“You remember when we were kids and I became obsessed with all of those movies from the eighties they had at the video store . . . how much I loved that movie Labyrinth?”
“I do. You spent the entire summer switching between that and The NeverEnding Story with that flying dog thing.”
“It was a luck dragon called Falkor. Not a dog at all. Anyway, at the end of Labyrinth, Jennifer Connelly’s character, Sarah, breaks Jareth’s spell by saying, ‘Through dangers untold, and hardships unnumbered . . . my will is as strong as yours . . . You have no power over me.’”
“I really want to be all serious and nod my head at that, but I think you just attempted to drop knowledge by quoting a movie in which David Bowie wears tights.”
Harper laughed. He’d forgotten how great that sound was. “It is indeed tight-wearing wisdom. But the ends are the same. I know that neither of them can do anything to me anymore. There are too many people around me, and while it let me down last time, I need to trust that the system won’t let me down again.”
It was amazing how much his sister had grown in six years. Not so much in age, but in her attitude about life. When he’d left six years ago, there had been a naivety to her. But the woman in front of him now looked like she could kick ass and take names.
“And I guess I have one more thing on my side this time that I didn’t have last time.”
“What’s that?”
“You.”
* * *
Lia watched Reid’s broad shoulders as he walked toward the backlit bar with Cujo to secure the next round of drinks. A heavy bass pounded in the all-black room as deep purple lights flashed around them. They’d secured a large table, but the bottle service was taking way longer than Cujo could be bothered waiting for, so the two hunter-gatherers had gone off to find them alcohol.
She’d enjoyed sitting on the balcony with Trent while Reid and Harper continued their conversation. One of the things she loved about her boss and friend was the way he cared about everyone who worked for him. He’d asked her how she was and had teased her about Reid. It hadn’t taken much effort to convince him to turn the evening into a party, so they’d spent their time texting their friends and making plans.
They’d eaten as a quartet at Trent’s favorite seafood restaurant and had then moved on to the nightclub attached to the W. There they had caught up with Cujo and Drea, Pixie and Dred, and Eric and his brother who was in town from L.A. Even Truly had stopped by with a handful of her roller-derby teammates.
“Okay, girlfriend,” Pixie said, taking Lia’s hand and dragging her to the edge of the group. “Catch me up. Because the way that guy is looking at you is seriously yummy. And yet, it’s slightly weird that you are here with Harper’s brother.”
Used to the drill, Lia did exactly as Pixie asked. “On a scale of one to ten, I might be a little bit in love with him. Don’t judge me, Pix. I didn’t want to, hell, I really tried not to. We both know it would be so much easier if I wasn’t. But I am.”
The lights of the nightclub reflected off Pixie’s purple hair. Pixie wasn’t one to judge, especially having found herself in the middle of the public eye once her relationship with Dred had become public knowledge in the spring, but she wanted her friend to understand that this was different. That Reid was different. That when she was with him, she felt different.
“Look, I know I’ve said stuff like this before. And I know I said I wasn’t going to do this for a while. But I see Harper and Trent,” she said, physically turning to face toward them. “He would do anything for her. He’d take a bullet for her in a heartbeat, and it almost killed him when Nathan attacked her.” She remembered when she had first arrived at the hospital to visit Harper and had seen him sitting in the chair next to the hospital bed, his face gray with shock. “And we both know how Cujo is with Drea. He wants to marry her and have babies with that girl so badly he can taste it, but he’s putting it off for three years because he wants her to have the college education she yearns for. Like seriously, do you remember how he lost his shit when she asked him to tattoo a rose on her shoulder for her mom?”
Lia looked toward Drea, who was joking with Dred about something. “And then there are the two of you. The guy will fly halfway around the world, baby in tow, just to have dinner with you. Oh, not forgetting how he bought you the business you wanted. Who would’ve thought incorporation documents were sexy? And don’t get me started on the snowflake tattoo he has over his heart,” she said, referring to the sweet nickname Dred had for Pixie.
Pixie looked over to where her man was sitting, and she grinned when he winked at her before carrying on his conversation with Drea. “Oh, Lia. You aren’t doing this because you’re lonely, are you? Because that’s entirely the wrong reason.”
“No. That’s not it at all. Watching you guys meet and fall in love taught me a really important lesson. I don’t want to fall for guy who would give me any less than that. I’d given up looking. But then this guy just drives past me on a motorbike and despite the fact that he looks incredibly hot naked, he’s a really good man.”
“Does it bother you at all, what he did? I mean, it’s not my place to pry, and I certainly don’t need all the details, but Reid just left Harper alone. For years.”
Lia considered the question for a moment. “Guilt can tear a person up inside. And pressure from other people can make them do things they wouldn’t normally consider doing on their own. But I think the fact they are getting along again speaks for itself.”
“In that case, I’m happy for everyone, because every time we looked at that damn seating plan for the wedding, she’d keep a seat empty in case he came back.”
Lia watched Reid put a handful of drinks down on the table before he started to walk toward her. She should have guessed he would be at home in the nightclub. The black shirt he wore fit him like a glove, as did the black distressed denim. It was hard to miss the number of women who cast a glance his way as he cut his way through the crowd.
“I’m gonna leave you to it,” Pixie said before heading back toward Dred, who stood and kissed the top of her head.
When Reid reached her, he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her close. He didn’t say a word as he kissed the side of her jaw. Lia tilted her head to the side and smiled. They danced slowly despite the fast beat of the music the DJ played.
His lips brushed close to her ear. “I’m glad I’m here, Lia.”
Lia sighed against him. “So am I.”
It was close to two in the morning when Lia felt the first yawn.
“Keeping you up, babe?” Reid whispered.
“Is there some weird body alarm that kicks in when you turn thirty, old man? I used to be able to stay up and party all night.”
“You’re asking a guy who goes to bed early to get up at five. We can go if you want, because I’ve been ready to get you out of this dress since you walked into the living room earlier.”
Lia laughed. “Sounds like a perfect idea,” she said, slipping the tip of her finger through the gap between two buttons on his shirt.
Harper and Trent decided to leave with them and stood on the sidewalk with her as Reid tried to flag a cab. He looked good in a collared shirt, she decided, and it would be fun to unbutton him slowly, perhaps even drop to her knees and give him a blowjob in the apartment hallway, his back pressed up against the front door.
Collins was a flurry of cars and cabs as usual, and Reid finally caught the attention of an empty one. The driver began to slow, and Reid turned to walk back toward her. He grinned at her and she couldn’t help but return the smile.
A screech of tires pulled her attention away from Reid, and she looked to her right, suddenly blinded by the headlights of a car pointed straight at her. For a second, Lia couldn’t figure out what was happening, but then Reid shouted, and Trent yelled out Harper’s name. The car wasn’t breaking, or turning.
What the hell?
It was speeding up, heading straight for her.
/> Oh my God, no. She screamed as she tried to escape its path, panic powering her hurried footsteps, but the car was faster.
Pain ricocheted through her as the bumper of the vehicle took her legs out from under her, and for an instant, she was airborne. For the briefest moment, she saw Reid running toward her, but then her back slammed into the wall of the hotel and she dropped to the hard concrete.
Lia cried out in pain as she hit the ground, her wrist crumpling beneath her. Everybody said that your life passed before you in situations like this, but it didn’t for her. Pain took control, burning through her. As her head hit the ground, she noticed Harper standing pressed up against the W and Trent lying on the floor in front of her. But more importantly, she saw bone poking through the skin of her arm before the blackness overcame her.
* * *
Reid needed to pace. Fuck that. He needed to pound the shit out of something. But he couldn’t even move. He barely remembered calling 911, but he certainly remembered smoothing Lia’s hair from her forehead as she lay against the pavement until she came to again, crying out in pain. Now she was in surgery, having her arm pinned with metal screws. It was cold comfort that it wasn’t her tattooing arm.
At least he was able to get ongoing news about her progress. In a moment of quick thinking, he’d told the paramedics that he was her husband, and Lia, who had been in incredible pain, had simply gone along with his plan. When he’d asked her if she wanted him to phone her parents, though, she’d refused and gripped his hand.
Moments before the accident, they’d been standing together, his eyes on a couple of taxis in the distance. He’d stepped away from her only seconds before the car had jumped the curb, and he was convinced that the act had been deliberate. Only hours after his encounter with Winston Bell, a car had nearly killed him and his friends.
He felt ill. He’d made this mistake before. By having charged forward without considering the repercussions of his actions, he’d only made things worse for Harper. And now he’d done the same for Lia, dragging her into something in which she shouldn’t be involved.
He pulled out his phone, ignoring the admonitions posted all over the walls against using cell phones here, and texted Harper, who was in a different part of the hospital with Trent. It turned out that Trent had pushed Harper out of the way and taken the brunt of the car’s impact. So while the car had only glanced Harper’s shin, Trent had been knocked to the floor. The doctors were currently doing a CT scan on Trent to ensure that no permanent damage had been done to his skull, but other than that, the guy had been incredibly lucky to not be in worse shape.
There was no way Lia was going to be able to cope alone, at least for the first few days out of the hospital, and Reid wanted to be there for her. He dialed Jarod.
“What the . . . it’s three in the morning, boss,” Jarod said, sleepily.
Shit. He hadn’t been thinking. “Sorry, man. It’s just . . . Lia. She got hit by a car . . . broke her arm pretty bad.”
“No . . . is she going to be okay?”
“She’ll be fine, but she’s in surgery. Look, I need a favor. How d’you feel about running Kenny’s for me for a while so I can stay here and take care of her?”
“Don’t even need to ask. I’m on it.”
“Thanks, Jarod . . . I’m . . .”
“Say no more. I got this. Go take care of Lia. And yourself, boss.”
Jarod’s enthusiasm had him questioning why he hadn’t considered making Jarod assistant manager sooner. It was the perfect solution.
As word spread amongst his friends, his phone began to fill with messages of love and support, but his only focus right now was Lia.
A doctor in a white coat walked out into the waiting area. “Reid Kennedy?”
“I’m here,” he said nervously. “How is she?”
“Julianna broke her arm; and as you already know, we had to reset it with pins. We doubt that she will suffer from any long-term complications, but there’s a risk of infection at this stage so we have her on some heavy-duty antibiotics. We’ve given her painkillers to manage her comfort level as well. The combination of all this means that first and foremost she will be very sleepy, but also that she needs to stay here overnight. I can take you through to see her for a little while before she gets moved to a ward.”
Reid followed the doctor down the hallway and past the nurses’ station and the vending machine he’d raided earlier.
“She’s through here,” the doctor said, pointing into a room. “I’ll leave the two of you alone for a little while, but the nurse is going to come in and ask you to leave after a few minutes. You’ll be more than welcome back tomorrow.”
The room was mainly dark, the small lamp attached to the headboard illuminating her hair in such a way that it appeared to be the only color in an otherwise dull room. Her eyes were closed as he made his way over to the bed. Quietly, he pulled a plastic chair over and placed it so that he could sit and take hold of her hand.
“Lia, babe. I’m sorry. When I opened my mouth earlier at your father’s, when I berated Winston, I really wasn’t thinking about all the places those words could take us. If I’d known for one millisecond that it would lead to this, I would’ve walked away.” Her hand looked small in his; it was the first time he’d really noticed how delicate it was. Her injured arm was propped up on the other side of her in some kind of foam fort.
He pressed his lips to the back of her hand. “I’ve taken some time off work so when we get out of here, I can help you.”
Her fingers moved. “Reid?” she said roughly.
“Yeah, babe. I’m right here. How are you doing, sweetheart?”
She attempted to push herself slightly higher up the pillow and groaned in pain.
“Here,” Reid said, standing. “Let me help you with that.” He put his arms around her and scooched her higher.
“How’s Trent?” she asked sleepily.
“He’s gone for a scan, but it’s more of a precaution to make sure nothing else is going on. He hit his head pretty hard.”
“My arm really hurts,” she said tearfully.
The sight of those gray eyes filled with tears came close to pushing him over the edge of the emotional roller coaster he’d been on since he called for an ambulance. He’d give anything to be able to stop the hurt. And he wished he’d been able to catch more than a fleeting glimpse of that car. He wanted to do something for her but felt useless.
“I’ll go get a nurse, get you some morphine or something,” he said, but she gripped his hand.
“Don’t leave me,” she said, wincing as she repositioned her broken arm. “The nurse told me . . . it’s coming through that drip, so I doubt there is anything else . . . short of knocking me out again. Just stay here with me.”
They sat in silence for a little while, the only sound the occasional whimper of pain from Lia as she struggled to get comfortable. He massaged the palm of her hand, then kissed it gently. “I’m sorry you hurt so bad, sweetheart, but I’m going to take care of you when you get out. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“I’m so relieved you didn’t get hurt.”
Reid huffed. “Are you kidding me? It should have been me, not you. I should have protected you.” Reid felt it all over again, that feeling of inadequacy. He should have looked after his sister and hadn’t. And now he and his stupid mouth had hurt Lia.
“Unless you had a magic hammer like Thor, there was no way in hell you were going to be able to stop that car. None of that was your fault, and you never could have predicted it.”
“I shouldn’t have mouthed off at Bell today.”
Lia turned her head toward him suddenly and groaned at the action. “You think what happened tonight was intentional?”
Reid moved to the side of the bed. Unable to resist, he smoothed her hair from her face and fixed her pillow.
“Reid, seriously, are you saying you think we were hit on purpose?”
“Yes,” he said, exasperated. �
�That’s exactly what I’m saying. What are the chances that I verbally yell at the guy whose son almost killed my sister, a man who went to extreme lengths to ensure that his son wasn’t charged and that blame was shifted to my sister, and then we get mowed down on the pavement the same evening?”
Lia shook her head gently. “It was just a coincidence.” She sighed. “If the driver meant to hurt you, he or she did a lousy job. You were standing in the road hailing that cab—an easy target.”
Reid thought about what she was saying and suddenly felt stupid. But what if the car hadn’t been aiming for him? It managed to take out Trent and missed Harper by a cat’s whisker. Perhaps he hadn’t been the target. There was only one way to confirm it. Confronting Winston Bell was out of the question. The guy was too smart to incriminate himself, and all those years in court as a lawyer had made him slippery as a fucking snake. So the only option Reid could see was to rely on the relationship he’d once had with Nathan Bell. Which meant finding a way to visit Nathan in prison.
“I can feel those cogs whirring over here,” Lia said, closing her eyes again. “You aren’t responsible . . . for this, Reid,” she said sleepily.
He hoped she was right, but he was going to find out for sure.
CHAPTER TEN
Screw the hovering nursemaid who appeared to have moved into her apartment and taken over her life like some dictatorial health expert—even if he did wear loose track shorts that hung low on his hips and revealed a perfectly sculpted V-line. Lia was taking a shower, no matter what. She smelled worse than day-old fish, and to hell with anyone who got in her way. Under Reid’s control, she hadn’t washed her hair in five days, and no amount of braiding could make it look cute for a day longer. This was quite possibly the longest she’d ever gone without wearing makeup, and while her skin seemed to be liking the break, her self-esteem was completely in the tank.
She’d done everything she was told. She’d worn her brace, kept her arm elevated for a couple of days, taken her pain meds like a good girl, and kept the incision clean and covered, even though it grossed her out to look at the sutures. She’d dealt with the splint being removed the day before and had wiggled her fingers on demand for what felt like hours.
The Darkest Link (Second Circle Tattoos) Page 19