Page 76 of The Murder Between Us
Finally, Noah smiled. He kissed Cole again, and then again, until the paramedic cleared his throat and gestured for Noah to hurry it up. “Come to the hospital?”
Cole steadied him as Noah clambered into the ambulance. He let go when Noah settled onto the edge of Katie’s gurney. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He reached for Katie, squeezing her hand as her eyes drifted closed and she leaned into Noah.
Then the paramedics asked him to step back, and the doors slammed shut, and Noah’s ambulance took off down the street, red-and-blues flashing over the yards and faces of Noah’s entire neighborhood, everyone out on their yards now, watching.
Jacob appeared at his side, his expression unreadable in the flashing lights. He peered at Cole as if sizing him up, taking his measure. Then he held out his hand, pumping Cole’s when he took it. “You’re a hero.”
Cole shook his head. He wasn’t. He’d missed so much. He’d barely been in time.
“We found Andy Garrett,” Jacob said, turning and glaring down the street. His hands landed on his hips, and his face turned fearsome, glowering. “I sent a unit out to the Olson fields, to that clearing he talked about. He was there, right in the center. He’d blown a hole through his skull, and he was holding a picture of himself and Jessie. They looked close. Like maybe theyweredating. He’d written a note, too. It said, ‘I’m sorry.’”
“When Venneslund heard Garrett escaped, he must have seized the opportunity to attack Noah and Katie. He could pin their murders on Garrett, again. He’s been hiding under Garrett’s profile. We never even saw him.”
Jacob nodded. “Yeah… that’s what we think, too. God damn it, he was right there. They both were. This whole time.”
Bray appeared, hanging up his cell phone as he held out his hand to Cole. “Dr. Kennedy, I’ve heard a lot about you. Pleased to make your acquaintance. I’m on the way to the hospital. Would you like a ride?”
* * *
It tookover two hours for Cole and Bray to find Noah and Katie in the massive Iowa Methodist complex in downtown Des Moines. They’d both been admitted through the emergency department, Katie to pediatrics and Noah to adult trauma, but, knowing Noah, he was with Katie and wouldn’t be leaving. He and Bray were still shuttled between three different wings before Bray put his foot down, pulled his badge, and ordered they be brought to the nurses’ station in pediatric critical care.
Noah met them there, bedraggled, bandaged, limping, and dressed in a set of surgeon’s scrubs. His hair stuck up in all directions, his hands had been rebandaged, and his right arm was in a much more serious-looking sling.
“Sir,” he said to Bray. “Thank you for coming.”
Bray gripped him by both shoulders. “Of course. How are you? How is Katie?”
“She’s going to be okay. No broken bones, no fractures. They had her in about every imaging machine there is, checking X-rays and CT and MRI to make sure her spine and throat were all right. She’s good.” Noah’s lips quirked upward, a tiny grin aimed at Cole. “Cole saved her. He saved us both.”
Bray’s hand landed on Cole’s shoulder. He felt the warm squeeze, the gentle reassurance. “And you, Noah? Areyouokay?”
Noah ran a hand over his face, dragged his fingers through his hair. He turned and looked back at Katie’s room, sighing. “Not right now, I’m not. All this—” He waved at his arm, held up his hand, only his fingertips peeking out of the heavy bandages. “Will heal. I’ll be fine, they said, after some rehab on my right arm. But…” His haunted eyes met Cole’s. “I don’t think I’ll be able to close my eyes for a while, or forget what happened there.”
Cole reached for him. Noah reached back, stepping into Cole’s hold and resting his forehead on Cole’s shoulder. His breath was warm on Cole’s neck. Cole ran his hand up and down Noah’s back, over his trembling muscles.
“Did Lilly make it here yet?” Bray asked softly.
Noah nodded. “Yeah. She’s with Katie.”
Cole’s stomach clenched. He kept rubbing Noah’s back. Noah didn’t pull away.
“I’m going to go say a few words to her.” Bray gripped Noah’s shoulder again, gave them both a reassuring smile, and then headed for Katie’s room.
Noah exhaled as Bray’s shoes squeaked on the tile floor. “Lilly is here.”
“Of course she is. She’s Katie’s mother.” She’d probably set a land speed record crossing Iowa after she’d gotten the call. State troopers might have picked her up, even. That would have been the safest option.
“She’s an assistant U.S. attorney in Omaha. She works with Bray all the time.” Noah’s lips quirked up again, this time against Cole’s neck. “And now Bray is my boss. If I end up keeping John’s job.”
“The tiny world of federal law enforcement.” Cole held on to Noah even as Noah straightened. They were a breath apart, Noah still standing inside the loose circle of Cole’s arms, their foreheads, their messy strands of hair brushing against each other.
Through the window to Katie’s room, he saw Bray hugging a tall, slender brunette dressed in dark leggings and an oversized sweatshirt. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her face, delicate and fine boned, almost elfin, was splotchy and tear-stained. Lilly. Noah’s ex-wife.
Katie lay in the hospital bed, a padded cervical collar around her neck and the blankets pulled up over her waist. She wore a teddy bear hospital gown, and her dark hair was spread out over the pillow. An IV line ran into the back of her hand. She was asleep.
“Do you want me to leave?”
Noah shook his head. “No. Definitely not. I want you to stay all night, if you can.”
