Page 18 of Silos and Sabotage

She bit her lower lip as she finger-combed her hair into a loose ponytail and secured it with a rubber band someone had left on the windowsill. If she was being honest with herself, she didn’t know what came next. According to Gage, she had a lot of money. Maybe she’d grab a hotel room somewhere in town until she could figure out what to do next.

A triple knock sounded on the door.

“Come in,” she called, hoping it was her favorite retired Army Ranger. She’d been moved to a regular room yesterday morning, then kept an extra night for observation. According to Gage, the security firm where he worked had kept a guard on duty in the hallway outside her room the entire time she’d been at the hospital.

He’d served the first shift. Not from the hallway, though.

She smiled at the memory of how irritated he’d looked when the next guard, a guy named Johnny, had informed him that his shift was ended and tried to send him home. Gage was sweet like that, making it clear that his interest in her was personal, not just professional. She briefly closed her eyes as she absorbed the enormous compliment he’d inadvertently handed her. It was so crazy, stinking sweet of him!

“Hey, you.” Her eyelids popped open at the sound of Gage’s voice on the other side of the door. “Ella?” His voice took on a more urgent note, presumably after he found her hospital room empty.

“I’m in the bathroom, Ranger boy,” she sang out.

“You okay?” he called anxiously.

“The jury’s still out on that.” Dragging in a breath, she opened the bathroom door and returned to the icky white and chrome, antiseptic-smelling hospital room. She wasn’t going to miss this place one bit.

“How do I look?” She gave a tottering twirl in the center of the room, wanting to kiss the feet of whoever had invented flip-flops.

“Fishing for compliments again?” The way Gage’s brown gaze darkened with appreciation told her all she needed to know. He liked how she looked — flip-flops, pressure sores, and all.

“Maybe.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “Guess I’ll have to ask Johnny his opinion, since you seem to be charging extra for yours today.”

“Please don’t.” Gage stepped in her path so quickly that her breath got clogged in her throat.

She had to tip her head back to drink in all of his broad-shouldered, military-guy hotness. “Don’t what?” She knew she was baiting him, but she couldn’t resist.

“Don’t ask Johnny.” He rested a large hand ever-so-lightly against her waist, treating her like precious china the way he always did. “I don’t like the way he looks at you.”

Her heartbeat sped to careening heights at his show of possessiveness. “Are you making that request as my bossy, non-biological brother or as something else?” she taunted.

“Just don’t.” He reached around her with a hooded look to give her ponytail the gentlest of tugs. “I said please,” he reminded.

“Oh, in that case…” She lifted a hand, intending to give him a friendly pat on the shoulder. However, the bruises on her upper arm stopped her from raising her arm that high. She settled for patting his chest instead. Unless she was mistaken, he flexed his impressive muscles there for her benefit.

He must’ve seen the way she’d winced, because he covered her hand with his, holding it a prisoner against his chest. “On a scale of one to ten, what’s your pain level this morning?”

“About a fifteen.” She rolled her eyes at him.

His fingers tightened on hers. “What can I do to help?”

“For starters?” She made a face at him. “Help me get a cell phone. Then a hotel room. After that, I’m gonna need some more clothes, and maybe a pony. I’ve always wanted a pony.”

An answering chuckle rumbled out of him. She felt it in his chest before it sprang free. “I bought you a burner phone on my way here.” He let go of her hand and reached into the back pocket of his jeans for it. “Already got my number on speed dial for you.” He held it out to her.

“You’re so thoughtful.” He was, and she was more grateful than words could express without bursting into fat, squishy tears. Trying not to weep was the sole reason she was cracking jokes right and left. “I love the case, by the way.” She wrinkled her nose at the plain black phone that clearly wasn’t in a case. “Were they out of flowers?”

“What kind of flowers?” he shot back without missing a beat.

“Daisies. Definitely daisies.” She fiddled with the cell phone, adoring the fact that he’d brought it to her before she’d asked for it. “Not that I’m complaining, but why a burner phone?”

“Because they’re harder to hack and track.” His jaw tightened. “I just found you. Don’t want to lose you again.”

Her heart fluttered at his words. “I seriously doubt there’s a big enough hotel in this town to get lost in.”

“I’m not taking you to a hotel.” He lightly rested his hand on the small of her back. “Until the police find Billy Bob Bolander and bring him in for questioning, I don’t think it’s safe for you to be out there alone.”

“Now that you mention it, I’m not exactly feeling like taking on the world again just yet.” She tipped her head gratefully against his shoulder. “So, if you’ve got a bunker to spare…”

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