by Cynthia Eden
That was hardly reassuring.
She rubbed her chilled arms. Hospitals always felt so cold, and this one in particular left her chilled to the bone.
“But we will find this guy. We’ve got an APB out for that black SUV. One of the witnesses on scene was able to give us the first three digits of the license plate, and it’s only a matter of time until we find the perp.”
“Time...” Anger pushed through her fear. “What if during that time, he attacks again? Only Grant might not survive another attack. Or maybe I won’t. I can’t just stand around and wait for this guy to come at me!”
The door opened behind her. Sullivan stood there. Sullivan who feared nothing and no one.
“I think you should be placed in protective custody,” Shayne said.
What?
“And I’m putting a guard on Grant. He’ll be monitored 24-7, so you can be assured of his safety.”
Sullivan strode toward them. “We already are assured of that. Mac has the first watch on him, and Brodie will be taking the second shift.” Sully flashed Shayne a tiger’s smile, cold and deadly. “We guard our own, and you can be assured of that.”
The McGuires would look after one another, Scarlett knew. Her breath came a bit easier.
“My man will be there, too,” Shayne said, his words with an edge. Then his voice softened as he turned back to Scarlett. “I can take you to a safe house. You can stay there, guarded and secure, until we catch this guy.”
But what if they didn’t catch him? Not for a week, a month, a year?
What if they never caught him?
Shaking her head, she backed away from Shayne. “Grant needs me.”
“He was already calling for you when I left,” Sullivan murmured.
Her chin lifted. “And I need him. I won’t leave him on his own.” Okay, not on his own—not with all those brothers around. Hardly alone. “I won’t leave him,” she said again, “not when he’s hurt.”
I won’t leave him at all. She’d just gotten him back. Just realized that the love she’d had for him still stirred as strongly in her heart. She wasn’t about to lose this new chance. Their new chance.
She nodded to the cop then turned back toward Grant’s room. No matter what, she wouldn’t let Grant see the fear growing within her.
Together, we’ll face this. Whatever the SOB is planning...we’ll face him together.
* * *
SCARLETT WAS DEAD.
Grant held her body in his arms. Her blood was on him, her eyes were closed, and no matter how many times he called her name, she was just...gone.
And he could hear the growl of an engine. He looked up and was pinned in the bright lights of a big, dark SUV. An SUV that was rushing right toward him as he stood, cradling Scarlett, in the middle of that long, lonely road.
The oncoming lights grew brighter. The SUV rushed ever closer. He whirled, trying to brace for the impact that would come, even as he held her tighter in his arms.
I’m sorry, Scarlett.
“Grant!” Scarlett’s worried voice called to him.
He blinked, and the nightmare vanished.
Not dead. Not dead. Not. Scarlett’s hand was on his shoulder. She stared at him with wide eyes. “You were crying out. It’s okay. You’re safe here, Grant. I think...I think you were having a bad dream.”
Not just a dream, but a reality that could be.
I won’t lose her.
He caught her hand. Brought it to his lips. Kissed her fingers.
Sweat had slickened his body. The meds—they were messing with his mind.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Her voice was so soft.
He shook his head. The last thing he wanted was to relive that hell.
The beeping machines slowed as his racing heartbeat quieted.
“Are you in pain?”
Only when she wasn’t with him. “No.”
But she pulled away from him. Sat near the bed. Watched him with her dark eyes.
She was seeing into him again.
He wanted her to learn all his secrets this time. Because he was tired of carrying them around.
“Do you still love me, Grant?”
The ache he felt then had nothing to do with his injury. He turned his head to see her better. Then, staring into her eyes, he told her the simple truth. “I never stopped.”
He heard the rasp of her breath.
“Scarlett, I—”
A phone rang then. Its peal loud and close.
“That’s my phone,” she murmured, glancing to the side. “One of your brothers brought it by for me. Davis. He thought I might need it. I’d left it at the crash scene.”
But she didn’t answer the call. She just kept staring at him.
And the phone kept ringing.
“Answer it,” he told her softly. I’m not going anywhere. Not now.
Not ever.
She reached for the phone. “My lawyer.” Horror flashed across her face. “The DA!” Then she was fumbling and answering the phone. “Pierce, I’m sorry I missed the meeting yesterday! Grant’s in the hospital, and I’ve been with him the whole time—”
She broke off, tilting her head as she listened to his response.
“I don’t think I can come,” she said, exhaling slowly. “No, no, I need to be with Grant.”
He frowned as he listened to her.
“Bring the paperwork here,” she told him. “Can you do that? Good. Thank you. And just...call me when you arrive, okay? I’ll come and meet you in the lobby.”
Then she put the phone back down.
“There was a mix-up,” she said, her head lowered and the curtain of her hair shielded her eyes. “The DA had to leave the office anyway, and she meant to reschedule but...but I’m free.” Her head lifted. Red stained her cheeks. “Pierce says it’s just a matter of me signing some paperwork, and all the charges will be dismissed against me. He’s coming over here. He says the DA is with him and we can go over the material together. After I sign some forms, then they’ll present everything to the judge next week.”
She rose from her chair, then leaned forward and hugged him. “I’m free!”
Her scent surrounded him.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “You believed in me, always.” She pulled back, just a little, and their mouths were kissing-close. She gazed into his eyes. “Why did you always believe in me?”
Wasn’t that obvious? “I told you...I love you.”
She shook her head.
“I. Love. You.” He thought for sure that she’d seen it. He’d been crazy from the moment she’d walked back into his life. Stumbling over his words, nearly baring his battered soul again and again for her.
“Austin. Afghanistan. Russia. Egypt. It didn’t matter where I was, you were in my mind. Always in my heart. You. Even when I knew that you should be with someone else, someone...hell, someone with a soul that didn’t always feel bloodstained, I never stopped loving you.” The simple truth was... “I couldn’t stop.” Loving her was as natural and basic for him as breathing.
She licked her lips. “I couldn’t stop, either.”
No, no, she hadn’t just said—
“Grant McGuire, I fell in love with you when I was a teenager, and I never stopped. Austin. Atlanta. Wherever I went—” she pulled in a deep breath “—you were in my heart, too. And always in my dreams. I wondered where you were, and I prayed that you were safe.”
He shook his head. There was no way he’d heard her right. That pain medicine was definitely messing with him.
“When my life was on the line, you were the first person that I thought of. I knew you would be there for me. I knew I could count on you. There are some things that time can’t change.”
He wanted to kiss her. Wanted to sink into her, to wrap around her and never let go.
“Second chances,” she said.
He nodded.
“I want mine. I want ours.”
“We have it,” he swore.
Then she leaned toward him. Her lips brushed over his. The kiss was the sweetest he’d ever had. It tasted of her and of hope.
Of love.
I don’t know why you love me, Scarlett, but I swear, I’ll prove that I’m a man worthy of you. Even if it took him the rest of his life, he’d prove himself to her.
The kiss was slow, tender, but the machines started to beep again. Faster. Louder.
The door swung open.
“I’m getting an alert—” the nurse began.
Grant and Scarlett turned toward her. It was the same redhead from before. Her mouth snapped closed. “That’s why the machines are going off.” She pointed her finger at them. “That needs to wait.”
The hell it did. He wrapped his arms around Scarlett. “Trust me, she’s better than any pain medicine.” He’d always gotten a little drunk on Scarlett.
Scarlett smiled down at him. “I can wait,” she murmured. “Because we will have plenty of time.”
He wanted forever with her.
Ava slipped around the nurse and into Grant’s room. Her eyes lit up when she saw him. “You look so much better!” She ran toward him and gave him a big hug. “I thought I was going to lose you,” she whispered. “Just like...”
She stopped, but he knew exactly what she’d been going to say.
Our parents.
“I’m not going anyplace,” he promised her.
Scarlett cleared her throat. “I think...I need to go downstairs for a bit, anyway, so you two should probably have some private time.”
He didn’t want her leaving. Grant shook his head.
“I have to meet my lawyer.” Her smile flashed. “I’ll be back before you know I’m gone.” She eased toward the door.
As she stood near his bed, Ava was shifting nervously from foot to foot. “I—I didn’t mean to interrupt you two.”
He caught his sister’s hand in his.
“You didn’t,” Scarlett assured her.
The nurse was bustling around the room, checking Grant’s vitals and going over his chart.
“I’ll be back soon,” Scarlett told Grant as her eyes met his.
“Scarlett—”
She was gone. He hated that bed right then. Hated the pain that still left him weak.
She’ll be back.
The hope she’d given him was just so new and fresh, and until the threats against her were gone, Grant wanted Scarlett close.
The nurse slipped from the room, too.
He turned his head and saw that Ava was watching him, her gaze nervous.
She took a deep breath. “Is what happened to you...is it related to our parents?”
That question gave him pause. He’d just assumed the attack was tied to Scarlett, but he didn’t have proof of that. “I don’t know.”
Ava backed up a step. “I’m always worried about that, always been afraid that they’ll come back.” She raked a hand through her hair. “Years later, and I still jump when I hear sounds in the night. Ridiculous, isn’t it?”
“No.” He didn’t think anything about his sister was ridiculous.
“I want to be stronger.” Her hands were small fists in front of her. “I will be stronger.”
He reached out and caught one of those fists in his hand. “You already are strong, sis.” But she’d never seen herself that way. She’d ridden on horseback in the black of night, she’d gone for help—but she saw herself as the coward who’d fled and left her parents to die.
“If I’d been stronger, I could have saved them.”
He gave a sharp, negative shake of his head. “Their deaths aren’t on you.”
“Then why do I always feel like they are?”
Survivor’s guilt. He knew exactly why she couldn’t let go.
“They’re not on you,” he said again, willing her to believe him. “And one day, you will stop being afraid. You’ll be able to sleep at night without the nightmares coming back. You’ll see what I see—just how strong you really are.” His fingers tightened on hers.
“Promise?” she asked, and she reminded him so much of the girl she’d been. Before monsters had wrecked her life.
“I swear it.”
* * *
SCARLETT STEPPED AWAY from Grant’s door. A uniformed cop stood to the right of it, and Brodie was propped against the wall on the left.
Grant’s brother frowned when he saw her heading toward the elevators. “What’s the rush, Scarlett?”
“I’m meeting my lawyer.” She pressed the down button on the control panel. “He said that the case is going to be dismissed.” The doors opened right then—talk about perfect timing.
“Wait, and I can go with you—”
But she shook her head. “I’m not leaving the hospital. Pierce is coming here. I’m just meeting him downstairs.”
She walked into the elevator, and pretty much slammed into Davis.
He caught her shoulders.
“Sorry,” she muttered. She’d been so distracted she hadn’t been paying enough attention. Scarlett felt red stain her cheeks. She pulled back from him, trying to give him room to leave the elevator.
But he wasn’t moving. He was studying her with worried eyes. Why did all the McGuire brothers have to look so cautious all the time?
“She’s going to meet her lawyer.”
Her head snapped around. Brodie had put his hands on the elevator’s doors to keep them open. “Give her an escort, man.”
Davis nodded. Brodie eased back and the doors started to close.
“This isn’t necessary,” Scarlett rushed to assure him. “I’m just going downstairs. I’ll be perfectly fine.” She didn’t need constant protection.
“Better safe,” Davis murmured.
Than sorry.
Her lips tightened just as her phone rang. She pulled it out, recognizing Pierce’s number on the screen. Scarlett lifted the phone to her ear. “Pierce, are you already in the lobby?” Talk about fast.
“No...parking garage...” Static crackled over the line. “DA’s here...level four. Couldn’t park out front because two ambulances were blocking that entrance.”
She leaned forward and pressed the button for the parking garage on level four. “I’m on my way there. Give me just a few moments.” Then they could sign the paperwork together. She ended the call. Tapped her foot.
And was far too conscious of Davis’s gaze on her.
The doors opened seconds later. The cavernous parking garage waited. She stepped forward, but Davis caught her arm and pulled her right back. “Hold on,” he said, frowning as he looked out into that parking garage. “This...this setup doesn’t feel right to me.”
“Scarlett?” Pierce called her name as he appeared before them. He smiled at her. He was holding his briefcase. “It’s over,” he told her, that smile spreading even more. “You’re clear.”
Scarlett tried to shrug free from Davis’s hold.
Pierce fumbled with his briefcase. His gloved fingers slid over the rich leather. Scarlett left the elevator, with Davis close at her side.
“I’ve got the papers in here,” the lawyer said, panting a bit. “Got them—”
He pulled out a gun.
Davis grabbed Scarlett and jerked her to the side even as a shot rang out. But that bullet didn’t hit her.
Pierce had been aiming for Davis. The bullet slammed into his shoulder and he staggered back.
Pierce lifted the weapon, aiming again.
And Davis lunged at h
im in a tackle. They went down together in a crush of bodies.
Gunfire thundered again. In that echoing garage, it sounded like a car backfiring.
Davis slumped to the side. Scarlett grabbed for him, flipping him over, and sucked in a horrified breath when she saw the blood oozing from his chest. “Davis!”
“You should have come alone.” Pierce was on his feet again. He put the gun to her head. “Now get away from him.”
Davis’s eyes were open. On her.
“Get away, or I will shoot him again. This time that bullet will go straight into his heart. I missed then...at least, I think I missed...”
Davis’s breath heaved out in pain-filled gasps.
“Move away or he’s dead.”
Scarlett rose to her feet.
“I hate using guns,” Pierce muttered. He glanced down at his gloved hand as he held the weapon. “Seems too rough. So impersonal.” He grabbed her arm and yanked her against him. “Now, a knife, oh, but that’s a different matter. You can feel it when the knife slices deep.”
This wasn’t happening. “Why?” He was her lawyer, for goodness sake! He’d been Eric’s friend. He helped people!
“Because it was all your fault, Scarlett.” Pierce was dragging her away then, pulling her deeper into the shadows of the garage. “Everything that happened to him...your fault. And it’s time you paid for what you did.”
He popped the trunk on his car. “Get in.”
She shook her head. If she got into that trunk, she was dead. Scarlett knew that with utter certainty. “No.”
Why wasn’t anyone else in that parking garage? Why?
“Get. In!” he ordered.
She shook her head, and then attacked. She hit him, slamming out with her fists and kicking. Her nails sliced down his face. Got your DNA, jerk. No matter what else happened, she’d leave her mark on him.
He snarled when her knee hit his groin, and Scarlett leaped away then, thinking she might have time to get to cover before—
He grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her back toward him. She tried to resist, but he brought up the butt of his weapon and slammed it into her head.
For a moment, the world seemed to spin around her. No, no, she was spinning, because he’d lifted her up and he was dumping her into the trunk.