Page 31 of One Step Sideways

“We’d caught someone’s attention while we were deployed. They called him Jack Painter, and he was the real deal as far as journalists go. Name a war—any war—and he’d be there. And he had a lot of respect for soldiers. Got his story, but never put anyone at risk. The brass had agreed to him following us as we pulled out. PR, you know. Well, he knew when we were taken, and he was following our story. We got out, and he was all set to publish and then he died in a wreck of all things. He’d survived every war zone possible for twenty years, and a drunken kid flipped a car right into his cab.

“Half the story was done and from what I gathered, Tony was trying to make a name for himself with the same editor and was given his notes to finish thestory. Except Tony had never been near so much as a training exercise, never mind actually in a war zone. And it was obvious. The editor refused three attempts and said he was going to get someone else, but Tony persuaded the editor he knew one of us and could get a personal account.”

“But he didn’t,” Kane said.

I scrubbed a hand over my face. “It wasn’t hard to find out who we were, and he decided the one that had spent three months in some sort of recovery and registered a service dog was the easiest target.” I pushed my fingers through Sadie’s fur. “I told him stuff. Things I never told my mom and dad, and yet they had to read about it in the papers. It was big news.” I glanced at Kane and Kane shrugged.

“Like I said, restricted TV and activities. I didn’t see any big news other than what I might have heard the guys talking about.”

Was that good? I gazed at Kane’s honest expression. Could I trust it? I’d trusted before and look where that’d got me. And the kiss. It was still there. My panic. My want.

“I don’t know how he got inside the building, but there are people on the other floors, and he probably waited until someone left.” I had to say something, even the obvious, to avoid what I really wanted to say. “So, thanks. Like I said, he’s a pest.”

“Anytime,” Kane said gently and unable to do any more sharing, I escaped to my computer.

Kane

I watched Danny practically flee into Shae’s room and didn’t know what to make of it. I also didn’t know what had possessed me to interfere. I’d spent most of my life not standing up, just keeping quiet, so what was it about Danny that had made me jump in?

I followed him into Shae’s room to take a turn at babysitting. “What do I need to look for?”

Danny nodded as if agreeing to the complete change of subject, and briefly explained, showing me the slow-running IV to give him fluids. “If you’re going to stay in here for a while, I’ll go see what I can find on the idiot that did this.”

I nodded and sat down next to the bed. I glanced at the wound covering and noted no blood, even though Danny had only left like thirty seconds ago, then looked up at Shae, startled to see his eyes open and him watching me.

“Hey, remember me from the gym? You’re safe,” I hurried out. “We brought you back here because you said no hospital.”

Shae didn’t reply.

“You got stabbed with something in that guy’s sneaker,” I carried on.

“Hi Shae,” Danny said quietly from the doorway and Shae turned his head to look at him. “I’m the guy that patched you up. How are you feeling?”

I relaxed and thanked fuck Danny had heard him.

“You’re a doc?” Shae whispered, sounding like he was going to bolt.

Danny grinned. “Sorry, no. I guess you could call me an army medic, but just to reiterate what Kane said, you’re safe. Just let us know if you want us to call anyone or lend you a phone.”

I saw Shae’s eyes widen at the trust, and I fished my phone out, simply placing it on the sheet next to Shae’s hand, but he didn’t touch it.

“Thirsty?” Danny asked and Shae nodded. I grabbed the water bottle from the bedside table and twisted it to break the seal and added a straw while Danny eased Shae up a little so he could drink. He winced at the movement but drank gratefully. “You probably need to pee soon,” Danny said gently. “I don’t want you out of bed with the meds, so I have some disposable urine bottles.”

Shae looked horrified and I couldn’t help the chuckle. “I can help or turn my back,” I offered, and I could see the indecision written all over him. I glanced at Danny. “Is it safe to sit him up?”

He sighed. “It’ll just hurt like hell.” But I saw Shae grit his teeth and between us we managed it with as little fuss as possible. Shae looked gray when he lay back down, though.

“How long do I have to stay here?” Shae asked and Danny opened his mouth, but I interrupted, knowing Shae wasn’t asking for a medical opinion.

“You’re not a prisoner. You can leave as soon as you can stand without falling over.”

“And why should I believe you?” he asked defensively.

I gazed at him and decided to take a gamble. “Because I’ve seen you point a gun at someone twice, rob them, and not called the cops on you.”

Chapter Thirteen

Danny

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