Page 37 of Save Me

Greg’s face was flushed. His eyes were bulging with a level of fear and anger that he didn’t dare turn loose, then when Hunt took another step toward him, it was all he could do not to turn and run.

“You killed my son. And you tried to kill Lainie because of your bullshit feud with my father. The only reason you’re still breathing is because she’s still alive. Now get in your car and get the hell out of my sight. Both of you!”

The rage in his voice sliced through them. Tina slid her hand under Greg’s elbow as Hunt turned to his parents.

“I don’t even know what to say to you, but I don’t know you anymore. You betrayed me in a way that should haunt you for the rest of your lives. Your silence abetted Lainie’s abduction. Your continuing silence led to the death of your own grandchild. You all fed off a war that had nothing to do with the children you both bore. You gave us life, and then you broke us. Lainie and I were pawns. You tossed us about like grenades, daring each other to pull the pins. And when you finally did, we became collateral damage.”

Chuck was pale and Brenda was weeping.

“I’m sorry, son,” Chuck said.

“No, you’re not, and don’t call me ‘son.’”

Hunt shuddered. He felt empty. Like all the negativity they’d fed him was gone. They were staring at him, pale-faced and silent. His parents. Her parents. All of them. For the first time holding and owning their guilt.

“I don’t know how your lives are going to end, but I know Lainie and I will thrive without you. You men are worthless. Whatever tiny bits of good you have put out into this world, you have negated it a thousand times over with your hate. When you die, they should burn you into ashes, bury you both in the same unmarked hole, then forget you ever existed. You have wasted your entire lives fighting over nothing but a common dislike for each other, so you should spend eternity together. And if God wants your sorry souls back, He’ll know where to find them.”

Greg shuddered, and Chuck was slack-jawed in disbelief. Had Hunt just heaped a curse upon their souls? They wouldn’t look at their wives, and they wouldn’t look at each other. But they were all watching Hunt as he picked up his backpack and walked away, and they were still watching when tossed his backpack inside his Jeep and began stripping down to his briefs.

Even from a distance, they could see the man and muscle the Army had built, and to their horror, the scars it had left behind. They were still watching when he retrieved clean clothes from the back seat, then put them on and drove away.

The parents parted company without a word. It was going to be a long silent drive back to Louisiana for all of them, with plenty of time to reflect on what they’d wrought.

As they were driving away, Hunt was entering the hospital address into his GPS. He followed them all the way to Denver Health, eyeing the massive edifice as he pulled into the parking lot, then drove to the emergency room entrance and parked. He grabbed his backpack as he was getting out, and hurried inside.

CHARIS HAD BEEN in the ER lobby for hours, eyeballing every man who walked in. She knew it would take time for Hunter Gray to get off the mountain and then back into the city, but it didn’t matter. She was here for Lainie.

And then she saw a man coming toward the entrance. His head was up, and he was moving at a fast pace, with a trail-dusty backpack slung over one shoulder.

The moment he entered the lobby, she knew it was him. Tall, dark and handsome didn’t cover it, and even though she was close to the date of her own wedding, just looking at him sent shivers up her spine. She jumped up, running.

“Excuse me! Excuse me! Are you Hunter Gray?”

Hunt skidded to a stop and turned around. “Yes. Who are you?”

Charis sighed. “The scout your girl sent to find you.”

His relief was evident. “She’s okay?”

“Yes, or will be. They took her to surgery to—”

He panicked. What had he missed? Did delaying her retrieval make it worse?

“Why surgery? What happened?”

“I’m sorry. Nothing dire. They decided anesthesia was the best option before they began treating her feet.”

“Oh, right,” he said. “She passed out last night when I started pouring disinfectant on them. It scared the hell out of me. Can you tell me where she is?”

“Consider me your escort. I work here, too, although this is my day off. I’m to take you to her room.”

“Yes, ma’am. Lead the way.”

“Oh, by the way. My name is Charis, and Lainie is one of my best friends.”

BETWEEN THE DRUGS, the shampoo, and the bed bath they’d given her, Lainie was feeling no pain—or at least, not much. But being a patient here was the flip side of her daily life. In here, she felt isolated from everything.

She frowned as she fingered her scalp around the head wound. They’d shaved a little bit of hair away to staple it up, so she’d chosen not to look at herself in a mirror. The expressions of horror on her friends’ faces when they’d first seen her said it all.

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