"Yeah." The other detective stood up and pulled out his phone.
Connor studied Raine's face, wishing he had some ice for the bruise. What the hell had happened? Why had Raine been out here with Bella's father instead of inside the gym, coaching her team?
When Connor had walked into the school, Raine had been talking to the guy. But he'd been too close. In her face. Threatening.
Alarm bells clanging in his head, Connor had started running a split second before the guy threw the first punch. As Raine dodged it, Connor ran faster. When the guy threw a second punch, Connor's feet had felt as if they were stuck in tar.
He'd been twenty feet away when the gym door opened and one of the girls called to Raine. Fifteen feet away when Raine turned her head. Ten feet away when the guy's fist connected with Raine's face. Five feet when he'd thrown the second punch.
Connor had leaped on the asswipe as he'd drawn his foot back to kick Raine.
She had to have realized how angry the guy was. That he might try to hit her. So why hadn't she stayed out of his reach? Or better yet, taken him down after he threw the first punch. On Saturday, she'd demonstrated that she knew how to do it.
As he wiped a drop of blood off her cheek, his stomach lurched at a sudden thought.
"Tell me you didn't do it on purpose," he said. She didn't answer
He looked again at the bruises, the blood, her closed eyes, and a hot wave of anger rose inside him. Would she have done something so foolhardy? So dangerous?
He wanted to shake her, but instead he tightened his arm around her and held her closer. "Tell me, Raine."
"Had no choice. Me or Bella."
What the hell did that mean?
Bella's father. No choice. Raine or Bella.
Holy Christ. Had Raine let the guy hit her?
Before he could ask her, the sirens outside cut out abruptly. Footsteps pounded down the hall, and moments later, an EMT crouched beside him. "What happened?"
"She took two punches from that asshole." He jerked his head toward the cuffed man on the floor. "I was too far away to stop it." A minute earlier and he would have been in time. One fucking minute. "I think the second punch hit her in the shoulder."
"Okay, Donovan. Set her on the floor. We'll take it from here." Pam Crichter knelt next to him, a penlight in her hand.
Connor tightened his arm around Raine. "Get the gurney here first, Crichter. I'm not going to put her on the floor."
"When did you turn into Mr. Thoughtful?" The EMT turned to the guy running up behind her, carrying a heavy bag. "Get the gurney, Scott. She'll need to go to the ER."
Scott set the bag down, then headed back down the hall. Crichter turned back to him. "Gurney's coming. Lay her on the floor, Donovan." When he didn't move, she narrowed her eyes. "Now."
Connor cradled Raine's head against his shoulder. He'd put her down when Scott arrived with the gurney.
Crichter rocked back on her heels. "Jennings," she called over her shoulder. "Get over here and arrest this dick for interfering with an EMT."
Jennings had been talking to a couple of uniforms. He turned around and narrowed his eyes. "Put her down, Donovan, and get out of the way."
"Connor? What the hell are you doing here?"
"Mia?" He glanced up. He hadn't noticed his sister was one of the uniforms. "Came to watch Raine's tae kwon do team. Found a guy pounding on her instead."
Mia walked over and crouched next to him. "Raine, huh?" She glanced from Connor to Raine, then back again, speculation in her gaze. "I want the story. And bring her to our next dinner."
"She's not a family dinner kind of woman."
One side of Mia's mouth curled up, then she slapped his shoulder and stood. "Bring her anyway."
The other EMT pushed the gurney through the doors, and Connor eased Raine gently to the floor. He peeled her hand away from his shirt and held it tightly for a moment.
Raine clung to his hand and opened her eyes. "You need to take care of the girls. Go supervise them. Get them back to the school."
"I'll take care of it."
"Good."
"Donovan." Crichter's voice was hard. "Get out of my way. Now."
He let go of Raine's hand and stood up. He watched Mia and the other uniform haul Raine's attacker down the hallway. He was stumbling, as if he'd had his bell rung, too.
Not hard enough. That guy was on his feet. Raine lay on the floor, half-conscious.
Jennings was watching, too. Without looking at Connor, Jennings said, "You better hope he doesn't start crying about police abuse."
"Don't care if he does. He wouldn't quit. I identified myself, told him to stop, but he didn't pay any attention."
Jennings waited until the handcuffed man and his two escorts disappeared out the door. "Yeah, that type never does." He glanced at Raine, who was being slid onto a backboard. "Guy punches a woman who's half his size? He's out of control." His gaze returned to Connor. "It was a righteous arrest. I'll back you up if Internal Affairs comes sniffing around."
"Thanks, Jennings."
"Know who that was and why he punched Raine?" Jennings asked.
"Raine said he's Bella's father," Connor said, watching as the EMTs shifted her onto the gurney. "Hey, Raine asked me to supervise the meet and make sure the girls get back to the school. Could you do it? I want to go to the hospital with her." He wasn't going to let Raine out of his sight until they'd talked about what she'd done.
"Sure. I'll call when we're done here. Let Raine know how they did, and that all of them got home."
"Thanks, man." Connor took a deep breath, then forced himself to add, "She was going to tell you something about Bella today. Not sure what."
"Okay." Jennings shot him a glance. "I'll ask Bella."
"Better you than me." Connor glanced at the gym door. "She doesn't like me."
"Bella doesn't like any of the cops who show up," Jennings said. He gazed at the gym door, nodded slowly. "And maybe some pieces are falling into place."
They slid Raine onto the gurney, raised it and began rolling her down the hall. Connor turned to follow him, then caught a glimpse of the security camera. "Jennings. Before you leave, make sure you get the security feed. Raine said they'd be on it. We need that evidence."
"I'm on it." Jennings jerked his head toward the end of the hall, where the EMTs were lifting the gurney down the stairs. "Catch up with her before they load her in the bus."
"Don't forget to let her know how the girls did. Me, too." To his surprise, he really did want to know.
***
It was ten strides from one end of the waiting room to the other. Ten back. Connor was pretty sure he'd worn a rut into the shabby, faded carpet. He'd catalogued every stain, every place the fibers were worn away, all the smears of something dark on the brown carpet. They still hadn't told him anything.
He detoured to the nurse's desk. Typing on her computer, she kept her head down. Didn't acknowledge him.
He stood in front of her until she finally looked up. Sighed. "Detective Donovan, there is no new information. I told you the doctor would talk to you when there was."
"I want to sit with her."
"She went for a CT scan and X-ray."
"That was an hour ago. Check to see if she's back? Please?" he added when her eyes narrowed.
"You can't question her now."
"I'm not here to question her. I'm her boyfriend."
Warmth flooded his chest, but he shoved it away.
He never used that word with the women he dated. 'Girlfriend' was for high school boys and guys who were whipped.
Not him. He'd only used it to get past the dragon guarding the gate.
"Why didn't you tell me Raine Taylor was your girlfriend?"
"I thought I did."
The nurse watched him steadily for a long moment. He tried to look worried and hoped he didn't just look goofy. Finally she sighed.
"Go on. She's in room 8. And stay out of the way."
"Thank you,"
he said, giving her a genuine smile this time. "I appreciate it."
"I'm only letting you back there because I'm sick of dealing with you."
"Yes, ma'am."
He headed for the double doors before she could change her mind.
The curtain was pulled closed on room 8. He swallowed once, took a deep breath and eased it to the side.
A doctor sat on a stool near Raine's head, suturing her cut. Her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving. Had the doctor knocked her out? Was she asleep? Unconscious?
"Come in and pull that curtain closed," the doctor said without looking up. "You can sit on her other side. I'm almost done."
Connor eased into a chair and scooted it closer to the bed. He could only see the unbruised side of Raine's face – a blue paper drape covered the other side, with a thin slit in the middle where the doctor was suturing. A softened ice pack lay on the bed next to her.
She was tiny in the hospital bed. Unmoving. Nothing like the strong woman who'd faced down a man twice her size.
Raine was a vibrant woman. She hummed with energy. Movement. Purpose. One punch had stilled all of that.
Her hand clutched the sheet, and he covered it with his. Smoothed his thumb over the back of her hand, then curled his fingers around hers.
She was cold.
Unwilling to let her go, he used his other hand to tug up the blanket bunched around her waist. As he tucked it around her shoulder, she opened her eye.
Stared at him. "Connor?"
"Yeah, it's me, babe. How do you feel?"
Wait. Babe?
"Weird," she said. She swallowed. "Kind of floaty."
She hadn't noticed his slip, thank God. "They give you something for the pain?"
"Yeah." She licked her lips. "Doesn't hurt anymore."
"Ms. Taylor, please don't talk," the doctor said without looking at her. "Unless you want a scar. Talking makes your face move while I'm suturing."
Connor tightened his grip on her hand. He didn't say anything, though. He didn't want to get his ass thrown out of the ER. He needed to be with Raine.
He wanted to be with Raine, he corrected himself. Wanted. Not needed.
Five minutes later, the doctor threw his suture scissors onto the metal tray and stood up. "The nurse will bandage that and give you care instructions," he said to Raine. Then he walked out of the cubicle.
"Guess I can talk now, huh?" she said, a faint smile on the visible half of her face.
"Talk all you want." He leaned closer. "Does your head really not hurt?"
"Kind of a dull ache." She reached up to touch the left side of her face and found the blue drape. "Had ice on it. Felt good."
"We'll ice it tonight, then," he said.
She shifted her eye in his direction. "We?"
"Someone's going to have to stay with you tonight. I nominate me."
"Don't want you."
Her words were a tiny arrow through his heart. "Why not? I'm here, I'm willing. And I've already seen you naked. There won't be any awkward moments."
"Haven't seen me naked." She closed her eyes.
"Close enough." Shame washed through him. "Unless there's someone else who's seen you naked?"
"Want to be alone."
"Sorry, Raine. You can't be alone tonight."
"You're not the boss of me, Donovan."
The curtain to the cubicle opened with a swish and a nurse stepped in. "How are you feeling, Ms. Taylor?"
"Okay."
The nurse removed the blue drape, and Connor got a look at the bruise on Raine's face. It was an ugly, puffy purple, although it looked as if some of the swelling had gone down. Her left eye was still swollen, and the sutures above it looked like a black, many-legged insect crawling over her head.
The nurse applied a bandage to the sutures and handed him a sheet with care instructions. "Don't let her get it wet for forty-eight hours. Change the bandage daily and apply an antibiotic ointment. Everything's written down."
"Can she go home tonight?" Connor asked.
The nurse sized him up. "She staying with you?"
"Yes."
"I'll have the doctor come talk to you."
As the nurse pulled the curtain across the cubicle, Raine scowled. "Why isn't the doctor talking to me?"
"Because you're loopy from the pain meds," he said.
He hadn't let go of her hand, and Raine hadn't pulled away from him. He tightened his grip on her. "I'll take good care of you," he whispered.
She turned her head slowly to look at him. "What if I don't want you to?"
His chest clenched, but he said, "Going to do it anyway. We'll eat takeout and watch a movie and ice your head."
"I can do all those things by myself."
"More fun to do them together."
"You're annoying, Donovan." She hadn't pulled her hand away from his.
"And you're a badass. I get it. But I'm still staying with you."
"Under one condition." Even with the painkillers, she had a determined look on her face. He was pretty sure he wasn't going to like what came next.
"Need you to take me to get my car first."
He was right. "Not happening. You can't drive – you're drugged to the gills."
"I'll stop taking them. Have to have my car."
"For the next few days, you can take a cab or a bus. Or I'll drive you." No way was she getting behind the wheel of a car. Besides needing painkillers, she could barely see out of her left eye.
"Can't. Have to drive." Her hands moved restlessly on the sheet. Her legs twitched. As if she needed to get up. Get moving.
"You can't. Sorry."
"Need it for Saturday." Her throat rippled as she swallowed. Her left hand clenched into a fist. The knuckles of the hand he held turned white.
"What's Saturday?"
"Grandmother's party. Have to go."
She had a grandmother? She'd never mentioned any family besides Genie Northrup. "Raine. You were beaten. Injured. I'm sure your grandmother will understand that you can't make it."
"No." She swallowed again. Twice. Her hand tightened on his. "I have to be there. Can't miss it." Her voice was flat. Final. No arguments.
"I'll take you, then." The words came out of his mouth without thought. He wanted to yank them back. Swallow them. Too late. Even in her drugged-up state, she'd heard him.
She whipped her head around to look at him. Closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. A tiny whimper escaped, quickly cut off.
"Lay still. Don't move your head." He set his hand on her forehead and felt her muscles relax. "Count to ten."
She finally let out a shaky breath. "Okay now. Still need my car."
"Raine. I'll drive you to the party."
"Won't like it."
"Your grandmother will have to get over it, then, because you can't go alone."
"You won't like it."
Why wouldn't he like a party at her grandmother's house? "I'll be fine."
"You're a brave guy, Donovan."
"Is this a dangerous party?"
"Might be."
Where the hell did her grandmother live? "Sounds like you'll need protection. Good thing I'm a cop."
"Yeah." That faint smile flickered for a moment, then disappeared as she glanced around the cubicle. "Can we go now? I don't like hospitals."
"As soon as the doctor talks to me...us," he added hastily.
"You can drop me off. I'll be fine at home."
Not happening. "We'll see." He glanced around the tiny, curtained off space. "While we're waiting for the doctor, I'll help you with your shoes and socks."
She glared at him out of her good eye. "You better not tickle my feet."
"Wouldn't think of it." Not until she was capable of retaliating, at least.
She sighed and closed her eyes again. "I hate you, Donovan."
"Yeah, I get that a lot." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and eased her up. "Where did they put your shoes?"
Chapter 12
&nbs
p; "What kind of crap movie is this?" Raine stared at the television screen, unable to believe Connor wanted to watch this. The sixties version of a family on vacation was clichéd and cloyingly sweet. "It's making me sick to my stomach."
"I think that's the three potstickers and the whole order of Kung Pao chicken you ate," Connor said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her next to him. "I thought a quiet, no-stress movie would be good."
"You thought wrong. Where's the car chase? The bad guy? The body count?" She twisted to look at him, ignoring the sharp pain on the left side of her face. "Don't tell me this is the kind of movie you like. Because if it is, you're a total loser."
"That's me. A feeble excuse for a man." He picked up the bag of frozen peas she'd set on the coffee table. "Put this back on your face while I get some water. It's time for another pain pill."
"Don't need it," she said. "I'm fine."
"Right. Which is why you wince every time you turn your head."
"I don't like that stuff," she muttered. The strong pain medication loosened her tongue and made her say things she wouldn't normally say.
"Are you always this much of a pain in the ass when you're sick?" He didn't sound angry. And despite her grumpy whining, he hadn't left.
"Yes. I am."
"Okay." His eyes twinkled. "Good to know."
She'd been complaining since they got back to her apartment., mostly because she wanted to get rid of him. When she was hurt or sick, she wanted to hole up in her apartment. Not see anyone until she was better.
Connor didn't care what she wanted. He'd settled in and she was afraid she wouldn't be getting rid of him anytime soon.
She wasn't going to scare him off. She should have been terrified. Instead, her stomach got all squishy.
Must be the pot stickers and Kung Pao.
She didn't want to see this side of Connor. She didn't want to know he was a guy who'd take care of her without a complaint, the guy who'd smile at her bitchy comments and try to tease her out of her bad mood.
He held out her remote and paused the movie. "Okay, crabby, I'll make you a deal. You take the pain pill and you can pick out the movie."
"Fine," she said. There was a hammer somewhere inside her head, and the devil was banging it against her skull. "Give me the pill."
Trust Me (The Donovan Family Book 4) Page 10
