by DJ Erfert
The door was closed, but Lucy could hear Sunny’s voice. The door opened when a nurse came out, and Lucy caught it before it closed. Her dad lay on his stomach on the exam bed with Sunny standing beside him. His sweater was off, and his back was clean from blood.
“May we come in?” Lucy asked.
“Yes,” Cooper said with his gaze on Kate.
“Close the door,” Sunny snapped.
Lucy pulled Kate inside, letting the door shut behind them.
“Are you all right?” Kate asked.
Cooper lifted his hand out to her. “I’ll live.”
“Sunny?” Lucy stepped closer. She didn’t like his answer. “Tell us the truth.”
Opening another steri-strip, Sunny glanced up at her and Kate. “It was a little deeper than it looked. He’ll need a course of IV antibiotics before I feel comfortable in releasing him. I sent the nurse down to the pharmacy to fill my order. It should only take an hour or so for treatment.”
Kate sat down on the stool next to the bed with her hand in Cooper’s. “You never said a word.” She brought his hand up to her cheek and said, “You don’t always have to be such a hero.”
“It really didn’t hurt that much.” He grunted. “Until Dr. Rhodes started messing with it.”
“I had to clean it or you’d be guaranteed an infection, Coop. And I told you to call me Sunny.”
Lucy knew her dad was in good hands. First in Sunny’s care, and now in Kate’s tender grasp. She could see a love developing in their eyes when they gazed at each other. After twenty-nine years, her dad was giving away his heart again. Why was Lucy so reluctant? She leaned over her dad and kissed his cheek. “I’ll wait for you outside. I want to call Johnny and let him know what’s going on.”
“You go do that,” Cooper said with a grin that only took in an edge of his mouth. That same sneaky grin graced Sunny’s lips, too. “I’d like to meet your boyfriend in person, Lulu.”
“Sure.” Lucy scrunched her brows, wondering what they had been talking about before she came in. Considering Sunny’s husband and Johnny had been best friends for years, it wouldn’t be out of the question for their conversation to be about—who knows? Lucy shook her head and left the exam room, shutting the door behind her as she took out her phone from her handbag.
Lucy headed down the hallway for the emergency room’s double glass doors as she scrolled to Johnny’s phone number. Her finger hovered over the call button just as a strong sensation roiled through her chest—excitement and desire pushed into her heart. She felt Johnny near. Had he come after her? Was that the coy look she got from her doctor? Lucy pushed the button and tested her suspicion.
It rang once, twice, then three times before she realized she was hearing his special old-fashioned ring tone close by. Her heart jumped. She looked around at the sea of faces in the ER’s lobby until she found Junie. Standing in front of her was a man as tall as her dad. His hulky frame was unmistakable. Dusty Rhodes. The ring-tone sounded again, louder—behind her. Lucy turned around.
“Johnny—” A sudden rush of emotion flooded her heart, paralyzing her. It kept her staring into his rich, chocolate brown eyes until he took her in his arms, breaking the hypnotic trance his gaze produced. It had been a tumultuous thirty hours since she’d last touched him—held him. Lucy melted against his body as he kissed her. All sounds faded into the background except the pounding of her pulse in her ears. In those few moments, Lucy felt her heart being lost to him, without reservation. She wanted him as much as she knew he wanted her.
She broke their kiss and whispered breathlessly, “I love you.”
“What?” Johnny released her waist and his hand cupped her face. “What did you say?”
Their moment seemed invaded by the noise in the room. Lucy put her mouth next to his ear and raised her voice just a little. “I’m in love with you.” His arms enveloped her waist again as he sought her mouth with his. The kisses were as tender as they were selfish. She was his now. She’d said so. Lucy slid her arms around his neck, keeping him close as he deepened his kiss. She felt dizzy enjoying the thrilling sensations he sent spinning down inside her stomach.
“You know, I don’t think the emergency room is a good place to seduce your woman, Johnny.”
Dusty’s baritone voice came from behind her—or more above her. Although it wasn’t a sudden break away, the intensity of Johnny’s kiss lessened until he released her lips. He was as breathless as she.
“You love me?”
Lucy nodded.
“Are you sure?”
Lucy nodded again. “Yes.”
“I mean, are you sure you aren’t just feeling my feelings?”
Lucy leaned her head on his shoulder. “I think about you all the time. I miss you when we’re apart.” She ran her hands slowly up his arms. “I want to be with you,” she whispered. “Yes, I’m in love with you.”
Johnny sighed loudly, smiling. “Good. Now I need to talk to your dad.”
“Johnny, my dad’s here. He’s been shot.”
“Did you shoot him?”
“No, I didn’t!” Lucy started to get mad, but the tiny smile on Johnny’s heart shaped lips clued her in that something was up. She looked over at Dusty. He had his phone in his hand. Sunny! That was how Johnny and Dusty knew where they were. Knowing Sunny, she couldn’t just keep the message short—she probably gave Dusty every detail, including her dad’s condition and what room he was in.
Johnny pulled her closer again. “I’m sorry, honey. I couldn’t resist. Have you seen him?”
Lucy nodded. “Kate’s in with him now.”
“Ah, his new girlfriend.”
“Oh, sheesh, Johnny! What exactly do you know?”
Junie touched her shoulder. “He knows about the tattoo.”
“Or lack of incriminating tattoo,” Dusty said, crossing his muscular arms over his huge chest.
Lucy blew out her breath as she stared at the firefighter. “That woman should have her fingers sewn together.”
“Sunny didn’t text me. She called me after a bullet landed within a foot of our unborn child.”
“Oh, Dusty,” Lucy whispered. “I’m so sorry your wife was caught in the middle of all this.” He smiled amazingly white teeth, shaking his head.
“Don’t be. She sounded like a little girl, bubbling over with excitement.” He nodded toward the exam rooms. “When you see her, tell her I’m here.”
“You haven’t texted her?”
“I didn’t want to interrupt her while she was with a patient.”
“Okay.” Lucy nodded, gazing into Johnny eyes. “Do you want to meet my dad?”
“Of course I do. I want him to answer a few questions.”
“Yeah, me too,” Lucy whispered. “He started to tell us …” She looked around at all the federal agents within earshot and decided not to talk about her mother’s murder. “Dad’s only going to be here for an hour, and then we can go someplace quiet, hopefully with food, and we can talk.” Lucy took his hand. “Until then, come meet my dad.”
“Can I come too?” Dusty asked.
“I don’t see why not.”
“I don’t want to stay here alone,” Junie said.
“Then don’t.” Lucy held Johnny’s hand and led the way down the hall to her dad’s room. She opened the door and peeked her head inside. He was standing in the middle of the room with an IV line coming down from the inside of his right elbow. The plastic tube led up to a clear bag hung above an electronic box suspended from a pole.
“Dad?”
“Lulu—”
She pushed the door open wider and noticed the curtain had been drawn around the bed. “What’s going on?”
“I broke Kate’s ribs—”
“Not on purpose,” Kate said from behind the curtain. “Stop blaming yourself.”
“Sunny?” Dusty asked. “Are you back there?”
“Hi, sweetheart. Look out in the hallway and tell me if you see a portable x-ray unit headed
this way.”
While Dusty stepped out of the door, Lucy wondered if it was a bad time to introduce Johnny to her dad. He had his arms folded over his chest, and his brows were pinched together so tightly he had two grooves between them. She couldn’t remember the last time she saw her dad that worried. The box holding his IV started beeping. Johnny moved over next to it and, after a moment, took hold of her dad’s wrist and lowered it. It beeped two more times before it stopped making noise.
“You had your arm bent too sharply, sir,” Johnny said, checking the needle in his arm. “It stopped the flow of the fluid.”
“Thank you, Johnny.”
Lucy grinned at her dad, guessing he must know what Johnny looked like if he’d been doing a half decent job of surveillance. While Johnny had a hold of his hand, shaking it, Lucy could see his gaze search the skin on his arm.
“I saw the tattoo of the knife on the man’s left arm, Johnny,” Lucy said quietly. Johnny looked up sharply to her. “It’s okay. We all looked for it.”
Cooper held out his left arm, the one with the IV imbedded in it. “You might as well look too.”
“I’ve already looked at that arm, sir.”
Junie crowded closer next to Johnny. “I haven’t!”
“Go ahead, Mrs. Brockway,” Cooper said, holding out his arm to her. She ran her fingers along his skin with her face only inches away.
“It’s not that I don’t believe you,” Junie said. “It’s just that I know how terrible Lucy’s nightmare is.” She lifted her head and stared into Cooper’s face. “She woke up screaming this morning.”
Dusty pushed the door open wide. “The portable x-ray is here. Everybody out.”
Lucy watched her dad grab the IV pole and step back away from everyone. “I’m staying,” he said.
Sunny sighed loudly as she pushed back the curtain. Kate was sitting on the bed dressed in the same kind of gown as her dad. “Fine, stay, but I have to leave and so does everyone else.”
The dance of machinery and bodies was made without incident or accident. After the door was closed, Lucy leaned her back against Johnny’s chest with his arms around her waist. Dusty stood with his arms folded across his broad chest, while Junie glanced down the hallway.
“He didn’t do it,” Junie said quietly.
“I know that,” Lucy whispered.
“But he knows who did,” Junie whispered harshly.
“He does?” Johnny asked, his voice barely audible.
“Yes,” Lucy confirmed.
“Then he didn’t bother to report it or identify your mother’s body,” Dusty said.
“This isn’t the best place to have this discussion,” Lucy said. Two FBI agents stood outside the exam room down the hallway into which Sunny disappeared. “It isn’t secured. Dad promised he’d tell us the truth just as soon as he’s out of here.”
“How did Kate get injured?” Johnny asked.
Lucy snorted a laugh. “We went to my old house last night, and my dad followed us. She jumped him, knocked him flat, but they fought in the dark. By the time I got the light on, my dad had the upper hand.” She smiled. “Did you know they’ve had a phone relationship for the past two years?”
Junie shook her head and stared at the closed exam room door. “No. That’s … surprising. Why didn’t she say anything to us? To you, at least?”
“Because she didn’t know he was my dad, so why would I care who she talked to?”
Johnny nuzzled Lucy’s head. “How did she meet your dad if his business is here in Phoenix? Did he have a job in LA?”
Lucy caught Junie’s surprised gaze. Evidently Sunny’s phone call didn’t reveal all her dad’s secrets, at least the ones he’d told them so far. “Johnny—” She pushed out of his arms and turned around. Lucy wanted to look into his eyes as she broke the news. Whispering, she said, “I found out last night that my dad had changed my name after my mother was murdered. My real last name is … Steele.”
Johnny sucked in a hard breath. “What?”
“Cooper Steele is my dad.”
“You’ve got to be joking,” Dusty said. He was next to Lucy’s shoulder, listening.
“No,” Junie said. “It was quite a surprise for all of us when Kate found Lucy’s real birth certificate.”
“We found out he gave us an alias to keep me safe, but before he could explain why he’s been living a double life, the FBI showed up at my hotel.”
“The FBI?” Johnny nodded toward the men down the hallway. “What did you do to them?”
Lucy took a half step back. “What makes you think I did anything?”
“Lucy—”
“Okay, so I didn’t show up for an appointment when I said I would.”
“What’s the FBI contingent for?” Johnny asked.
“One of their agents was injured when we were at the Federal Building, and Sunny is her doctor.”
Dusty touched Lucy’s shoulder, getting her attention. “Sunny told us that she was at the hospital with two patients and to meet you all here. You said your dad was shot?”
“Yes. My dad … saw me get killed, and he changed the outcome.”
“Oh, crap,” Johnny whispered. “Your dad …” He looked at the exam room door. “He has the same gift you have?”
Lucy nodded.
“Wow,” Johnny said softly. “No wonder Steele Reinforcement does so well.”
Lucy leaned against Johnny’s chest. She hadn’t thought of that aspect of his gift. He must have used it during his assignments, just like she had. He’d built a thriving business where he could use his windows for his advantage. But Lucy basically had done the same thing with the CIA—it just wasn’t for her own benefit. Her job afforded her the time-outs she needed after a window without having to explain where she had been. She had no meetings to attend or time clock to punch. As long as her mission was completed, nobody cared how she got it done, or if she disappeared for a few minutes.
She was truly her father’s daughter.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Johnny opened his truck’s door for her. “When will they release your FBI friend?”
Lucy leaned against the door and stared into his dark eyes. They’d stayed long enough for her dad and Kate to be discharged from the ER. Kate’s ribs weren’t broken, just bruised badly. Now they were on their way to their hotel for the promised talk her dad had avoided for twenty-nine years. Sunny would need to stay in town until Bridget was discharged.
“Sunny said at least overnight. I’ll call her tomorrow and see what she wants me to do. I can always look at the photo line-up at our agency.” Lucy sucked in her lower lip.
“What is it, Lu?” Johnny asked, brushing her hair over her shoulder.
Lucy shrugged. “Bridget told me that Mariposa and Raul wanted to talk with me or they wouldn’t talk with her.”
“Yeah, and?”
“Why? They’re in custody. They’re either going to be deported back to Mexico or prosecuted for the explosive packages they carried after they’re processed, so why not just cooperate?”
“I don’t know.”
She sighed. “I need to go see them.” Lucy looked up at the hospital. “I guess I need to go see Bridget first and find out where they’re being held.” She took out her phone. “I’ll text Kate and let them know where we’re going.”
“They’ll want to go with us.”
Lucy grinned. “I know.”
“Then you’ll need to text Sunny and Junie and let them know, too.”
Lucy climbed into the truck. “Junie will probably come with us, but Sunny and Dusty may want to take advantage of the empty hotel room,” she said, smiling.
Johnny leaned in and lifted Lucy’s chin with two fingers. He didn’t hurry kissing her mouth. When he moved back, his eyes were filled with a new emotion—one that Lucy felt as a mixture of anxiety and expectation. She could block the feelings he radiated, but she wanted to know what he was up to.
“Now we need to take the next logical step
in our relationship.”
Lucy swallowed hard. “And that would be?” His smile set her heart racing.
“Well, I love you—”
Lucy nodded. “Yes, I know.”
“And you told me you love me, too.”
Lucy smiled. “I do love you.”
“Then …” Johnny leaned closer again, sliding his fingers around the back of her neck. “Marry me.” He pressed his lips against hers before she could answer. There was heat behind his kiss, but Lucy didn’t let it stay one sided. Reaching up, she put her arms around his shoulders and pulled him closer still. Time didn’t matter. They had each other. Lucy’s heart belonged to Johnny, and only him, and she wanted to kiss him forever—until her phone vibrated in her hand.
She pushed Johnny back. “I’m sorry,” she said breathlessly. Looking at the front her phone, she said, “Yes.”
“Who is it?”
“It’s Junie. She’s just teasing me about us necking in the parking lot.” Lucy lifted her eyes. “I said yes.” She paid close attention and watched the different expressions that washed across his face, and what she felt flow through her heart. He smiled in understanding, then his brows pinched and his lips frowned in confusion, but they lifted slowly as the realization that the ‘yes’ wasn’t anything about what Junie had said, but an answer to his short request. “I’ll marry you,” Lucy said.
“You will?” Johnny jerked his head back, knocking his head against the truck’s doorframe. Lucy couldn’t help but laugh at his surprise.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“I—it’s—well, it’s just very sudden. I didn’t really think about it.”
Lucy let out a short breath. “If you didn’t want to marry me, then why did you suggest it?”
“Lu, I’ve wanted to marry you since the first week we met.” He grasped her hand and lifted it to his chest, shaking his head. “You’ve kept me at a distance. I couldn’t tell if you had any deeper feelings for me, or if we were just friends.”
“We are friends, Johnny, but we’re also more than that—so much more.” Lucy moved her feet out from the truck and slid off the seat. She wanted to stand in front of him when she said, “I love you more than I’ve ever loved anybody.”