Clay just nodded. The time for figuring out the whys was later.
Now...now was for waiting.
“I need to get in there.”
“You do. People are going to be watching you. It’s pretty clear how you feel about her.”
“She’s my world. Has been for a while.”
“Funny how they manage that without even trying, isn’t it? We’ll talk TSP later. Right now, just go be with your family. And hers. I’ll handle everything else that comes your way until she’s back where she needs to be.”
Chapter 158
Four hours. Twenty-seven minutes. That was how long he waited for Alvaro.
Him and Bert and Veri and Jake. Her family.
Kyra and Cam Lake arrived via a plane. Cam had called in a favor with some friend of Houghton’s Clay had met once or twice.
Their presence barely registered. Dr. Netore sat next to Clay most of the time they waited. The small woman never said much, but she was just there.
Of all the W4HAV people, Clay knew Bailey considered the doctor and Mel her actual friends. People she cared about and who cared about her.
It was a far different waiting room this time around. Before...
Before Bailey had just had him and Veri.
That had changed.
He had changed, too.
He’d let her in. Knew that he wouldn’t ever hurt her. Not like Lou had said.
It was like Lou had looked into Clay’s soul and pulled out his deepest fears. Sins of the father.
Coming from that man, it had been clear—Clay finally understood it then.
Bailey was nothing at all like her father; he’d never thought that she was.
And he was not somehow predestined to repeat the sins of his. Together, they could build something that was right. Good. The way things were supposed to be.
He would die before he’d let himself ever hurt her. He trusted himself that much now.
He wanted to have a chance to tell her that.
Jake’s kid was awake; Veri rocked him, shushing his cries. Jake held Celia Lake’s son while they waited. They all just waited.
No one talked.
Most of the TSP had kept out of the waiting room, but there were more than four dozen in the halls and outside lining the sidewalk. And more were coming.
The W4HAV crowd were still there, but they were taking turns being in the waiting room. He thought the rest were in the cafeteria.
Bert forced Clay to walk there with him. Only respect for the older man had him complying when all he wanted to do was stay in the waiting room.
He barely heard Bert’s questions. Or his support.
Bert stopped talking. And they just walked—up and down the corridor.
Waiting.
Finally, the metal doors swung open. Dr. Alvaro stepped out.
Clay’s breath caught in his throat. He stepped forward.
“Not here, son. We owe it to the people who are here for her now,” Bert said.
Clay followed Bert back to the waiting room fifteen feet away.
Alvaro was right behind them, after stopping off to talk to a nurse.
Clay turned to face the doctor when he was less than ten feet inside the waiting room. “Bailey? How is she?”
Alvaro held up a hand. “You have power of attorney?”
Yes. He did. He did for several of his younger deputies. It didn’t matter; if he didn’t, he’d damned well lie. He jerked his head in a nod.
“We’re her next of kin,” Veri said. “Bert, Jake, Kyra, and me. Her family.”
“How is she?” Clay and Jake both demanded together.
“First, that is one strong, determined lady,” Alvaro smiled. Some of Clay’s tension lessened. “She lost a fair amount of blood before we removed the bullet. It was lodged under a rib on the right side. But she has titanium plates over former breaks that were significant. The bullet actually lodged beneath one of those plates. This deflected some of the damage, but the bullet was locked tightly in place. It took a while to remove the bullet without damaging the plate. That’s what took so long. We were able to remove the bullet and repair the tissues.” Alvaro scanned the room before his gaze returned to Clay’s. “Whomever put those plates in did a damned fine job. I’ll be writing this one up for the medical journals. The biggest issue was blood loss, and of course, we’ll watch for infection. She is in recovery now.”
Clay barely heard the rest of the room as the fear they felt dissipated. All that mattered was that she was going to be ok.
“Take me to her.”
Alvaro hesitated. “Sheriff...”
“Caine,” Dr. Netorre said. Clay caught the look that passed between them.
The guy nodded. “This way. You can stay with her until we get her ready to move to her room.”
Chapter 159
There was a beautiful man leaning over her when Bailey opened her eyes. All she could do was stare into the green and try to put the puzzle pieces of why together. For a terrifying moment, she thought that she was back where she was. Right after she had almost died in an abandoned mine. Feared everything that had happened since had been just a dream.
That she didn’t have Bert, or Jake, or Liam, or Kyra and Cam.
And that she didn’t have Clay.
But back then she had been in a room with yellow walls. Room 403.
Now the room around her was white. Stark hospital white.
And Clay wore a red T-shirt. He looked like he hadn’t slept in months. And he was staring at her like she was a piece of forensic evidence and he the tech. Her throat felt sore, probably from a breathing tube that had been shoved down her throat.
Fun.
She lifted her hand and touched the back of his hand. “Clay.”
“Hi, honey. Welcome back.”
“How bad?”
“Not too bad. You’ll be here for a week or so. That’s it. The bullet hit the titanium plate and got stuck in one of the rings. I’m not sure how exactly they work, but Alvaro or your friend Nikkie Jean can explain it. She’s been here a few times and sat with you when the rest of us couldn’t.”
“How long was I under?”
“About a day. He kept you sedated for a while. He seemed to think you’ve done more damage to your knee, and that you hadn’t been resting properly before you were shot. I had to agree with him. I’m sorry.”
“Didn’t do anything. My fa—Lou did. No one else.” Something tickled her brain. Reminded her... “Charlie. What happened to Charlie?”
“Lou confessed. He and Charlie were back in Value. Stalking you; well, Lou was. Charlie was stalking Celia. They argued—over what Lou was doing. And the gun went off. Charlie...he lingered for a while. Then he asked Lou to take him to Celia. To make amends or something.”
She just shook her head. She wouldn’t understand it. All of this had happened because of twenty-something-year-old greed.
Lou and Charlie had gotten greedy and wanted what didn’t belong to them. And she and so many others had suffered.
Bailey would never fully understand.
“The other guy?”
“Washington?”
She shook her head.
“Glen Washington was Glendale Lincoln. He feared he had left evidence behind after he killed Delores. So he changed his name and faked his death. I don’t know where he got the body from, but his grave is being exhumed.”
“How did he get...”
“Lou. Your father knew him in prison. Knew enough to know what Glen did to his victims. And Glen and your father lived in the same boarding house for a while. Glen would taunt him. About you. About what he’d done. He was counting on Lou not turning him in. Lou attacked him and gave him a taste of his own medicine. That’s how Lou put it.”
“They’re all in jail.”
“Yes. In the same prison as before. Together. They’ve come full circle, I guess.”
“We were just stuck in the middle somehow.”
“Yes. Consequences of
their choices. And ours.”
“I’m not sorry. Our choices.” And that was one thing she knew for certain. This wasn’t a dream. Clay was right there in front of her. Strong, and beautiful, and good. Hers. “Hold me.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” But he leaned closer. “Too many wires and tubes.”
“I don’t care. You’re the boss at the TSP, Clay. But in this...relationship between us? I’m going to be in charge for a while. As long as you’ll let me.”
“Oh? Why you?”
“Because you move just far too slow. Kiss me.” No more holding back what she wanted.
Bailey knew the truth.
And now she was going to hold it.
Calle J. Brookes is first and foremost a fiction writer. She enjoys crafting paranormal romance and romantic suspense. She reads almost every genre except horror. She spends most of her time juggling family life and writing while reminding herself that she can’t spend all of her time in the worlds found within books. CJ loves to be contacted by her readers via email and at www.CalleJBrookes.com. When not at home writing stories of adventure and wrangling with two border collies and a beagle puppy, CJ is off in her RV somewhere exploring the beautiful world we live in, along with her husband of she can’t remember how many years and their child.
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Did you love Holding the Truth? Then you should read Hiding by Calle J. Brookes!
Adventure. Danger. Excitement.
Those were not words PAVAD Internal Affairs Supervisor Kyra Dillon wanted to hear in conjunction with her life ever again. She'd had enough adventure in her life lately—and had the bullet scar on her temple to prove it.
But she'd go through all that hell again if it meant never returning to her hometown—Value, Texas. Population 897.
Agent Camden Lake, with PAVAD's Runaway & Endangered Youth unit, was used to going non-stop from one case to another. Danger and adventure were all that kept him from remembering the little sister he hadn't been able to keep safe.
She was Barratt County's only open missing child case to this day. Cam had spent most of the twenty years since protecting those who needed it. It was why he'd joined the FBI in the first place. Why he'd taken the PAVAD assignment and left his Texas home behind.
The FBI conference brought him back to his hometown and his family.
Until Dr. Kyra Dillon sent up a distress signal.
From only fifty miles away.
Cam was a protector and Kyra needed protected. It was as simple as that for him.
But something about the woman's quiet confidence and manner got under Cam's skin until there wasn't anything he wouldn't do to keep her safe.
They kept running…until they were embroiled in the hunt for the truth and what little Value, Texas was HIDING.
Holding the Truth Page 37
