Bed of Lies Read Online Free PDF Page B

out the windshield, acting as if she wasn’t there.
    When Antonio pulled into a spot in the multi-story parking garage, Paulette almost leaped out of the car. She couldn’t get out of that stifled compartment fast enough.
    â€œDo you know where we need to go?” Antonio asked as he shut the driver’s side door and walked around the car toward her.
    She quickly nodded. “Ev said he was on the sixth floor.”
    She turned away and marched across the garage to the stairwell, not looking back to see whether Antonio followed her. When she and Antonio stepped out of the steel-walled hospital elevator ten minutes later, they were greeted by the sight of the ICU waiting room. Several leather brown chairs were lined along the walls and in the center of the room in an L shape. A flat-screen television sat on the far wall facing the elevator and a CNN anchor sat behind a glass desk on the screen. A half-stocked vending machine sat along the adjacent wall.
    Paulette quickly spotted Evan and Leila. Save for an elderly woman who looked like she was nodding off in her chair, Evan and his fiancée were the only other people in the quiet waiting room. Evan was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his head bowed as he stared bleakly at the linoleum tile beneath his feet. Leila sat at his side, her face grim and her eyes red and glistening with tears. She was rubbing Evan’s back and whispering something to him.
    Seeing them both like this, Paulette’s mind instantly leapt to the worst-case scenario.
    Oh God , she thought, starting to tremble all over again. Terry’s dead! He’s dead, isn’t he?
    â€œEv?” she called out weakly.
    At the sound of her voice, Evan immediately raised his head. He staggered to his feet and slowly walked toward her with his arms outstretched. He looked absolutely decimated.
    Paulette raced across the room, closing the distance between them. She leapt into her brother’s embrace. She didn’t care whether he felt her hard, round stomach. She just wanted her brother to hold her.
    â€œI’m too late, Ev!” she sobbed into her brother’s ear, tightening her arms around him. She clung to him like he was a life preserver in a vast ocean. “I’m too late, aren’t I? Terry’s dead! Oh my God! Oh my God! Terry’s—”
    â€œCalm down, Sweet Pea,” Evan whispered, patting her gently on the back and using her childhood nickname. “Terry’s still alive. The doctor said he’s stable.”
    At those words, she sobbed even harder—this time with relief.
    Maybe it was the hormones from the pregnancy or the constant stress she had been under because of the affair, her broken marriage, and keeping her pregnancy a secret, but Paulette sobbed and sobbed and Evan let her do it. He let her cry on his shoulder as long as she wanted. Meanwhile, Leila and Antonio stood mutely to the side, allowing the siblings to have their moment.
    When Paulette’s sobs finally tapered off, her brother slowly pulled away and gazed down at her. “Do you want to see him?” he asked.
    â€œOf course.” She sniffed, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her sweater. “Take me to him.”
    Evan reached down and took Paulette’s hand. They both walked to the waiting room’s entrance. When they reached the doorway, Evan paused and turned to look back at Leila.
    â€œGo ahead,” Leila said, answering his silent question. She dabbed at her watery eyes with Kleenex. “We’ll wait for you guys here.” She smiled up at Antonio before falling back into one of the chairs along the wall. She patted the seat of the chair beside her. “Park it here, big guy. Keep me company.”
    Antonio gave her a half smile before dropping into the seat.
    As Paulette walked out of the waiting room, she heard Leila say, “Tell me what you’ve been up to, Tony. I haven’t seen you in a