Save Me If You Can Read Free Page A

come here.”
    He noticed the strain in her voice this time. He understood without her saying it that she was rightfully concerned for her safety, with the soon-to-be newly revealed connection to him. It registered to him that he should feel guilty. Maybe lower his head in shame, offer some words of contrition.
    Instead, he smiled at her. “Nice to see you again too, Savannah.”
    She exhaled through her nose, a frustrated, derisive puff of air as she crossed her arms and began to pace in front of where he lay in bed. For a long moment, the steady chime of the machines monitoring his vital signs were the only sound in the room, and then Savi rounded on him. “If they decide to kill you, I won’t stop them.”
    Her words were harsh, but the tiny crack of emotion in her voice betrayed her. Their eyes met, and even in the dim light, he could see the gloss of tears.
    “Yes you would.” He knew it was a truth only one of them appreciated at the moment, and Savi shook her head as she turned away, facing the door.
    “I’m not part of this. Didn’t want to be part of this. I’ve played deaf, blind, and dumb to the details of this little operation, because it’s not my business. Inez calls me, I stitch people up, and I take my ass home, because I’m supposed to just be the neighbor. But you,” she snapped, turning to face him again. Her face was wet now, and this time, a pang of guilt clenched his chest. “Your presence here, me being alone with you in this room right now… It makes it my business.”
    “I’ll vouch for you,” Harrison offered. He tried to sit up a little more, but pain drove him back to his reclined position on the bed. “I’ll tell them you’ve had nothing to do with any of this.”
    Savi tossed her head back and laughed – a sound Harrison had always loved – but the cynicism in it now made him cringe. “You called me. I don’t even know how you had my new number, but you called me. I let you in the gate. When Inez called me, to say you were bleeding in her garage? You had my head so fucked up that I told her: I know, I’m on my way . She just hasn’t said anything yet.” She took a deep breath, then shook her head. “I don’t know what’s going on, but one thing is clear: You’re on one side, and Inez and her team are on the other. There are a lot of them, and there is one of you. If I tell them that I know you, that I lo— ” she cut herself off, pushing out another heavy sigh before she continued. “You and I have a past. To them, that puts me on your side, and I don’t know if that’s where I want to be.”
    “You used to believe in me, Savi. You used to trust me, implicitly.”
    “Don’t you dare.” She jabbed a harsh finger in his direction as she approached the bed, stopping just short of touching him. “You did this. You pushed me away. You shut me out. You don’t get to show up like a wounded hero, expecting me to jump to the front of the line to be on your team. I haven’t forgotten what you did to me.”
    “I did what I had—”
    “You didn’t have to. You chose to.” Savi angrily swiped a fresh wave of tears from her cheeks, then dried her hands on her pants. “Just tell the truth, Harrison. You left because you wanted to.”
    Harrison closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he wished he hadn’t. Seeing Savi like this, with raw hurt and anger laid bare on her face, even after all these years… He didn’t like the heaviness that suddenly rested on his chest. He swallowed hard. “If that’s what you need to believe, be my guest.”
    She gave another harsh snort of laughter, then stepped away. “Whatever. This is stupid anyway. Right now, there are six or seven people waiting for you, with a lot of questions. The only reason you’re getting any peace right now is because of me. I suggest you sleep while you can.”
    “And if I can’t?”
    “Why not?”
    Harrison chuckled. “Well, there is the little matter of my leg getting shot up. It