by Maren Lee
What are you going to do if Helena PD ever calls? Ryan shook his head as he got into his patrol rig. He didn’t want to think about it until it was an actual possibility.
The morning briefing was more of the same. Today was arraignment day for Nosarev, so Ryan and Smitty were tasked with getting him to the courthouse. The man was as angry as he had been the day they arrested him. His face was still red and blotchy. Strangely, he still smelled like alcohol and cigarettes in his tan, county-issued coveralls. Fucking scum. The drug war in Montana was starting to really fucking piss Ryan off and he felt no need to be nice to this particular inmate. He grabbed him roughly by the arm and lead him out of the jail. Smitty opened the door to Ryan’s patrol vehicle. They shoved him in. Not roughly, but not gently either.
“Fuck you,” Nosarev barked out in a heavy accent as he sat with his hands cuffed behind his back.
Ryan felt no need to respond.
“Fuck you, you fuckin’ fuck,” Smitty tossed back, apparently feeling that need.
Nosarev spit as they shut the door on him.
“Damn it, man. Now he’s going to be spitting all the way to the courthouse.”
Smitty shrugged and then slugged him in the shoulder. “Good thing it’s not far from here. I’ll meet you there.”
Ryan got in and started the car. “Your friend is an asshole,” Nosarev said to him from the backseat. “My friends are better. My friends will protect me. You would like my friends.”
Ryan wasn’t going to respond. He knew he wouldn’t like his friends. He also knew this guy was trying to groom him.
“I would make it worth your while if we were to get in a car accident on the way to the courthouse and I suddenly disappeared.”
Ryan scoffed. “We’re driving three blocks.”
“I have very important friends, Officer.”
“Yeah? So do I. The prosecuting attorney.” Ryan pulled out of the parking lot and made his way to the courthouse. He’d had people attempt to corrupt him before. If it hadn’t worked before, it certainly wasn’t going to work now.
When they pulled into the parking lot, Nosarev sighed. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Ryan shook his head. Shut the fuck up, man. He stepped out of the vehicle and walked around the side of the car. Smitty was already waiting for him, opening the door to get Nosarev out of the backseat and into the courthouse. That’s when Ryan saw it.
A black Mercedes Benz.
Blacked out windows.
It slowly pulled into the parking lot when Ryan opened the car door to grab Nosarev.
The window rolled down.
Oh fuck.
“Get down, get down!” Ryan shouted to Smitty, who immediately complied and dove for cover.
Ryan was very familiar with the sound of gunfire. He was well trained with his own firearm. Spent a lot of time at the gun range. He’d even been in a shootout years ago, way before he ever joined the county when he was still a cop for the City of Imminence. But he would never get used to the sound of it coming directly at him while he was diving out of the way.
And he definitely would never get used the burn he felt when it hit him.
Oh fuckkkkkkk.
His vision blacked out.
His breathing became labored.
He heard footsteps. Car doors slamming. Squealing tires.
“Fuck!” he heard Smitty yell. “Officer down! Officer down!”
Ryan tried to open his eyes to see who Smitty was talking about. Is it me? But everything was so heavy. Katie. Where’s Katie? She’s at work.
“Ryan! Open your fucking eyes!” he heard Smitty yell.
Shit, maybe it is me. Ryan tried. He really tried to open his eyes.
He heard sirens. More footsteps. Running.
Then nothing.
➰
Katie’s phone vibrated in her pocket for the third time as she was placing an IV for a patient. Jesus, what the hell. She finished up and left the patient’s room before she checked it. Jake. What does Jake need on a Monday morning? Fuck. Katie hoped Wesson hadn’t opened his fat mouth about seeing her with Ryan at the grocery store the other night.
Well. No time like the present. She dialed him back. Before she could say ‘Hi,’ Jake was already rambling.
“Katie, Ryan is on his way to your hospital.”
What?
She’d been expecting him to want to talk about Ryan, but not this way. He didn’t sound mad. He sounded very upset. Worried. Why was he telling her that Ryan was on his way to the hospital? Had Ryan told Jake this morning? Katie was going to be pissed she hadn’t been involved in that discussion.
“Um, okay. Why?”
“He’s been shot.”
No. Katie gasped. Oh fuck.
“He’s already in the ambulance. He’s on his way.”
“Where was he shot?” she asked.
“Shoulder. Not clean through. But there was a lot of blood and he was not conscious when the ambulance took him.”
Oh no. Katie put her hand on the wall to hold herself up. If anyone had seen her, they would know that she’d just been delivered terrible, awful news. Fuck. He’s going to be okay. It’s just the shoulder. It’s fine. It’s going to be fine.
“You there?” Jake asked.
“What? Yeah. Why were you calling me?”
“To tell you I’m on my way to the hospital, but I want you to take care of him. Make sure he’s okay. Give him the VIP treatment. Make sure he doesn’t fucking die.”
Katie’s legs were shaking uncontrollably. Fuck. Why didn’t you tell him how you feel the other day? Why didn’t you tell him this morning as you were leaving?
“Of course I will,” she managed to get out. She cleared her throat, fighting back tears. “He’s probably going straight into surgery when he gets here, so don’t rush. I’ll keep you updated.” Oh my god.
“Thanks, sis.”
Katie took a moment to gather herself and then slipped her phone back in her pocket. She needed him here. She headed to nurses’ station.
“Gunshot wound on its way from Imminence,” the charge nurse told her.
She nodded. “My brother just called and told me. It’s one of his friends.” It’s the man I love.
“Ambulance is about fifteen minutes out. Let’s get ready.” Katie nodded. Thank goodness Brian ‘took the week off’ to ‘de-stress.’ She didn’t want him in the same hospital as Ryan.
This is what she was trained for. This is what she wanted to do. The intense pressure of saving lives was why she wanted to do this in the first place. But the high stress of saving the life of the man she loved? She wasn’t ready for that.
➰
Just a few hours later, Katie walked out into the waiting room looking for Jake. She told Dr. T. she’d be happy to deliver this news to her brother. She found Jake flanked by Wesson, Smitty and Brenden.
Wesson saw her first and stood up quickly. “How is he?”
She smiled. “He’s good. He’s not awake yet, but nothing vital was hit. They got the bullet out. He’s going to need some physical therapy. But other than that, he’s fine.”
Brenden nodded. Katie could tell he was relieved, but she was sure he was already mentally thinking about having to fix the work schedule.
“Shit man,” Smitty said. “He lives alone. We’re gonna have to take shifts to help him out.”
Oh no. No no no. Katie tried not to show the panic on her face. They were going to have to take their relationship public. Soon. Wesson pursed his lips and stared at her. She glared at him.
“I’m sure we can figure something out,” Brenden agreed.
“Okay, well. I need to get back to him. To work, I mean… I, uh, have to work. I’ll let you guys know when he wakes up and come get you.” Katie needed to get away from Wesson’s glare.
“We can’t go in and wait?” Jake asked.
Uhhh…well, technically you can, but I don’t want you to be there
when Ryan wakes up. I want to be with him.
“No. I’ll let you know when you can come back, I promise,” she assured Jake. He furrowed his brow and nodded.
Katie walked back through the doors and informed her charge nurse she would be checking on a surgical patient. The Emergency Room wasn’t really busy, so she got the okay. She walked into the room where Ryan was recovering and made her way over to his sleeping form. He looked a little bit more pale than he had this morning when she’d left him asleep in his bed, but he looked good. A little banged up. He must’ve fallen and smacked the side of his face on the pavement, because he had a small laceration. But he looked, thank god, like he was going to make it. She was fairly confident he was going to be okay, based on her discussion with the doctor and her own knowledge of these types of injuries, but dammit, she really wished he would wake up already. The fifteen minutes when she was waiting for the ambulance to get to the hospital and hadn’t known what kind of shape he was in had been excruciating. She needed him to wake up just so she could be absolutely sure he was going to be okay. She squeezed his hand and closed her eyes.
“Katie?” she heard his voice crack. She opened her eyes. He looked confused. But alive.
“Hey, honey.” She smiled at him, tears threatening to fall.
“What happened? Why am I in the hospital?”
“I don’t know the details, babe. But I do know you were shot in the shoulder. They had you in surgery as soon as you got here.”
“Shit. Smitty okay? He was with me.”
Katie hadn’t known that detail. “He’s out in the waiting room hoping you’re okay, so I’m thinking he’s fine.”
Ryan let out a harsh breath. “Thank god. It was fast. Freaky. Fuck. Am I gonna be okay?” he asked, concern in his voice.
A tear escaped and dripped onto her cheek, but she smiled through it. “You’re going to be fine, Ryan. You’re gonna need physical therapy, but I can help you with that. You’ll be back to using your shoulder in no time.”
“God. I need to call my kids.”
Katie nodded. “I made sure I grabbed your phone when you came in.” She pulled it out of her pocket and handed it to him. “I think Jake already called your ex-wife. He said she was going to call your parents.”
Ryan nodded. “Dammit. They’re probably worried sick.”
She was sure they were because she definitely had been. Thank god he’s okay.
“Ryan?”
He furrowed his brow and he looked at her. “What is it, love?”
Love. That’s what it is.
“I love you so much.” The tears started to fall. “I was so scared when Jake called me. So scared,” she whispered. “When you got here, I felt a lot better because I could see things were pretty optimistic. But I was so scared. I love you.” She leaned over and kissed his lips, her tears dripping onto his cheeks. “I love you so much. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
She pulled back and then wiped her tears from his face.
“Shhhhh. Baby, come up here.” He patted the bed and she hopped up, careful not to sit on his IV tubing or jostle the bed so much as to make his shoulder hurt worse than it probably already did. He pulled her down close to his face. “I love you, too. I’m here. I’m alive. We’re together. We’re going to make it.”
She nodded.
“Put those beautiful lips right here again.” He tapped his lips.
Katie leaned in and kissed him again softly. He rubbed her leg with his mobile arm as she pulled back and gave him a smile. “The guys want to see you. They’re all out in the waiting room for you.”
“Let me call my parents and kids real quick. Text Jake and tell him to give me a few minutes?”
“Yep. I’ll give you some privacy, too.” She attempted to stand up and he held her in place.
“Hey. You’re a part of this now. Please stay,” he requested.
So fucking sweet.
“You sure?” she asked.
“Positive.” He squeezed her thigh. She nodded in agreement. Katie texted Jake with the room number and told him he could bring back the crew in 30 minutes.
“Does your shoulder hurt?” Katie put her nurse hat back on.
“It feels like a dull throb right now. Did they give me something?”
“They gave you some dilaudid before surgery. What would you say your pain is on a scale of one to ten?”
“Five?”
“Let me know when it gets to seven and I’ll get you something.”
“Fucking hate pain meds. I’ll just grit my teeth.”
Stubborn man.
“Honey, you need to rest. It’ll help.”
“We’ll talk about this after I make a few phone calls.”
He picked his phone up off his lap, struggling to unlock it with his left hand. He sighed and set it down.
“Here.” She grabbed it from him. “What’s your password?”
“6-9-2-4-7,” he said with a smirked.
Good lord. She rolled her eyes. “You may be a little older than me, but you’re just a teenage boy at heart aren’t you, baby?”
“You know it.”
She smiled and shook her head and handed the phone back to him.
Ryan spent the next ten minutes talking with Erica and his kids, assuring them he was okay and that they didn’t need to come visit him in the hospital. Katie could tell his daughter was crying on the other end. He had to tell them he wouldn’t be up for back-to-school shopping, but he promised his kids he’d see them soon.
Katie wondered when she might get to meet his kids. Too soon. Way too soon.
After he finished up with them, she helped Ryan dial his mom's phone number. From what Katie could gather from just hearing Ryan’s side of the conversation, they were pushing him to quit. Hang up the cuffs. Find something less dangerous. She didn’t necessarily disagree with them, but she knew Ryan loved his job. She knew he was a good cop. He was insistent that this was what he chose to do for his career and he had been well aware of the risks for the past twenty years.
He hung up with his mom and let out a sigh.
“Man, they lay it on thick when something bad happens.”
“I can’t blame them, can you?”
“I guess not. Most days, my job is pretty fucking boring. Paperwork and shit. But some days it’s dicey. Domestic violence calls, having to help Wesson meet with potential confidential informants while he’s trying to get me to wear stupid disguises.”
“Wesson makes you wear disguises?”
“He tried to once. I got the distinct feeling he was fucking with me, but you never know with that guy.”
“You’re not going to be able to go back to work for a few weeks at least. You’re gonna be in a sling. After that, you’re probably gonna have to desk job it for a while.”
“God dammit.”
“You’re stubborn enough. With physical therapy and my help, we’ll get you back on the job.” She winked at him.
“My parents offered me their condo in Cabo. Can you get off work next week?”
What?
“You want to vacation with me?”
“Of course I do. Chance to see you in a skimpy bikini? Make love to you on the beach?”
Oh yum.
“We’re going to have to get creative with your shoulder.”
Ryan grimaced as he shifted on the bed. Yeah, he’s in pain.
“If creative means you riding me while I do very little work, I’m definitely down for this.”
Katie smiled at that thought. “When?”
“Soon as I can get the all clear from the doctor, I guess.”
“Oh my gosh. I mean… I’m sure I could figure something out. My work schedule is already out through September, but I can probably find a few people to take my shifts whenever you’re allowed to go.”
“Your passport current?”
“Yep.” She grinned.
“Awesome. Let
’s get a guesstimate from the doc. Ask around and see what dates work best for you to get your shifts covered and I’ll give my mom the dates for the condo. You look for plane tickets. I’ll cover the cost.”
“I can pay my own way, Ryan.”
“Shut your mouth and never again speak of it. I’m paying for my woman to come on vacation with me. Besides, you have a dual role in this vacation. You’re also my dirty, naughty nurse.” Katie could see Ryan’s dirty thoughts all over his face.
