Gage, Ronna - Send Her To Me (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Ronna Gage

  “I’m Joshua Godfrey. Sergeant Godfrey of the Arlington Police Department.”

  “What right do you have to butt into this personal conversation? My personal conversation?”

  Joshua crossed the tile floor at a slow pace, his movement filled with restrained anger. “I’m Kelli’s brother.” The tall, muscular man with reddish blond hair, blue-green eyes, and rounded face favored Kelli but not that closely. “I’m the one who told her about your secret.”

  So, that was how she found out about the money. Of all the rotten fucking luck, she had to have a cop for a brother. “So, Officer Brother.” His sarcasm took over. “Do you run background checks on all your sister’s boyfriends, or am I just the lucky one?” Carter sensed his anger coming to the surface. He had to control it if he didn’t want to antagonize Kelli further. Couldn’t she have asked him anything? The mistrust she harbored for men was deep, but to have her brother look into his past was worse.

  He turned back to Kelli. “Did you have me investigated?” Carter saw the hurtful look in her eyes at the accusation.

  “I didn’t tell my brother to investigate you. If you must know, I thought I could trust you.”

  Carter wanted to take back the remark and tell her the whole truth. She would understand why he did it. Except pride wasn’t going to let him air out their issues in front of the others. He was a private person, after all. The fact they were family didn’t matter.

  “Let’s go into your bedroom, so we can talk there.” Carter took a step toward her.

  “No. I won’t go anywhere with you. You don’t have to worry about keeping secrets from me any longer. You and I won’t be seeing each other anymore to have secrets.”

  Carter felt his stomach fall to his knees with the blow of her comment. Heartache crept in to claim a huge spot in his heart. The bottomless pits of anguish replaced the fear and dread he felt earlier. Realizing his mistakes too late added to his emotional stress. He should have trusted her enough to tell her he was rich in the beginning. On the other hand, how could he? She liked him, no, loved him, when she thought he was more like her. A blue-collar worker, out of place at the team’s living quarters. Now, she knew the truth about him, and she misinterpreted his actions.

  “I tried to tell you but—”

  Her eyes brightened with unshed tears. “It’s too late.” She went to the foyer, picked up the bag in the hall.

  “Where are you going?” His world crashed around him.

  “Since you won’t leave, I am.” She looked at Tonya. “I can’t believe in anyone here.”

  “Kelli.” Tonya choked on her name.

  Carter took a step forward, but Kelli raised her hand. “Don’t come near me. I will not be responsible for my actions.”

  “Kelli, you can’t run from this and put it off. We will have to talk about it eventually. Don’t punish me for mistakes others have made.”

  Her eyes narrowed at him, regret showed on her face. Carter hated that look. “How could you use something so private against me? Larry was a bastard who used me and dumped me without a backward glance.” Her hurt changed. She seethed with unspent anger. “My one mistake, besides you.” She pointed at him. “Like a trooper, you showed your true colors. Carter, I never thought you would be so cruel. But there’s a lot about you I didn’t know.”

  “I don’t want to talk about your past Kelli, but how can I let you walk away from me?”

  Kelli didn’t respond to the comment. She looked at Joshua. “Come on, let’s go.” Kelli led her brother out the door, and with a click of a knob and a simple turn of a key, she was out of his life.

  Carter hurried to the door. “I’ve got to stop her.”

  Tonya thrust her hand to his chest. “Carter, that isn’t the way to get her back.” Sadness covered her face.

  Out of desperation came a small glimmer of hope. “What is the way to get her back?”

  “Be there for her. Don’t crowd her. Give her room. When she’s ready, she’ll come to you.”

  “It doesn’t make any sense that she’d leave the apartment. Why?”

  Tonya sobbed. “She found out that I work for you. And now, she thinks I kept the truth from her.”

  Well, in a way, she had kept the truth from Kelli. Carter had to agree with her on that one. “Oh shit! This is all my fault.” If it was possible, he felt worse now than he did before. “But you had no choice. You signed a confidentiality clause.”

  “She thinks I should have told her because—” Tonya hiccupped on her tears.

  “You’re family.”

  Tonya nodded. “And you were lovers.”

  Carter pulled her into his arms. If only I told her the truth last night like I had planned. Then she and Tonya wouldn’t be fighting now.

  “Sometimes, family is overrated.” He surmised out loud.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Josh drove his car further away from Carter, and Kelli sat in silence. She felt so many emotions run through her at once: hurt, anger, and unworthiness. She had tried in all possible ways to be everything to Carter—a friend who didn’t judge him for his lack of money but embraced him for his efforts. She told him she would love him no matter how little he had.

  Little? He’s one of the richest men in the city. He duped me into believing otherwise. I gave him all I had, for what?

  “You okay, kiddo?” Josh squeezed her shoulder.

  “Josh, stop calling me that. I’m not a little kid.” Josh rested his hand on her shoulder. The closeness of strength got the better of her and held back the tears. “I need a drink.”

  “I can hook you up.” Josh took the next exit off the highway and pulled into a convenience store past the exit. He pulled the car in gear and left it running while he went inside. “I’ll be right back.”

  The windows behind the burglar bars bore civic advertisements of garage sales and lost pets. Neon signs advertised the names of beers available for purchase. Kelli watched as Josh grabbed a twelve pack of beer and carried it to the counter.

  She recalled the day she met Carter by the pool. He had offered her a Budweiser and cut his hand on the broken bottle getting it for her. She smiled, and then her tears fell anew, breaking her heart. So much had happened since then. The latest development was most overwhelming. He turned out to be a rich man. “What hurts me more? The money? No. The money isn’t the real issue.” In her calmer state, she realized what bothered her. His lack of trust and understanding in her.

  “Damn it, Carter. Why couldn’t you just trust me?” She cried. “I feel like a part of me has died tonight.” In her pain and anger, she lashed out and hit the dashboard with her fist. “Ow!” She screamed and grabbed her hand. Her knuckles swelled almost immediately, and she held it to her chest and rocked.

  Josh opened the back door, set the bag behind his seat, and grabbed one of the beers before he closed it. Josh got behind the wheel. “So, you still need that drink?”

  “Nope.” Her pain tightened her words.

  Josh glanced at Kelli. “What is it, honey?”

  “I think I broke my knuckles.” She held up her hand to show him. “See?”

  “What? How?” The knuckle of her middle finger swelled to unimaginable size. Small drops of blood trickled down the back of her hand. “Kelli!” he moaned. He threw the car in reverse and peeled out of the parking lot, and then turned the corner almost on two wheels, racing in the direction of the hospital district. “Damn redneck woman.”

  “Fuck you,” Kelli shot back, holding her injured hand next to her broken heart. “I feel defective as it is.”

  * * * *

  The emergency room buzzed in chaos. Josh had never paid much attention to the ER while on duty. He usually came when the staff called him to take domestic violence or sex offense statements. The doctors on call had the patients in another room while they waited for him.

  Tonight, being on the other side of the counter didn’t please him at all. His patience grew thin waiting in line to be seen by the admitting
clerks. His little sister’s hand swelled two times its original size, and to further complicate matters, she was crying. He couldn’t differentiate between the sources of her tears. Was it the pain of her injury or her broken heart? All he could do was hold her while she cried and wet his T-shirt with her tears.

  He saw a face he recognized. The kindly, grandmotherly type that catered to him every time he visited the hospital. “Come with me honey.” He led Kelli to the registering clerk. “Gladys, can you get me through?” he asked.

  “Officer Godfrey, what brings you by tonight?” she asked when he and Kelli sat down at her station.

  “I brought my little sister in. She hit the dashboard of the car and broke her finger.”

  The woman, G. Middleton, gave Kelli a quick glance. “I’ll see that she gets in right away. Let me get some information.” After the admitting questions, the medical assistant met them at the entrance. Mrs. Middleton buzzed them in without delay.

  “Thanks, Gladys!” Josh said to her before he let the door shut. He saw her wink, and then heard her call her next patient over.

  Josh and Kelli followed the medical assistant back to a hallway of rooms.

  “Officer Godfrey!”

  Josh turned his head to the direction of the voice that called his name. “Hey, Glenna.”

  “I was told you came in and thought I’d come check out the situation.”

  “You are an angel in disguise. I was tempted to pull out my weapon and start shooting,” he warned of his impatience.

  “You don’t have your weapon on you,” Kelli reminded him. “Idiot,” she called him under her breath.

  “Doctor Glenna Roberson, meet my sister, Kelli Godfrey. My little sister.” Josh knew that would rile Kelli up more. Her sarcastic tone needed to be squelched. “She is going through some…”

  “Josh!” Kelli warned with a glare.

  “Personal problems.”

  Glenna looked from brother to sister and then smiled. “Come on, let’s take two.”

  Josh was acutely aware of treatment room two. “Funny, that even in my personal life, I seem to find my way to this room.”

  “I figured it to be the most private for this situation as well. Plus, I had no idea what you’d bring in for us.”

  He looked at Kelli to explain. “More times than I want to admit, the staff escorted me here, it being nearer to the back of the ER department. I tell you, the things people do to one another always amaze me.”

  Kelli nodded in a robotic response of understanding.

  “I see that you have an injured hand.” Glenna read from the chart.

  Kelli turned her head and let Josh handle the details of explanation.

  “I went ahead and ordered an X-ray for her. Sit tight until they come for her and read them.”

  “Will do.”

  In less than three minutes, the technician came in and took Kelli for X-rays of her right hand. One and a half hours later, she returned, depression settled on her face, but at least she wasn’t crying.

  “You doing okay, kiddo?”

  “Josh, stop calling me that.” Kelli got out of the wheelchair and sat on the bed. She lay back, bracing her hand against her chest.

  Josh picked up the thin sheet and covered her with it. “You like this guy a lot, don’t you?” He knew he treaded on uncharted waters. Kelli’s emotional breakdown wasn’t something he saw on her most of the time, and he didn’t like it.

  Kelli sat silent for a moment. “No, I don’t like him a lot, Josh. I love him.”

  “But?” Josh coaxed her to continue.

  “He lied to me.”

  “How?”

  “He made me believe in…that he was something he wasn’t. “

  “What was that?”

  “…an outsider in that world he lives in. Like me with Tonya. I wanted to believe we had something special.”

  “You didn’t have something special?”

  “Joshua, I started to believe in love.”

  “Oh Kelli.” Josh sat on the edge of the bed, pulled her left hand into his. “You have to let Larry, and what he did to you, go. He was an asshole. Carter is a private person, but his keeping his financial status from you is no cause for corporal punishment.”

  “Larry hurt me bad when he slept with Leslie.”

  “I remember that day all too well.” He thought that was the worst day of his and Kelli’s lives. To come home and find her in tears that night made him angry. He had always been protective of his little sister and of her best friend. To know then that Leslie would be the one to hurt her the way she did, he would have sent her away himself. “Yes, some best friend. I agree he hurt you, but Kelli, you never reacted to yours and Larry’s breakup in the manner you are dealing with you and Carter breaking up. You got pissed, yeah. You got even by surviving without him and Leslie for that matter. Yet, with Carter, you are crying, emotionally distraught, and worst of all, you are in the ER. There are worse men than Carter Banks. His secret was about his money, not in the way he felt about you. Trust me!”

  “What is it he feels for me?”

  Kelli’s sarcastic answer did not deter her brother’s honest opinion.

  “He loves you.”

  A soft knock sounded on the door. Josh turned in time to see Glenna enter the room. He saw her eyes light up, and it stirred him. Her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and soft brown eyes were kind and approachable. She looked at Kelli and then at Josh. “I have some good news.” She flipped the chart open and scanned her notes. “The X-rays of your right hand indicate a fracture but no break.”

  Josh felt relief flood over him. “So, what are you going to do for her?”

  “The required treatment is a shot of Demerol for her pain and a soft cast to keep the knuckle immobile.”

  “That’s it?” Josh had a sudden burst of angry emotion. It wasn’t unusual for his outbursts. He had them when he left the ER. There were usually no witnesses to his tirade. “All that waiting for a soft cast? Are you fucking kidding me?”

  Glenna let him rant for a second longer. “Josh, suppose I give you a shot?” she suggested in a calm voice to his ranting.

  “I don’t need drugs, lady.”

  “No, I was thinking tequila. About ten o’clock tomorrow night?”

  Josh was quiet for a second. He narrowed his eyes, taking note of her shy gaze. “Doctor Roberson, are you asking me out on a date?”

  “Are you fucking deaf or stupid?” Kelli quipped. “Of course she is. Dr. Roberson, when and where?”

  “Kelli!” Josh scolded her.

  “Well, while you two pussyfoot around your dating issue, I’m in pain. So, accept already, get her number, and the time to meet her.”

  “Tomorrow night…meet me here in the ER,” Glenna stumbled out.

  Kelli pointed to Glenna. “Now, get my shot order.”

  At Kelli’s forceful suggestion, Josh had a date for tomorrow evening, and she soon felt the wonderful effects of Demerol.

  Suddenly, the world wasn’t so painful and lonely after all.

  * * * *

  Josh pulled into the garage of his townhome. He softly nudged Kelli’s sleeping body. “Kelli, we’re here, sweetie.” Unable to wake her, he raced around to her side of the car and then lifted her out, He carried her up to the door, and then brought her into the house. She didn’t wake for one second. He gently laid her on the spare bed and covered her with the blanket. He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. “Good night, little sister,” he whispered.

  “Good night. I love you, Carter.”

  Josh looked down at her. His heart broke for his meddlesome nature. He was a great detective and a great brother. Tonight, he hated that the two things he did best caused his little sister so much pain. “Honey, I’m so sorry to have brought this sorrow onto you.” Josh gave her cheek a gentle, brotherly touch. “If there is anything I can do to make it better,” he whispered.

  He hadn’t intended her to reply. But, softly, she touched his arm.
>
  “I need to leave for awhile,” she whispered.

  Her voice sounded drowsy. He detected her pain. Her intent green eyes stared at him with fixed determination.

  “I’ll make the arrangements.” He squeezed her hand.

  She gave him a little smile, closed her eyes, and was asleep again in seconds.

  Josh watched her for a moment. His little sister was a good person who deserved the better things in life. Not the hurt and despair of what he had seen in his. There were worse things she could do than Carter Banks.

  “Sorry, buddy, but her well-being comes first.” Josh stood up, left the room, and let her sleep.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Carter paced the spacious floor of his high-rise office on the twentieth floor of his business complex. He felt a swelling emptiness run through his heart and knew all too well the emotion since that afternoon Kelli broke up with him. Nothing could touch the barren plains she left behind. He remembered her infectious laugh, her gentle smile, and the glint of passion in her eyes when she looked up at him. His gut clenched with every dawning in his mind. She’s out of my life.

  Memories of them had driven his existence into a mundane world of work and grief for the last three weeks. Memories of her…of him…of them laughing together, making love, and afterward, sleeping peacefully with her by his side. He had trouble sleeping these days. Adding the unwanted loss of appetite syndrome, the grief still weighed heavy. Other than work, his only other productive activity was the grueling workouts at the team playhouse with Dex. He exercised until his muscles ached, his mind cleared of all thoughts and memories, and his breathing labored too much to speak.

  He inhaled deeply, the burning ache in his stomach reached up to his throat and kicked in the repetitive swallowing reflexes. Pain constricted his heart. Why not give me the chance to explain—to make it right? He looked out across the skyline at nothing and wondered for the millionth time of her whereabouts and how she was today. Where are you now?

  Running.

  “Don’t run away from your feelings or from me,” he demanded to the silence of his building rage. He laid his forehead against the cool pane of glass and calmed his anger. “Wait her out. She’ll come back.” He knew deep down in the depths of his being that their breakup was only temporary. She needed time to get over her fear of this relationship and its future. Giving her space to realize what he already knew annoyed him. But in order for her to come around to her senses, he had to take necessary actions. He purposely didn’t call her cell phone, not that it would do any good. He knew she would hang up or ignore his call anyway. He considered going to Tonya’s apartment to coax her into seeing him but decided against it. Kelli and she needed the chance to make amends before he became a part of the picture.