avoiding a truck in the opposite lane. My heart was pounding now, my palms slick against the wheel. I tried to focus again, but my body wasn’t cooperating. My arms felt heavy, my stomach burned, and black spots crept into my vision. The car behind me was closer now, its headlights flooding my mirrors.

The airport sign finally came into view. I took the exit, nearly clipping the curb as I did. Every muscle in my body screamed to stop, to rest, but I couldn’t. Not until I was inside and away from whoever was tailing me.

As I pulled into the parking area, I could barely lift my foot from the accelerator. My breathing was shallow, each inhale jagged and uneven. The other car slowed behind me, circling once before disappearing into another row.

I didn’t know if that meant I was safe. I didn’t know if I could even walk the distance to the terminal. But I tightened my grip on the steering wheel one more time and told myself I had to move, because she was here.

I have a feeling she's here only to help me, and for my baby's sake, I hope that I am right.

The automatic doors of the airport slid open with a hiss, letting in a gust of cold air. My legs felt unsteady, each step pulling at the wound in my stomach until I had to grip the rail along the wall to keep moving. The noise of the crowd, luggage wheels clattering, voices overlapping, made my head swim. Then I saw her, she was standing there by the doors watching me intently. She's really here, and here I was thinking my brain was playing tricks on me, but she's here.

My feet froze. “You?” The word came out flat, more disbelief than anything else. Her gaze swept over me, stopping at the bandage peeking under my jacket. “You look worse than I expected.” I swallowed, suddenly aware of how much blood had probably seeped through. “Why are you here?”

She stepped closer, her voice low so only I could hear. “Because your great-grandmother won’t leave me alone. She’s been in my dreams every night, saying I have to help you. She wouldn’t stop until I came.”

My stomach twisted, and not just from the injury. “She’s been haunting you?”

“More like pestering. But she’s… persuasive.” Her tone held no humor. “Now come on. You won’t last long standing here.” I hesitated, remembering how she’d turned on me before. But the dull ache in my stomach was already sharp again, and my vision was starting to blur. I took a step toward her, then another, until I was close enough to hold on to her arm.

“You’re burning up,” she muttered. Without asking, she guided me toward a side corridor away from the crowd. At the end of the hall, she pulled a small jar from her bag, its contents glowing faintly yellow. She knelt, tugged my shirt up just enough to reveal the wound, and peeled away the blood-soaked bandage. The air hit the cut, and I hissed in pain.

“This will sting,” she said. It did; a deep, hot bite that made me grip the wall for balance. But then the burn eased into a warmth that spread slowly through my stomach. “What is it?” I asked, my voice shaking.

“Something to stop the bleeding and numb the pain. It won’t heal you fully, but it’ll get you out of here alive.” She tightened a fresh bandage around my waist, checking to ensure it was secure. When she straightened, her eyes darted toward the ceiling. "They are getting close; we need to go."

We pushed through a staff exit into a dim parking lot. She led me to a black sedan parked near the far end, opening the passenger door. I slid in, my legs trembling from the effort of moving so fast. As she started the engine, I caught sight of the terminal windows. A faint, shadowy figure lingered just inside, watching. I held my breath, hoping and praying that it's not Dan, even though a part of me just wanted to see him so I could apologize. I had started to fall in love with him, and he's probably so hurt by my course of action. "Where are we going? The people who are looking for me know where you stay, don't you think it's a bit risky?"She sighed, sounding annoyed, but said nothing. This is going to be a very long drive with her.