Page 71 of Justified Lies
“That’s my brother.”
The woman nodded. “You all should come inside, and we can get you some scrubs.”
“Thank you,” El said, slipping his arm around her. He pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms completely around her. Even in the sun, she felt cold, as if it were the middle of winter in Montana.
“He’s gonna be okay, Ed.”
She leaned back and looked up at him. “Don’t lie to me. We don’t do that, not when it comes to the important stuff. You saw all the blood. He passed out, and he said he loved me. I didn’t get a chance to tell him.”
“Tell him what?” he asked softly.
“I love him. I love him so fucking much, and I didn’t get to tell him,” she said, not caring how loud she was or what a mess she was. “I’ve loved him for years, and I wasted time. He got hurt trying to save me. It was my fault.”
“Stop that. It is not your fault. It was Marv’s fault. He shot him. He’s the bastard who caused us so much pain. Do not blame yourself!”
She couldn’t fight it now. The welling panic took over, and she collapsed in his arms, sobbing because the one man she would always love was fighting for his life, and he didn’t even know that she loved him. She knew it was self-centered to be worried about this when his life hung in the balance. When he woke up, she would tell him, and she would prove it every day of their lives.
Kap felt as though he was floating in a sea of white clouds. He knew he had to be on some major drugs…or was he dead. No. He couldn’t be dead. He refused to allow his declaration of love to Eden to go unanswered. Because when he felt that bullet hit him, he had only one thought—and that was how much he loved Eden. There would never be another woman like her in his life, and he would not accept that he had lost his chance.
He moved, and even as he floated on a drug-coated dream, pain filtered through him.
“Fuck.”
“Well. That’s not a very nice thing to say.”
That was not Eden. That was El, and Kap frowned. He thought he might have frowned. He wasn’t really sure if he had or not.
With great effort, he forced his eyes to open. Bright light hit his eyes, and he slammed them shut again.
“Fuck.”
“Is that the only word you know? This could get really embarrassing when you have to answer questions for the CIA.”
Smart ass. “Turn the light down.”
“Oh, sorry.” He heard El move. “Okay.”
This time, when he opened his eyes, there was only a soft light on in the room. He sighed in relief.
“Are you with us?”
“What?”
“You woke up a few times, but you weren’t really with us.”
“Where’s Eden?”
“She’s across the hall talking to the CIA. She refused to leave the hospital. Please talk to her about that. She’s looking rough.”
He tried to swallow, but his mouth and throat were dry. “How long?”
El walked over to a table that had some cups and water on it. He brought Kap some water. El held it as Kap took a long sip out of the straw.
“Thanks,” he said, now even more exhausted.
“No problem. I was put on Kap duty.”
“How long?”
