Novels by Prettyz

Donald's POVOfficer Morrison sat across from me, notebook open, pen poised. She'd been here for twenty minutes, asking the same questions in slightly different ways."So let me make sure I understand correctly," she said. "You were camping at the northern site. Just you and Mr. Nathan here." She nodded at Nathan, who sat beside my hospital bed looking professionally blank. "No one else?""That's correct," I confirmed. "It was supposed to be a quiet night for just the two of us.""And you don't know who attacked you?""No idea. We were lying in bed so I woke up to relieve myself in the nearby bushes. Next thing I knew, I was being dragged out, and..." I gestured vaguely at my bandaged torso. "You've seen the report."She wrote something down, her expression skeptical. "Mr Ervin, do you have enemies? Anyone who might want to hurt you?""I run a successful business. There are always competitors, people who don't like how I do things." I kept my voice level, giving nothing away. "But no

Donald's POVListen, waking up in a hospital is never fun. But waking up in a hospital with fluorescent lights drilling into your skull, every inch of your body screaming, and the distinct feeling that you've been hit by a truck? That's a whole new level of hell.I tried to move and immediately regretted it. Pain shot through my ribs, sharp and vicious. My head felt like someone had used it for batting practice. And my mouth tasted like I'd been chewing on old pennies mixed with regret."Fuck," I croaked, the word scraping out of my throat like broken glass."Donald!"The voice came from somewhere to my left, desperate and raw. I turned my head slowly, because apparently my neck had joined the rebellion and saw Nathan. He looked like absolute shit.His eyes were bloodshot, rimmed with red that screamed exhaustion. His usually immaculate hair was a mess, sticking up in places like he'd been running his hands through it for hours. There was stubble on his jaw—Nathan, who was always perf

Nathan's PovAt the hospital, they tried to separate us. Doctors and nurses swarming, wheeling him toward surgery prep while someone physically blocked my path."Sir, you need to stay in the waiting room—""He needs blood," a doctor called from down the hall. "Type O-negative, and we need it now.""I'm O-negative," I said immediately, already rolling up my sleeve. "Take mine."The nurse blocking me hesitated. "Sir, we have blood supplies—""I said take mine." I wasn't asking, it was an order and they knew better not to follow through with it.Ten minutes later I was lying on a gurney while a needle pierced my arm, watching my blood flow through a tube into a bag. They'd let me donate the maximum amount they safely could, and honestly I'd have given more if they'd let me.If my blood can keep you alive, I thought, watching the crimson liquid fill the bag, take it all. Take everything. Just don't die.A nurse came to check on me after, making sure I wasn't dizzy or nauseous. "The doctor

Nathan's PovThe hotel bar was nearly empty when I stumbled down around two AM, unable to stay in that room another second. The bartender took one look at me and poured a double whiskey without asking."Heard about the search," he said quietly. "Real sorry, man for what happened."I nodded, not trusting my voice, and took a long drink. The burn felt good, grounding. Real."I'm sure they'll find him," the bartender continued, clearly uncomfortable with my silence. "Police around here are good at—""Can I just drink in peace?" It came out harsher than I meant."Sure, yeah. Sorry." He turned away and continued wiping the cups.I stared into my glass, watching the amber liquid catch the dim bar lights. Somewhere in my head, I knew drinking wasn't going to help. But sitting sober with my thoughts felt impossible.I had asked myself these questions but no one except Donald could provide answers to them. Donald wouldn't just wander off, he was a grown man for fuck sake. Either he got lost or

Nathan's PovThe police officers, and a local guide who knew these woods. We took the northwest quadrant, the area I'd already searched three times during the night, but I wasn't about to say that. Maybe I'd missed something. Maybe in the daylight we'd see what I couldn't in the dark."Donald!" I shouted, my voice already hoarse from hours of calling his name. "Donald!" At this point, the only thing left for me to do was bawl my eyes out but there was no time for that.The others spread out, flashlights still necessary under the thick canopy despite the morning sun. Every snapped twig made me jump, every flash of color in the underbrush made my heart skip—but it was never him. Just animals, just shadows, just my mind playing cruel tricks."Mr. Nathan," one of the officers called. "You said he was wearing a blue jacket?""Dark blue windbreaker, yeah. And jeans, hiking boots." I'd memorized every detail, replayed our last conversation a thousand times. I'll be right back, he'd said. Don

Nathan's PovThe forest was too quiet. That was the first thing that felt wrong—no rustling leaves, no animal sounds, just the echo of my own voice bouncing back at me through the trees."Donald!" I called again, my throat already raw from shouting. "This isn't funny! Where are you?"He'd said he needed to pee. Five minutes, maybe ten at most. That was twenty minutes ago, and the camping spot we'd picked felt suddenly isolated in a way it hadn't before. My phone showed no signal, which I'd known would happen out here, but the reality of it was making my chest tight.I pushed through another cluster of bushes, my flashlight cutting weak paths through the darkness. "Donald, come on! If you're trying to scare me, it's working!"Nothing. Just the wind picking up, making the trees creak overhead.My mind was already going to bad places. What if he'd fallen? Hit his head on a rock? What if something out here—an animal, another person—had found him before I could? I was his bodyguard. My en