Sweet Harmony (29 page)

Suddenly, her head hurt a heck of a lot more than it had when she'd first woken up. Maybe she'd been repressing the
physical pain to stay alive. She was really cold too, even though it was a warm spring day and the chill shouldn't have affected her. She felt the color drain out of her face and the strength leave her legs.

As high pitched buzzing filled her ears, she fell to her knees
.

"Annamarie!" Daniel yelled.

Daniel knelt down in front of her. She reached for him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I thought I was going to be burned alive," she
said.

Her vision was blurry. Why was it so
hard to see?

"We need the EMTs over here!" a
policeman yelled.

"Hold on,
Annamarie," Daniel said, looking more scared than she'd ever seen him. "Be okay. Please."

She laid her head against his shoulder and everything went black.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Annamarie opened her eyes and saw a bunch of alien faces staring down at her. After
a few seconds, she realized she wasn't on a foreign planet being probed. The people standing over her were Daniel, Jaiden, and surprisingly, her dad. The only person in the room she didn't know was a tall, blonde-haired woman in a white coat.
Where am I and what am I doing here?
Her brain was in such a fog it was hard for her think straight.

Suddenly, s
he remembered what Nathan had done and flew into the sitting position. Unfortunately, that made her head hurt so bad she wouldn't have been surprised if her cranium exploded.

"Agh." She grasped her head, tears in her eyes. "My head
hurts."

"You're awake," her dad said. "We
thought…we thought that you… "

"
We thought that you might be in a coma," Jaiden finished for him. "You've been asleep in the hospital for two days."

T
wo days? She couldn't believe it.

"What happened?" she whispered.

"You don't remember?" Jaiden asked gently.

"That bastard Nathan took you and hurt you,"
Daniel said. "That's what happened."

"No
. I remember Nathan," she said. "I want to know what happened after I blacked out."

It
was so darn hard to think straight. She must have been given a heck of a medication because she felt as though her brain was filled with lint.

"You passed out in the alley. The doctor said you went into shock
." A vein throbbed in Daniel's cheek. "I rode in the ambulance to the hospital with you and Jay called a taxi and followed. Mrs. Carmichael called your father and he booked a flight to come here right away."

She sought
out her dad's aged face. Even though his hair was greasy and his face was pale, seeing him put her more at ease.

"Sorry
." She groaned. "You missed your concert."

Her head throbbed again.

"Don't worry about trivial things like that," her dad said, smoothing back her hair. That was a first for him. "The concert doesn't matter. When I got the call from your principal, I was terrified. I thought I was going to lose you. I told my manager to shove it and boarded the first plane to New York City."

She
grabbed her dad's hand, touched by his words, but then glanced at Daniel.

"And
what happened to Nathan?" she asked, trying to repress a shiver.

"That guy is never going to walk free again," Daniel muttered darkly.
"He's looking at murder and attempted murder charges. I hear he's going to try to plead insanity, but either way, he'll be locked up somewhere."

The thought of Nathan made her re
call everything that had happened at the warehouse. Still she tried to maintain a strong facade even now when she felt as menacing as a newborn puppy. Unfortunately, her emotions must have shown on her face because everybody appeared concerned.

"Let's not talk about this now," Jaiden said. "She's not ready for it."

"I'm not weak," she mumbled.

Gosh, why was her head so foggy?

"Nobody said you were," her dad said.

"Good." Her tongue felt as big as a slug. "And
you
…"

She
gazed at Daniel again, her brain swimming.

"
Why did you take so long to rescue me?" she muttered, although weakly. "If you were one second later, I would have been extra crispy."

Her dad began, "That's no way to talk to the person who saved
you—"

"You're always so ungrateful
," Daniel said, although affectionately, like he was whispering words of comfort instead of arguing. "It's twenty miles from the school to the warehouse. I burned rubber all the way. I couldn't have been any faster."

"Hmph." She licked her dry lips
, trying to pluck words from her jumbled mind. "If I was feeling better, I'd…I'd…"

"You'd beat the crap out of me, I know," Daniel said.

Her mind was swirling again. She fought to keep her mind on track—and failed. But boy was she glad Daniel was at her side. Suddenly, she felt more sentimental than angry, which was unusual for her.

"I thought I'd never see you again." Her eyes prick
led with tears. "When I was about to be burned, I remember thinking that I wanted to see you."

Oops. She shouldn't have said that out loud. Stupid medicine. She may have been blushing, but
her mind was too fuzzy for her to know for sure.

"
I came for you." Daniel touched her cheek. "If you'd died, I don't know what I would have done."

Her dad coughed on his own spit as Jaiden swayed in discomfort.

"My head hurts," she muttered.

Daniel sighed but didn't remove his hand.

"I think that's my cue." The woman in the white coat stepped forward. "Ms. Chadwick, I think it's time we get you some more medicine."

More medicine? Her head was blurry
already.

"
I don't want any," she muttered.

"It'll help," the woman said.

She swallowed and nodded. Everyone but the doctor stepped back, watching mournfully.

****

Annamarie awoke sometime later, her heart pounding. She must have had a nightmare, but she couldn't remember it. Unfortunately, her sense of time was as vague as her dream. It could have been the same day or the next. She wasn't sure. All she knew was that her head still hurt but she could think a little better. She groaned.

"Is everything okay?" Her dad, who was sitting in
a chair by her bed, shot to his feet.

As she nodded, she spotted Jaiden
curled up in a seat in the corner. She didn't see Daniel anywhere.

"You still look pale." Her dad sighed, wringing his hands.

"Well, having a crushed cranium does that to a person." She touched the top of her head. "Once this headache goes away, I'm throwing a party."

Jaiden stood up
too, chuckling weakly.

"At least you're getting some of your sass back," Jaiden said.

She didn't feel very sassy. More like, dumpy.

"I guess." She shrugged. "Where's Daniel?"

"He's in the cafeteria," Jaiden said. "I think he's on a quest to find that soup stuff you got him addicted to."

"You mean ramen?" She raised an eyebrow.

It was unlikely a hospital would have
ramen. It was as healthy as cyanide.

"Yeah." Jaiden nodded.

With a sigh, she touched her cheek and hissed in pain when it lit on fire.

"Gah!" she cried. "My face hurts."

"Sweetie, that isn't surprising," her dad said quietly. "Have you, ugh, looked at your reflection since you woke up?"

Uh-oh. She wasn't the vainest person in the world, but she didn't want to look like
the Bride of Frankenstein either.

"What's wrong with my face?" she asked.

Her dad and Jaiden exchanged glances.

"Nothing, really," Jaiden said quickly. "Dr. Weiss says that you'll look one hundred percent yourself again once the injuries heal."

That wasn't the most comforting answer in the world. She had to know what she looked like. Before anybody could stop her, she jumped out of bed. Unfortunately, as much as she wanted to take off running, her legs weren't quite ready for it yet. The moment her feet hit the floor, her ankles seared and she crumbled like a tin can. Jaiden caught her mid-fall and yanked her into his arms. She stood, breathing heavy, nose to nose with the guy. He leaned in closer and she was too stunned to pull away. His fingers grazed her lower back in a manner too intimate to be considered just friendly.

"Are you okay?" Jaiden asked
in a hushed whisper.

"Y-yeah."

The door squeaked open. Daniel stepped inside carrying a tray of food. There were bags under his eyes and his face was pale.

"This looks cozy," Daniel muttered
, eyeballing her and Jaiden.

"She fell into me," Jaiden said.

"Yet you're still holding onto her," Daniel said. "She's my girlfriend, not yours."

Her dad sucked in air.

Jaiden's face contorted with anger. Being kidnapped by Nathan had distracted her from the war raging between Jaiden and Daniel, but that didn't mean it was over. Daniel placed his food tray on the chair and marched over to her. The guy pulled her out of Jaiden's arms and eased her back onto the bed.

"Stay." Daniel poked her nose with his finger.

"Hey." She sat up. "I'm not a dog."

Ignoring her comment, Daniel shot Jaiden a
dirty look. The guy echoed his expression and then muttered a swearword under his breath. Her dad scratched his head in confusion.

"So you're dating my daughter." Her dad looked at Daniel.
"That's news to me."

"Yep." Daniel stretched out and yawned. "I have excellent credentials
, so you should be pleased. My dad is the CEO and owner of Marino Technology Group.

"Your dad is the
CEO of Marino Technology Group?" Her dad's cheeks became blotchy and his eyes bugged out of his head.

"My dad's company brings in over three hundred
billion dollars a year." Daniel was smirking, obviously enjoying the reaction he was getting.

"And you're dating
my
daughter?" Her dad glanced at her with insulting astonishment. "Are you sure you have the right girl?"

Right now, she hated Daniel and her dad
. Couldn't they see that Jaiden's face was losing color by the moment? On top of that, this was not helping her headache.

"
Yep, I'm dating Annamarie." Daniel chuckled. "She says she doesn't like me, but I know otherwise."

The guy was so freaking pompous. She picked up her pillow and hurled it at his face. It hit him smack on
the nose and messed up his perfect blond hair.

"
Annamarie, don't do that." Her dad quivered. "He's the heir to Marino Technology Group. Show a little respect."

Shrugging it off, Daniel smoothed back his honeyed locks with a sweep of the hand.

"I'm also the top student in my class," Daniel said, still smiling even as he clutched her pillow under his left arm. "I've also won several awards for my musical expertise on the violin. I've even done some modeling."

The guy winked at her. While her dad looked like he was falling in love, she was growing irritated. And she wasn't the only one
who was unhappy. Jaiden was so pale he could have been taken for dead.

"That's just great." Her dad smiled. "Annamarie, you should have told me about this.
Dating the CEO of Marino Technology Group is really something."

"And you don't have to worry about my intentions, sir." Daniel was hamming it up. "I want to marry your daughter someday."

She choked on spit.
Marry?
If any other teenaged boy had said this, her dad would have thought the guy was nuts. But Daniel was a dashing billionaire. What father didn't want to marry his problem child off to a guy like that?

"Yeah, that's right," Jaiden muttered, his voice dark. "You have to have everything, don't you, Dan?"

The atmosphere in the room grew as thick as custard. Even her dad stopped beaming. Now Daniel had done it. It was one thing to annoy her with his bragging, but it was another to start yet another fight with his best friend.

"Jaiden." She
grabbed the guy's arm.

For a second, Jaiden just looked down at her
hands with his eyes full of sadness. She felt so bad for him she could have died.

"Please," she said. "You know Daniel. Don't be angry."

Jaiden opened his mouth to respond, but the door squeaked open and somebody stepped inside. It was Gavin, holding a bouquet of fresh white lilies.

"How is the patient doing?" Gavin asked, grinning.

Nobody said anything.

"What's wrong?" Gavin looked from Jaiden to Daniel and the smile slipped off his face.

She covered her head with the blanket. She was too sick to deal with this now.

"Thanks for the flowers, Gavin," she said. "But suddenly
, I don't feel so good."

****

Annamarie was tied to the chair, staring straight ahead. The smell of gasoline filled her nostrils, making her hair stand on end.
Not again!
she thought. She'd escaped the warehouse. Daniel had come to save her, hadn't he? She struggled against the ropes that bound her. Her head throbbed, reminding her of the blow she'd received. Somebody moved to her right and she screamed and went rigid. The figure stepped out of the darkness, holding an unlit match in his hand. It was Nathan.