“Don’t panic, sweetie. I spoke to one of the rangers. They’ve already called for an ambulance, but right now they’re taking her to the nursing hall to patch her up. The ranger who found her said she was still breathing!” Vonyetta’s plump face broke out in a smile. “By the grace of God, she’s still breathing, honey!”
Wait . . . WHAT? She wasn’t dead? How was that even possible? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I was relieved about it. Death would have resulted in an investigation, and I didn’t need that right now.
Lola bubbled out a hysterical laugh. “Vonny, are you sure? She’s breathing?”
“By the grace of God.” Vonyetta pulled Lola in for a tight hug.
I couldn’t help but stare at them both. This was good news . . . right? Why was I suddenly nervous about all this?
Keke was still alive. Still breathing.
She was going to wake up eventually. What if she remembered everything? What if the damage wasn’t as bad as I thought? What if she did see my face after all? The sleeve of tattoos on my left arm? Caught the smell of my shampoo?
Fuck.
This wasn’t good, Marriott.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Only . . . Keke never woke up.
No. In fact, the ambulance arrived and took her away. She was still unconscious.
Lola freaked out. She insisted that she catch a ride to the hospital with Keke to look after her, make sure she was okay, so she hopped in the ambulance and left with it.
Even while unconscious, Keke was still in my way.
“Welp,” Faith said, watching the ambulance become smaller in the distance. “What the hell are we supposed to do now?”
Faith, Vonyetta, Arabel, Xena, and I were standing near the gates of the camp. We’d watched them load Keke into the ambulance on a stretcher, witnessed Lola have a meltdown and tried to soothe her, and now the entertainment was gone.
“Camp will continue,” Vonyetta confirmed in a strong voice. “I have the schedule for today, and I’m sure it’s what Lola would want. Let’s occupy the expectant mothers, keep them distracted from what happened on that cliff.”
“That sounds really good,” Xena said, then blew a breath. “Lola should really consider having liquor around for us. I could use a few hard drinks after all this.”
“I still can’t believe she fell,” Arabel murmured as we turned and walked toward the cafeteria.
“I can’t believe she was still breathing,” Faith added. “That cliff is dangerous.”
“Y’all know Keke is strong. She’ll stumble or fall, but she won’t ever quit on herself.” Vonyetta’s voice was proud. “The Lord was watching over her. She will survive this. I feel it in my spirit.”
I rolled my eyes, trailing behind them.
“Ivy, you’ve been really quiet all morning,” Xena said, slowing her pace to walk next to me. “You good?”
“Oh yeah. I’m good,” I assured her. “I mean, that was really scary. I’m just worried about her, you know?”
Bull. Shit.
“Yeah. I am too. I mean, the girl is extra as hell and all, but the last thing I’d wish is for her to get hurt like that.” Xena slowed her pace as the other women kept walking. “You wanna know what I think, though?” she asked me in a quieter voice.
“What?”
“I don’t think this was an accident.”
My heart shot up to my throat. I locked on Xena.
“Keke pissed somebody off. Got under their skin. With her attitude, somebody probably got mad and pushed her off that damn cliff.”
I worked harder to swallow. “Who would do something like that?”
“I don’t know. Keke thinks she’s number one to Lola. Hard to say, when Lola has so many friends around. Could be any one of us.”
“No way. It had to be an accident. She fell.”
Xena stopped walking and focused on my face. “Lola said Keke has never gone close to the cliff—that she used to jog with her in the mornings last year and always stayed on the path to get to the lake. She didn’t fall on her own. Someone wanted her down there.”
I stared right back her. What did she know? There was no way she saw anything. If she did, I was going to have to get rid of her too. I couldn’t have any loose ends when it came to my plan and I had no problem getting rid of a childish photographer to keep my name clear.
“But who knows?” Xena chuckled. “My boyfriend always tells me I watch and read too many conspiracy theories, and don’t get me started on Law and Order. All that shit is probably getting to my head.”
“Ha. Yeah.” I tried to relax. It was hard to do.
“Anyway, I heard they’ve got cinnamon rolls today from Benny’s Bakery. Have you ever had them? Girl, they’re so good. We gotta grab some before they’re all gone.”
Xena took me by the hand and rushed past the other ladies to get to the cafeteria. She didn’t assume I was a suspect of her conspiracy theory, otherwise she wouldn’t have been ready to shove cinnamon rolls in my face.