She wasn’t hungry. Keith, Liam Adair, and Jordan had taken turns using their badges to pull her from the jail for home-cooked or fast food meals. This morning, Keith had brought bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast, courtesy of Katrina. “I really want a shower, and I want to sleep in my own bed.” Digging through her bag, she came up with the plastic container full of cupcakes. When she opened it, the concentrated aroma wafted out.
Dean glanced over. “That smells incredible. Did you make them?”
“Yeah. I had planned to share them Friday at lunch, but I was arrested before I could eat.” She taste-tested one to find the plastic had done its job. “Still moist. Want one?”
“Yes, please.”
They finished off all six.
“The FBI searched your apartment. Keith supervised. He tried to make sure they were respectful of your things.” Dean glanced over several times as he waited for her to respond. “I thought you should know.”
She’d expected as much, so she wasn’t surprised. “Did David tell them about my hiding places?”
“No. We found that information unnecessary to share with law enforcement.”
“Even Malcolm? Did he know too?” She was a little miffed that David had shared her secret. She’d hoped Dean would be puzzled by her question.
“Yes, but he works for us.”
“His best friends are FBI agents.”
Dean shrugged. “Malcolm understands the importance of strategic sharing. David tells me that you’re an expert when it comes to not sharing more than you need to. That’s actually a very useful skill in our line of work.”
“It looks like my dad taught me useful skills after all.”
“Many,” he agreed. “David, for example, sucks at picking locks, and I’ve never seen him successfully crack a safe without a drill and a little C4.”
Autumn laughed, thinking of all the times Summer had failed to get into a safe. She’d stomped around, pouted, and thrown more than fits. “Patience isn’t his strong suit.”
“It’s really not.” Dean touched her arm lightly. “Remember that, Autumn. You’re the patient one, and he will test your patience often. Love the man, love his flaws.”
David needed practice learning to love her flaws, not the other way around. Well, maybe that wasn’t fair. She’d taunted him and pushed his buttons something awful. No wonder he’d released her. But then he’d come back, and then he’d given his father manufactured evidence to arrest her. Lastly, he’d sent Dean to bail her out of jail. Where did that leave them?
When they arrived at her place, Dean followed her into the apartment. He went through the three small rooms, checking everything. At last, he stuck his hand in his pocket. “Anything out of place?”
Autumn shook her head. She’d looked as well. The couch cover wasn’t how she’d left it, and she was sure her mail drawer was messed up as well.
“I brought your car back here, so you have that.” He handed over her car keys.
“Thanks.”
“Do you want me to stay?”
That was unexpected. “I’m fine. I plan to charge my phone, take a shower, call Julianne, and go see Summer. Who knows how many visits with her I have left?”
“All of them.” His eyes glittered hard. “We’ll make this right, Autumn. We will catch the bastard who set you up.”
His vehemence put a huge dent in the hard line she’d taken against David. In the past two weeks, he’d wreaked havoc with her emotions, and she knew he wasn’t the only one to blame for everything that had gone wrong between them. The playing field had been full of potholes from the beginning, and they were not navigating them all that well.
“Dean?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you—for everything.”
He nodded. “I’ll be around. If you need me, just call. I’ll send you a text with my number so that you have it once your phone is charged.” He hugged her, and though she expected it to be awkward, it wasn’t. If she had a brother, this is what a hug from him would have felt like.
With her phone moderately charged, she called Julianne at work. “Guess who is out of jail?”
Julianne sobbed. “I’m so relieved. They dropped the charges?”
“No. Dean, who is a friend of David’s, paid the bail.”
On Sunday, she’d related an abbreviated version of her problems with David to Julianne, strategically omitting mention of any crimes she may or may not have intended to commit. Julianne sucked in a breath, but at least she stopped crying. “When is David coming home? I heard from a friend who knows Mr. Calder’s personal assistant that David won’t return Mr. Calder’s calls.”
Autumn didn’t know how to process that. She was too confused when it came to David. “I’m going to see Summer this afternoon. I wanted to let you know. You can still go tonight, but I won’t be there. Which isn’t news to you because we’d thought I’d still be in jail.”
Julianne laughed. “Actually, I’m happy you’re out because I can’t make it to Sunshine Acres. My mom broke her hip, and I’m staying with her to take care of her for the next few weeks. Surgery is scheduled for Thursday.”
“When did this happen?”
“Friday. I didn’t want to tell you because you had enough to worry about.”
She sure did, but that didn’t mean she didn’t care about Julianne or her mother. “I’ll stop by to see her tomorrow. It’s not like I have a job anymore.”
The sigh came through loud and clear. “I’m sorry about that, hon. I’ll tell Mom she’ll see you tomorrow. That’ll brighten her spirits. She loves seeing you.”
Dean followed her to Sunshine Acres. She parked where he could keep an eye on her car and still see her in Summer’s room. It wasn’t an ideal spot, but she wasn’t going to complain. It was kind of nice to have a guardian angel.
Not sure how much to share with her sister, she sat quietly with Summer. Mostly she wanted Summer to wake up, hug her, and tell her that everything was going to be all right. She’d listen and help Autumn sort out her complicated emotions for David. Summer always had great insight into what motivated people to do the things they did. Autumn desperately wanted to believe that David’s intentions were pure, but at the same time, she couldn’t come to terms with why he’d make up with her just to tear her apart with vicious lies about her father.
“Summer, I really need you to wake up. I miss you so much.”
Her sister’s eyes opened, and Summer stared. The fear was gone, and questions simmered in her eyes. The feeding tube prevented her from saying anything. Autumn perched on the edge of the bed, and sandwiched Summer’s hand in hers.
“I love you so much, Summer, and I wish I knew the magic cure to make you stay awake.”
Summer blinked twice, and a twinge of hope made Autumn’s heart race. When they’d been children, they’d devised ways to communicate through facial gestures and blinking. It had been helpful when working a crowd to see how much money they could pickpocket.
“Blink twice if you can understand me.”
Summer blinked twice in rapid succession.
Autumn struggled to keep the tears at bay. “We’ll use twice for yes and once for no, okay?”
She blinked twice again.
“Do you remember the accident?”
Summer blinked once.
“Do you remember Dad coming to visit?”
Two blinks.
“Do you remember trying to stop him?”
Two blinks.
Okay, then it was just the accident she didn’t recall. “Do you know that you’ve been in a coma?”
One blink, but so many questions waited. She’d never stayed awake this long, and they’d never been able to communicate. Autumn sniffled to keep from crying. “I’ve been here every day talking to you. Did you hear me?”
Two blinks.
“Do you remember anything I said?”
One blink. Autumn pressed the call button for the nurse.
“Are you in pain?”
>
One blink. Then Summer glanced at the feeding tube. Two blinks.
“I can’t imagine that’s not bothersome, but it’s your feeding tube, so it’s necessary. Can you move?”
Summer’s fingers twitched, and she gripped Autumn’s hand. It was a weak hold, but it was something. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Autumn, did you need something?” Today’s nurse, Janet, hovered in the door. Autumn wasn’t one for bothering the nursing staff. She’d cultivated goodwill by making their workload easier.
“Summer is awake. She opened her eyes about two minutes ago, and she’s been answering yes-no questions with blinks.”
Janet came to Summer’s bedside, and smiled brightly. “Good afternoon, Summer. It’s good to see you responding to the new medication so soon.” As the nurse spoke, she peered into Summer’s eyes and took her vital signs. “I’ll call the doctor.”
Janet left, and Autumn continued talking to Summer. “I didn’t know about the new medication. My boyfriend has a doctor friend who agreed to come see you. I knew she was going to try some things, but she didn’t tell me what.”
Summer’s eyebrows twitched, and Autumn took that to mean she was trying to raise them. Face muscles were not easy to exercise.
“You want to know more about the doctor?”
One blink.
Heat crept up Autumn’s neck. “My boyfriend?”
Two blinks.
“His name is David. We’ve only been together for a couple of weeks, but he came by once to meet you.”
Her eyebrows twitched as soon as Autumn stopped speaking.
“He’s a Dominant. He’s mostly nice, and we get into fights because we’re both strong-willed. He has kind eyes and a great sense of humor.” She wiped a tear from her cheek. “He’s a great kisser. Remember what you always said about great kissers?”
Two blinks. Summer was fond of saying they gave great oral.
“Well, it’s true.”
Summer’s eyes closed, and Autumn waited for them to open, but they didn’t. “Summer? Please wake up.”
Nothing happened.
“Please? I’ll do anything.” The tears came faster.
“Dr. Wycoff will be here in ten minutes.” Janet put a hand on Autumn’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Autumn. But the fact that she was awake for so long and responsive is a positive sign. Don’t give up hope.”
Janet stayed with her, providing hugs and tissue, until Dr. Wycoff showed up. Tess Wycoff was a tiny woman in her mid-forties with super frizzy black hair, rectangular glasses, and a calm demeanor that loosely contained a hellish bundle of energy.
She strode in as if nothing unusual had happened. Beaming a smile at Autumn, she said, “I hear that Summer woke up for a little while?”
Janet handed over the medical chart. “For about seven minutes. She responded to verbal communication, and her vitals were normal. Heart rate was a little high, but that’s to be expected.”
“I talked to her.” Autumn blew her nose. “I asked her questions, and she responded by blinking once for no and twice for yes. She said she hears me when I talk to her, but she doesn’t remember anything I’m saying.”
“Okay. Anything else?”
“She isn’t in pain, but the feeding tube bothers her.”
Tess nodded, her gaze pinned to Autumn as she listened. Once Autumn finished, the doctor looked over the chart. After several seconds, she examined Summer. She opened her eyelid and shone a light in. “I’ve been giving her a new medication. Its target use isn’t for coma patients, but it stimulates a section of the brain that is dormant in Summer. I was hoping to kind of jump start it.”
“So…This was a one-time thing? It jump started it, but only for a few minutes?”
Tess finished her examination. “I don’t know. Like I said, it’s highly experimental. My hope is that it keeps jump starting it until her brain remembers what it’s supposed to be doing and keeps doing it. However, it could be that it was a one-trick pony.”
More tears came, hot ones that burned the rims of her eyes. “Is there anything I can do?”
“You’re doing everything you can do. She said she hears you, so keep coming here and talking to her.” Tess reached up and put her hands on Autumn’s shoulders. “Honey, I’m not giving up, and neither should you. If this doesn’t work, I have other ideas based on her test results. Right now, I’m going to order some tests, which means Summer is going to spend some time in my hospital. Why don’t you go home? Call David and have him take you to an expensive restaurant and treat you like a princess. I won’t have results today, but I promise to call tomorrow.”
Numb, Autumn nodded. Tess didn’t need to know that David was out of town or that their relationship status was a huge question mark juxtaposed with a cornucopia of emoticons. Autumn didn’t feel like company right now. She wanted to curl up on the sofa, wrapped in her old comforter, and look through old pictures.
On the way out, she avoided letting Dean see her blotchy face. It was a good thing he was keeping his distance and pretending not to follow her. When she arrived home, she found flowers waiting on the walkway in front of her door. The tag indicated that the accounting department had taken up a collection. Flowers were a weird choice, though. Did they think she’d been sick, or were they rallying around her to show support? Nevertheless it was a nice gesture. She brought them inside.
She’d left her phone home to charge, and it rang as soon as she walked through the door. The number wasn’t familiar, so she let it go to voicemail. She changed into comfy clothes, got the rest of the brownies from the refrigerator, and curled up on the sofa with the photos. Her phone blinked, and checking it revealed sixteen messages—not a single one from David, but she hadn’t expected to hear from him. People from CalderCo—many of whom she’d made recent overtures of friendship—wanted to know how she was. Some, she knew, were looking for gossip, but a few were sincere with their wishes.
It felt really good to know so many people cared.
She called Julianne to let her know the latest news about Summer. Laughing and crying happened, mostly at the same time, but the call was cut short when Mrs. Terry called Julianne to help her in the bathroom.
This day had been nothing short of miraculous. When she’d awakened in that jail cell, she’d assumed it was where she would end the day as well. But then Dean had paid her bail, and he’d confirmed that David cared about her. Then Summer had come out of the coma for far longer than she ever had before. Autumn began to believe that maybe her life was going to turn out okay. Wallowing in hope beat drowning in sorrow any day.
The manila envelope David had brought lay on the coffee table next to the shoebox. She looked from one container to the next, wondering if she had the courage to look as closely at the contents of the envelope as she had at the pictures in the shoebox. She reached for the envelope, but her hand landed back on the box, and she pulled out another handful of photos from her childhood.
A knock at the door pulled her from a nostalgic walk down memory lane. Dean had said that David wasn’t due until late, but maybe that had changed as well. Maybe David was coming early—with news that he’d found the information he needed to clear her name and make his father drop the charges.
But opening it turned out to be disappointing. Stephanie Ceichelski stood on the other side wearing a track suit and a bright smile. She thrust a basket at Autumn. “Care package.”
Autumn took it. “Thanks. Do you want to come in?”
Stephanie breezed past. “Can I be the first to say that this could not have happened to a better person?”
Frowning, Autumn set the basket on the kitchen counter. Had she misunderstood Stephanie—or maybe her friend had phrased the sentiment badly? “Um, thanks.”
“Ooh—that’s quite a glare.” Stephanie pulled the curtain to the single window in the living room. The late evening sun hadn’t provided enough light for the room, so it didn’t cast the room into darkness because Autumn had turned on the l
ights.
Autumn hadn’t noticed a glare. “Can I get you anything to drink? Or are you hungry? I have brownies. They’re a few days old, but if I put them in the microwave for a few seconds, they’re soft and chewy again.”
“I love your brownies.”
It took a few minutes, but she set a plate of brownies and a glass of water on the coffee table for Stephanie. The woman was looking through Autumn’s shoebox of photos. Autumn wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
“This one is my favorite.” Stephanie held up a shot of Autumn standing alone, staring into the distance. The desert stretched behind her, and the whole thing looked desolate. Except Autumn knew that it had been taken at a rest stop in Utah. Her father and sister were behind the camera, only six feet away. She hadn’t been alone.
Another odd statement. Autumn sat on the other end of the sofa from Stephanie. “Your favorite?”
“Yes.” Stephanie dug in her purse, frowning as she riffled her way to the bottom. “There it is.” She pulled out a gun and pointed it at Autumn. “You’re making my life quite difficult, Autumn Sullivan.”
Alarmed, Autumn jumped up. “What the hell? Put that away.”
“Sit down and don’t move. I don’t want to shoot you. It’s not in my master plan, but you’ve already forced me to change a lot of my plan, so I guess I can live with it.” The whole time, she smiled as if discussing how rain had canceled a trip to the beach.
“Stephanie, what are you doing? And why?” Fear beat a staccato rhythm in Autumn’s chest, but she controlled it.
“What and why—great questions. For months, I followed you. You had no life. No real friends, no family, no love interest. You were perfect. Then you had to go and get a boyfriend, and you’re making friends. People at work actually like you. They think you’re sweet and shy.” Keeping the gun aimed squarely at Autumn’s chest, she snagged a brownie and stood.
Autumn tried again. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do. It’s what I do, Autumn. It’s what I live for. This is who I am.”
“You eat brownies and point guns at people? I think you have it in you to put the gun down and talk to me.”
Re/Leased (Doms of the FBI Book 5) Page 26
