Page 68 of Justified Fear
“No problem.Just wondering if I grew another head.”
She smiled.“No.Sorry.It’s been a lot with everything that happened.Every now and then, I zone out.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why?You didn’t do anything.In fact, I’m here because of you.”
He shook his head.“No, Keely.You’re here because of you.You were smart enough to run into the forest and get up in the tree.As my grandmother would say, you have a spine of steel.”
He left her speechless, which was no easy feat.No one thought she was strong.Her parents had always touted her cooking abilities, and they were proud of her.But they always treated her like she couldn’t handle her life.Even her brothers and Chad had tried to talk her down.Her brothers because they worried about her, and Chad because he was an asshole.
“How do you know that?”
“What?”
She took a deep breath and blinked rapidly.She would not cry.
“That I’m strong.”
“Most people—men or women—would freak out when they heard gunfire.”
“Well, I am from Texas.”
He shook his head.“Stop trying to make a joke out of this.You were smart, and you kept yourself from falling apart.That had nothing to do with you being from Texas and everything to do with who you are.”
“That’s one of the nicest things anyone has said to me.”
He gave her a crooked smile, and she felt her chest grow tight, and her stomach was filled with butterflies.Jeez, that was probably the sexiest thing she had seen in a long time—and she had seen Jason Momoa at the airport once.
“Stick with me, and I’ll come up with all kinds of cool things to say about you.”
With a smile, she lifted her glass for a sip.That definitely sounded like a plan to her.
Ray stared at the ceiling.He needed to get out of the hospital.He knew that TFH was trying to pin this whole damned thing on him.Those bastards were just trying to close the case and move on.They didn’t care what was actually going on.
He knew the only way he would get out of here was if there was some kind of distraction.
As if on cue, the lights in his room flickered, then went out.That wasn’t a good sign.In fact, it was a terrible sign.He knew that this might be his only time to get away.Thankfully, he wasn’t hooked up to the machines anymore.The only thing that he had was an IV.That was easy enough.He pulled out the needle, ignoring the sharp pain from having yanked it away.He had requested something other than a hospital gown, so TFH had brought him a shirt and some shorts earlier.
He opened the door to take a peek out into the hall.It wasn’t as insane as he hoped, but the cop who had been posted to his door seemed to be missing.Knowing his time was dwindling, Ray slipped out the door and slowly walked down the hall.He was barefoot, but he couldn’t help that.And it was Hawai’i.It wasn’t that odd to see some random person walking down the street with no shoes on.
Keeping his back to the wall, he slinked down the hallway, not paying attention to all the activity.He reached the stairwell door.As he stepped out of the hallway, he saw someone on the floor, his head bloodied from a hard blow.The cop.
“Don’t worry, Ray.He’s fine.”
He turned to find Chad Brothers staring at him.It had been years since he had seen the bastard in person.The other man reached out and took his arm in a tight grip.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here before anyone notices that you’re gone.”
A sinking feeling pierced his stomach, and he realized that getting out of the hospital might have been a big mistake.
Fourteen
After dinner, Ryan insisted on helping in the kitchen.
“No, you cooked.My mother raised me right.The one who cooks doesn’t clean up.”
She gave him a bemused smile.“I’ll get the malasadas ready to eat.You want some coffee?I can’t eat them without at least a small cup.”
