Marina's Risk by Tobi Doyle

Author:Tobi Doyle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tobi Doyle

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The note was simple, direct. Maybe protective…caring? Marina tamped down the welling hope, reminding herself this was not a fairy tale, and she was not a princess.

Robert arranged for Sam to drive the men to work the next morning. Marina would have to wait until the afternoon to go to the Embassy if she wanted a guard. But she’d never been the one in danger, just her father. Edgy and anxious, Marina decided to take her father’s car to the embassy and get a new passport immediately. She didn’t ask permission and it left her feeling light-headed and jumpy. She chided herself, forcing her shoulders to relax as she drove through downtown Medellín traffic. It seemed to work, her shoulders drooping a bit, but the anxiety left a horrible headache in its wake.

As she followed the flow of traffic, her limbs relaxed to the point of feeling heavy, but she was too tired to care, and her headache made it impossible to truly concentrate. She drove through a red light, noticing at the last moment the car beside her had stopped. Marina stomped on the gas, skating through the intersection to narrowly avoid a collision. Alert now, her heart hammered ferociously in her chest, making her head pound with each beat. She looked anxiously around for further threats.

Red and blue lights flickered in her rearview mirror.

Marina pulled over, turned off the car, and searched for the registration. The officer knocked on her window and she rolled it down.

“Miss?” he asked in Spanish. “Are you well?”

Confusion made her blink.

He curled his fingers a few times and stepped back, indicating she should exit the vehicle.

Marina unbuckled herself and tugged at the door handle but was too weak to release the latch.

The officer reached through the open window and opened the door, then pulled her out.

“Breathe,” he said slowly, eyes darting back and forth between hers. He spoke rapid Spanish into his walkie talkie and Marina flinched at the word for ambulance.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to run the red light.” Standing was difficult. She needed to rest. She wanted to sleep.

“You’re very red, Miss. Do you have a headache?”

“It feels like a migraine,” Marina admitted, her hand moving to her forehead.

“Take a deep breath.” He put her arm across his shoulders, supporting most of her weight as he walked her toward his car. Her legs felt rubbery and heavy, nearly impossible to lift. “That’s it. Help is on the way. I think there’s a problem with your exhaust. You could have been breathing carbon monoxide.”

She heard the ambulance approaching but didn’t understand what the officer meant. Her head hurt so much, chasing all sense and logic from her mind.

“I’ll get your purse and lock the car for you. You just rest right here.” The officer opened the passenger door and lowered her onto the front seat. Clearly, he didn’t think her the kind of girl to grab his weapon or steal the car.

She was so tired, and everything ached.

Was this carbon monoxide poisoning?

Her right hand drifted to cover her lower belly.

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