Chasing Morgan

by Jennifer Ryan

  “I’ve been thinking about tonight. She threw Sam in your lap first. I don’t think she knew which of them the bullets were headed for. She protected them both. If the bullets had gone into Sam’s chair, you’d have been holding him.”

  “That’s my feeling. She knew one of them would be shot, but she didn’t know which, since they’re identical twins.”

  “She saved Tyler tonight. I know he doesn’t see it that way, but she did.”

  Sam ran both hands through his hair. He needed a haircut. He looked less like his twin, Jack, and more like one of the thugs he arrested.

  “The last time we were on this ship, Cameron was being an idiot over Shelly when he was in love with Marti. Have we really fallen into this scenario again with Tyler, Maria, and Morgan?”

  “God, I hope not,” Jack said. “You should have seen him tonight after you left. He didn’t know if he should walk out and go after you two, or stay there and take care of everything.”

  “I’m glad he didn’t come after us. In the last hour, I’ve finally seen the color bloom into her face and her hair looks like the shine is coming back.”

  “She didn’t lie about her gift physically harming her.”

  “I don’t think it’s a single gift. I think she has several. She can see things like a psychic, but she has another kind of power. Empathy. She feels what other people feel, and she takes on those feelings somehow. That’s why she referred to it as ‘fastballs.’ The anger coming from that kid hit her fast and hard. Add to that Tyler’s emotions and she just shut down.”

  “How’d you get her out of the hospital?”

  “I didn’t take her in, but made the doctor come out to the ambulance and take care of her. They weren’t happy with me, but I have an FBI badge and a gun. Works wonders on red tape and policy and procedure. The doctor cleaned and stitched her up, and I had the ambulance take us to the dock. Marti had already called the ship and Captain Finn was waiting for us when we arrived.”

  “Why didn’t you just stay with her at the hospital?”

  “Because before everything went down with that boy, she asked me to take her someplace where there weren’t a lot of people. The hospital is full of people hurt, sad, anxious, and angry. You name it and they’re feeling it. I couldn’t leave her there where all those things could make her worse. That’s why you’re here. When I came to Colorado, she said she liked being around you because you make her feel good. You radiate happiness and good feelings. I think you’re the best medicine for her. She trusts you, and you aren’t upset about anything.”

  Jack had to admit it was a good idea. They didn’t have any other alternatives. Morgan couldn’t tell them what she needed. “Why don’t you stay with her?”

  “Because I’m worried about Elizabeth and the baby. She had a pretty good scare tonight. I know she’s tough, but someone violated her workplace and threatened her and her family. She’s pregnant and her emotions are all over the map. I want to go home and see her. That, and I have a lot of things stored up inside of me with my work and Tyler. I don’t want Morgan sensing those things. I think I have them under control, but I don’t know if it’s enough.”

  “Did the doctor say if anything else was wrong with her?”

  “He didn’t find anything. If she doesn’t wake up by morning, we’ll try something else. She said sometimes she needs a few hours to recover from a vision. I think tonight warrants at least a night of shutting out the world.” He ran his hands over his face. “I don’t know. I’m guessing here.”

  “Don’t worry, Sam. I’ll take care of her. If something changes, or she looks worse, I’ll call you. Go see your wife and daughter. You’ll feel better. I know I did after seeing Willow sound asleep and the boys sleeping peacefully in their beds.”

  “Whatever you do, don’t tell Tyler where she is. He’s the last thing she needs tonight.”

  “She’s really got him tied in knots and standing on the edge of sanity. He’s having a very bad night. I think Maria made up her mind to end the charade with him tonight.”

  “No matter what happens, we’ll let Morgan decide if she wants to see him again.”

  “Absolutely. Go home to your wife and kiss your baby.”

  “I’ll kiss Grace, too,” he said jokingly.

  Chapter Eighteen

  * * *

  EXHAUSTION HUNG ON Tyler like Spanish moss weighing down an old oak’s limbs. He’d managed the scene at the restaurant among all the chaos of customers, police, and the media. He had to keep Morgan’s name out of the press. For once, Detective Stewart willingly helped him along those lines. Sam must have given him what for about giving Morgan’s name to the press again. After all, they had a serial killer out there targeting psychics, and Morgan in particular.

  Elizabeth locked the restaurant and all but fell into the backseat of his car. She didn’t speak the whole way home, and her silence unnerved him.

  He escorted her into her converted warehouse and waited while she checked on Grace and paid the babysitter. He even went in and kissed Grace while she slept, relieved she and Willow hadn’t been at the restaurant. Emma, Sam, and Matt safe and unharmed made him even more grateful to Morgan. He owed her more than he could ever repay for the lives of his sister and now Matt. Shudders rippled through his body just thinking about what could have happened tonight.

  How in hell was he going to make it up to her?

  Maria hadn’t been quiet for more than a minute. She basically recounted the evening and asked him question upon question about Morgan. Some of them he’d answered and others he couldn’t. The ones he couldn’t answer hurt the most. It really got to him when she asked why he didn’t know very much about Morgan when he’d worked with her for the last five years. He couldn’t answer her because he didn’t want to say out loud that he’d simply stopped trying when she shut him down. She’d insisted they keep things centered on him and his cases, but he should have seen what everyone else saw. If she was so interested in him and he in her, why did he give up so easily when he wanted her so bad? Like Elizabeth said, getting a woman had been easy for him. Morgan not falling for him hurt his pride and overinflated ego.

  Their relationship may have been reduced to a working one over time, but he knew it went much deeper. At least he felt it had for him.

  “Aren’t you going to come in?” Maria knew he didn’t want to talk. It had been a long night for everyone. From what she pieced together from the various conversations, and Morgan’s assessment of her and Tyler’s relationship, it was clear Morgan and Tyler had a history. A complicated one, at that.

  She and Tyler needed to clear the air. True, they’d talked about marriage, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she’d never thought he’d actually ask her. Seeing him pull that ring box out of his pocket had brought reality crashing down. All of a sudden, it didn’t seem so important to be married and have children. Morgan showed her life didn’t have to be planned based on someone else’s expectations. She’d been thinking along those lines for years, but allowed herself to fall into her father’s trap. She wondered if she’d spend the rest of her life trying to please the man, and why she tried in the first place.

  After her parents met Tyler, they’d said he was nice enough and would provide a good life for her. They hadn’t said anything about love or happiness. That stuck with her over the last week. They wanted her to have security. She appreciated that, but she wanted a lot more, and deserved it.

  It all became so clear tonight sitting at the table with Tyler’s family. They all knew she didn’t belong. Not because they didn’t like her, or thought she was beneath them or Tyler. No. They just saw what she and Tyler refused to see. They made good friends, but they didn’t make good life partners.

  She’d seen the bond between all the women and their husbands. Not hard to miss. She’d seen Marti look across at her daughter and smile at her husband when he’d made a joke. She’d watched Cameron hug his wife and daughter after the ordeal and the gentle way he’d put h
is hand over his wife’s large belly. She’d never forget the reverence on his face when he’d touched her.

  Jenna was a high-powered CEO of a huge corporation, yet you couldn’t mistake the love she felt for her family. They were her first and last priority.

  Elizabeth was strong and independent, but Maria had seen how much it cost her to leave her husband’s embrace, so he could go to Morgan. Before Sam left with Morgan in the ambulance, he’d turned back and simply stared at Elizabeth. She’d stared back, and in that moment a thousand silent words of love had been spoken.

  Maria wanted that for herself and Tyler. It just wasn’t something they’d share with each other. It wasn’t something that would grow over time. It was either there, or it wasn’t. She wasn’t about to marry him and make his life miserable. She wouldn’t let him do the same to her.

  Morgan showed her the way. The path she’d wanted to take so many times, but was always too scared to try.

  Scared or not, she was going to look into veterinary school first thing in the morning. She was going to make her dreams come true and let the rest work itself out.

  First, she had to talk to Tyler.

  “I’ll come up for a little while. Are you sure you’re okay? Tonight was traumatic for everyone. Morgan upset you.”

  They walked up the steps to her condo and went inside. She wanted to be alone with him, so they could talk privately. He hadn’t liked the way Morgan talked about their relationship in front of everyone, and she didn’t want anyone walking by unexpectedly while they talked on the sidewalk.

  “She didn’t upset me so much as opened my eyes. I think she opened yours, too. Marriage takes work, but it’s a good thing when you love the person. We’d have worked and worked at it and still we’d have been unhappy because something would always be missing. Admit it. You don’t love me.”

  His silence spoke for him.

  “You deserve a great wife. You deserve the kind of wife Jenna is to Jack and Elizabeth is to Sam.”

  Which is exactly what he wanted, but couldn’t seem to find. Standing in the middle of the living room, the rest of the house in darkness. The only light burned beside the sofa on a side table. It cast a soft glow over her that should have made her look soft and sultry. It didn’t. She looked like just another woman. Nothing pulled at him to kiss her and unzip her dress and take her right there on the living room rug.

  Damnit, Morgan. Why did you have to be right? I won’t be satisfied with anything less than love and passion.

  He’d made a huge mistake in trying to make a friendship into a lasting romance.

  He struggled with what to say, and how to explain. After tonight, there wasn’t anything left between them.

  “You know, our getting married is nothing more than a square peg in a round hole,” Maria explained. “They might fit together, but there’s still a lot of empty space that needs to be filled. Morgan didn’t do anything but call us a circle and a square. We don’t fit together. I think you know it, just as well as I do.”

  “I’m sorry, Maria.” He didn’t know what else to say.

  “No apologies necessary. We had a good time together.”

  “If you ever need anything, call me. I mean it.”

  “Thanks. Have a good life, Tyler. I hope you find what it is you’re looking for. I hope you find love.”

  “I hope you do, too.” He kissed her on the forehead and walked out of her place for the last time.

  Once he got to his car, he made a call while he drove toward the hospital. He’d check on Morgan’s condition, get her room number, and drive over to see her instead of spending another night alone.

  Stopped at a red light, he slammed his hand against the steering wheel, pissed at himself for relying on Morgan to make him feel better. Right now, she needed him. He wanted—no, needed to talk to her and try to find out some of the things about her life she’d shared with others, but not him. This time, he wouldn’t give up until they had a real conversation about her.

  Nothing but a dead end at the hospital, they’d treated her in the ambulance in the parking lot and released her to Sam. Interesting.

  He called Sam’s cell.

  “Go home and get some sleep, man,” Sam ordered without so much as a hello.

  “Is she staying with you and Elizabeth?”

  “No. I’m just walking in the door.”

  Tyler heard Sam kiss his wife hello and tell her he’d be a minute talking to him.

  “If she’s not staying with you, and she’s not at the hospital, where is she?”

  “Someplace quiet and practically deserted.”

  “Where is that? This is San Francisco. There aren’t many practically deserted places.”

  “You’re telling me, but I found one.”

  “You left her alone. She wasn’t in any shape to be left alone. Why didn’t she stay at the hospital? She’s been shot, for god’s sake.”

  “Tyler. Man. Calm down. She’s fine. I did not leave her alone. Jack’s staying with her. She likes him. He has good energy. Happy thoughts, and all that shit. I couldn’t leave her at the hospital because there are too many people there with bad energy. She wouldn’t have healed there. She’s better off where she is.”

  “Good energy. Bad energy. Sam, have you lost your mind? You’re talking like one of those wacko psychics we’ve been interviewing.”

  “Wacko or not, it’s the only way to explain what happens to her around people.”

  Tyler wished he knew more about what happened to her. He wished she’d confided in him about how she did what she did. Tonight had been an up-close view of her gift. Before, he’d only gotten a phone call with the details of her visions. He didn’t know that she could pass her vision on to another person like she’d done with Emma and Cameron. He hadn’t known she could become another person to someone and fool them like she’d fooled poor Robby. He didn’t know what part the drugs had played in that scenario. He’d like to ask Morgan about it. He’d like to ask her about a lot of things.

  “Where is she? I need to see her,” he said softly.

  “No.” Sam poured a glass of milk and ate one of the cookies his wife baked. Chocolate chip with almonds, his favorite. The kitchen, and the entire house for that matter, held the sweet, delicious aroma of a bakery. Elizabeth baked when upset or trying to work something out. There had been times he couldn’t see a countertop for all the baked goods. Great for her restaurant and café, but not for home. He could only eat so many sweets, certainly not twenty pies and twelve dozen cookies. The guys at work loved it, because he brought in the best treats in the city.

  He didn’t want tonight to be one of those nights, so when she put the last batch in the oven and turned to the mixing bowls to start on a pie or cake, he grabbed her and held her to him while he talked to Tyler. He felt better when she wrapped her arms around his waist, snuggling close with her head resting on his chest.

  “Please, Sam, tell me where she is.”

  “Like I said, Jack’s with her. She’s still unconscious and needs her rest.”

  “I need to see her. Where is she? I won’t upset her.”

  “Since she’s out cold, I’m not worried about that. Listen, I’m not telling you where she is because I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be around her right now. She needs time to recuperate. That’s why Jack’s with her. I’ll see you on Monday.” Sam hung up. He imagined Tyler yelling at him while he drove home.

  “That wasn’t very nice, Sam,” Elizabeth said and held him tighter. She loved the feel of his arms around her, and right now she needed his strength.

  “It’s what he deserved. She needs time to come back to reality. She’s out cold. When I left her, she was finally getting some color back in her skin.”

  “She was gray as death when they took her away.”

  “Don’t worry, honey. She’ll be fine. Jack will call if she doesn’t start coming around.”

  His cell phone rang. Tyler, according to caller ID. Again. He pushed th
e button to send the call to voicemail.

  “Let him see how it feels when your partner doesn’t pick up. Come to bed with me, honey. I have a very big need to have you comfort me.”

  “Big indeed.” She pressed her hips to his and slid her hands up around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss.

  Chapter Nineteen

  * * *

  “HI, JACK.” MORGAN’S groggy voice broke the silence.

  “Hi, sunshine. You gave us quite a scare.”

  “I did. Is that why you branded my back?”

  “What?”

  “My back is on fire. It feels like someone is pressing a hot branding iron against it.”

  “That’s the bullet wound. You were shot. Do you remember what happened?”

  She waited for the last of the fog to clear from her mind and glanced at Jack’s expectant face. “I remember. Is he upset?”

  “He was upset last night. This morning he was frustrated, and now I think he’s pissed.”

  “Why is Matt so mad?”

  “Matt?” Jack chuckled. “No, it’s Tyler who is pissed. Matt didn’t even understand what happened. He thought you were protecting him from the mean man. He didn’t realize the bullets hit his chair. We made sure of it.” He took her hand and sat on the bed next to her. “Thank you, Morgan. You saved him. He would have been killed. I don’t know how to repay you.”

  “There’s nothing to repay. I’m just glad I changed it. It isn’t often I get to use my gift and see the results. It’s very satisfying when it all works out.”

  “Yeah, well, regardless, I owe you, and someday I hope to repay the debt. Speaking of getting satisfaction from your gift, Cameron called a little while ago. Emma slept the entire night and even woke up late. She ate a huge breakfast and was working her way through a pizza for lunch. She’s excited about the baby and asked Marti if they could go shopping, so she could get the baby a dress.”

  Morgan smiled. Nothing like a child’s enthusiasm for something they really want. “I’m glad she’s better.” Morgan began to focus on her surroundings and realized she wasn’t in a hotel. In fact, the room swayed. “Um, Jack, where are we?”