by Lily Black
He slammed the door and revved up the engine, mapping out the fastest route to the hospital as the truck roared down the driveway.
Damn that girl, damn her beautiful hide. Detective Rawlings was right—he never should have let her out of his sight. He was letting his emotions cloud his judgment. He was losing sight of the mission. His mind sped a million miles a minute, watching for cars—or trucks—behaving oddly, maximizing his time as he sped across town, and planning for whatever scenario he was met with upon reaching the hospital. But underneath it all was one churning certainty—if this sicko had hurt Alexa in any lasting way, there would be hell to pay.
Alexa woke up in a hospital bed, her hands taped up with IV needles. Her head felt as though someone had inflated a balloon inside her skull, blowing it up bigger and bigger until it had taken in more air than it could possibly hold. Then it popped.
A spot on the side of her head throbbed and stabbed painfully, but when she explored the area with her fingers, she couldn’t feel anything but a cloth bandage. Slowly, as she sat quietly, a memory eased forward. She remembered a truck coming toward her and the horrible sense of an impending crash. Was Keri okay? She’d been right behind Alexa.
She heard a murmur of voices just outside her room. The door opened to admit a nurse, and behind her, Alexa caught a glimpse of Drew, leaning against the wall. She smiled, somehow feeling better just for having seen him.
“I like to see a smile. That’s a good start.” The nurse was on the shorter side, with dark hair and a pretty face. She spoke with a slight accent. She came over to check Alexa’s monitors and prod gently at her scalp. “You’re a very lucky woman, you know that? From what they told me of the accident, I’m surprised you came out of it without any broken bones or serious injuries.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I guess what I feel is all my bones protesting the scare I gave them.” Alexa held still so the woman could check her pupils. “How long was I unconscious?”
“You’ve been in and out for the last half hour, though I doubt you’ll remember it. You were asking for that young man out there, and he’s been very stubborn about staying close. Seems to think he’s your bodyguard, but he acts more like a boyfriend.”
Alexa smiled. “It’s true, he is more like a bodyguard. These days bodyguards are the new boyfriends.”
The nurse humphed at that, but she was smiling when she stood back. “All right, you’re free to receive visitors. The doctor said he’ll stop by and check on you again soon.” She opened the door and motioned for Drew to come in.
Alexa met Drew’s eyes as he sat down in the chair by her bed, and emotion washed over her at the concern on his face. “Hey.” She tried to hit on a normal tone. “Is Keri okay?”
Drew smiled. “Yeah, Keri’s a little rattled, but fine.”
Alexa attempted a tiny nod. I suppose my car is pretty crunched.”
“I haven’t seen it yet, but that’s what they said.” Drew was leaning back in the chair with his hands wrapped around each other in his lap as though he was afraid she would break if he touched her.
Alexa knew she was still fuzzy in the head and badly shaken. But she also knew that the only way she could deal with those things was if Drew helped her. She stretched her hand toward him.
He took it and stroked it gently with his thumb. “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good, all things considered.” Alexa touched the bandage on her head. “And pretty stupid. I shouldn’t have bolted like that. I should have talked with you and considered my decision a little longer. Checked with Detective Rawlings.”
Drew gave her hand a little squeeze. “I’m not sure that would have helped. He must have been watching your house, ready to ambush you along the route.”
Alexa nodded, aware that he was going easy on her, and she was grateful for that kindness. “No, I was farther away than that. He must have been waiting for me. How did he know where I was going? Does he know me well enough to guess?”
“It’s possible,” Drew answered. “Master Hays’s place was a logical choice. The same person who’d steal your keys when they were hanging in the office might also guess you would go to Master Hays’s home. The students may have even known about your arrangement to water the plants.”
Alexa shook her head. She’d been headed to Drew’s house, not Master Hays’s. But the pain from that quick headshake was enough to make her close her eyes and focus on breathing slowly.
Drew put his hand up to her cheek, soothing her pain with his touch.
Alexa smiled and turned her face into his palm. She opened her eyes to look up at him. “I’m sorry for what I said at Crouching Tiger about army guys. I was just… embarrassed, I guess, to be caught rolling around on the floor of my dojo.”
Drew’s eyes widened with a look she couldn’t quite interpret. Then he smiled, and a radiant look of caring shone from his brown eyes. He leaned forward and touched his lips to her forehead in a feather-light kiss. “We’ll talk about that later.”
The door opened. Keri came in, followed by Detective Rawlings. They had almost identical expressions of fierce triumph, as if their team had just scored the first point in a tough sparring round.
“I believe we’ve figured out how the stalker knew where you were going,” Detective Rawlings said. “I’m sending an officer to check it out right now.”
Keri reached in to give Alexa a quick, careful hug. “It was the candle left in the office. There was a listening device of some kind attached to it, so the stalker could hear any conversations in there.”
“That’s still just a theory,” Detective Rawlings said, raising a cautionary hand. “But it would explain both this ambush and the attack at the library. You talked in the office with me before the library attack, and in the office with Keri before this one. Neither time did you discuss your plans with anyone else, and neither did you know ahead of time you’d be going there. The stalker listening in on those conversations is the only way we can think of that he’d know where you were headed next.”
Alexa turned to grab Keri’s hands. “Did we talk about Drew while we were in there? Mention his name?”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure we did,” Keri said, her face reflective. “Just at the end.”
“Great,” Alexa said, making a face. “He knows about my safe haven.” She slumped against her pillows. “That’s just what we need.”
“That’s out now, anyway,” Detective Rawlings said. “This hospital is full of people who saw Drew rush to your room. At least some of them will put two and two together, and word will get out. The two of you will just have to be extra watchful and use those safe rooms if it comes to that.”
Drew nodded, looking warrior-like and determined.
Alexa squeezed his hand. All her objections to him as a person were starting to look kind of petty in light of recent events. All romance aside, she would rather have Drew at her back than a dozen ninjas.
She looked up at Detective Rawlings. “Do we have a name and a face for this guy yet? Can’t you identify him from the car that hit me?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Detective Rawlings said. “We can’t even rule out Jason Stone since his parole officer has been slow getting back to me.”
Alexa groaned. That was not what she was hoping to hear. “What do we know?”
The detective’s face was sympathetic, but her tone was brisk. “The truck was a delivery vehicle that had been left with the keys in it while the driver stepped inside a store. We found it abandoned two blocks down from where you were hit. There were no witnesses as to who stole it. We’ll check out the driver, but so far, his story seems to hold up.”
“He came through a red light to hit me,” Alexa said. “Is there a camera on that light? He was wearing a ski mask, but it would be better than nothing.”
Detective Rawlings nodded. “It has one, and they’re pulling a picture. We
’ll run it for any matches. Most of his face was covered, but you never know.” She flipped open her notebook and pulled out a pen. “The better our timeline of events, the better our chance of catching him. So, let’s discuss your version of today’s events. What time did the two of you head to the dojo?”
Alexa answered the detective’s questions as best she could, sometimes with help from Drew. It was difficult to keep her brain focused and responsive. Apparently, her mind thought staying conscious was overrated.
After Alexa had answered all the questions, Detective Rawlings flipped her notebook shut and stood. She walked the few steps to the window then back, appearing lost in thought. She stopped in front of the hospital bed and faced Alexa and Drew. “It appears today’s accident was not premeditated because the perp acted on information as he received it. This attack also demonstrates escalating violence on the part of the stalker. After analyzing the scene at the library, we are reasonably sure the stalker did not intend the clay pot and books to make a direct hit. If someone had walked under the pot as it fell, they would most likely have been frightened, perhaps bruised or cut, but not killed.” The detective paused to add weight to her words. “Today was different. The fact that you were not badly hurt was a happy accident. It appears that if the stalker can’t gain control over you, he’s willing to kill you.”
Chapter Fourteen
Once again, Alexa felt the gut-clenching fear she’d had when the truck swerved to hit her. If she closed her eyes, that moment replayed in her mind over and over like a pop-up window that refused to close.
She shook her head, which made her headache spike. In response to that pain, her body decided to jump on the bandwagon, reminding her that she had one hundred and three bruises she couldn’t see. It was with an effort that Alexa managed to turn her brain back to the conversation.
Detective Rawlings was talking, her voice sober. “Your car is totaled, and even the delivery truck received considerable damage. We had hoped that a local hospital or urgent care center would get a visit from someone with a suspicious story around the same time, but so far, no one has shown up. It appears the stalker escaped without serious injury.”
The detective took another stroll to the window and circled back. When she stopped in front of them, she rolled up on her toes, bouncing in a gentle swaying motion that was a sharp contrast to her concerned tone. “It is my opinion that the stalker concluded from what he overheard that you were staying with another man and attacked you out of jealousy. If that’s the case, he will be more direct in going after you once he learns of Drew’s visit here and”—her voice rose on a questioning note—“your going home with him?”
Alexa nodded, her face suddenly warm for no real reason. Drew’s thumb moved in a circle on her skin. She had to pull her brain back from the physical touch between their hands and force her attention on Detective Rawlings. The edge of her focus was really frayed.
“What we really need is an ID, so that’s where the majority of our focus will be,” the detective said. “To that end, I’ve applied additional pressure on Jason Stone’s parole officer, and I expect to hear back from him as to Mr. Stone’s whereabouts within a day. We’ll also work every other means available to us to try and identify this guy. In the meantime, your safety is our primary concern. I can have an officer swing by the house when he’s free, but I lack the manpower to do more than that. Drew, we’ll continue to count on you to protect Alexa.”
“She’ll be safe with me.” The way Drew said it sounded as though he were etching the words into marble, where they would be preserved as a promise for generations. Alexa felt a glow of warmth.
The detective nodded and pulled out a file. She flipped through it then held it out to Drew and Alexa. “These are the notes on the case so far. Look them over and see if something connects. Our profiler is quite sure you know this guy, and you got a brief look at him today, albeit in a ski mask. Maybe inspiration will strike.”
Alexa nodded soberly. What the detective didn’t say, and didn’t have to, was that identifying the guy might be their only chance of catching him before he managed to kill someone, and Alexa was at the top of the endangered list.
She shivered, suddenly exhausted, and was grateful when a rap at the door announced the doctor. He quickly cleared everyone out except for Drew, and after repeated reassurance that she would be carefully watched over the next twenty-four hours, he agreed to let her go home.
Keri came back in to help Alexa change, while Drew went out to wait in the hall.
“So,” Keri began with a glance over her shoulder, “you still think that particular army boy is just good for a roll in the sack?”
Alexa laughed but didn’t answer until they’d managed to get her shirt over her head without disturbing her bandage. “You know that’s not what I think. Drew is a good man and has really gone the extra mile for me.”
Keri raised her eyebrows in surprise.
Alexa smiled. “Okay, so now you know that’s how I feel.” Truth was, she hadn’t known that herself two seconds ago.
“I’m glad you’ve come to that conclusion,” Keri said. “He’s been amazing. The second half every girl wishes she had at her back.”
Alexa nodded. “It’s true. It’s just… I also know it’s a long way from watching out for a girl in a crisis to a forever commitment with her when life gets dull again. I’m boxed in enough with everything that’s going on—I don’t need to corner myself any further.”
Keri sighed and shook her head. “I hear you, girl. Trusting your heart is every bit as scary as risking bodily harm.”
They were both quiet for a minute while Keri helped steady Alexa so she could slide into her jeans. “At the same time”—Keri put a hand on Alexa’s arm and looked her soberly in the eye—“it’s also true that the greatest payoffs in life take a willingness to risk ourselves. Even really happy relationships, like Master Hays and Joanne, started with one or both of them deciding that the other was worth the risk and making themselves vulnerable.”
“I did that for Drew five years ago.” The words popped out of Alexa’s mouth. “He used my vulnerability to humiliate me and walk away.”
“Yeah, but that was five years ago,” Keri said. “Surely, you can see that he might have changed and grown, might be ready for this now.”
Alexa shrugged, her eyes brimming with tears. Why she felt like crying, she couldn’t say. Maybe it was general weepiness in the face of her aches and pains.
“Sorry, sweetie, I’m pushing again. Just think about it.” Keri wrapped her arms around Alexa in a careful hug. “And try not to jump ship before you know for sure that the ship’s going down.”
“Like I did today.” Alexa smiled. “All right, I won’t jump ship. Not that Drew is likely to let me out of his sight.”
“And thank goodness that’s true,” Keri said. “Are you sure you didn’t pick him out years ago with this in mind? It seems a little fortuitous that your old flame happens to be a full-sized Special Ops action figure.”
Alexa laughed again, despite the pain she felt with every chuckle. When they opened the door, Drew insisted that he be the one to wheel her out of the hospital in the obligatory wheelchair. She tried to submit graciously to his attention, even though there was nothing wrong with her legs.
She fidgeted and squirmed in the chair, insisting the nurse give her all instructions directly until she saw Keri and Drew exchange an amused eye roll. She paused, taking in the tight smile on the nurse’s face. The woman took a deep breath and launched into another attempted explanation of Alexa’s fuddled brain and what the schedule was for her pain meds.
“Never mind.” Alexa passed the papers to Drew. “I trust you guys. I’ll just do what you tell me to.”
As soon as she said those words, she realized how rarely she let go and trusted anyone. The words almost felt as though they were straight out of someone else’s vocabul
ary. She knew what they meant in theory, but she had no personal connection to them.
She was quiet as Drew drove her to the pharmacy to pick up her prescription painkillers. Drew insisted that she take the first dose immediately before they headed back to his house. Of course, she nearly fell asleep sitting up on the ride home.
Before she knew what was happening, Drew came around to her side of the truck and lifted her out. For half a second, her old walls slammed up, but just as quickly, they crumbled again. She snugged her arms around his neck and relaxed into him. She closed her eyes for the short walk into the house and kept them closed as they crossed into the brightly lit rooms. She heard the cats meow. Drew’s voice rumbled in his chest as he asked her something. Her reply was nothing more than a mumble.
Then she was tucked between smooth sheets, and a comforter was pulled up over her body. Drew shifted away from her, and she reached out for him. He tucked Fieldgar into her arms and promised to be right back. After one deep blink of her eyes, he was by her side again, and she gave up her struggle to stay awake.
Drew stretched out on top of the covers, his body running alongside Alexa’s. He smoothed the blanket a little higher, and she snuggled into it. Her face was mobile in her sleep, alternating from blissful contentment to pain and worry. When the pain lines creased her forehead, Drew smoothed them out.
When he touched her, she sighed in her sleep and seemed to rest better, so he continued to run his fingers over the bones of her face.
She was so beautiful. Perhaps what he felt now was painting his previous memories, but it seemed as though he’d loved her face forever. In all these years, she’d remained in his mind as the girl he was growing toward and coming back to.
He’d been a fool to walk away from her five years ago, more so given how he’d done it. He had regretted his harsh words as soon as he’d said them, but he’d been too stiff with pride to unsay them and too afraid of needing her to reach out. But that was five years ago, and thankfully, he’d learned a thing or two since then. What he wasn’t sure of was whether Alexa would ever give him another chance. She’d apologized for her comment about army boys, but he would be willing to bet she never would have come back if it hadn’t been for her accident.
