Forgetting Jane Read Online Free PDF

the hint. She hated swearing.
    “She isn’t stable, not yet. It’s for her protection, and ours,” Magda said earnestly.
    A flood of mixed emotions filled him. It brought out a terrible image of his mother beaten and tied to the bed. Damn, he hadn’t thought of that in years. He’d only been six at the time but that memory still choked him. He wasn’t ready to relive his tragic past and shook that image out of his head.
    Eli stepped back from the senior nurse. He barely contained his outrage. “She’s the victim, not some rabid dog readied to be put down.”
    “Calm down, Elias… I’ll see what I can do. But no promises. Now, why don’t you go home, and get some sleep? You could use it. I’ll call you if something happens.”
    “I’ll wait for a bit.” Eli stood rigid, legs apart, and eyes unwavering. He was in no mood to argue.
    “You are so stubborn, just like your mother. Now what would she say for not listening to reason?”
    “Nothing. She never did.” He knew the truth of that statement well, and so did she.
    “Only for a few minutes, Elias.” Magda walked away shaking her head.
    Eli waited only seconds before walking back into room. He took a slow deep breath, blew it out, and headed over to Jane’s bed.
    Pain tightened his chest when he saw Jane shake in her sleep.
    He had a hard time being objective seeing the leather straps too. Those damned things brought out more bad memories of his past—his mother and the fucked up father that was roaming the Wisconsin countryside.
                  The room was quiet except for the sound of her breathing. What a peaceful noise. His shoulder relaxed as he saw her chest rise and fall evenly. She was okay.
    Eli stared down at her battered features, which had been ingrained in his mind from the first night he saw her. They had changed even from his last visit. Her skin turned more yellow, less purple. The black and blue marks were fading. The swelling had almost gone completely down around her eyes. Her features were somewhat normal.
    Her chestnut brown hair sprung out through the clean white bandage around her head. Her arms were almost as thin as the rails of the bed, but strong. He knew it to be true as he rubbed his jaw again and grinned.             
    His gaze followed down to the leather bands wrapped around metal railing. The indignity suddenly drove his ire high again. He had to leave.
    Jane’s restraints weren’t the only root of his anger. What pulled him out of his own skin was Jane, herself. Her face reminded him of Elise Hathaway. The one he accidently killed four years ago, which drove him straight to the bottom of the bottle.
    Elias grabbed his coat and rushed past the nurses’ desk, right into the closing elevator. He was glad it was empty. Leaning against the wall, his mind raced to that day. Her death would burn in his soul forever.
    He wished he had talked Elise into staying with family until her bastard husband was caught. But not listening to reason, the stubborn woman wanted to go home. She had assured him that she was safe.
    He’d ignored all the alarms that went off in his head and drove her home, to her death. Her husband had waited for her to come home. Squared off, gun to gun, Elise’s husband shot first. The bullet caught deep in Elias’s shoulder while his bullet was trained on the man’s arm. Instead, Elise stepped in front of her husband and it hit her in the chest. She died almost instantly.
    Knocking his head back against the hard wall, he hoped the pain would bring him back to the present. Wiping the wetness off his cheeks, Eli promised himself he would never cry.
    Elevator door opened and he rushed out of the hospital. The cold winds slapped against his face, sharp and precise. His head cleared some, but the familiar heady thirst scratched his throat. His angst goaded him.
    “Fuck!” He let out a loud shout in the parking lot. The rage to take a drink was more powerful than before. He wanted a