“That’s better.” Her lips turned into a smile. “Do you think Tom saw the news story?” Her friend’s brows pinched.
She closed her eyes and tried to push away the fog. “I hope not.”
“You need to call him. Which hospital was he at?”
The names of several places bombarded her. “I can’t remember. Tucson Medical maybe.”
Shayna whipped out her phone, did a quick search, and made a call. While she waited, Shayna smiled down at her. Her gaze darted ahead. “Yes, I’m looking for someone by the name of Tom. He was brought in this morning with a gunshot wound to the arm…I don’t know his last name. Can’t you search by wound or something?”
That sounded impossible even to her.
“Well, thank you.” She placed the phone on her lap. “No luck. The woman needed the full name. So now what?”
“They won’t release me for a few days since they want to see if I have any other injuries. Like to the brain. Tomorrow, I get a cast put on my wrist.” She rubbed her forehead with her good hand to help lessen the throbbing pain that kept squeezing her brain. “Too bad they don’t made casts for broken hearts.”
“I wish there was something I could do for you.”
A plan formed. One she didn’t like, but to keep Tom safe, she had to do it. “There is.”
“Name it.”
“Lend me, or rather give me five thousand dollars.”
Shayna blinked a few times. “Why? Just write a check.”
“As I said, to stay alive, I need the world to think I’m dead. I need to disappear. I can’t exactly withdraw money from my account if I’m not alive.”
“You have to tell Tom the truth.”
“No. I’m his biggest liability. He needs to think I’m dead, too. It’s the only way to keep him safe.” She squeezed Shayna’s hand. “Will you help me?”
“You know I will.”
* * * *
Rod had insisted they call for help to look for Chase. There was too much acreage for the two of them to cover, especially with Tom’s arm in a sling. Without water, his brother wouldn’t last long in the intense heat and the cold nights.
His wound had started to bleed again, but he wasn’t going to stop until he found Chase. And Larissa. He had to believe they were both alive. It didn’t matter there had been a charred body with her phone nearby. There could have been a number of explanations. He just couldn’t come up with a logical one yet.
Two Tucson deputies and about five volunteers had arrived about a half hour ago to help search. David Frickers, the officer in charge, placed a grid in front of them.
“Tom, I want you to be command central.” He faced the group. “If you find anything, bring it to Tom or call him.” He gave out Tom’s cell number to the group. “Now, let’s find Chase.”
Sitting wasn’t Tom’s style, but someone had to collect the data. He leaned against a large boulder, praying his brother was still alive. After a half hour of searching, one of the volunteers brought Tom a cold drink.
“Thanks.”
“No luck?”
“Not yet.”
The young kid loped down the hillside. Just when Tom thought they’d call it quits, the deputy shouted and waved his arms. He was about a thousand feet away kneeling next to an outcropping of stones. Tom dropped the clipboard and scurried down the hill, nearly tripping on the scrub. His heart in his throat, he concentrated on his footing.
He finally reached the officer. Chase was on his side, not moving. Tom dropped to his knees.
“Chase?” He shook his shoulder.
His brother moaned. Elated, Tom poured some cold water over his brother’s forehead. He glanced up at the officer. “Did you call 911?”
“Yes. They have my GPS coordinates. It shouldn’t take them too long to get here.”
Thank God. In case his brother was bleeding, Tom carefully ran his one good hand down Chase’s body but found no obvious injuries. None of the bones looked angulated, but he had no way of knowing how much internal damage there might be.
Tom lifted Chase’s head and placed the water bottle to his brother’s lips. “Drink for me.”
Chase’s mouth opened a little, and Tom dripped in some water. When Chase swallowed, Tom’s heart soared.
“You’re going to be okay, buddy.”
The next twenty minutes until the rescue squad arrived were the longest he’d ever experienced, even compared to when he’d been in enemy territory and three of his Army buddies went down.
A paramedic tapped him on the shoulder. “We’ll take it from here.”
“He’s my brother. I’m riding in the ambulance with him.” The man must have seen the intensity in his eyes, and the paramedic nodded.
As they hooked his brother up an IV, a second paramedic asked him, “Do you know what happened?”
“I think he was in a car wreck. I’m guessing he crawled out and made it as far as the boulder before passing out.”
With care, they backboarded Chase into the ambulance. The drive back to the hospital would be rough going over the desert land, but Tom was determined to be with Chase. He might have already lost one person he loved, but he wasn’t going to lose another.
Chapter Eight
Tom hovered over his brother’s hospital bed. The doctors told him that except for being dehydrated and having a lot of bruising, Chase was a walking miracle. People didn’t run into walls and survive very often.
Miracle or not, his brother looked like shit. The fact Chase hadn’t spoken a word since they’d found him worried the hell out of him. Chase’s skin was pale and blotchy, and there were numerous cuts on his face and arms. While he hadn’t inspected Chase’s torso, Tom suspected his body would be covered in bruises, too.
The saline solution sent out a steady drip, and the heart monitor emitted an annoying rhythm, but at least his brother was alive.
His brother’s eyelids fluttered. “Tom?” Chase’s voice cracked.
Finally! “I’m here, bro. How are you feeling?” He was uncertain where to touch for fear of hurting him more.
“Like dog shit. How’s Larissa?”
He couldn’t tell him. Learning the woman they adored might be dead could slow or prevent any chance of recovery.
“I don’t know.”
He squinted up at him. “Where…where is she?”
“Tell me what happened.”
Chase wet his lips. “Got any water?”
Though it was awkward with only one hand, Tom brought the cup and straw to his brother’s lips. “Here.”
Chase drew in a mouthful. “Thanks.”
“Do you remember the accident?” He prayed Chase could provide him with some useful clue to Larissa’s whereabouts. Dead or alive.
“Most of it.” He told him of the horror of being plowed from behind. “Guy was smart. He hit us as we were going through that hairpin curve where Catalina Highway turns into General Hitchcock Highway.”
“I saw the accident site. The TV showed the car. It looked bad.”
“I didn’t see it. My seat belt must not have been locked in, so when we hit the wall, I got thrown. I nearly shit in my pants flying through the air. All I saw was the guardrail and that drop off. I must have blacked out before I hit the ground.”
He had to have regained consciousness at some point if he crawled partway across the desert. “Then what?”
“I came to just as one of the men in the truck hurdled the rail and headed straight toward me. I wanted to jump up and beat the shit out of him, but my body wouldn’t move. I guess he didn’t want any witnesses. Then I saw the gas can and put two and two together.”
Christ. How scary was that? “Yeah. Rod found it.”
“My only chance of staying alive was to play possum. When he got close, I grabbed his foot and yanked hard. He stumbled back, fell, and hit his head. By the time I had the energy to sit up, he was dead. I didn’t mean to kill him.”
“It was self-defense.” The lines around his brother�
�s mouth softened. “When the authorities said they found a burnt body, I thought it might be Larissa.”
“Jesus. No, I’m sorry. I burned the bastard. I thought if I did, someone might think she was dead and stop coming after her.”
Tom unclenched his fists. “Then you saw Larissa alive?”
“I was about to check on her when the second guy got out of the truck, probably to see what was taking his partner so long to kill me. That’s when I hid. I heard a motorcycle come down the road. The driver who hit us got back in his truck and took off.”
“So he couldn’t have taken Larissa?”
Chase looked down. “I don’t know. That’s when I blacked out again. When I came to, the car was gone.”
“How did her phone get near the body?”
“I was using it when we got slammed. I put it there as a diversion.”
“Why didn’t you stay on the road and thumb a ride?”
“I was afraid the driver might come back. I thought it would be safer if I cut across the desert. Guess I didn’t make it.”
“For both our sakes, I’m glad you didn’t get far.”
“What do you think happened to Larissa?” Chase grabbed his sheets, and the heart monitor went wild.
“I’m going to call every goddamn hospital in Tucson. Maybe someone rescued her before the tow trucks arrived.”
The hospital signs said not to use a cell phone, but he didn’t care. He started with the first hospital on the list. On the fourth one, he hit pay dirt.
“Is she still there?” He gave Chase a thumbs-up. “Thank you.” He disconnected and grinned. “We found her.”
The relief took away all his pain, both in his arm and in his heart. He would have asked her condition but knew the nurse who answered wouldn’t have been able to tell him over the phone. Larissa was alive. Their Larissa. A smile filled his face.
Chase also smiled, but then sobered. “My lip hurts.”
He sat up, stilled for a moment, then pulled out the IVs and heart monitor.
Tom tried to gently push him back into the bed. “Where are you going? You need to rest.”
“Fuck that. I’ve got to see Larissa.”
“You need to heal.”
“Fuck healing. I’m fine.”
The whole Sanford family had a history of being too stubborn for their own good. “You’ll have to sign a release saying you’re leaving against doctor’s orders.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re the expert on that account. Let’s go.” Chase stood then sat again. “Give me a second.”
“Take all the time you need.” He understood head rushes.
Someone knocked and Rod entered. “Hey. How are you doing?” He came over to the bed.
“Like I’ve been run over, but we found Larissa.”
Rod’s chest nearly caved. “That’s fabulous.”
Tom told him what Chase had pieced together. “Can you drive us to the hospital? I want to see her in person.”
“You bet.”
* * * *
The nurse seemed happy that Larissa hadn’t vomited since the accident and that her headache hadn’t gotten any worse, but it didn’t make the ache any less. Yes, her wrist hurt and her ribs were sore, but her job had cost her the love of two men. Well, one man now. She leaned back in her bed and closed her eyes, praying for sleep.
“Hello?”
She looked up, and her heart nearly stopped. Tom walked in, followed by Chase.
She blinked to make sure she wasn’t imagining them. “Oh, my God. Oh, my God.” She shot her gaze to Chase. “I thought you were dead!”
His shoulders were slumped as if his ribs hurt, he limped, and his skin was cut and scraped, but he never looked more handsome. Her heart bled at his injuries. She wanted to get up and hug both of them until she remembered her plan to leave the state. The less physical contact the better. Still, her mouth tugged upward.
Both men pulled up chairs. Tom took her good hand in his. “I thought I’d lost you when I saw the accident on the TV and heard about the burned body.”
The desperation in his voice tore at her. His eyes were bloodshot and looked as if he’d been in a living hell and couldn’t claw his way out. She understood. She’d been in the same pit.
“I know what you mean.” She turned to Chase. “What happened?”
He dragged a hand down his chin then winced. “Do you remember how that semi kept banging the back of the car?”
“I can’t stop dreaming about it.” She’d replayed the accident over and over.
He filled her in how he’d been ejected from the seat and how he’d torched the offender’s body.
Her lawyer-self kicked in. “Why did you do that? You obstructed an investigation. That’s illegal.” Secretly, she was a little happy the man who tried to kill them got his just due. The only problem was now they might never know for sure who was after her.
“I was worried the driver would come after you. I had to take the chance no one would find out I’d done it. I did kill him in self-defense, but if I’d come to a minute later, I’d be the fried meat on the desert floor.”
The gruesome image made her stomach churn, but the fact he’d sacrificed for her made her heart soar. “Thank you.” Lame comment for what he’d had to go through, but if she’d gushed, they’d never believe her when she told them she wanted to leave. Her feelings for them had to stay buried.
“I was on my way back to the car to help you, but I passed out again.”
“You tried. That’s all that matters.”
He dropped his head in his hands, acting as if he’d failed her somehow. His protective instinct nearly made her change her mind about leaving, and his look of despair tore her apart, but she needed to be strong for them. They’d both done all they could to keep her safe. Now only moving out of state would save all of them.
Tom rubbed her good arm. Familiar tingles raced up her body, despite the pounding at her temples. Damn him. She didn’t want to feel, and she didn’t need to weaken her resolve.
“We want to bring you back to the resort and take care of you.”
“I can’t do that.”
Their mouths dropped. “Why not?”
She couldn’t tell them the truth. A few well-placed touches and she’d cave. Stay strong.
“Shayna will see to my healing.”
“But we need you,” Tom said.
“I need you,” Chase chimed in. “What makes you so sure Shayna can protect you?”
“Now that I’ve been shot at again and run off the road, I’m sure the Tucson police will provide a detail to keep me safe.”
“We can keep you safe, too.”
She wanted to say yes more than anything. To have them by her side would help her heal, but if she stayed, she’d be putting them in danger again. “I’m sorry. Look, I’m really tired. Would you mind leaving?” Her lawyer voice came out.
Tom crossed his arms. “We’re not giving you the choice.”
Her gut reaction had bile ripping up her throat. “You can’t make me come with you. I won’t stand for it. I need to move out of town.” Shit. She hadn’t meant to let that slip.
He leaned back and blew out a breath. “So that’s what’s been bothering you? We can help.”
“How?”
“Until you are fully healed, we’ll protect you, care for you, and make sure you’re totally satisfied.” A small smile lifted his life. “I mean totally safe.”
He had the nerve to lightly touch her thigh. Her damn pussy clenched. This wasn’t good. She had to make them see reason.
“I’m a danger to you. Because of me, you got shot and Chase almost died in the desert. I won’t let any more harm come to you because of me.” The confession felt good. Lying had never been her style.
Chase leaned forward, but she could tell the movement caused him discomfort.
“Darlin’, we aren’t about to abandon you. Ever. You belong to me and Tom. If those gangbangers want you, they’ll have to go through us.”
She shook her head, causing another hammer jolt to pound her head. “That’s crazy. You don’t owe me anything. This isn’t your battle. It’s mine.”
Tom took her hand. She was tempted to pull it out, but the comfort she got from his thumb on her palm helped her to relax.
“We love you.”
Her heart skipped a beat. They did? No. They meant they lusted after her. Phil had once professed the same thing, and he’d only said it to get her in bed. She hated sex with her ex-husband, and while she dreamed about being in bed with Tom and Chase, she wouldn’t relent.
“You can’t love me. You don’t know me.” It didn’t matter she believed she loved them. They were easy to understand. Simple. Good-hearted men.
“We know you more than you know yourself. You’re afraid, honey. We see it. You don’t want you to get hurt again. When Chase walked in the room, I could see the relief in your eyes. You care about us.”
She more than cared, but if she admitted that, they’d never let her go. In the courtroom, she’d learned when it was time to compromise and when it was time to stand pat.
“I do care.” That’s as far as she was willing to say. She pushed a strand of her bloodied hair from her face. “Tell you what. I’ll go back to the resort until the doctor says I’m good to go. Then I’m taking off.”
Both men smiled. Tom stood. “We’ll take it. Now get some sleep. We’ll be back tomorrow.”
They were going to give up so easily? No, they had something planned. Both Chase and Tom were used to getting what they wanted.
Tom turned to Chase. “Let’s see about getting her some police protection outside her door. No telling what these bastards will try.”
She was about to protest about them being overly cautious but figured she would sleep better knowing those damned gang members couldn’t get to her in here. “Thank you.”
After the door closed, she leaned back and closed her eyes. With her wrist broken, she couldn’t walk out, even if she wanted to. She didn’t have a car, nor could she drive one, and if she took money out of her bank account, someone might notice. Damn.
Monroe, Melody S. - Hidden Fantasy [Fantasy Resort 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 8