Sage felt electricity firing in her fingertips and thought she might faint. “The brakes went spongy, and the power steering went out. Both at once. I haven’t driven the car for weeks and they just stopped working. I couldn’t make it turn.” She looked back at Jonquil, who was growing pale. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Jonquil turned all of the way toward her for the first time and Sage saw the blood trickling down her right temple. “I’m fine. I’m feeling a little lightheaded.” She stared at them for a moment, looking dazed. “My leg hurts pretty bad.”
“I bet your head does, too.” Sage touched Jonquil’s temple lightly. “Come on, let’s get out.”
“How about if you wait for the ambulance,” the deputy said. “Sit as still as you can.” He reached in and took Sage’s pulse. “Still pretty worked up, huh? Your heart’s racing.”
“Tell me about it. Feels like it’s trying to pound out of my chest.” She put a hand over her heart and felt the beat with her fingers.
He smiled confidently. “Are you on any medications, seeing a doctor for anything?”
Sage answered his questions and Jonquil did the same. He called back in to dispatch and gave them more information, then continued talking to the girls.
The next hour was a blur. The ambulance crew arrived and strapped both of them to backboards, squeezed and prodded and started IVs. The trip down the mountain to the nearest ER was long and windy and Sage thought she might vomit before they reached the hospital in the next town. Through it all she wondered how her car could have two problems at the same time if it wasn’t her stalker, and why he suddenly decided he wanted her dead. Didn’t his last note say how much he loved her?
One of the EMTs called the hotel when they arrived at the hospital and reached Lana to tell her about the accident. Neither Sage nor Jonquil could talk on the phone with the big chunks of foam blocking their heads in place on the backboard—which was seriously uncomfortable.
Sage came out of x-ray and found Blake and Lana waiting when hospital staff rolled her bed back into the ER. “Hey, are you okay?” Lana asked.
“Fine. I’m going to be seriously stiff, but I’m okay right now. They won’t let me up until the x-ray comes back though. How is Jonquil?”
Blake squeezed her hand. “They’re still waiting for someone to read her x-ray. Then we’ll know. Her leg is starting to swell. Cami’s in with her now.”
Lana took the other side and picked up Sage’s left hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. “What happened?”
Sage gave them the rundown. When she finished, the doctor arrived and smiled at her. “You’re going to want some standard painkillers for a few days, but your x-ray looks clear, so you’re free to go. Well, as soon as that IV fluid is done dripping.”
“Do I really need it?” It was already most of the way gone.
“It won’t be long, and we need to process documents before you can leave anyway.”
Sage held in her sigh, but was grateful when the doctor and a nurse pulled off all of the straps that kept her attached to the backboard. Relieved, she rested back against a soft mattress—or maybe it just felt soft in comparison. “How about Jonquil? Is she okay?”
“Nothing serious. She’ll have to take it easy for a while, though.” The doctor patted her knees and left the curtained area.
“She’s going to be mad.” Sage worried. “She was saying what a long day she had ahead of her to get everything done for tomorrow’s wedding.” She felt horrible, it was all her fault. If it wasn’t the stalker, did she miss a maintenance check on the car? Maybe she shouldn’t have been driving so fast, but it hadn’t felt fast and it had been nice to be behind the wheel again.
“Don’t go blaming yourself,” Blake said, then frowned, looking at the cell phone in his hand. “I have to call Joel.”
Now that her brain was working again, that was the last thing she wanted. “Oh, but—”
“No buts, he’s already going to be ticked I waited until we heard from the doctor before I called him. He called me just a little while before I heard about the accident. He was worried that he couldn’t reach you. I’m going to step outside.” He headed for the ER doors.
“Blake,” she was relieved when he stopped and turned back to her. “Tell him he doesn’t have to hurry back. I’m fine. I’ll be careful. He should stay as long as he needs to.”
Blake’s brows lifted. “I’ll tell him. I doubt it’ll do any good.”
Sage felt dread fill her chest and it got harder to breathe as she thought about Joel’s response, knowing he’d blame himself for her accident, because he wasn’t there to protect her.
When the caller ID showed Blake’s number, Joel knew something had to be wrong, but at least he would finally get some answers. “This is Joel.”
“Hey, I wanted to let you know that Sage’s car had a malfunction. She’s fine, just going to be a little sore and Jonquil’s injuries aren’t serious.”
“Malfuntion? She was in an accident? What the hell happened? I thought you guys were supposed to be keeping an eye on her.” Joel saw his SEAL buddies’ heads swivel in his direction and he bit back another curse. He turned away so no one could see his face.
“Her power steering and her brakes malfunctioned almost at the same time. She was coming around a curve and hit a tree,” Blake explained.
Joel’s gut clenched. “That sounds like sabotage.” He hadn’t been there for Sage. He’d promised to watch out for her and he hadn’t been there. Instead he’d been here—but how could he have ignored Wade when he was hurt?
“I was thinking sabotage too. I’ll make sure the officers look at that possibility. Then we’ll have to figure out where and when he got to her car. Maybe we’ll get a lead on this guy.”
“I’m coming home tonight. As soon as I can get a flight out.” Joel should have convinced Sage to come with him. Then she would have been safe. What had he been thinking leaving her at a time like this?
“Sage said not to worry about her and to stay another night if you need to,” Blake said, though his tone wasn’t the least convincing.
“Right, because I’m really gonna do that. Some psycho tried to kill her today and she thinks I’m gonna stay here. I’ll be home tonight.” Joel let out a long breath as he thought of Wade. He hadn’t been into the room yet that day, but expected another turn any minute. Word from those who’d seen him was he was doing well. “I need to talk to Sage.”
“Yeah. Just a minute.”
Joel paced the room a couple times while he waited for her to come to the phone. He wasn’t going to think about what might have happened. He promised himself no regrets as long as she was okay—and though he couldn’t remember the last time he’d prayed, he shot one into the great void, in case someone was listening. Once he got home, he wasn’t letting her out of his sight again until it was safe.
“Joel? How are things going with Wade?”
Just hearing her voice allowed Joel’s muscles to unclench a little. “Fine. Better. How about you? Where are you hurt, baby?”
“My hip hit the console and I have a seatbelt burn on my side from the chest strap, but we actually hit the back end of the car into a tree while we, um, skidded, most of the momentum was against my seat. I’m fine. I’ll be stiff, but that’s it.”
“You’re sure?”
“Of course.”
Catching a curious glance from one of the guys, he walked out into the hall, unwilling to let everyone else hear his business. For a minute he’d forgotten they were there. And he’d forgotten himself and called her baby again, but he hadn’t been thinking, was having a hard time thinking straight when she was hurt. “I can’t believe this happened the first time I let you be more than five minutes away from me. My heart nearly stopped when Blake said you were in an accident. And I’ve been trying to reach you for nearly an hour.”
“I’m sorry, I lost the phone somewhere in the car during the accident. I’ll send someone to get it for me. And you know you co
uldn’t have stopped the accident if you’d been here. I had to drive my car again sometime.”
“No, I may not have stopped you from getting hurt, but I wouldn’t have been halfway across the country.” He reminded himself that regret was wasted energy.
“Hey, it’s not your fault.” Sage’s voice was soft and soothing, reaching right into his gut.
Joel didn’t believe the words, though. He’d made a commitment to keep her safe, and he never went back on his commitments. “I’ll be home tonight. Wade’s doing better. It’ll be fine.” He felt torn. He really did want to stay another day or two, but there was no way he could leave her alone if the stalker had upped his game. “I’ll let you know when I get my flight scheduled.”
Joel felt a tapping on his shoulder. He turned to find Greg standing behind him. “It’s your turn to go in to Wade if you’re done sweet talkin’ your girl. You know, the one you said you don’t have.”
“Thanks.” Joel turned toward the hospital room. “Sage, I’m going in to talk to Wade now. I’ll call you in a little while.” They said goodbye and he slid his phone back into his pocket before heading through the double doors.
He found Trudy beside Wade’s bed again—of course. “Hey, Trudy, you look terrific. All of that time you spend nagging your husband must be good for you.”
“You know it is.” She looked worn out and a little disheveled—like a woman who’d stayed by her man’s side all night, but her eyes were happy.
Joel slapped hands with Wade in their special handshake. “You look okay, too. The doctors say you’re going to live.”
“Yeah, you know you can’t keep a good SEAL down.” Wade gestured for Joel to sit. “Tell me how you like ski country.”
“I haven’t been through the winter yet, but so far it’s growing on me. Gorgeous area, plenty of hunting.” Vince had invited him along on the elk hunt, but Joel hadn’t dared to leave Sage. Maybe next year. “No ocean though—that really bites.”
“But you’ve got access to the pool at that hotel, don’t you.”
“Yeah, if I only want to swim thirty-foot laps, it’s just right.” Joel leaned back in the chair, kicking his legs out in front of him. He’d missed swimming more than he could say, but Sage was more important.
Wade smiled in understanding. “I’m guessing you must have gone there for the woman. How’d you meet her?”
Joel shot him a withering look. “I’m her bodyguard. Her dad set it up. She’s a job, Wade.”
Wade looked unconvinced, then lifted Trudy’s hand and kissed it gingerly—as if even that slight movement hurt him. “Why don’t you stretch your legs and grab some food, honey. I’ll be okay for a few minutes. Joel will watch my back.”
Her eyes flitted to Joel and she smiled. “That’s a good idea. I won’t be long.”
As soon as the door shut behind her, Wade gave Joel a piercing stare. “Dude, I’ve known you too long for you to lie to me without me knowing it. Tell me about her, for real.”
Joel had confided more in Wade than any other living person, so he gave him the quick rundown from the first time she spotted him following her on the street, to his worries about her accident.
“But you’re not involved with her?” Wade asked, his brows lifted.
“I can’t be. She’s... she’s special.” He rubbed his thumb along the side of his opposing index finger, tracing a scar from one of his first SEAL missions. “She’s like this light glowing all the time, filling the room.” He tipped his head to the side, uncomfortable with the subject. “There’s not a lot of light in me. You know how I grew up, the killer inside me. I want to hunt this bastard down and kill him for the terror he’s caused her, and she’s a born pacifist. She thinks it makes her weak, but she’s one of the strongest women I know. Gutsy as all get out. She could have run again, gone somewhere without all the fanfare where she might get away from her stalker, but she didn’t. She stuck because her family and her word are important to her. And she faces that danger every day.”
“Okay, hold on. You can’t seriously be telling me you’re not good enough for her.” Wade shook his head when he didn’t get a response. “Joel, you’re an idiot. If she really sees you—sees what you are and still cares about you—you should snatch her up. There aren’t enough women like that out there.”
Joel rubbed a finger over his goatee barely aware of the action and thought of all the reasons it would never work. “I don’t know if I can tell her the truth about me. About who I am, where I really came from. I can’t hold back something like that if we’re going to have a real relationship. And you know my history with women.”
“It sounds to me like you already have a real relationship, but you’re acting like a wuss instead of facing it—and you’re no wuss.” Wade’s eyes seemed to harden in challenge. “Maybe she’s not the one. Maybe she’s just a nice piece you can enjoy yourself with—”
He stopped when Joel hooked a finger into the bandages wrapped around his chest and tugged, making him wince in pain. “Say that again and you’ll see what it really means to hurt.” He was more than half serious, though he was mostly sure the friend in him would edge out the protective instinct that wouldn’t stand to hear anyone talk about to Sage that way. So long as Wade was in the hospital, anyway.
He pushed Joel’s hand away easily. “Then tell her how you feel, you idiot. You wouldn’t have reacted like that about the other women you’ve dated. If she matters, give it a chance.” He relaxed his head back against the pillow, looking far more tired than he had when Joel entered. “Now get out of here and go home to her. I’ll be fine, and I want an invitation to the wedding.”
“You’re getting way ahead of yourself.” Joel stood up, then clasped hands with Wade again, the previous comment already forgiven. “I’m glad you’re doing better. You know I would fly to the end of the earth for you.”
Wade’s mouth crooked in a smile. “Ditto. Now scram.”
Joel walked out, finding Trudy in the hall. “You better go fuss over him some more, he’s getting weepy-eyed and romantic.”
She laughed. “You give your girl an extra hug from me.” She pulled him into her embrace. “Thanks for coming. It really means a lot that you’ve been here. I know it’s bad timing for you.” She eased back and touched his face. “One of the guys said it sounded like something was wrong in Colorado.”
“Yeah, I have to get back. But everything’s going to be okay.” He wrapped Trudy in a hug goodbye, while trying to convince himself that what he said was true.
Sage was waiting when Joel knocked on the door that evening. It was getting late but she was still tied up in knots about the accident and couldn’t sleep until she saw him. “Hey, come in.”
He did, his eyes glued on her. “You feeling okay?” He reached to brush the curls back from her face, studying it.
“Yes.” She grabbed his hand before he could drop it and gave it a squeeze. “I’m fine. Jonquil’s the one who was really hurt. She broke her tibia and has to wear a cast for the next month, at least, probably more.”
“Is she in bed, then?” He shut the door behind him and locked it without releasing her hand. “Blake said it would heal okay. So she’ll be fine if she takes it easy?”
She snorted. “If she would take it easy. She’s so stubborn—we have that wedding tomorrow, and she still had arrangements and bouquets that had to be put together. She refused to let her staff take care of it, and went back to the hotel to finish her work after we were released from the hospital.”
He smiled—a rare sight. “Tough lady. I can just see her hobbling around her flower shop.”
“That, at least, we managed to prevent. We set her up at a table with someone to play fetch for her. One of the girls who works banquets was happy to have the extra hours even if Jonquil did snap and growl all afternoon and into the evening. When we ask how she is, she puts on a bright smile and says she’s fine, but I can see the exhaustion in her eyes.” Sage leaned into him, burying her face in his b
road chest, soaking in the comfort his presence always gave her. “I got her hurt, Joel. If I hadn’t insisted we take my car—”
“Hey, none of that. It wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known.” He rubbed his cheek over her curls and his slid his hands along her spine. “We don’t know what caused the accident yet. In any case, it wasn’t something you could stop.”
She turned her dark eyes up at him, keeping her cheek pressed against his chest. “We both know this was the stalker, Joel. This wasn’t an accident. Not really. I wanted to believe it was an accident, but I couldn’t convince myself. What if I get someone else hurt? Or worse, killed? I don’t know if I can stay here. He’s not going to give up.” Desperation rose inside her, worry layering on itself over and over as she thought of everything that could go wrong.
“Whoa, hold on.” He set his hands on Sage’s shoulders and shifted her away from him, looking into her face. “What are you saying?”
“If I stay here, eventually he’s going to try to come at me in my home. My sisters will be in the way. I can’t let one of them—another one of them—get hurt because of me.” She’d spent most of the afternoon and evening thinking about it. Her gut churned. If the car had hit the tree a couple of feet closer to the front Jonquil could be dealing with something much worse than a broken tibia. She saw it again, only worse, every time she closed her eyes.
“You want to run away? Is that it?” He his gaze bored into her. “Because I could swear you were happy here, in this job, getting to know your sisters, in this town.” His faced went blank, but there was fear in his eyes.
“I am!” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t want to go anywhere.” Especially if it meant leaving his side. He’d been her strength and walking away from him would tear her in two.
“Then don’t. We can stay here, we’ll find another way. Come on, let’s sit down.” He led her to the sofa and sat beside her. “What do you want to do?”
She was so tired she could hardly think and her muscles ached. “I just want to be safe, and for everyone else to be safe, too.” And not to have to leave you.
SEALed With Love (DiCarlo Brides book 2) (The DiCarlo Brides) Page 12