When he woke up, he could get up and run away.
Two garages down, there was a house with a cyclone fence. She could tie him to that. She started to drag his unconscious body toward it when she heard a siren in the distance. Coming closer. Red and blue lights reflected off the wet street, and moments later, a police car screeched to a stop. The door opened and a cop leaped out, pulling her gun from its holster.
"Hands in the air," she barked, pointing the gun at Raine.
Raine recognized that voice. Mia. But she raised her hands and slowly stood up.
"Raine?" Mia lowered the gun. Didn't holster it, though.
"Yeah. What are you doing here, Mia?"
"Con called me. Sent me to find you." She exhaled a shaky breath as she studied Peter on the pavement, just beginning to stir. "Guess he didn't have to worry, did he?"
Suddenly light-headed, Raine murmured, "I'm so glad you're here."
"Are you okay?" Mia shoved her gun into her holster and grabbed her radio. She muttered into it as she got closer to Raine.
Her hand tightened on the radio. "Send a bus, too. Victim is bleeding."
She fastened the radio to her shirt, then gently moved Raine's left arm out of the way as she studied Raine's side. "What happened?"
"He was going to kill me." All the adrenaline had drained away, leaving her shaky and weak. Fuzzy-brained. "I kicked the gun out of his hand. Maybe you should cuff him. Only had a belt to tie him up."
Mia looked from Peter, who was struggling to stand up, to Raine. "God, no wonder Con is crazy about you. But you're bleeding and about to fall down." She took Raine's right arm and led her to the squad car. Opened the front door and eased her onto the seat. "Sit here. The ambulance will be here in a few minutes."
Raine frowned at her. "I don't need an ambulance."
"Did he fire his gun?"
Raine tried to concentrate in spite of the fuzziness. "Maybe. I think so."
Mia opened her truck and pulled out a sweatshirt with the letters CPD on the front. She wadded it up and pressed it against Raine’s side. "Hold this. I'm going to check on your shooter."
By the time Mia reached Peter, he was sitting up and struggling to stand. Mia grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. Raine rested against the back of the seat and watched.
Peter swayed as Mia patted him down. Raine's head spun as Mia pulled a knife from Peter's pocket. "You came loaded, didn't you?" Mia said.
Peter really was afraid of her.
She felt no triumph, though. Just a deep, sad weariness.
"She attacked me, Officer." Raine slumped against the seat, pressing the sweatshirt into her side. Why had Mia rolled it up? It wasn't keeping her warm. She was really cold. Frozen. Her side ached with it. She began to unroll the sweatshirt, but stopped to watch when Peter turned to Mia.
A calculating expression flitted across his face. "I had to protect myself. She's a black belt in one of the martial arts."
"What's your name?" Mia asked, holding his arm.
"Peter Northrup. She's been trying to kill me for a long time."
Mia fumbled behind him and removed the belt. Peter rubbed his wrists, a smile beginning on his face, then Mia yanked his hands behind him and slapped on her handcuffs. "Mr. Northrup, a warrant for your arrest was issued today. You're under arrest for the murder of Eugenia Northrup and the attempted murder of Raine Taylor." She read him the Miranda warning, then slid him into the back seat of her car.
Mia wrapped her arm around Raine's shoulder and helped her up. She smelled a little like Connor, and Raine closed her eyes. She wanted him. Wanted Connor's arm around her shoulders. Wanted to smell Connor next to her.
Raine stumbled as Mia eased her against the hood of the car. "You don't want to be in the car with him," Mia said, holding her arm as Raine swayed. "Might infect that wound."
"What wound?" Raine asked, frowning at Mia. Connor's sister was swaying in front of her. Back and forth. Back and forth. "You must be tired. You look like you're gonna fall down."
Mia took Raine's hand. "Hold on for another minute, okay? They're almost here."
She was so cold. But when she turned to face Mia, flames licked at her side. Her left leg was wet, as if she'd fallen into a puddle. "Who's almost here? Connor?"
Mia patted her hand, as if she was five years old. "Con will meet us at the hospital. I texted him already. Told him what happened."
Before Raine could ask what Mia meant, sirens announced the arrival of an ambulance. Two paramedics jumped out and pulled a gurney out of the back of the bus. They snapped it open and wheeled it toward her.
One of them looked familiar. The woman studied her and rolled her eyes. "You sure get yourself into a lot of trouble, don't you? I was one of the EMT's on the call to that school. Pam Critcher."
She maneuvered Raine to her feet then the two EMT's eased her onto the gurney. Pain burst from her side, sudden and shocking in its intensity. She reached to feel what was wrong, but Pam grabbed her arm and set it next to her side. As she did, she continued, "Being a frequent flyer in our business is not a good thing. We don't give bonus points. Especially if Donovan is going to go all caveman on our asses again."
Raine reached out for the woman's arm. "Is he here? Connor?"
Pam's expression softened. "I'm sure he'll be at the hospital. So let's get you there, too."
***
Connor rammed his shoulder into the revolving door into the hospital, trying to make it spin more quickly. His heart thundered as he burst free and raced toward the emergency room. His phone buzzed with another text, but he ignored it. Raine was in here. Injured. That bastard Northrup had shot her.
Mia had said it wasn't a serious wound. What the hell did she know? Raine had been shot. Any gunshot wound was serious.
He skidded to a stop at the triage station and slapped his badge to the glass. "Raine Taylor. Gunshot wound. Where is she?"
The nurse looked up from her computer and raised her eyebrow. "And you are...?"
"Connor Donovan. CPD."
The nurse's expression softened. "Detective. Go on back. Room number eleven."
"Hey, Con."
Mia's voice. Behind him. He glanced over his shoulder. "Later," he said as he banged open the door. Raine was back here. Hurt. She needed him.
He needed her. Needed to make sure she was okay.
The curtain was pulled closed on room eleven. He yanked it open. A doctor looked up, frowning, holding a forceps with a needle in one hand and a tweezers in the other. "Who are you?" she asked. "And what do you want?"
"I'm her..." What was he, exactly? Whatever it was, he wasn't going to tell a stranger before he told Raine. "I'm Connor. Donovan."
"Oh. Okay." The doctor bent over Raine's side again. "Come in and shut the curtain. Stay on the other side of the bed. Don't make her move."
Raine lay on the bed, her eyes closed, a blue drape over her chest and abdomen. Streaks of red smeared the drape, and the doctor's hands were covered in blood.
Raine's blood.
Anger swelled inside him and made his head pound. Northrup had hurt her. Put her in the hospital.
He'd haul the bastard out of lockup and take care of him. He'd shot Raine. And Connor hadn't been there to protect her.
Connor swallowed and sat down hard on the chair beside the bed, his anger morphing into fear. "Hey, babe," he said, leaning over the bed. Her right hand was clutching the blanket. He uncurled her fingers and wrapped his own hand around it. "You awake?"
Her eyelids fluttered open. "Connor?"
"Yeah, babe. I'm here." He brought her hand to his mouth. "How're you feeling?"
"Feel good," she said, her eyes closing again. "Happy."
Happy. She was in the emergency room, being stitched up, and she was happy. "Great."
"She's on pain meds," the doctor said without looking at him. She twisted her hand and the needle flashed in the bright light illuminating the area. The doctor tied the thin thread and readied the needle again.
"She's floating in and out. She can't feel this, if you're wondering. I numbed her up."
"Good. That's good." He cleared his throat. "Ah, how badly is she injured?"
The doctor glanced over at him. "Didn't you talk to anyone? Her nurse? The front desk?"
"No. I needed to see her."
All he could see were the woman's brown eyes, but they finally smiled. "She's very lucky. The gunshot was a deep graze. Bled like the devil, but no permanent damage. Nicked a rib, though. She's going to be sore for a while. You family? You going to be taking care of her?"
His hand tightened on Raines. "Yeah, I am."
The doctor glanced at their joined hands. "She was damn lucky, and you need to make sure she stays that way. Keep her quiet. No exercise. No stretching. No pulling. No sex until the stitches come out. Then you take it easy."
"Yeah. Got it."
"Good." The doctor placed one last stitch, then dropped her instruments in the metal pan on the table next to her. "Her nurse will bandage this up, then we'll get her into a room."
"A room?" His hand tightened on Raine's. "She has to stay here?"
"Overnight. I want to check the wound tomorrow, remove the drain and re-bandage it. Then she can go home."
He’d be staying the night, too. He wasn't going to leave Raine here alone.
He wasn't going to leave her alone ever again.
Chapter 32
"Ms. Taylor?"
Raine floated, cotton filling her mouth, pressing over her eyes, twining around her. She was surrounded by wispy, clingy fog. Couldn't move. Couldn't see. Couldn't speak.
"Ms. Taylor, how do you feel?"
The voice came from above her. She struggled to open her eyes, and saw a face hovering over her. Dark hair. Dark eyes.
Not Connor.
"Where is he?" she managed to say, although her mouth felt as if hundreds of people had walked through it.
"He's in the hall. Open your mouth, please."
"Why...?" she began to ask, but the woman stuck something in her mouth.
"I'm taking your vitals. You need to close your mouth."
Vitals? Thermometer? "Where am I?" she asked around the plastic in her mouth.
"You're at St. Christopher's Hospital." She pulled out the thermometer. Frowned at it. Then she wrapped a band around Raine's arm. It tightened and squeezed.
A blood pressure cuff.
The scent of disinfectant drifted over her, and she heard a steady beeping to her right. She shivered and fumbled for something to warm her.
Connor. He’d make sure she was warm. "I want Connor in here."
"You're as bad as he is," the nurse muttered. "Had to threaten to throw him out of the hospital before he'd leave the room."
"Tell him to come back."
"Don't move, Ms. Taylor," the nurse said as she tapped something onto a keyboard next to the bed.
Raine struggled to sit up. A fiery burn spread along her side, and she fell back with an involuntary cry.
The nurse sighed. Looked over her shoulder. "Come on in, Detective. Maybe she'll listen to you when you tell her to lay still." She glanced down at Raine, her eyes softening. "You need more pain meds?"
Raine shook her head. "No." She wanted to be able to keep her eyes open. Needed to be able to focus on Connor.
"You will." The nurse pointed to the button on the rail of the bed. "Ring when you want them. You're going to be sore."
Connor appeared behind the nurse. "Thank you, Agnes," he said.
"You keep her quiet, or she's going to be in a lot of pain," the nurse replied.
"Yes, ma'am."
As soon as Agnes moved away, Connor stepped close. "Hey, babe." He wrapped his hand around hers and gripped so tight that her bones ached.
"You're here. You came," she breathed.
"Never left." He cupped her cheek, and his hand trembled against her skin. "Where else would I be?"
She'd wanted him earlier, but he hadn't been there. "Peter," she breathed, as the memory came rushing back. The gun. His smile. Kicking him. She gripped his wrist. "Did you get him?"
"You got him, babe." His hand around hers loosened, and his shoulders relaxed. "Kicked his ass. All Mia had to do was slap the cuffs on him."
"He's in jail?"
"Cook County. Staying there, too. No bail. He had a fake passport in his pocket, a boarding pass for a plane to Paris on his phone. Plus he was trying to kill you. Flight risk, victim at risk. No judge will let him out."
She drew in a shaky breath, not quite sure she believed it. "It's over? Really?"
"Not until he’s convicted, but he will be. Tiffany’s certified that the stones in the pendant came from Genie’s ring. Meredith will testify that she provided him with a false alibi. So yeah. You did it, Raine. You made sure Northrup didn't get away with killing Genie. You didn't stop, even when no one believed you."
"You believed me." She brought their joined hands to her mouth and spoke against his skin. "You listened to me."
"Thank God I did. Or he might have killed you, too."
She needed to be closer to him. She squirmed toward him, and her side burned again. "Why am I here? What's wrong?"
"Bastard shot you." Connor's face darkened and he gripped her hand tight again. "Hit your side. In and out, not a lot of damage, but the bullet nicked your rib. You have some stitches. You're gonna be sore for a while."
He let go of her hand and cupped her face. "When my phone rang and I heard what was going on, I was so scared," he whispered. "And there was nothing I could do about it. No way I could help you. I wanted to tear Northrup apart. I wanted to kill him."
"I was scared, too," she confessed. "Terrified. I wanted you. Wanted you with me."
"I'm so sorry I wasn't. Sorry you had to face that alone."
"Mia was there. She took care of me. Gave me her sweatshirt."
He smiled. "That's Mia. And it's a good thing she was here." His smile disappeared. "If it had been me..." He pressed his mouth to hers. "Northrup wouldn't have gotten off so easily."
"Cook County Jail doesn't sound easy."
"I would have beaten the crap out of him and then sent him to Cook County."
"You're here now," she said, shifting on the bed. Her side was beginning to ache. Burn. It hurt to move.
He noticed, of course. "Let me call Agnes. Have her give you some pain meds."
"Not yet," she said, rolling to face him. Struggling to keep from wincing. "Have some stuff to tell you first."
"Con?" A voice came from behind Connor. "Is Raine okay?"
Connor brushed his mouth over hers. "Hold that thought." He turned around. "Quinn. Mia." He paused. "Is everyone here?"
"Of course we are." His mother's voice. "We needed to make sure Raine was all right. Since no one came out to the waiting room and told us."
Connor turned back to her. "Is it okay if they come in?"
"Of course," she said, warmth sliding through her. Her eyes prickled. His whole family was here. To see her.
They crowded around her bed. Rose came up and touched her arm. "Mia called and told me what happened. I called everyone else."
Raine swallowed. "Wow. You didn't have to come to the hospital."
"Of course we did." Rose frowned. "You think when someone in the family is hurt, we're not all there? Of course we are."
"I'm...I'm not your family." She wished she was.
Rose smiled. "Close enough." She bent and kissed Raine's forehead. "We'll leave you two alone. We needed to see for ourselves."
"How long will she be here?" Mia asked.
"Until tomorrow," Connor said. "Thanks for coming by," he added. "I'll keep you posted."
All of the Donovans murmured their goodbyes, and a few minutes later, she and Connor were alone again. Raine frowned. "I can't be here until tomorrow. I have to go to school tomorrow. I promised Bella."
She explained what had happened. Why she'd left her apartment. "I'm sorry I broke my promise, but Bella needed me. I had to go."
/>
"Yeah, I get it, babe. I understand. But you can't go to school tomorrow."
"Bella will worry."
"I'll go talk to her. Tell her what happened."
"Tell her I'm sorry."
Connor's hand tightened on hers. "You have nothing to be sorry for, love. You risked yourself for a kid who needed you. I would never ask you to be less than yourself." He brushed his mouth over hers. "Now what were you going to tell me before my family butted in?"
Her heart began pounding. "I was thinking about you the whole time I was fighting with Peter. When Peter was...was waving that gun at me. I wanted to survive so I could see you again. Because I never told you that I loved you. I didn't want to die without you knowing that."
"I'm here now, Raine. And I'm not going anywhere. Can you tell me again?"
"I love you, Connor," she whispered, tangling her hand in his collar and pulling him closer. She needed to kiss him. Needed to show him how she felt.
"I love you, too, Raine." He brushed his mouth over hers. "I wanted to shout it through the phone when you were facing Northrup. I wanted you to know that I’d be waiting for you. I'll always wait for you."
He kissed her, his mouth far too gentle on hers. Far too careful. She curled her hand around his head and pulled him closer.
"Kiss me like you mean it," she whispered. "Like you love me."
He buried his face in her neck. "Not right now," he said, his mouth brushing her skin. "Later. When you're not on pain meds." She felt him smile against her skin. "We don't want the nurses to find us in a compromising situation. They might throw me out."
She clutched him more tightly. "You won't leave, tonight, right? You'll stay?"
"Babe, I'm not going anywhere," he promised. "Ever."
He kissed her again, his tongue tracing the seam of her lips, and she lifted the hand that held the IV and buried it in his hair as she lost herself in his mouth.
The beeping next to her got louder. Closer together. Someone cleared their throat behind Connor.
He broke away and Raine saw the nurse standing in the doorway. "Knock it off," she said, her voice weary. "You raise that hand with the IV and the alarm is going to go off. I'm not running down here every five minutes. I have other patients besides you." She looked from Raine to Connor. "I don't want to have to toss you out of here, Detective, but I will if I have to. Am I clear?"
Trust Me (The Donovan Family Book 4) Page 29
