by Tess Oliver
“Oh god, Slade, I’m so sorry about that. Does it hurt a lot?”
“This? I’ve had worse.” He leaned back against the pillow and took a steadying breath as if just pushing to sitting had taken all his strength. “Besides, having you walk out on me without a good-bye hurt more.”
He gazed at me for a long moment. I’d forgotten how dark green his eyes were.
“Guess I wasn’t expecting to feel that way. But seeing you now, Tink, I’m really glad you came by. And not just because of the cool remote control car.”
I put the box on the ground and sat on the edge of the bed. “You jumped in to help me the other night. I shouldn’t have been there in the first place. I’m just in a really bad way right now.” There was no way to stop the tears. He was being so easy about everything, it actually made me feel worse.
With some effort, he reached up and turned my chin toward him. “Why are you crying?”
I swiped at a tear. “I don’t know. Maybe you need to get mad and call me a crazy fucking bitch or something.”
“Hey, crazy fucking bitch.” He lifted the corner of his sheet. “Why don’t you slide in next to me? I can still hold you on this side, no stab wounds or enormous bandages.”
I grabbed a tissue from the nightstand by his bed and wiped my nose as I carefully climbed in next to him. His body was warm and comforting. I leaned down against his chest and his arm went around me. “I was at work when I heard that you got stabbed. In fact, that guy Damon, the one I was looking for, he’s the one who told me.”
“Yeah? How the heck did he know?”
“The guys that attacked you are friends with his brother.” I peered up at him and wasn’t prepared for the impact his nearness would have on me. I hadn’t just been imagining how incredible he was. “They were arrested.”
“I heard. So you talked to the guy you were looking for—your sister’s boyfriend, right?”
“Yeah, he’s lower than the gum stuck on the bottom of a shoe.”
He chuckled and then winced and pressed his hand against the gauze. He sucked in a long, slow breath until the pain subsided. “Did you find any of the answers you were looking for when you talked to him?”
“He wouldn’t talk about it, and I still don’t know where he is. I know it sounds stupid and it won’t bring Perris back, but I need to know what happened.”
“Do you think Damon killed her?”
“He’s evil but I don’t think he is capable of murder. Besides, he swore to the police he wasn’t even there. He had some friends back him up. It was a drug overdose, but I know he supplied the stuff. I have so many questions. Had it been an accident? Had she done it on purpose?” I thought about everything that had happened since Perris’s death. Even though we’d buried her six months ago, I still had no closure. “Damon disappeared right after she died.”
“That’s a little suspicious.”
“I think so too.”
I smoothed my hand over Slade’s chest. There was so much strength and power under my palm, being next to him made me feel safer than I’d ever felt in my life. But he wasn’t mine. He was a moment in time in my shaky existence, but he was an extremely memorable moment. “To be honest, I’m not completely sure what I’m looking for or what answers I need to hear to make this heartbreak go away.”
“If she was your twin sister, then I doubt there is anything that will take it away. You just have to learn to live around it.”
I looked up at him. “You’re pretty damn deep, considering this.” I waved my hand over him.
He laughed but cut it quickly short. “Shit,” he groaned, “that hurts. Don’t think I’ve ever been referred to as this as often as I have since I met you. I think I’m more partial to Bolt.”
A nurse walked in. Her eyes rounded behind her glasses as she noticed there were two heads instead of one in the bed. “Mr. Stone, visitors are not allowed to crawl into bed with you.”
“Really? Huh. It seems like people would heal a lot faster in here if you let visitors—”
The nurse didn’t wait for him to finish. She walked over, yanked up the sheet and shooed me out.
“She’s really little,” he said. “Don’t you think you might make an exception for me?” He smiled up at the nurse, a stern woman who almost looked on the edge of softening her stance. She walked over and checked his I.V. bag.
“Dinner is coming down the hall.”
“I’ll try not to get too excited. Lunch was scary bad.”
“That’s how we get you to leave faster,” she quipped as she walked out.
I opened the box with the toy car, and after a major battle with the plastic packaging around the batteries, we got them loaded into the car and remote.
Like a little kid, Slade grinned as he held the car and spun the tires.
“I might be going out on a limb here,” I said, “but I’ll bet, when it comes to the rules, racing a remote control car around a hospital room is right up there with visitors climbing into your bed.”
“Yep, and that’s why people always leave here feeling worse than when they came in. Besides, this room is too small.” He handed me the car to put on the ground.
He turned it on. It buzzed like a swarm of bees as it raced out into the hallway. Seconds later, it came buzzing back into the room.
“You aren’t really into following the whole rules of society thing, are you?” I asked.
“This coming from a girl who marched into a crowded bar and held a guy at gunpoint.”
“You’re right. Carry on. Just hope you don’t trip anyone or give some old guy in a wheelchair a heart attack.”
Slade moved the lever, and the car zipped out the door. He spun the control to bring it back, but it didn’t return. “Hmm, must have hit something.”
The same nurse returned holding the car in her hand and wearing an even sterner expression than before. “I won’t even discuss this unstated rule. Please save the toy for home.” She handed it to me with an admonishing glance. I put the car into its box.
The nurse left in a huff.
I sat on the edge of the bed. “Well, I’m really glad you’re going to be all right. I guess I should head out. They’ll be bringing your dinner soon.”
He took hold of my hand. “Can I see you again? I know you took off the other morning, which should’ve been my cue that you don’t really want to see me anymore, but—if you wanted to see me again. Think we might have fun together.”
“My life is sort of complicated right now.”
“Right. Got it.” He looked slightly hurt as he leaned back against his pillow. “Thanks for the car. Take care of yourself, Tink, eh?” The way he looked at me made me question my sanity. Why the hell would any girl in her right mind walk away from him? But then, I wasn’t in my right mind.
I got up. Everything in my head and heart told me to just walk out. That would be the end of it, and Slade would just be an extremely good memory. Instead, I walked to his nightstand. I had no right to do it, but the few hours I’d spent with the guy had been the best few hours I’d experienced in the last six months, heck, in the last year. I picked up his phone, punched in my number and returned it to the nightstand.
I looked over at him. “Just if you feel like calling. No pressure. There aren’t many people like you around, Slade.”
Before I could walk away, he took hold of my hand and pressed my knuckles to his mouth. He kissed my hand. “Funny, I was just about to say the same thing about you.”
He released my hand. I could still feel the heat of his touch as I walked out of the room.
Chapter 9
Slade
Hunter and I had parked a few blocks down from the police station. Of the three guys involved in the attack, only one, the one who had actually stabbed me, was still inside. Bu
t I’d given my statement and I’d admitted that I’d started everything by assaulting the guy in a bar. I’d dropped the charges. Of course, I wanted something in return. Information.
A couple of days in a hospital bed and the reality that I’d be off work for a few weeks had given me a crazy fucking idea. I wanted to help Britton find her answers. I wanted to help her find her sister’s boyfriend. I had no complete understanding of why I wanted to do this except that she seemed so incredibly distraught about her sister’s death. Of course, the fact that she was beautiful, funny, sweet and altogether unforgettable might have had something to do with my wild idea too.
Hunter leaned back in the passenger’s seat and closed his eyes. “I think you lost just a bit too much blood out there on the highway. You should have left the fool in a jail cell. Like the doctor said, a couple inches north or south and we’d be burying your ass instead of melting inside your car outside, of all places, the county jail. She must have been some fuck.”
“That’s right, a couple of inches. The way I see it, I’ve been left on this wonderful earth for a reason. And right now, the only reason I can think of is to help Britton find the guy responsible for her twin sister’s death.”
He looked up. “And then what? You going to play vigilante? So far that pretty wood sprite, as you call her, has cost you some blood, several days stuck in a hospital bed and two weeks wages. Seems to me you should be running the other way.” He lit up a joint.
I looked pointedly at it. “Uh, you do realize we’re just a hundred yards from the county jailhouse.”
He ignored my comment and took a hit.
I reached for the joint. “Actually, I could use some of that. I’m going to need something to keep me mellow when I face this guy because what I really want to do is break every bone in his fucking face.” I took a hit and held it deep in my lungs while we watched the front door of the building slide open. “That’s him,” I said through clenched teeth. I blew out the smoke, stuck the joint in the ashtray and opened the car door. Hunter climbed out too.
The asshole looked smaller and stupider than I remembered. He was checking his wallet to make sure the police gave him back everything. He looked at his phone and jammed it angrily in his pocket.
“Guess they didn’t keep it charged for him,” I said. “What a dick.”
It didn’t take him long to notice Hunter and me leaning against the front of my car. His face paled, and his gaze darted in every direction as if he was trying to figure out which way to run.
“We’re not going to hurt you, fuckface.” I turned to Hunter. “You should probably stay here. You’re extra scary, and he already looks ready to piss his pants.” I pushed off the car and started walking toward him.
The guy held up his hands in surrender. “I’m unarmed.”
“Yeah? That makes three of us.” I motioned behind me with my thumb. “Unless you count that guy back there who could easily kill you with just his fist.” I stopped a few feet from him. If he ran, there wasn’t any way I could chase him down with the stitches in my side. “Just need a little information, then you can be on your way and we never have to set eyes on each other again. I sure as hell know I don’t want to see you again.”
“Why the fuck would I tell you anything?”
“Because if I hadn’t dropped the charges, you’d be waiting in a jail cell for your public defender in his forty dollar three piece suit and cheap smelling aftershave.”
“You assaulted me first.”
“I kicked your knee, which, I assume, from the way you look ready to spring into cheetah action right now, isn’t causing you too much pain.” I patted the thick gauze under my shirt. “I, on the other hand, lost a pint or two of blood and had to sit through seventy-five stitches. I was defending a girl from three assholes. You were defending your pride. I think we know who the true weenie is standing on this sidewalk. All I want to know is where I can find your buddy Kyle’s brother.”
“Don’t know where Damon is.” He shrugged casually, but he was still looking pretty damn uneasy. His attention kept flitting to Hunter, who was still leaning against the car. “From what I hear, that crazy bitch who pulled the gun on us—”
“Fake gun,” I reminded him.
“Whatever. She’s nuts. She’s trying to blame Damon for her sister’s death. Total whack job.”
I curled my hands into fists but kept them tight against my sides. The last thing I needed was to get my own ass thrown in jail over this loser. I stepped a little closer, and he flinched.
“Listen, you asshole, and listen good. Tell me where to find Damon, and you won’t have to be jumping at your own shadow for the rest of your life wondering if I’m coming after you for payback. You’re out of jail, but you might just have been better off inside. Unless you tell me what I need to know. Then we’re through here.”
Hunter must have pushed off the car because some of the color left the guy’s face again.
“Who is that?” He pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced at it like he was reading a text. “My friends are just around the corner.”
“Really? That was very considerate of the cops to keep your phone charged for you.”
He took a step back.
“Look, don’t shit your pants. We’re not going to hurt you. Just tell me where Damon is, and we’ll be gone.”
Hunter stood next to me. The guy stared up at him, and his throat moved as he swallowed back fear.
“This is him?” Hunter asked. “This is the motherfucker who stabbed my brother.”
“Palm Springs,” he blurted. “Damon works for Blue Lagoon Pool builders. He’s working on some pool in the California desert. That’s all I know. I swear.”
“See, that’s all I needed.” I turned to leave, but Hunter stayed.
“I don’t know,” Hunter said. “I sure hate to skip the opportunity to make this asshole feel some pain for what he did.” Hunter raised up his arms and pretended to lunge at the guy. The man turned and ran like a chicken being chased by a fox.
Hunter had a good laugh. We walked back to the car.
“It really would have been fun to smear his face on the sidewalk,” Hunter said as we climbed inside.
“Yes, yes I know.” I reached over and patted his shoulder. “Maybe someday Hunter can squash the scared little man. Just not in front of the county jail.”
Chapter 10
Britton
“I didn’t tell you about the epic disaster with that Gucci purse I was bidding on.” Nina poured granola into her yogurt and stirred it up. We’d taken our lunches out to the tiny corner park at the end of the street.
“I take it you were outbid.” I opened up the brown bag. I’d still been living in a crummy weekly rate motel just a few miles from work. Most of my meals came from the local mini-mart.
Nina stared with disapproval at my lunch, a bag of trail mix that looked well past its prime, a banana that had more black spots than yellow and an energy drink.
“It’s like going to lunch with three frat brothers on a road trip. Seriously, Brit, why don’t you come and live with me while you get stuff cleared up with Ryan. It’ll be fun. We could have slumber parties and talk about cute boys and practice putting on makeup.” She laughed.
I opened the drink and sipped it. “You were talking about your epic purse fail.”
“Right. I nabbed the darn thing for seventy bucks and, boy, was I thrilled. Then it comes in the mail, and it’s a damn fake. The brown stain was even coming off the faux leather.”
“I think your first mistake was thinking you could get a real Gucci for seventy dollars.” I put a handful of trail mix in my mouth. It was stale. Like my entire life. I was in such limbo, and I desperately needed to straighten myself out. But I wasn’t completely sure what I wanted or how to untangle things.
&nbs
p; “How was your friend?” Nina asked over a spoonful of yogurt. “The one you visited in the hospital.”
“Oh, he’s fine.” Her question caught me off-guard. I’d used my visit to the hospital to get out of a shopping trip with Nina.
“Who is he?”
Another unexpected question. I waved my hand. “No one you know. Someone I knew in high school.”
“But I thought you went to high school in Iowa?”
“Yep, yep, I did—and he, the guy in the hospital, just happened to have moved west too.” Nina seemed to accept my poorly crafted response. I’d taken up the new hobby of lying and I hated it.
A group of pigeons landed in front of the bench. I tossed them a handful of the trail mix, and a dozen more fluttered down from the telephone wire above.
Nina gasped and closed up her lunch bag as if the birds might waddle right up and take it from her. With the way we were suddenly outnumbered and with the way they were eyeing us as if we were made of breadcrumbs, they just might have made a grab for it.
“Oops, I guess tossing them food was a mistake.” I closed up my bag as well.
We stood up and walked back toward work. My phone rang, and my heart did a little skip. It had been three days since I’d visited Slade and had, on a whim, decided to punch my number into his phone. Like a teenage girl with a crush, my pulse had sped up every time my phone rang. I pulled it out. The number wasn’t familiar. Probably just a wrong number, I assured myself to avoid too much disappointment.
“I’m right behind you, Nina.”
She walked on ahead.
“Hello.”
“Hey, Tink, it’s Slade.”
Another round of fluttery heartbeats. His deep voice did not disappoint on the phone. “Hey, are you out of the hospital? Shit, just saying hospital has churned up all the guilt again. I’m so sorry that happened, Slade.”