Page 3 of Unlikely Guardian

She stared at him a moment. “Oh, I get it now.” Lilly’s mouth relaxed and she made a clumsy swipe to push her rumpled hair off her forehead. “This is an official visit from Detective Jason Lawrence, San Antonio PD. You want to question me about the car accident that put me here in this hospital bed.”

He wished that was the reason he’d come.

“I work Special Investigations now,” Jason informed her. “Your accident doesn’t come under the jurisdiction of my department.”

Something, some raw emotion, rifled through her eyes. “So, you’re here to talk about Greg.” Lilly huffed and coupled it with a disapproving groan. “I figured you’d give me at least a day or two to catch up on current events, physical therapy, visits from friends, trips to Krispy Kreme, et cetera, before you started badgering me again about the night Greg died.”

Greg. His brother. His dead brother. And the subject of the majority of Lilly’s and his last conversations, and bitter arguments.

Always arguments.

It didn’t matter that she was trying to diffuse this tension with her Krispy Kreme style of humor. The emotion and the pain were still there, crouching just below the surface of her words.

Jason moved closer and stopped a few inches from the foot of her bed. “I’m not here about Greg, either.” Besides, no amount of questioning and arguments would bring his brother back. He knew that. Now. But Lilly was right—nineteen months ago, it’d been a topic he’d broached often with her.

And yes, there had been plenty of badgering involved.

“All right, then.” She took a sip of water from a plastic cup clutched in her right hand. “You’ve piqued my interest. If you’re not here to talk about Greg or my car accident, then this’ll be a very short visit. Because I think we both know there’s nothing else for us to discuss.”

Jason couldn’t fault her defensive attitude. He deserved it. After all, this was the woman he’d accused of contributing to the death of his brother. Despite the fact he’d known Lilly for more than six years before his brother’s death, it was hard to stay friendly after an accusation like that. However, she was wrong about them having nothing else to discuss.

There was plenty.

“I’ll give you two some privacy,” Dr. Staten announced, and he stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Jason glanced over his shoulder to confirm the man’s timely exit. Staten was definitely gone. The room suddenly seemed too small, and it was getting smaller by the second with Lilly’s stare drilling into him. Where had the air gone?

“Do you remember anything that happened while you were in a coma?” Jason asked.

Lilly blinked, as if surprised by the question. “No.” She paused. “In fact, not only is the coma a blank, so are the last few hours before I got into the car.” She stopped, angled her head, studied him. “Is there something about the accident that the police are investigating?”

Jason chose his words very carefully.

“The case is still active. I’m sure the lead detective will want to question you when you’re feeling up to it.”

And he left it at that.

She made a soft hmm of agreement. And concern. “Then something must really be wrong for you to be here.”

It was, and since there was no good introduction for what he had to tell her, Jason just started with the basics. “The night Greg was killed, you had sex with him.”

Not a blink of surprise this time. More like a flash of anger over his bluntness. “I don’t want to discuss this—”

“I know it happened because he called and told me. In fact, he told me just minutes before he died.”

Since this was only a recap and since he hadn’t wanted to start an argument with her, Jason left out one important detail: Greg had thought the sexual encounter might lead to a permanent relationship with Lilly rather than her shutting him out of her life.

But she had shut him out.

And because of that, Greg was dead.

There it was. The flood of old memories. The still-fresh pain. Always the pain. Jason knew for a fact he wouldn’t forget that grief any time soon. Nor would he forget, or forgive, what Lilly had done.

“Is this actually leading somewhere?” Lilly prompted in that crisp voice that he’d learned to hate. “Because I’m not in the mood for a trip down memory lane, especially when you’re the one doing the navigating.”

“It’s leading somewhere.” Since he needed it, Jason took another deep breath. “You got pregnant that night. With Greg’s baby.”

That got her attention. Man, did it ever. She did a double take and her breathing stilled. “Excuse me?”

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