When Colt came back with the bag, the first thing she did was pull out her scissors and cut off Blaser’s shirt. ‘If you wanted me naked, all you had to do was say,’ Blaser croaked as she went through her process of checking his vitals, nerves, and joints.
‘I like my men in a vulnerable position,’ she said, pulling supplies from the bag. ‘That way they can’t run off.’
‘I’m going nowhere,’ Blaser said, his eyes closed.
‘Stay awake,’ she said, patting his cheek. ‘Colt, keep talking to him. Ruger! Blanket!’
‘I’m not going to pass out,’ Blaser said. ‘It just hurts like a sonofabitch.’
‘And it will,’ Lyssa said, cleaning out the wound, happy to see that most of the bleeding had stopped.
The next half an hour was tense. The brothers did their best to keep Blaser talking and distracted while she removed the bullet, cleaned out the wound and sewed it up. All the while she was dressing it she tried not to look at Colt, who had come to the head of the couch, and she had a feeling that he knew she was avoiding his gaze.
When there was a patient in front of you, you had to deal with them. It wasn’t worth asking why they didn’t take him directly to an emergency room because there was no time for talking while there was a chance of someone bleeding out. Now that she had the time to think of it, she was proud of herself for remembering her training on automatic pilot, she hadn’t dealt with anything like this since her residency.
‘Take him through to the bedroom,’ Lyssa said when she was finished. ‘He should sleep for a while.’
‘I can go downstairs to my own bed,’ Blaser said. ‘I don’t need to stay here.’
He groaned when sitting up. She was pleased to see some colour returning to his cheeks, though she’d be worried about shock for the rest of the night. ‘I want to check on you,’ Lyssa said. ‘So if you’re going downstairs then I’m coming with you.’ She packed up her supplies and then pulled out her prescription pad and began to write. ‘Ruger, you can help me downstairs with Blaser. Colt, I need you to find a pharmacy, and get me these things.’ Tearing off the slip, she handed it over.
‘An all-night pharmacy,’ Colt said.
‘I can do that,’ Ruger said.
‘No,’ Lyssa said, getting between the brothers under the guise of supporting Blaser. ‘I want Colt to do it. He’ll get it right.’
She carried on beside Blaser, who wasn’t paying any attention to what else was going on in the room. They got to the top of the stairs before Ruger caught up with them, he helped to ensure that Blaser got down the stairs without injury, and then he unlocked his brother’s door, presumably they all had keys for each other’s places because they didn’t ask.
Together, she and Ruger took Blaser through to his bed, and then she left the men alone so that Ruger could help his brother get comfortable. While they did that she returned to the living area in Blaser’s apartment, vehicle lights came on and an engine started. Through the blinds covering the windows she watched the light retreat until the sound of the engine faded away.
‘It wasn’t his fault,’ Ruger said and she spun around to see him only a couple of feet away. ‘I told him we should bring Blaser to you and he didn’t want to.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she said, and went into the kitchen to find something to drink.
‘You’re pissed that we brought a gunshot victim to you in the middle of the night and you’re wondering what happened.’
‘No, I’m not,’ she said, slamming the fridge door. ‘I’m pissed that I thought I was falling in love with a man I clearly know nothing about.’
‘You know him. You two have been inseparable.’
‘No,’ she said. ‘It’s been all about me because of this stupid stalker situation and my work at Risqué. I don’t know anything about Colt and that’s been made abundantly clear to me tonight.’
‘Colt didn’t shoot anyone, if that’s what you think. We weren’t doing anything illegal.’
‘So why not take Blaser to a hospital?’
‘Because we were where we shouldn’t have been,’ Ruger said, moving around her to collect a couple of beers from the fridge and open them. ‘And we’re not in the habit of getting others into trouble.’
‘So you were doing something illegal?’
‘No,’ he said.
‘Is this the stalker? Was Blaser shot because—‘
He took a long drink and lowered the bottle from his mouth. ‘No, this isn’t that.’
‘So what is it?’
‘I’ll let Colt explain it to you when he gets back,’ Ruger said, handing her a cold bottle as he went past her and to the couch.
‘Hoburn told me that Colt killed someone and that’s why he left the force.’
‘Did he now?’ Ruger said. ‘My brother will be thrilled to hear that his old colleagues are interfering in his life.’
Putting the beer bottle on the kitchen counter, without touching the liquid, she hurried to him and sat on the couch at his side. ‘Tell me if it’s true, Ruger. Please.’
‘It depends on who you ask,’ Ruger said. ‘If you ask Colt then he’ll tell you yes, which is the only reason I’m saying this now. He didn’t kill Emma, he was watching out for her. She was under his protection. She was convinced that her ex-pimp was watching her, that he was obsessed with her, and it turns out that she was right. Colt was the only one to believe her and the department gave up on his crazy theories and all but pulled out of all involvement with the case. Colt was the only cop left on the assignment and his lieutenant only left him on the case to shut him up.’
‘But she died?’
‘Yeah,’ Ruger said. ‘Colt got information that the ex-pimp was going to be somewhere and he wanted to check the guy out, maybe talk to him if he got the chance, scare him a little bit.’
‘But?’
‘Emma followed him,’ Ruger said. ‘Can you believe it? The stalkee becomes the stalker. I’m not convinced that the girl didn’t have a thing for Colt, or the ex-pimp, or someone. She wasn’t all there if you ask me. But she followed Colt, he didn’t know it, and she ended up dead.’
‘And that’s why he left the force?’
Ruger was drinking again, he kicked off his boots and put his feet up on Blaser’s coffee table. ‘He didn’t leave because she died, I mean yeah, it fucked him up, there’s no doubt about that. But that wasn’t the reason.’
‘So what was the reason?’
‘The force had the resources to protect her, if he had back up, or had others on the case who could’ve covered Emma or gone to that meeting for him… he got fed up playing by the rules because as far as he was concerned the rules and regulations got people killed. He’s not wrong.’
‘He was bogged down by the rules and so wanted to do things his own way?’
‘I guess that you could say that.’
‘And there was no one in the department he could rely on?’ she asked, wondering if it was connected to what she’d heard about his partner.
‘He was kind of working on his own then, he had trust issues, and didn’t have a partner.’
‘Because his partner was sleeping with Carrie?’
‘You’re a good detective,’ Ruger said, slurping from the bottle.
‘So he went into business on his own.’ Contemplating this, she rested back on the couch. ‘He left the force because he thought he could do better on his own. But, I don’t get it. Why would Hoburn hate him now?’
‘There was animosity towards him before Emma’s death, but it was all about that case. Others believed that Colt abandoned his post, that he could have done more if he had just given up on Emma like the rest of them did. Colt pulled in favours and tried to convince others about the danger that Emma was in but no one cared, at least they didn’t listen. Then when she died Colt made no secret of it that they’d let Emma down. He told them all that her blood was on the hands of everyone who refused to hear her out, just because of who she was.’
‘Who was she?’
‘An ex-hooker,’ he said. ‘Well, I guess she was a current hooker, but she was freelance, trying to build herself up a nest egg to get to college and better herself.’
‘They don’t like to look in the mirror, I guess,’ Lyssa said. ‘They thought less of her because of her position in society. But a death, any death, is still tough to come to terms with, especially if you have any feeling of responsibility yourself.’
‘Colt has gotten over it, and in a way his work after that has made up for a lot of shortcomings. He’s mended some relationships in the force and still has favours that he can call in. He feels more useful now that he’s not constrained by chain of command.’
‘But Emma is still dead.’
‘Yes, she is,’ Ruger said. ‘Colt won’t let that happen again, he’s more careful now, and more aware of when things can go wrong. You’re lucky, not just because he’s on your case, but because he cares about you. Colt’s not going to let anything happen to you.’
‘Tonight, when he left me, I didn’t think he was going to do anything dangerous. What happens if the next time it’s him who is shot?’
‘Then we’ll bring him to you,’ Ruger said, smiling in an attempt to garner hers. ‘Trust me, this doesn’t happen a lot and it’s great that you’re a part of the team now. Seriously, Lys, thanks for helping Blaser. When he comes round, tomorrow, he’s going to be grateful too.’
‘I just did my job,’ she said, feeling bad now knowing she’d dismissed Colt and he was probably cursing himself for getting her involved.
She was still interested in the details of what had happened to Blaser, and why it had happened as much as because she wanted to know if Colt planned to put himself in more danger for his brother, or anyone else. But she would ask him about that when he got back, at the same time she confessed to him what Hoburn had said. Now that she’d spoken to Ruger about it, she wished that she’d just been upfront with Colt when she’d had the chance, as soon as Hoburn left.
They had to be open with each other and she didn’t want her current situation to prevent him from telling her the truth about his past, about where he had come from. Everyone had skeletons in their closet, and she wanted him to know that she’d embrace him despite those skeletons. But until she knew all of him, she couldn’t trust their connection, or their feelings for each other. She had to make him understand that it was ok to be vulnerable with her, and that she would never judge him for that. If they couldn’t do that and real trust couldn’t be built then she had doubts about how sincere their love for each other could ever be.
Ruger went to sleep on the floor, which gave her the couch, and at some point Colt must have come back in because she found him sleeping on the floor when she woke up the following morning. After checking on Blaser, she was happy that his vitals were strong and his wound would heal, although it would take time. She woke him to make sure that she could, but when he grumped at her, she let him go back to sleep.
She grabbed a quick shower and wrapped herself in a towel, but would have to go upstairs for clean clothes. As soon as she started to brew coffee, the men sleeping on the floor began to stir, so she poured everyone a mug and laid out breakfast on the table.
‘Ah, she’s an angel,’ Ruger said, climbing to his feet and coming over to gulp down the scorching brew.
‘I have to go upstairs to get changed,’ she said to Colt when he too picked up his coffee. ‘I’ve checked on Blaser and he’s ok, but you could take his coffee through to him and give him some of the antibiotics and painkillers you brought in last night.’
‘Ok,’ he said, putting the cup down and starting toward the back bedroom.
‘You could kiss me good morning first,’ she said.
The big talk would have to wait, as they had an audience, and there were more pressing matters. But she wanted him to know that there was no residual anger, only questions. His head tilted and a smile flirted on his lips when he came back to her, Ruger turned his back with a theatrical groan, and she was swept into Colt’s arms.
‘Good morning,’ he said, and said hello in the best way there was – without words. ‘Do you want me to get your clothes?’
She shook her head. ‘No one will be around at this time, and they won’t care.’
‘You obviously haven’t met many of the neighbours,’ Ruger said.
‘I’ll be fine,’ she said and left the men to go upstairs and change.
When she got back downstairs, Ruger was nowhere in sight and it was Colt who was coming out of the shower. ‘Was this because of me?’ she asked, wanting a definitive answer because she wasn’t convinced that Ruger had been telling her the truth about the shooting last night.
‘No,’ he said, tucking in his towel. ‘Wrong place, wrong time.’
‘I’m trusting you, Colt,’ she said. ‘I know about Emma.’
His expression became gradually more serious. ‘Hoburn?’
‘Yes, and Ruger gave me the details this morning. Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘We’d have got there eventually,’ he said. ‘But cracking your case, getting this guy off your tail, that’s what we need to focus on.’
‘What about us? Aren’t we important? Are we building a relationship or am I just a quick fumble for you? A distraction while you’re dealing with other things?’
Coming to her, he took hold of her. ‘That case still haunts me, Lys. It changed my life and… telling you what happened, trying to explain it when I can’t come to terms with it myself… I didn’t want it to change things between us.’
‘Things are going to change between us and you have to realise that, but we should grow closer with the more we learn about each other, not use our histories to wedge ourselves apart.’
‘It’s easy for you to predict these things,’ he said. ‘You have an education that guides you in the appropriate way to act, I don’t have that, and it’s been a long time since I’ve trusted a woman as much as I trust you.’
‘I’m grateful for that, but relationships take work. There’s no great power watching over us from above making sure that we don’t make mistakes. Those mistakes are what make our relationship unique, and we make them ourselves because of who we are and the experiences we’ve had.’
The weight of his expression cleared. Something struck him and he silently mouthed her words. ‘What an idiot.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘Not you,’ he said, kissing her with full tongue force. ‘You’re a fucking genius, Miss Lys. I’m the idiot.’
He tossed his towel aside and began to yank on the clothes she’d brought him. ‘There’s no need to dress so quickly,’ she said, sad to see his toned, naked physique disappear from her view so abruptly.
‘I need to go out,’ he said. ‘I have to check something. Will you be ok with Blaser until Ruger gets back from his place?’
‘Yes,’ she said, watching him gather his things. ‘What’s going on?’
‘I might have cracked it,’ he said, going towards the door then coming back to kiss her. ‘Actually, you might have cracked it.’
She caught his wrist. ‘Then clue me in.’
‘When I get back, I don’t want to say anything until I’ve checked it out,’ he said, kissing her again. ‘You’re a fucking genius.’
He muttered the words again and managed to actually get out of the door this time without coming back. Lyssa was left clueless, but he’d had an epiphany and who was she to stand in the way of that.
Chapter Seventeen
Blaser was a downright awful patient, he did nothing that he was told and thought he knew better than everyone else. Ruger did his best to back Lyssa up, but when Blaser insisted he was going into Risqué, no one could stop him. On the condition that she and Ruger accompanied him, they agreed to let him go in. With the antibiotics and painkillers, she hoped that he’d tire quickly and they could whip him back to his apartment for more rest, but she wouldn’t hold her breath.
Leaving a message for Colt – who hadn’t appeared or been in touch all day – the trio trooped over to the club. Blaser was immediately set upon by all of the girls who fawned over him and his arm, which Lyssa had put in a sling with hopes it would reduce movement. Although she had stitched the wound, she didn’t want him to tear out any of his stitches and do himself more damage. Blaser, for some reason, wasn’t as worried about that or further injury. At least he displayed no outward signs of being worried about it, which made her wonder if this was all in a day’s work for him.
Ruger did his bit as bartender, which frustrated Blaser because Ruger was more interested in showing off with the cocktail mixer than just getting on with the job. Watching them spar was fun for her, though she would have liked Colt to be here and involved as well, just for her own peace of mind.
Now that she wasn’t expected to work she got more time to observe what was going on and began to openly take notes on what she saw. She actually told Crystal the whole truth, and by the end of the night all of the girls were crowded around her trying to give her anecdotes of their own experiences on the exotic dancing circuit. Each of the stories, and the woman, were fascinating and she promised to keep returning until she’d taken note of all the stories.
Wondering if Colt would let her use his office to compile the stories, and maybe interview some of the girls, her mind turned to concern. She didn’t know where he was, or what he was doing, and he’d been gone all day.
‘He’ll be fine,’ Blaser said, taking a seat on a stool beside her. Now that things were winding down, he let Ruger do what he wanted, he’d given up trying to control his younger brother.
‘What are you talking about?’ she asked. ‘I think that Ruger has done really well tonight.’
‘It’s not Ruger you’re thinking about. It’s Colt.’
‘Well… yes,’ she admitted, unable to lie. ‘He’s been gone all day.’
‘He knows what he’s doing.’
‘If this goes wrong, if something happens to me, like it did with Emma… he’ll never forgive himself.’
Take a Risk (Risk #1) Page 19