Page 4 of I've Got You

Dammit! She’s not mine. No matter how much I want her. Dirty, bruised and confused as hell. None of it matters. I still want her.

“You need to go to the hospital and get thoroughly checked out. I think you might have a concussion.”

“Really, I think I should just go home.”

“Which is where?” I ask, helping to strap her into the mobile bed, tucking the blankets around her.

Her shifty eyes look away again. She firms her full lips and refuses to answer.

We wheel her into the ambulance and I climb into the back with her. Jess gets in front and hits the siren.

We’re moving in no time and I grin down at the beauty alone with me.

“So why don’t you tell me what really happened to you? We’ve got a few minutes.”

MISSY

The day in the hospital passes relatively quickly. I call my editor and let him know what happened. He comes to see me after work asking me if I’m alright almost in the same breath as he asks if I got the information I was looking for.

“No…well, I did. But they took it. I’m not sure when but it was after they knocked me out.”

“How did that happen?”he asks.

I pick at the thin hospital blanket on the bed. “Well, I didn’t know what to do about the woman they took inside the hotel room I was watching. She was obviously drugged. So I was trying to get pictures through the curtains but they had the sheers and the blackout curtains pulled so I couldn’t get anything. So I decided to knock on the door.”

“You did what?” He explodes. “Why the hell did you do that? You could have been killed.” He eyes me in the bed. “I’d say you came pretty damn close.”

My lips firm and I shoot him a mild glare. “I did not. I’m fine. Couple of days and I’ll be right as rain. They said I can go back home tomorrow. They just wanted to keep me overnight for observation.”

“You got lucky” he insists. “I’m not sure why those guys didn’t kill you but it was probably a mistake on their part. I know you…you’re like a dog with a bone.”

“I know they took my phone. I wish I had my laptop so I could check and see if they left it on. If they did, I can track it and find them.”

“You’re crazy, Missy. Absolutely off your rocker. I can’t have you dying on a story. I’m gonna give this story to James. You give him your notes and he’ll take over.”

“No!!! You can’t do that to me! This is my story. I’ve already put in a shit-ton of work. He won’t do as good a job as I would and you know it.”

“He also won’t push it so hard that I get to see on the news that my reporter is dead in a ditch.”

“Vic, come on. This story is important to me,” I wheedle, my breath stalling in my chest when I see him considering my pleas. “I need to finish this one.”

He groans and runs his hand through his thinning hair. “You see this?” He tugs at his hair. “This is what you’re doing to me! I’m gonna lose all my damn hair worrying about your damn ass.”

“Come on, we both know that’s genetics. I’ve seen your family photos.”

“Humph!” He grunts. “You’re a little too mouthy for your own good, kid.”

“You know you love me,” I laugh.

“I do. And that’s why I should go ahead and give the damn story to someone else. I cannot have it on my conscience that you died for a damn story!”

“I promise I’ll be more careful, Vic. I swear I’ll take every precaution that I can.”

Huffing out a breath, he groans. “Fine. But only if you check in more often and don’t do anything stupid.”

I open my mouth to answer and he holds up his hand. “No! Those are my terms. And you know what I mean by stupid. That means don’t try and break in and talk to these guys to get photos. They probably think you’re dead. Otherwise you would be dead. They made a mistake. Don’t compound it by making the same mistakes again.”

“Fine,Vic,” I sigh. “I’ll be careful.”

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