Protect Me

by Selma Wolfe

  “I don’t,” Hope argued. “I know that Elizabeth I is the Queen of America.”

  “You went into surgery and woke up with a sense of humor,” Rick said, and Hope couldn’t suppress a smile when he leaned over the bed into her field of vision. Based on stubble, she calculated that she’d been out for around a day and a half. “Is that normal?”

  Hope reached out a hand with a modicum of wincing and started to grope for the bed remote. “I don’t know, ask me next time I get stabbed.”

  Something warm and solid suddenly collided with her fingers and wrapped around them gently.

  “No next time,” Rick said in a wry voice that couldn’t hide the strained note underneath.

  Hope dragged their tangled hands up to her mouth and ran a kiss along Rick’s bruised knuckles. “I’ll try,” she offered.

  Without pulling his hand away from her grasp, Rick reached his other hand up and ran it frenetically through his hair.

  “The horrible thing about this is that you’re serious,” he said. His eyes rested on Hope for a long moment and then just for a second Rick’s face crumbled. She thought he was about to cry and her throat seized up, but the expression passed so quickly from his face that Hope wondered if she’d just imagined it.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, without disagreeing.

  Rick blew out a long sigh and squeezed her hand before disentangling and pulling up a chair from somewhere out of Hope’s range of vision. His shoulders slumped as he slouched into the hard plastic. For a little while he stared down at the floor in uncharacteristic silence. She wasn’t sure if it was exhaustion or horror catching up to him, but Hope sat in patience silence until Rick was ready to speak again.

  “You have other visitors outside, but I have more money than them, and I cried at them until they went away,” he eventually informed her.

  Hope perked up. “You don’t have more money than Iseul. Do you?” she asked, instead of inquiring as to how much exactly she was never going to see Iseul again.

  “I do, actually.” The corner of Rick’s mouth pulled up in a shadow of a grin. “But I’ve got old money, so that’s not really playing fair. Anyway, she’s so guilty that she’s actually listening to me for once in ever.”

  “What?” Hope frowned and tried to tilt her head up. She could see the edge of what she thought was a door over at the corner of the room. Everything was frustratingly bland and poorly lit.

  “You have very expressive eyebrows, did you know that?” Hope flicked her gaze back over to see Rick staring at her with something more than just his customary curiosity. He looked desperate; hungry. His fingers were twisting together in his lap.

  Hope sighed and gave up the pretense.

  “Is everyone alive and reasonably well, including Boran, not including the two hired thugs?”

  “Other than you,” Rick nodded. His gaze immediately dropped to the floor. “The cops showed up about five minutes after you - after - after you were… stabbed.” He bit out the word sharply, like it made him nauseous, and he wanted it out of his mouth.

  Hope didn’t know what to do with that, so she left it alone. “Trinity,” she said appreciatively. Rick nodded.

  “She followed our instructions to the letter for about forty-five minutes, and then she decided to go ahead and call the cops anyway.”

  Hope grinned. “You have good taste in housekeepers.”

  Rick glanced up at her. The small, electric shock that ran through her body when their eyes met was surprising.

  “You have good taste in friends,” he said, his voice serious.

  She nodded, and then forcibly kept any tells off her face when she asked, “And the knife wound? What’s the word on that?”

  Rick’s eyes narrowed, like he saw right through her game, but it only took him a moment to gather himself up to say, “You got lucky. You were wearing Kevlar on your back - which you didn’t tell me, by the way, so I had no idea for about two hours - and that took a lot of the damage. Still, you got rusty bits in your stomach, and came a less than ideal distance from puncturing some stuff you need.” As he spoke he stood up and walked back to the side of the bed, though he was hardly much closer like this. Hope still liked it better.

  She stared up at Rick - scared and brave and nothing she could have imagined.

  “Does that mean I can roll over on my side, and you can fit in here with me?” she asked.

  Probably the no-doubt substantial dose of painkillers she was hooked up to was helping with the distance as Hope wondered idly what she’d do if Rick refused her. If he looked repelled - or worse, if he looked pitying, like Hope was too slow on the uptake to realize that window was long gone after everything that had happened, after the reality of what Hope’s life looked like sometimes and what she was capable of and what she looked like hooked up to a zillion tubes.

  He didn’t do either of those things - thank the Lord, Hope thought, her heart belatedly beating faster - but he didn’t hop into bed, either.

  Instead, he frowned. “What if I hurt you?” he asked.

  “You’ll hurt me worse if you don’t get into bed with me,” Hope said truthfully.

  Something cleared from Rick’s face, and there were no more protests. He motioned for Hope to move and hovered his hands around as she made undoubtedly attractive faces. He didn’t help, but there were worse ways not to help.

  When Hope was comfortably situated on her side, Rick carefully climbed into bed and lay down by her side, touching but not crowding her. This involved mashing his side into the bars at the edge of the bed, but he seemed okay with it. For a second their faces were very close together. Their noses brushed and Hope tilted her head, but Rick shifted and put his chin on top of her head. Hope made a face into his neck.

  “I should probably tell you that your kgosi called,” Rick said quietly. It took a moment for Hope to understand the words muffled in her hair.

  Realization hit. “Thabo? What did he want? What did you tell him?”

  “He wanted to tell you that Gouws has gone AWOL.” Rick’s arm tightened around her upper back, where it didn’t hurt. Much. “And I told him the threat is gone.”

  Hope frowned and pulled back to see Rick’s face. “Why did you tell him that? It’s not true. Gouws might go underground and wait out the storm after losing his minions, but he’s not going to just give up.”

  Rick’s dark eyes seemed close to black when he blinked slowly and said, “It’s true about this particular threat. The formula is gone.”

  The words jammed in her head. They didn’t make sense. “But… but you were going to…”

  He was already shaking his head, stubble scratching against the thin hospital pillow. His normally bright eyes were sad, and for once Hope didn’t resist the urge to reach out and cup his cheek with her hand.

  “I was being selfish,” he said. “The formula wasn’t ready. When I thought Boran might really get it, I was terrified. It was too dangerous; too easy to twist into something lethal. Everything was too tied up in my pride and… I’m not a very good scientist after all. I’m just a CEO.”

  Probably the nice thing to do would be to focus on Rick’s pain. But Hope had always been better with facts than feelings, so she asked, “What happened to Boran, then? Is he in custody?”

  To her surprise, the pain cleared from Rick’s face and he looked almost… sheepish.

  When he didn’t talk, she poked him in the stomach.

  “Ack! Alright, listen, Boran’s… Um. He’s… gone.”

  Hope didn’t open her mouth. She looked away from Rick’s face and around the room. The door was in an inconvenient place, but…

  “Hey.” Gentle fingers on her chin brought her gaze back around. “It’s not like that. I… well, I let him get away.”

  Hope felt her eyebrows fly up into her hairline. “Sorry, you what?” She ignored the tiny piece of herself that insisted upon feeling relieved.

  Rick didn’t let go of her face entirely. Instead, he slid his hand down
to rest against her throat and stroked a thumb along her jawline.

  “He woke up just as I had the idea to use the vial of formula I had hidden on me. Iseul was helping to hold you, and by the time I realized he’d woken up, there wasn’t anything I could do. He just stood there and watched us.” Rick’s forehead creased into a frown. “He could’ve grabbed it off me, but he didn’t. He wanted you to live. So I couldn’t… I just let him go. I’m sorry if you think it was stupid – I guess it was – but I don’t regret it.”

  Her throat was suddenly tight. “Oh,” she managed to say. She didn’t know what else to add. She wasn’t sure what she thought about it. Maybe one day she’d take the time to think it over. Or maybe she’d repress it forever. Either one could work.

  The line running across Rick’s forehead deepened. He pulled back his hand. Hope immediately missed the warmth.

  “There’s one other thing,” he said, seeming to struggle with himself. Rick drew in a deep breath and said, “Thabo wanted me to say that he’d like to extend to you an invitation to come back. As a consultant, or bodyguard, or whatever you want. He – he appreciated your loyalty. He said he could use a woman like you around.” Rick looked thoroughly miserable when he added, “And you should know, I won’t resent it if you do.”

  Memories, still recent enough that Hope could feel them against her skin, filled her mind with images of the wild, beautiful land that had felt like home for a little while. She remembered lazy evenings watching the sun go down for what felt like hours, and the sharp pleasure of besting danger.

  “No. I want to stay,” Hope said. For once in her life when a smile rose to her lips she didn’t fight it down, she let it stay there, though it felt a little wobbly and unnatural. She thought maybe she’d get used to it. “I want to stay with you, I mean. We’ll figure out the next thing for me to do and - well. I just want to be with you. So. Now you know.”

  To her surprise, Rick didn’t break out in a beaming grin. He didn’t even smile. He pushed himself up on his elbows and got off the bed altogether. Hope didn’t reach out to grab him back, but it was a close thing.

  “Hope,” he said, voice low and serious, “you don’t have to do this, okay? I just want you to know that I’ve talked to your doctor, and I hired this other doctor, and I got a couple physical therapists in here, and what I’m saying is, all of them say you’ll recover. You’ll be fine. You don’t have to… Stay.”

  She sat up and carefully swung her feet over the edge of the bed (with a minimum of pain, she was pleased to discover). He still wasn’t looking at her.

  “Rick,” Hope said softly. She almost reached out for his hand, but didn’t. Instead she studied the defeated slump of his shoulders and tried to look past the hair fallen over his eyes. “Do you want me to go away?”

  His head shot up and he stared at her, his expression more conflicted than she’d ever seen on him before.

  “Of course not,” Rick said, and at least he didn’t sound torn about that. He sounded sure, but sad. Hope tilted her head back to keep watching him as he stepped forward, so that his legs almost touched the bed and the fabric of his pants brushed against her calves.

  He reached out slowly and brushed the back of his knuckles in a line down the side of her throat. She shivered, and his eyes darkened.

  “I just don’t want you to feel like I’m your only option. Don’t stay with me because you’re trapped, okay? I mean, you don’t need to, but - I’m just telling you. Because I know I’m kind of a pain in the ass. I get distracted, and I try to run people’s lives, and Iseul used to tell me that I acted like her time belonged to me which I don’t think is fair, but…”

  Hope stood up, wrapped her arms around his waist, and leaned into him. She had to suppress a contented sigh; Rick was warm and solid and his arms came up to fold around her back automatically.

  “That is completely fair, Iseul is right, but it’s okay. Well. Not okay. But it’s not - it’s not a deal breaker for me.” She’d almost died, but then she hadn’t, and now Hope was pressed up against Rick in her thin hospital gown. She grinned into his chest and fisted handfuls of his shirt. She was alive and free and she could do anything she wanted. Almost was the best thing ever.

  “Why do I feel like you’re making bad choices and thinking dangerous thoughts right now?” Rick said into her hair, but she could feel the edges of a smile in his voice.

  “Maybe I am,” Hope said, and then craned her neck up to capture his mouth in a kiss.

  EPILOGUE: Five Months Later

  Boran’s former client - he had a name in her head now, but it didn’t matter, that was how she’d always think of him - smiled nastily at her. “Things have worked out quite well for you, Ms. Lasser, wouldn’t you say? One day you were…” he gestured vaguely, “…running around in the mud, and the next you’re on the arm of the most eligible bachelor in California.”

  She took a moment to try to sort through the jumble of words and meaning. Behind her, Hope was vaguely aware of a hushed sort of conversation that indicated everyone was paying attention to her words instead of their own. Fantastic.

  “Uh… yes?” she gave up and finally said, totally baffled. Obviously this was a trick question, but she didn’t see how.

  The squat man’s face went blank so that he looked almost as confused as she felt. Hope felt a vibration of suppressed laughter through Rick’s hand wrapped around her arm; he swept them off by way of pretending to want a dance. Hell, maybe he did want a dance. You never knew with Rick.

  He leaned down so that his breath caressed the shell of her ear as he spoke. “And you said you’d have no idea what to say at fundraiser parties. I believe you’ve just won the respect of at least half my colleagues.”

  Hope shivered and smiled at him. Rick grinned and pulled her close.

  The truth wasn’t as simple as her reply, or even what Boran’s obnoxious ex-client thought. Hope was nothing if not clear-sighted. Even with Rick’s arms around her, she had a clear visual of the entire situation.

  And yes, she was lucky. She was incredibly lucky. But not for any of the reasons that man thought.

  Rick was only human, same as her. Yes, he was brilliant and gorgeous and kind - and rich; Hope still had no idea what to do with that, since she wasn’t used to having the luggage space for luxuries. Rick seemed to think she had the inclinations of your average magpie, but the truth was that the sparkling new jewelry that sat on her dresser didn’t really feel like hers. It felt like a costume, something she wore when she was playing the part of Rick Stone’s fiancé.

  She wasn’t really sure what to think about possessing that title, either. Hope was pretty sure she liked it, but it was strange to be so securely tied down after being as aimless and free as the wind for so long.

  A firm hand slid down her spine and sparks shot up it; her eyes snapped up to meet Rick’s. He met her gaze with a syrup-slow smile and dark eyes.

  Hope grinned back, already second nature after only so many months.

  She pressed her hips forwards against Rick’s, arched her back, and pushed up on tiptoe to slant a kiss across his mouth. It was only supposed to last a second, but when their lips met Hope’s eyes closed and her arms wound around Rick’s neck, trying to push even closer. Rick’s hand splayed flat across the small of her back, covering the place where Hope should have scarred. The perfect pale skin was the only remainder of Rick’s brilliant, failed attempt to be something other than what he was.

  Rick’s responsibilities seemed to weigh on him less heavily these days, though. Hope felt his other hand come up to run through her hair and she sighed into the kiss.

  “Are there tickets to this show?” a nearby voice intruded. Hope and Rick broke away from each other just in time to see Trinity whack Javier on the back of the head. Javier winced and looked semi-apologetic.

  “You were raised in a barn,” Trinity scolded.

  Never one to miss out on the fun, Iseul appeared out of nowhere to stand by Trinity’s elbow
and grin. “Come now, that’s uncharitable to farm animals,” she teased.

  “You guys are so, so mean to me,” Javier lamented. He turned to Rick. “They’re being mean to me. Do you hear this? This is emotional torment. I’m going to end up scrapbooking my pain or something and then nobody will ever talk to me again.”

  “Iseul scrapbooks. I helped her pick out supplies last weekend. Do you have any idea how expensive stickers are? It’s daylight robbery, and they get away with it because nobody expects the crafty inquisition,” Hope said. The moment was gone but not forgotten; she leaned up against Rick and his hand settled at her hip.

  “That is actually the most boring thing I’ve ever heard. Congratulations, you’re a boring person now,” Javier told her. Trinity whacked him upside the head again and he couldn’t entirely hide a victorious grin. Hope and Iseul caught each other’s eye and shook their heads.

  “I think he took his dating tips from a How-To book for middle schoolers,” Hope muttered to Rick.

  She saw half of the smile on his handsome profile as he glanced down at her, amused.

  “That reminds me,” he said. “Did you ever finish Jane Eyre?”

  Hope looked around the crowded room at friends, acquaintances, and strangers. Her eyes lingered on the people in front of her, people who had come into her life and stuck around. People she loved.

  “No,” she said honestly. “Maybe I’ll finish it someday. Right now, I’m too busy with this story.”

  The fingers around her waist tightened, and Rick turned his head to press a kiss into her hair.

  “That’s a cliché, darling,” he said. “But that’s alright. I suppose my favorite cliché is happily ever after.”

  FIN

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five