Page 84 of Rough Ride

He looked at Crysta, who had pulled his head into her lap. He wanted to say so much but as he felt his grip on reality fading, he had only one thing to say to her.

“I love you.”

Then, for the second time that day, his world dissolved around him.

twenty-six

Dillon came striding down the hall, his face a grim expression as he ignored the looks of others there. He didn’t stop until he was standing in front of Crysta. Then, he pulled her up out of the chair and hugged her.

“Are you okay?” he asked when he finally let her go. She didn’t know what to say for a few seconds. She barely knew the man and he was giving her comfort.

She almost lost it. Crysta prided herself on being tough, but it took all her control not to start sobbing. “I’m fine. Sean got hit, but it was a flesh wound.”

He pulled back. “Eli?”

“He’s stable. They are going to put Eli in a room soon, and they said they’d come get me when they do. He didn’t lose much blood.”

“So, I did some checks on Rose. She bribed her way out of prison.”

She sat down and he took the seat next to her. “She was an international criminal.”

“And she had money to spare.”

“But why come after Eli? That just seems stupid.”

“He was the one person who got away. And truthfully, they aren’t sure she was right in the mind. She was raised by a grandfather who constructed bombs for the IRA, then for whoever would pay him the most. When they took her into custody, she disappeared for a couple of months.”

She sighed. “So, they probably tortured her.”

He nodded. “Not that she was completely sane to begin with but that seemed to push her over the edge. She apparently focused on Eli. It took her awhile to find him, but when she did, it wasn’t too hard to get Sam, Jr. to help her.”

“Mr. Kaheaku, the doctor said you need to be admitted,” a nurse said loudly down the hall. She looked up and found Sean ignoring the nurse as he walked down to her.

“Eli?”

“He’s stable and out of surgery. He’s going to be fine.”

He sat down on the other side of her. “That was one crazy bitch.”

She snorted but it came out as a half sob. The last two days had been hell on her nerves and now…she felt as if she couldn’t keep it together anymore.

“Oh, God,” she said as tears started to pour out of her eyes.

A look of panic moved over Sean’s face but, apparently, Conner Dillon knew what to do. He put his arm around her and said, “Go ahead, honey. Cry.”

And she did. Although, not loudly and not for long. He handed her a tissue when she had quieted.

“How did you get so good at handling women, Dillon?” she asked with a smile.

“I helped raise my sister, and I am married.”

“Ms. Miller,” someone said. She looked up and found a nurse standing in front of her. “The doctor gave you permission to be with Mr. St. John.”

She nodded and stood. “Thanks, both of you.”

Then, she followed the nurse down the corridor. When they got to his room, she stopped the nurse. “Is he awake?”

“If he is, he will make no sense. He’s drugged to the gills for pain.”

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