Page 73 of Ruthless

"She sleeps most of the time," I answered truthfully.

"So do you have any idea who did this to her?"

"Yes," I responded. Skipper crossed his arms, the movement drawing my attention to him and the warning look in his narrowed eyes. He didn't need to worry, I had no intention of giving up Daryl to the police. "A fucking coward." Skipper's mouth turned up into a grin, while Detective Benson's turned down in disappointment. It was obviously not the answer he'd been expecting.

"The responding police said the call came in from a Michael Woods, do you happen to know him?"

Yes, intimately. "Yes. He's a?" A what? A nomad? My lover? My partner? "Friend," I finally settled on. I could tell by the speculative gleam in the detective's eyes that he suspected that we were more.

"Mr. Woods called it in. Any reason to think that he might be the attacker and Miss Murray is protecting him?"

That made me angry and I snapped, "No!" before I could stop myself. I immediately calmed down, realizing that sounding defensive would only make him more suspicious. "They barely know one another."

Nodding, he made some notes in his little pad. "I understand that the attack occurred in your apartment, but you weren't there?”

"No." I hated lying, God, I hated it, but it was necessary if Rebel was going to find Daryl and make him pay for what he'd done without bringing suspicion to himself. Sure, he was connected to Della's attack simply by being there and phoning it in, but the police didn't know that Daryl was her attacker. I shot a nervous glance at Stevie and Skipper. Skipper gave me a wink.

"How did she get in?"

"We both have a key to each other's apartments, but I sometimes forget to lock my door when I leave. Della probably thought I'd be there to help her." That was the truth, and came out naturally.

"Forgetting to lock your door can be dangerous," Detective Benson advised. "Especially in that neighborhood. I'm glad you weren't home, or you might have ended up like Miss Murray."

A chill came over me when I realized how I may have ended up, had Daryl had his way. I just smiled when he glanced up from his pad, hoping that he'd finish up soon and leave. Della moaned, drawing our attention, but she didn't move, and after a moment he said, "Well, if you can think of anything else, please call me." He handed me his business card. "I'll come back in a couple of days, hopefully by then Miss Murray will be more alert and will be able to talk."

"I will. Please keep us informed of the investigation."

He made eye contact with everyone in the room. "Nice meeting you. I'll be in touch."

He left the door slightly ajar, the way that he'd found it. Skipper got to his feet to follow him.

"I thought he'd never leave."

Della! Her eyes were open, and there was the beginning of a smile on her swollen face. I got up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "How are you feeling, honey?" Stevie moved up next to the bed, too.

"A little better than yesterday."

"It's gonna take time, honey," Stevie said, leaning over to kiss her on the other cheek. "But each day will get better."

Della nodded. "I know. Have they said when I can go home?"

"Don't rush it," I said, wanting to laugh in spite of it.

She just nodded. "Daryl?"

The fear in her eyes broke my heart. Stevie was on the other side of the bed, and we exchanged a quick look. I squeezed Della's hand to reassure her. "You don't have to worry about him, honey. Rebel and Vinny and a whole bunch of other people are looking for him. And one of Rebel's friends from the Sentinels is always here keeping watch, so you're never alone."

I could tell from the way that her expression relaxed that this eased her worries. She gave a soft sigh of relief. "I hate him."

"We all feel that way," Stevie agreed. "Are you comfortable? Can we get you anything?"

"Just a little pain, but I'm good."

A little pain. I knew that she was downplaying her situation. Even I could see that the slightest move hurt her.

Skipper came back into the room and walked directly to the bed next to Stevie. "Well, hey there, darlin', you're awake." His full-faced smile transformed him from the stern, unfriendly-looking biker into a handsome, caring man. It also took away from the scariness of his large, threatening frame. I gave him kudos for going out of his way to set Della's mind at ease.

"Della, this is Skipper, one of the Sentinels I was telling you about."

---