What Makes Us Stronger (A Well Paired Novel Book 3)

by Marianne Rice

  The waiting room was crowded, but Lily made out Ty right away. His arm was anchored across his mother’s shoulders, her face pressed into his chest. He talked to his father over his mother’s head and didn’t notice Lily.

  She longed to run over to him, to his parents, and hug them tight, but didn’t know how she’d be received. Ty’s brush off this past weekend hurt deep to her core.

  “Finally. I was tempted to drive over and get you myself.” Hope pulled her in for a hug.

  “I didn’t have my phone on me. I was giving your mom a massage.”

  “Crap. I forgot about that.” Hope squeezed her eyes shut. “I sent her a ton of texts as well. Celeste could use her shoulder to lean on.”

  “At least she had Ty.”

  Hope opened her eyes and took Lily’s hand, yanking her around the corner of the waiting room into an empty hall. “My first reaction when I heard about Mia was to contact everyone close to her. Including you. I wasn’t thinking about... you and Ty.”

  Her eyes narrowed as if untrusting and searching for the truth inside of Lily.

  Lily squirmed under the intense scrutiny and pulled her hand away. “Thank you for texting me. How is she? What happened?”

  “Hit and run.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah. She parked on the other side of the lot and some asshole came out of nowhere and mowed her over. Took off. Didn’t even stop to see if she was okay.”

  “Oh my God.” Lily covered her mouth with her hand. “How bad is she hurt?”

  “Broken leg. Maybe some internal damage.”

  “A hit and run?”

  Hope nodded. “Wasn’t a customer either. He didn’t have Maine plates. Witnesses couldn’t make which state and said it looked like he was aiming for her.”

  Chills ran up her spine. A hit and run in Crystal Cove? The timing. It was too... Lily tightened her arms around her middle and bent over. They were coming after her friends. No one was safe. She needed to warn them.

  Or leave.

  “Lily? Are you going to be sick?”

  “Maybe. I need some air.”

  “You’re not going outside. Let’s go back to the waiting room so you can sit.”

  No. Ty was there. She needed to separate herself from everyone she cared about before they became the next victims of... hell, she didn’t even know who she was running from.

  “I’m going to sit here for a minute. I’ll be okay.” Lily leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, drawing her knees to her chest.

  “Does this have anything to do with...?”

  Either Grace had told Hope and she wanted to pretend she didn’t know, or Ty had told her about his suspicions. Since Hope wasn’t freaking out about the prominent danger, she must believe Lily was cheating on Ty.

  “I—” What? She couldn’t tell Hope how much she loved Ty. Damian’s guys already hurt Mia, a message Lily wouldn’t ignore. Knowing the type of men he associated himself with, they were just getting started.

  Severing the ties with the people she loved was the only way to keep them safe.

  “I need some time alone.”

  Hope crossed her arms and sighed. “Don’t hurt him. Whatever you do or say, don’t hurt Ty.” She walked away without looking back.

  “That’s what I’m trying to do,” Lily whispered. Hating to make the call but knowing it had to be done, she took out her cell and dialed Agent Thorne’s number.

  After a quick call where she relayed the little she knew about Mia’s accident, Lily chucked her phone in her purse and rested her forehead on her knees. She had no idea how much time had passed. It wasn’t until a pair of shiny black shoes appeared beneath her nose that she looked up.

  “Did you seriously just fly here from New York or DC or wherever super spies hangout?”

  His expression didn’t change, but she knew Agent Thorne mentally rolled his eyes. He held out a hand for her and she took it, thanking him for his strength. Her knees were wobbly, and she knew she wouldn’t make it far on her own.

  “I’m not a spy.”

  “Sure. Do you have a teleporter or something?” Her feeble attempt at humor wasn’t likely to lighten the mood of the agent’s or hers.

  “You did the right thing by calling me.”

  “Evading. You must have super secret spy gadgets to get you here this quick.” She followed Thorne into a small waiting room down the hall.

  “I was at my grandparents’ place.”

  “Why?”

  Not a raised eyebrow or a flick of his head. Nothing. Stoic. Yeah, Thorne made a good spy. Lily supposed she should follow his advice on her next move.

  “Since you seem to know everything, can you tell me how Mia’s doing?”

  “You didn’t see her?”

  “She was having tests done. The family was in the waiting room.”

  “They’re all in her room now. I was surprised you weren’t in there when I walked by.”

  “How did you find me in the hall?” If he asked Hope or—God forbid, Ty—about her, their speculation on her being a cheater would be solidified.

  “The hospital is small.”

  “Did anyone see you?”

  There was a slight tilt of his head that made her feel stupid for asking such a ridiculous question.

  “So tell me how Mia’s doing. Will she be okay?” Lily curled her bottom lip under her teeth and bit down.

  “She has a broken leg. She may need surgery; only time will tell once the swelling goes down. A cracked rib and a concussion. No major permanent damage.”

  “They’ll go after Ty next. And Hope. I’m closest to them. Please promise me you’ll keep them safe.”

  “How do you know this is the work of Gervais? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  “Me? More like there’s something you’re not telling me!”

  Again Thorne stood motionless. His gaze darted to the open doorway before he moved to close the door.

  “Why don’t you think this is a random hit and run?”

  “Because there are people who want to kill me,” she whispered angrily.

  “Exactly. They want to kill you not your friends.”

  “I’m not stupid. I know how these people work. They hurt the ones closest to you before they come for you. It’s psychological terror or something like that.”

  “You watch too much television.”

  “I don’t watch TV.”

  Thorne took her by her shoulder and pushed Lily into one of the plastic chairs. “I’ve been watching you. Watching the town. I’m not going to lie. Tonight’s accident took me by surprise. It may just be a random hit and run, but I’ll look into it.”

  “It’s not random. I can feel it. Everything is going wrong. Please just make sure they’re safe. If I leave, Damian’s men will leave town as well to track me down. Can’t you send me somewhere for a while?”

  “And when they can’t find you, who are they going to turn to for your whereabouts?”

  Lily placed a hand over her stomach in a poor attempt to calm the storm raging inside. “There’s no escaping them, is there?”

  What had she brought on these good people? No matter what she did, where she went, Damian’s men would cause trouble for them because they were friends with her. Bile worked its way up her throat and she gagged, choking it back down.

  “Why don’t you stay at the Emerald Pond for a few days while I investigate. That way you’re close, but out of sight.”

  “How will that keep Ty and Hope safe?”

  “There’s no reason to believe they’re in danger.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Lily jumped to her feet. “One of my very good friends is here because of me. Of course there’s reason to believe they’re in danger. How obtuse are you?”

  “We’ll leave your car here so it can’t be traced back to my grandparents’ place.”

  “Emotionless, insensitive robot. That’s what you are.”

  “Are you going to make a scene as we
leave here? I highly suggest you don’t. The less attention we bring to you the better.”

  Her body shook with fear, with shock, with adrenaline. She nodded, her shoulders slumping in defeat. Thorne opened the door and escorted her out with his hand on her lower back as if guiding her through the halls.

  Her feet dragged down the hall. She would have collapsed if Thorne wasn’t there to lean on. Somehow they’d made it outside. It wasn’t until he closed the passenger side of his car door that she realized he’d draped his suit coat over her shoulders. No wonder she didn’t feel the rain.

  Lily didn’t feel anything. Except emptiness.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  THE ONLY THING STOPPING him from chasing down the asshole who had his arm around Lily and his coat on her shoulders was knowing his sister was on the third floor in recovery from a hit and run. Hell. Ty was a magnet for misery.

  This was why he didn’t date. Didn’t do relationships. Why he and Meatball were a perfect pair. Socializing, being part of the cheating world, was not for either of them.

  Ty could feel his depression setting in again. Not that it ever went away. Sure, the pills helped him come out of his stupor faster than when he was off them, but right now he wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out again. Being angry was good. It was better than being sad and retreating into his shell again.

  Hell, he’d barely come out of it. Lily had helped him see the light. She brought happiness to his life, to his house. She made him see a hopeful future. And then she pulled the rug out from under him, stabbing him where he was the most vulnerable.

  Damn, he felt like a sissy. A woman shouldn’t have a strong hold on his life like this. Ty had everything going for him. A solid work ethic, good employees, and now that his father was working on retirement, Parker Construction would be his.

  The company had a solid reputation, as did Ty. He even had friends now beyond Hope and Delaney. Guy friends. Cameron and Ben were good guys who seemed to get him. It was okay that Ty wasn’t much of a talker. They could chill. Be guys. All was good.

  Except the woman he loved walked away in the arms of another man.

  Determined not to let depression—or a woman—get the better of him, Ty spun on his heels and marched back to his sister’s room.

  Hope, Cameron, Jenna, and Grace stood close together, talking quietly outside Mia’s room.

  “She awake?”

  “Yeah. Groggy. Grumpy. So basically she’s back to her usual self,” Hope teased, but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

  “Your parents are in there now. We’re going to head home, but we’ll be back tomorrow. You’ll call us if you need anything?” Cameron asked.

  “Why would I need anything? Mia’s the one who got left for dead in the middle of the parking lot.”

  Grace gasped and clutched at her throat. Ty didn’t know much about the woman, other than she was Alexis’ younger sister who turned her head at anything resembling responsibility. Or at least that’s how Ben and Alexis had described her.

  “Are you saying someone intentionally ran her over?” Grace scratched at her neck, fear etched around her eyes.

  “That’s how it was explained to me. A hit and run. I thought you all knew that.”

  “No. I didn’t.” Grace looked to Hope, then to Jenna, before returning her concern to Ty. “You should all be careful out there. We live in a dangerous world.”

  “No need to be dramatic, Grace. This was a fluke accident. It sucks it happened to Mia, but she’ll pull through.”

  Grace’s reaction wasn’t what he expected. Concern for Mia, yes; concern over the reckless drivers out there, not necessarily.

  “Tell your parents we’ll keep our phones turned on all night if they need anything, or if any other news about Mia’s accident comes up.”

  “Thanks, Hope. It’s getting late, so I doubt we’ll hear any more tonight. You guys head home.”

  “Don’t forget to take care of yourself as well.” Hope hugged him before walking away with Cameron and her friends.

  The best way for him to take care of himself was by busying himself with Mia and her care.

  Tapping softly on the door, he opened it and stepped inside.

  “It’s about time. I didn’t think you even cared. Probably hoping the douchebag offed me so you could claim my inheritance.”

  “Mia. Language,” their mother scoffed.

  Ty chuckled. “It’s too bad the douche didn’t knock the attitude out of you.” Ty leaned down and kissed his sister on the top of her head. “And Mom and Dad are gonna live until they’re a hundred, so we have a ways to go before claiming their inheritance.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “I usually don’t.” Ty took in the contraption holding up her right leg and the IV bag, following the tube to her arm where it fed her painkillers. “You feeling okay?”

  “For now.” She held up her stuck arm and wiggled her eyebrows. “Got some good stuff pumping through my veins right now.”

  “You gave us quite the scare, Mia.”

  “Sorry, Dad. Had I known that douche—jerk wasn’t going to stop for a pedestrian running across the parking lot in the pouring rain, I would have leaped out of his way sooner.”

  “What exactly happened today?” Ty sat at the edge of her bed and read through the ‘it’s not so bad’ mask Mia wore.

  “Go chase down the police officers if you want to know more. I don’t feel like going through it all again.” Mia closed her eyes and sunk deeper into her pillow. In seconds, she was out, a soft snore coming from her lips.

  “We should let her sleep.” Celeste stroked Mia’s arm and kissed her cheek before doing the same to Ty. “You should go home as well. We’ll visit in the morning when we’re all rested.”

  “Drive safely, son. It may not be winter, but the wind knocked down a lot of debris. The roads will be slick with leaves and twigs.”

  “You too, Dad.” He hugged his parents and after they left, he went back to watching Mia sleep.

  Sometime later a nurse came in to read Mia’s vitals and strongly suggested Ty go home.

  The rain hadn’t let up, and even with the wipers on full speed he could barely see ten feet in front of him. The slow drive gave him too much time to think about Lily and what she was probably doing with the suit right about now.

  Something deep inside him didn’t sit right, and it wasn’t just the image of Lily with another man. That would never sit right. It was the expression she wore on her face. Ty only caught a quick glimpse, but the dark shadow under her sad eyes on her pale face shouldn’t be there if she was having an affair with another man. He was too familiar with that expression; he’d seen it in the mirror too many times.

  The man had his arm anchored around her back as if she needed his support to leave the hospital. It wasn’t the sight of a woman being whisked away into the night by her lover.

  Ty pulled into his driveway and shut off the engine. He didn’t like the directions of his thoughts. A cheating woman didn’t deserve his sympathy. He wanted nothing to do with her.

  The downpour greeted him when he opened the driver’s side door, and he didn’t even attempt to shield his head or dash for his front door. Instead, Ty dragged his feet up the steps and unlocked the door, bringing in a gust of wind and rain, which puddled on his hardwood floors.

  And he didn’t care. Depression. It was back, and for some reason it worked its way into Lily’s life as well. If she was depressed, he wanted nothing to do with it. He had a hard enough time fighting his own dark demon.

  Meatball trotted over and lapped at the water around Ty’s feet.

  “You have a nice water dish, yet you prefer toilet bowls and puddles. Damn dog.” He closed the front door and knelt to rub behind his dog’s ears. “Looks like it’s just you and me, kid.”

  A flash of lightning lit up the living room and Meatball began to shake, cowering at his feet. “I’m gonna change and then we’ll hang on the couch and watch Captain
America or something for a bit, ‘k?”

  It was late, too late to start a movie, but Meatball needed comforting, and he hated to admit it, but so did Ty.

  Ty woke some hours later, a cramp in his thigh, a heavy weight on his chest, and smelly hot air panting in his face. Opening one eye, he cringed when Meatball’s tongue lolled from the corner of his mouth, a thick line of drool hanging from it, ready to land on Ty any second.

  “Seriously, man.” Rolling his shoulders, he moved his head to the side as the drool dropped, running down Ty’s neck. “And here I was feeling bad for you.”

  He bent and stretched his legs, patting the hardwood floor. “Get down and I’ll make you some breakfast.” Meatball scooted back, sitting firmly on Ty’s bladder, and stared at him. He knew that look. No one could make Meatball move if he didn’t want to. “We’re on the couch. You can hop down by yourself.” Still, the dog didn’t budge, and Ty needed to go to the bathroom. “Fine.”

  Grunting, he shifted to a sitting position and picked up Meatball, placing him on the floor. “Just for that, I’m taking care of my needs before yours.”

  Of course his dog would want to prove a point and trot to the backdoor. He’d been too scared to go out yesterday in the rain. His bladder had to be on the brink of explosion as well.

  “Fine. You win. But when I call you, you better run your fat ass off to come back inside, or I’ll leave you out in the next storm.”

  Meatball would call his bluff, and Ty would lose again.

  They went through their morning rituals, and then Ty stopped in to see his sister at the hospital before heading into work.

  “Are you sure you’re okay to go home today?” He looked his sister over, happy to see the color back in her cheeks.

  “You guys gotta chill. It’s a broken bone, not the end of the world.”

  “Your apartment’s on the second floor. How are you going to manage that with crutches?”

  “Does this mean you want me to stay with you?”

  Ty’s upstairs wasn’t finished, but he could blow up an air mattress and sleep up there, giving Mia his bedroom if she needed it. They’d kill each other by the end of the week.

  “If you—”