Page 15 of Knight's Journey

“Of course. I never believed you were searching for a husband. But I guess I wanted to tell you… Be careful around him. He has a lot of influence at the hospital, and though he’s very friendly, I’ve heard some things from other nurses saying he’s not very nice.”

Bridget wasn’t surprised by the news. She’d gotten the impression there was more false than genuine about the good doctor’s attention. “Thank you, Charlotte. I’ll definitely be on my toes if I run into him again.”

Charlotte smiled, obviously relieved when Bridget understood her meaning. “Good. Well, I’ll let you get to Mr. Stutler’s discharge. Let me know if I can be of any help.”

Bridget thanked her again and then focused on the task at hand, grateful for the distraction. Even when his constant marriage proposals, she found Mr. Stutler to be sweet and considerate. She was glad he was well enough to go home, though she realized she would miss his teasing and harmless flirtations.

And he was definitely a welcomed break from her odd interaction with Dr. Flirtatious and her overactive libido with Daniel “I-Go-By-Zane” Wilder.

∞∞∞

“So are you going to tell me what happened?”

Zane’s mother had stepped out to get coffee for her and Zaida, leaving him to face his sister’s interrogation alone. His relationship with his sisters varied between the three. He was closest in age to Zaylee, which made her his partner in crime growing up. Zoe, as the oldest, was always looking out for him and shielding him from trouble. But Zaida was his best friend. She was the one who called him on his shit and helped him sort out his life whenever he hit a crossroads.

She encouraged him to join Knight Security and Investigations when Tristin approached him about the job. She didn’t know the nature of his work with the Alpha Team. He wished he could tell her, but he never wanted his work to touch his family. He hated that getting hurt now caused them pain, but he couldn’t tell any of them the whole story. Answering his sister’s question was tricky, since he would never outright lie to her, but he couldn’t allow his job to taint his sister’s innocence.

“There was nothing to tell. I was stabbed while working a case.”

“The case which kept you MIA for the last year. Exactly what kind of PI takes on a case where he can’t contact his family for months at a time? This reminds me too much of when you were in the Army.”

Zane turned away. As an Army sharpshooter, he had been often deployed with his unit or occasionally solo on missions which were sensitive enough, he could never share the details with anyone. Then, his family understood the nature of his military service. Though they weren’t happy not knowing when he placed his life in danger, they appreciated his service to his country. Now, they were aware of what typical PIs and security personnel did for a living, so anytime the Alpha Team was called away for operations, they had a hard time understanding how this fit with what they knew of his job. And he had no clear explanation for them.

“All I can tell you is we were providing some extra bodies for a federal case. It was for your protection that I didn’t contact her for so long. I couldn’t risk the case blowing back on you or Mom, Zaylee and Zoe. As far as the stabbing, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Zaida settled back against her chair. A storm brewed in her bright blue eyes. She flipped her long raven hair over her shoulder, and Zane braced himself for the explosion which was forthcoming.

“I wasnotborn yesterday, and I amnota dumbass. I know you better than you know yourself, and I know you’re lying to me. You never lie to me. So if you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’m going kick your ass so hard, you’ll be back in the ICU before your head stops spinning.”

Zaida’s temper was legendary in the Wilder household. She could erupt in a shouting fit, complete with throwing any object within arm’s reach to emphasize her point. This time, her voice was calm, as if she was talking about the weather or what she had for lunch. It was the calm which masked the white-hot anger underneath that was the scariest.

“What do you want me to say? That you’re right? That I am keeping something from you? If that’s the case, then you know I would only do it if it was necessary.”

“You could have been killed. We were out living our lives while you were put in a dangerous situation that almost took you from us. Where were the feds or others working this case while you were on the business end of a knife? Where was your protection? If something had happened to you, it would have killed us. I hope you know that.”

He did, and the thought was more of a sharp pain to his gut than the knife wound. “Zaida, the fact my backup was there is the reason I made it to the hospital without bleeding out first. No, they weren’t able to prevent me from being stabbed, but they prevented me from dying.”

Zaida fell silent for several moments, watching him as she struggled to control her wayward emotions. Finally she sighed. “Why? Help me understand. Why put yourself in danger in the first place?”

It was his turn to struggle, but more with how to answer her question than what he was feeling. The secrecy of his work at KSI was paramount for his and his team’s protection. Because they were able to hide behind the private investigations and security side of the business, they flew under the radar, accomplishing a lot without drawing unwanted attention. As much as his sisters and mother worried about him now, it would increase if they knew the truth. He couldn’t be the cause of anxiety for them.

“Zaida, what I do is important. I can’t always talk about it, but I promise, I’m not taking unnecessary risks. But without me and the others, a lot of bad things would keep happening, and a lot of bad people would go unpunished. I know I haven’t answered your question, but I’m hoping you trust me and love me enough to let this go.”

Her tears fell, and she swiped at them, annoyed. “Dammit, Zane. That’s not fair. Now I feel selfish for wanting my baby brother home in one piece while he’s out saving the world. Jerk.”

He grinned. When Zaida resorted to curse words and name-calling, he knew he was forgiven. “I’ve been called worse.”

“Oh, and I’m calling you worse. In my head. I can’t have Momma come back and hear me say this stuff out loud. She’d ground me for life.”

He shifted his position in his hospital bed and grimaced at the shooting pain in his abdomen. “You’re an adult. She can’t ground you anymore.”

Zaida gave an unladylike snort and rolled her eyes. “You try telling her that and see what happens. And I hope I’m there when you do.”

As if their conversation summoned her, Maggie Wilder pushed open the door to his room with her hip and stepped inside, carrying two to-go cups of coffee. She passed a cup to her daughter and went to her son’s side. Settling her own cup on the bedside table, she gripped his hand tightly in hers, her keen gaze studying his face with the astuteness of an FBI profiler.

“Do you want me to have the nurse bring you some pain meds?”

The mention of a nurse brought a flash of the petite brunette who had been in his room earlier. He almost said yes just to have a reason for her to return, but surprised by the thought, he ultimately shook his head.

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