“Hope—”
“No.” She cut him off, shaking her head. She let go of his shirt, reached up to cup his face. “I just need to know one thing, and only one thing. Do you love me?”
Staring into her soft green eyes, Remy sighed. Something was trying to work past the horror inside—something true, something clean and real. It was her. Hope. Pressing his brow to hers, he said softly, “More than my own life.”
“Then nothing else matters. Nothing.”
Lena lay on the hospital bed, stroking a hand down Puck’s side. She hadn’t been hurt, but her boy had. Poor Puck. And Ezra wasn’t about to let her go off to the vet to tend him, either. Thankfully, though, they could, and would, unofficially, check on broken ribs and stuff here.
“You did good, boy,” she whispered, staring off into the darkness. Achingly alone. Puck was asleep, although unconscious would have been a better word. Apparently Carter had shown up loaded for bear, or close to it. He’d shot Puck with one of the tranquilizer darts and since he was still breathing …
Tears leaked out of her eyes. Squeezing them closed, she pressed her face against soft golden fur. “Hang in there, boy. You have to.”
A hand caressed her hair.
“Ezra.”
Shooting upright, she turned and clamped her arms around him. The sobs that had threatened her for the past few hours were perilously close, but she fought them back. Not here. Not while they were in this cold, sterile hospital.
“You okay?” he murmured, pressing his lips to her brow. “The nurses said you don’t want anybody in here with you.”
“The only people I’d want are all too busy,” she said, trying not to let her voice break. “I guess you might have a few pieces of paper to fill out. And I guess one of the others is getting patched up—but hell, Law’s leg can’t be that bad, right?”
“Nah. Bet it’s nothing worse than a paper cut,” he murmured, humoring her.
“Yeah. So why is he being a baby and not in here with me? Or Hope and …” She almost said Remy, but then she stopped, ashamed. “Man, Remy must be reeling.”
Sick at heart, she leaned against Ezra. “And Roz—damn it!” She stiffened and sat up. “Ezra … is Roz here?”
He stroked her hair. “Yeah, sweetheart. She’s here. I’ll take you to her in a minute. I just needed some time with you first.” His arms came around her, tight and strong. “Damn it, Lena. I was so scared …”
“Yeah.” Breathing him in, she relaxed against him. “Me, too.”
“Roz?”
There was no sound. Turning her face to Ezra, she whispered, “Is she awake?”
“Yeah.” Ezra blew out a breath and then glanced down at his wife for a moment before looking back at Roz. She lay on her side, knees drawn up to her chest, staring dully at the wall.
She’d been like that for hours. He’d hoped she’d respond to Lena, but … “I guess I’ll walk you back to your room.”
“No.” Lena eased her hand from his and stepped forward, the collapsible cane in her hand going from side to side as she moved forward. When she reached the bed, she patted it with her hand, moving forward until she was at Roz’s side. Then she sat down. “Hey, sweetie.”
From his position in the doorway, Ezra could see Roz close her eyes.
Lena laid a hand on her arm and started to stroke. “I’m here. You know that.” She patted along the bed until she found Roz’s hand, then she squeezed it. “I’m right here.”
And quietly, Roz started to sob. Lena curled her body around Roz, hugging her close. “There you go, sweetie. You go ahead and cry.”
“Don’t you look sexy.”
Law, groggy from the pain meds, punchy from exhaustion, forced his lids to open, forced his eyes to focus. Nia stood in the doorway.
A wry smile twisted his lips. “I look like shit,” he muttered. “You, on the other hand … you still look like an Amazon.”
“An Amazon?” She snorted. “Whatever.”
His lids drifted down, but he forced them open again. He didn’t know how much longer he could stay awake, though. The drugs were too damn strong to fight. “Yeah. That was what I thought the first time I saw you. You were an Amazon. Strong. Sexy. Beautiful.”
She came inside, limping a little. He saw the brace on her foot and fury, so useless, so fiery hot, burned inside. “Your leg?”
“It’s my ankle,” she said, shrugging. “Twisted it when I fell. All in all, I got off pretty light, seeing as how he came there solely to kill me.”
“Fuck, don’t say that right before I pass out,” he muttered. “Don’t need more nightmares.”
“Sorry.” She winced and put her hand in his.
He squeezed lightly. “You should be. Now you have to stay while I sleep. Keep the nightmares away. Will you?”
“Sure.” A hand stroked his brow. “You sleep, Reilly. I’ll keep the nightmares away.”
* * *
Nia stroked his hair back from his brow, watched him as he drifted off to sleep. Yeah. She could stay while he slept. She owed him a few hours at least. Actually, she probably owed all of them her life, and not just for saving it a few hours ago.
But now maybe she could move on with her life. Once she let herself grieve for Joely, maybe she could actually have a life. Something she hadn’t let herself think about in far too long. Getting back to her life.
Yeah.
She thought about leaving Ash, Kentucky, leaving behind the ugliness of the past day, the awful memories and the knowledge of what had happened to Joely here. She could do it now.
And although it hurt to think about, she thought about leaving Law.
She’d left her life back in Virginia, after all, right?
Silent, she stayed with him, watching him through the night.
As dawn broke, she made a decision.
She’d done what she came for.
It was time to go.
Law woke to pain, brutal and ugly, and the cold hands of a nurse as she wrapped a blood pressure cuff around his arm. Groggy, he muttered, “What the—”
“Good morning, Mr. Reilly,” she said, her voice cool and flat. “Just checking your blood pressure and your temperature and I’ll be out of your hair.”
“Wow, nice bedside manner you’ve got there,” Nia said from across the bed.
Forgetting about the nurse, he turned his head, stared at Nia. “You stayed.”
She gave him a vague smile. “You asked me to.” Then she looked at the nurse. “You come in here at six in the morning without bothering to knock. I’m pretty sure that violates hospital protocol, by the way. You don’t bother with an introduction, you jerk the blankets off an injured patient and start messing with him, without any regard to the fact that you’d just woken him up. You didn’t give your name, you didn’t knock, you didn’t bother to draw the curtain for privacy or shut the door.”
“Nia—”
The nurse sniffed. “I knocked. Neither of you were awake.”
“Nice try.” Nia bared her teeth. “I’ve been awake for the past three hours, ever since you came in to check his IV. You might have knocked then. You didn’t knock this time.” She peered at the nurse’s name tag and then smirked. “Now why am I not surprised to see your last name is Jennings?”
The older woman clenched her jaw. She started to jerk the blood pressure cuff off Law’s arm, but Nia’s narrowed eyes must have spoken volumes. With exaggerated care, the nurse removed it. “Naturally, I always knock,” she said stiffly. “Perhaps you were closer to sleep than you realize.”
“Ahhh. Perhaps.” Nia flicked Law a glance and then looked at the nurse. “And perhaps you should find another nurse to provide his care. Naturally, you’re distraught about the death of your relative—that would explain why you’re not acting with the concern for your patients that you should display.”
Before the nurse could say another word, Nia uncurled herself from the chair and rocked back on her heels. “It really would be best if you did j
ust that. How good would it look if you were reported to the licensing board for less than ethical behavior? Before you answer, be aware … I know how to make that report. And I will.”
Without another word, the woman left.
Law lifted a brow. “Being a bitch isn’t the same as being unethical,” he said.
“It is if she’s doing it just because she’s pissed about her cousin.” She jerked a shoulder in a shrug. “I wasn’t asleep—and she’s nowhere near as quiet as she needs to be when she’s bitching. I could hear her out at the nurse’s station. She was griping about cover-ups and conspiracy crap. If she can’t separate her personal opinion from her professional job, then Nurse Ratchett out there needs to find a different nurse for you.”
He gave her a weak version of a lewd grin. “You know, it makes me hot, seeing you get upset on my behalf.”
“Yeah? What doesn’t make you hot?” She smiled, but it was tight. Strained.
“Hmm. Nurse Ratchett. Doesn’t do a damn thing for me.” He grimaced and shifted on the bed. “Fucking leg. Hurts like hell.”
“I bet.” She came closer, brushed his hair back from his face. “You need anything for it?”
Probably, but he didn’t want anything. It would just make him sleep and right then he wanted to sit there and enjoy being alive—enjoy seeing her. Enjoy knowing it was over. “Nah. I’m good.”
“Yeah. I can tell—you look like you’re ready for a walk on the beach.” She bent down and pressed her lips to his temple.
Law took a deep breath, breathing her in. Her scent flooded his head, chased away some of the stink of antiseptic and blood. A little more of the horror faded. It really was over. Maybe now they could start to talk … to think …
“Well, Reilly … I’ve got to say. It’s been an adventure.”
Law blinked at her. “What?”
She shrugged. “Can’t say it’s been boring, right?” She hesitated and then brushed a hand through his hair. “You take care of yourself.”
For a second, he was caught off guard. Big time. As her lips pressed to his, his mind was spinning in circles, trying to figure out why it sounded like she was saying good-bye.
Then it dawned on him, as she turned away.
She was saying good-bye.
Reaching out, he caught her arm, just barely. “Wait—what—you’re leaving? Just like that?”
Nia turned back to him. With a shrug, she said, “What else am I supposed to do? It’s over now. Time for me to get back to my life. I need to start living again, right?”
“But …” He let go of her arm, uncertain of what he had to say. What could he say? Damn it. “You just leave.”
“My life is in Virginia,” she said gently. Then, without another word, she turned and walked away.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
MY LIFE IS IN VIRGINIA.
What life?
Nia stared at the four walls of her empty home and tried to figure out just what it was she’d been coming back to. Because there was nothing. That was exactly what she’d found. Absolutely nothing. The emptiness here threatened to drive her mad.
She’d been back for a week and it was already too long.
It wasn’t the place, though, that was lacking.
It was her.
She was missing something. Something she was realizing just might have become vital—
Of course, it didn’t help that every fricking day she had to hear his name. She hadn’t even made it home before she heard his name. The calls from Ezra started almost immediately.
Did you not realize there would be questions I needed to ask? Law said you took off, left town. What the hell, Nia?
Then the next day. Law’s been discharged, although he’s having a hell of a time getting around on that leg of his. Hope’s going to help him out for a few days. I need to talk to you, ask some questions—you know, you could come back out here, stay for a week or two while he gets on his feet.
Every fricking day. But it wouldn’t have mattered. She’d still be thinking of him.
Yeah, maybe she’d gone to Ash for a reason, and maybe she’d accomplished everything she’d set out to accomplish. Maybe she didn’t exactly have a life there and maybe there were ugly, awful memories there.
But Law was there, too. And she was starting to realize that if she really wanted to get back to her life, she needed to figure out just where Law fit into her life, just what place he filled. It certainly wasn’t her past, though, because she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
The phone started to ring. But when she saw the number for the sheriff’s department in Ash, she ignored it. Flopping back onto her bed, she pulled a pillow over her head and tried to just not think.
Just let her thoughts drift … that’s how she’d figure out how to solve this problem.
The problem being the massive hole inside her heart.
What would fill it? And the answer was easy.
Law …
Swearing, she kicked her legs over the side of the bed and stormed over to the closet. She grabbed her duffel bag and started to pack. She’d only gotten all of the clothes washed and put away yesterday and here she was again, packing them back up.
Damn it. She needed to talk to him. Face him. Figure out just what they had going and what they needed to do about it. He meant something—mattered, and she suspected if she let him, he’d come to mean everything.
The thought both terrified and elated her.
She should, if she was sane, take a little while to settle. Recover. Relax. But she couldn’t because her mind wouldn’t settle until she’d faced Law again. Until she’d figured things out.
So she packed. She did it with the ease born of habit, making a few calls on the side to let her contact know that she wasn’t available like she’d thought—damn it, she was seriously screwing herself there, but oh well. She was getting so burned out on all the damn travel anyway, all the horror and grief and chaos they wanted her to face when they sent her out.
If she didn’t have jobs lined up, then she didn’t have jobs. She’d figure out something, right?
It took her less than twenty minutes to get ready. She was going back to Ash, damn it. With a much less dangerous agenda, but this one was every bit as complicated.
Her heart was racing as she strode to the door. A hard, determined smile curled her lips as she jerked open the door.
And then, she froze.
Law was standing there, sweating, gripping a cane, one hand raised to knock.
Gaping at him, she asked, “What are you doing here?”
“About to collapse,” he said shortly. He nudged her out of the way, none too gently, and headed over to the couch. “Nice place. I’m coming in. Thanks.”
“Ahhh …”
Then she winced as he sat down with a look of obvious pain on his face. “I thought you weren’t supposed to be putting too much weight on your leg yet.”
“I’m not.” He glared at her.
“Then what are you doing walking around?” she demanded.
“You left,” he pointed out. “Said you had to get on with your life. That your life was in Virginia. So fine. I’m in Virginia now.”
Edging closer, she dumped her bag on the floor by the couch and shook her head. “Ah … I’m not following.”
“Of course not.” He scowled. “You only see what you want to see.” He reached out, caught her arm and tugged.
She resisted, edging around his leg. “Damn it, you’re going to make me trip over you—do you want to be in more pain?” She stepped over his legs and then let him tug her down so that she sat next to him.
He didn’t say anything right away, just pulled her close, tucking her under his chin. Then he sighed. “I dunno if it’s possible. Just being away from you hurts like a bitch.”
“Yeah.” She rested a hand on his uninjured leg. “I know the feeling.”
He pulled back, a scowl darkening his face once more. “Then why did you leave?”<
br />
“Well …” She shrugged. “It seemed like the right thing to do. I’d done what I came for, just hadn’t planned on you.”
“I didn’t plan on you, either. But there you are.” He cupped her face. “So we didn’t exactly meet under normal circumstances. So what? Does that mean we can’t make it work?”
“No.” She curled a hand around his wrist and leaned in, pressed her mouth to his. “It doesn’t mean that.”
“Then why did you leave?”
“I … shit, Law. I don’t know. Maybe I had to leave, just so I could figure that out.” She nipped his lower lip, then pulled back, staring at him. “And I was heading back. That’s where I was going, actually.”
Law stared at her. Then, slowly, he started to smile. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Curling up on the couch, she tucked herself against him and rested her head on his shoulder. “I do need to get on with my life, I know that. But I think the best way to do that is going to involve you, Law. How do you feel about that?”
His arms came around her, strong and sure. For a second, he didn’t respond. Then, his voice gruff, he said, “I feel pretty damn good about that, actually, seeing as how I came all the way out here to tell you that I love you.”
She stiffened. “You … what?”
“You heard me. Now it’s your turn. How do you feel about that?”
Something warm bloomed inside her heart.
Lifting her head, she laid a hand on his cheek. “I feel pretty damn good about it, too, if you want the truth. Because I think I love you, too.”
He cocked a brow. “Think?”
“Hey … gimme some time, Reilly.” She leaned forward, pressed her brow to his. “We got that, right?”
“Yeah.” His hand curved over her nape. “We got all the time in the world, I guess.”
As their mouths met, that heavy ache of pain in Nia’s heart finally started to ease.
Yeah. All the time in the world … and maybe it wasn’t going to be the long, dark walk she’d been expecting.
Author’s Note
Some creative license was taken with this trilogy. Carrington County is a fictional county set in Kentucky, roughly an hour away from Lexington.
If You Know Her: A Novel of Romantic Suspense Page 31