She marveled at something that should have been apparent to her a long time ago. These military types, as she thought of them with affection, they stuck together. Her friends, all of them.
As they all found chairs and she filled them in on what she knew—which was essentially not much, she said, “Sorry to ruin your party.”
Mitch slung his arm around Neena’s shoulders. “We couldn’t have enjoyed ourselves knowing Vic was in here, and you were here waiting.”
She saw it in their eyes, the unspoken. They’d be here no matter what. Eve, Marisa, Neena and Freddie looked at her with genuine concern, and the men had that stoic expression she’d come to expect.
Marisa placed a hand over Lucy’s. “You okay?”
“Me?” Lucy said with a soft chuckle that lacked all humor. “No. I won’t be until I know how Vic and Danny are.”
She left her chair for the wall phone. After a quick call, the nurse said she’d be right out. Frustrated, Lucy returned to her chair and told the others. Sympathetic grumbles ushered from the group.
True to her word, the short middle-aged nurse came into the waiting area. “Lucy Creed?”
Lucy popped up and greeted the woman. “That’s me.”
“I’m Anna. You can see Mr. Moore. Follow me.”
As Lucy followed the woman, she waved at her friends and left them behind. “How is Vic?”
“He’s fine. He’ll probably be released within the hour. The CAT scan has to come back. He’s solid as a rock.” Anna’s stern expression melted into a warm smile as she lowered her voice and stopped. “And I mean that in the nicest way. That’s one strong, healthy young man. If I was twenty years younger….” She winked and shrugged.
Relief drove into Lucy. She laughed softly as tension started to trickle out of her slowly. Within a few seconds, the nurse directed her to an area cordoned off into cubicles by stalls. Curtains were pulled across some of the stalls. She heard a woman weeping, her voice low as she talked with another person.
All the hair went up on the back of her neck. “Danny Mendoza. Is he all right too?”
Anna’s narrow face returned to an official, stern expression. She didn’t say anything.
“Is he badly hurt?”
“You’re not family?”
“No.”
“Then I’m afraid I can’t give you that information.”
“He’s a…I’m a close friend. He doesn’t have any family here as far as I know. They’re all in Jackson Hole.”
Anna’s mouth pursed in thought. “His parents have been notified. They’re on their way.” The nurse’s eyes softened the slightest bit. “I can tell you that if it hadn’t been for Mr. Moore’s quick actions, Mr. Mendoza wouldn’t have survived.” She gestured to the stall at the end on the right. “Mr. Moore is the last one on the right.”
Curiosity rose inside Lucy, but she nodded and decided not to press further. “Thank you.”
The curtain wasn’t drawn all the way across Vic’s niche, and she pushed it back with caution. He was sitting up in the gurney, hospital gown top on, a blanket covering his lower half. His gaze snapped to hers as she entered the stall, and Lucy’s heart skipped a beat at the instant connection.
He gave her that heart-melting smile. “Hey.”
“Vic.” She went to his side and gathered his hand in hers.
As she leaned toward him, he pushed one hand into her hair and brought her close for a quick, warm kiss. “God, it’s good to see you.”
Tears filled her eyes, but she blinked them back. “You too.” She drew in a deep breath. “I was so worried.”
His grin was irreverent, but also filled with a deep emotion she hadn’t seen in a man’s eyes before. “Nah, I was never in any danger. I don’t even have a concussion. They’re going to let me out any second.”
“I’m so grateful it wasn’t worse.” That curiosity wouldn’t leave though. “The nurse said you saved Danny’s life.”
He gestured for her to come closer, and as she leaned down, he whispered. “I was in the ambulance with Danny. It was touch and go for him for a while.”
“What was wrong with him?”
“Femoral artery was nicked. His compact car crunched up like a cracker box when he hit me. He has a concussion, a broken left leg, and I don’t know if he has anything else wrong with him. Anyway, when I crawled out of my car I heard him screaming. I got the passenger side door open and realized his left thigh was cut badly.” He took a deep breath, looking a little green. “The amount of blood told me he was in big trouble. I had to…” He trailed off.
“Had to?” she asked cautiously.
“A few years back a medic friend of mine trained me in a technique. I had to reach in his wound and pinch the nick in the artery to keep him from bleeding out.”
“You saved his life.”
Vic shook his head and tightened his hold on her hand. “Nah. The paramedics and doctor’s saved him. I just made him last long enough for them to get to him.”
If Lucy hadn’t already known she loved Vic, this would have assured her that she did. Far more quickly than she ever imagined she could. His modesty wasn’t false. She saw it in his eyes. He didn’t see what the big deal was, or even if he did, he wouldn’t think of bragging on himself. His just-the-facts-ma’am face told it all.
She swallowed hard. “The nurse said she’d let me know how he is, but since I’m not family….” She shrugged.
Vic smoothed his fingers over hers, tightening his grip. His big hand was warm and strong, and she wanted to wrap him up, keep him safe forever. “Maybe we’ll get to see him.”
“You’d stay here to find out how he is?”
“Sure.” Vic’s eyes darkened with more emotions, some which flicked by so fast she couldn’t identify them. “He’ll be in surgery for a while. If his parents get here tonight, they’ll need someone to let them know what happened.”
Oh, Victor Moore. Could you say another thing to make me fall for you even harder?
“This place is small potatoes to you, isn’t it?” She gestured with one hand. “Battlefield first aid. Lying in a hospital. You’ve been in war zones. You were just in a hospital recovering from your leg wound and here you are again.”
She remembered the scar showing that he’d healed, but just barely. Her concern had been that some of their sexual escapades would hurt him. He’d told her that if he hadn’t already been a day away from coming back from a tour, his type of wound wouldn’t have warranted enough to send him back.
“Yeah, this war zone is pretty tame. But I won’t be here too much longer. Someday soon I’ll return to the sandbox, and it it’ll be war all over again.”
Her heart panged. “Did you have to remind me?”
Before he could say anything else, the doctor came in. All smiles, the young doctor had a great bedside manner and pronounced Vic in great health.
“Doc,” Vic said. “What about Mendoza? He’s in surgery, right?”
The doctor nodded. “Yep. He’ll be in there awhile. By the way. Damn fine work you did on him out there. Without you the man would have died. No doubt about it.”
Vic brushed aside the doctor’s praise with a smile and thanks. Vic signed release papers, and within a few moments he’d pulled on a set of scrubs. His sweater and jeans had been so blood stained they probably weren’t salvageable. He gathered his coat, hat and gloves. Her stomach jumped, the thought of having the wherewithal to help someone like Vic had overwhelming her. Admiration welled up inside her. More than ever, she couldn’t ignore her feelings for him—they’d grown as big as the room.
They returned to the room where their friends waited. There were handshakes all around, relief clear on everyone’s faces. When Lucy told them she’d stay here with Vic and wait for word on Danny, they all understood. They left shortly afterwards to return home.
By this time it was getting late. Vic slipped his arm around her waist and before she knew it, they stood in the waiting room with their arms aroun
d each other. She sighed. Yeah, this felt good. Way good. Then she thought about Danny, so busted up, messed up, and wondered where the man she’d known through emails had gone.
Lucy woke with a start. Her tailbone ached from the unforgiving chair in the emergency room. She glanced around, realized Vic wasn’t next to her and sat up straight. A sterile-looking metal clock on the wall across from her said one in the morning.
She yawned, stretched and shifted to her left cheek in the chair. If she were rich she’d donate some damned padded chairs to the hospital. Vic reappeared, holding two tall coffees. When he captured her gaze he smiled, and Lucy couldn’t miss the sincerity in that look. It warmed her from the inside out. He looked a little bizarre in scrubs and wearing snow boots, but he was so damned hunky it didn’t matter one bit what he wore. Despite the situation, her body stirred with longing, wanting to see him wearing absolutely nothing.
“Coffee?” She kept her voice down in deference to the hour and the few people several chairs away who still dozed. “This time of night?”
He handed her one cup. “Large, decaf, with lots of cream.” He settled into the chair to her left and cradled his even larger coffee. “You were dreaming, muttered something about being cold, and when I touched your hand, it was icy.”
“Still is. It’s always been that way with me. Cold hands. Cold feet.”
He grinned and ventured a sip of his coffee. He winked. “I remember the cold feet part.”
A blush filled her face. He’d complained a couple of times about her cold feet while they were in bed, but she took it with a grain of salt.
She sipped the hot coffee. “This isn’t half bad. I’m surprised.”
“From the coffee cart two doors down. I’m surprised they’re open this time of night. I expected to find one of those nasty machines that dispense motor oil.”
Lucy swallowed one more sip before replying. “Thanks. I’m feeling warmer already.” She placed her coffee cup on the small table to her left before saying what she knew he had to be thinking. “Maybe we should go home. I didn’t know he’d be in surgery for so long.”
Vic shook his head. “He shouldn’t have been. Maybe there were complications. Even if his artery wasn’t severed, a leg as messed up as his would take some work to repair.”
She kept her hands cupped around the coffee, using it as much to have something to do with her hands as to warm them up. “Did you…did you have to save anyone like that in combat?”
“No.” His eyes turned harder. “He could just have easily died right there in front of me.”
“But he didn’t. Thanks to you.”
She didn’t get another word in. A man and woman pushing seventy entered the emergency room, and it wasn’t long before the nurse named Anna pointed toward Vic and Lucy.
“Those must be his parents,” Lucy said.
The man and woman turned toward Lucy and Vic. The man was bald and with a solid baring and sternness that reminded Lucy of Danny on a good day. The salt-and-pepper-haired woman appeared around the same age, her form petite, her pretty face haunted. Lucy felt something inside her clench with apprehension. She never thought she’d meet Danny’s parents this way in a million years. God, what a horrible way to have to introduce herself.
“Mr. and Mrs. Mendoza?” Lucy said as the couple walked up.
“Yes,” the man said. “I’m Danny’s father. You’re…”
“Danny’s friend, Lucy Creed.” She touched Vic’s shoulder. “And this is the man who saved Danny’s life.”
Chapter Ten
As Lucy drove him to her home from the hospital, Vic ached in every muscle. Once in a while his body shivered, and he couldn’t be certain if it was just cold or leftover reaction to the accident and watching a man almost die in front of him. He wanted to sleep, yet he was pretty damn certain he wouldn’t for some time. He needed to talk, yet he couldn’t think of a thing to say. It stayed bottled within, his mind whirling, unable to land on one subject for long. Only Lucy kept him anchored.
Outside the streets passed by, everything quiet, as if they were the only ones inhabiting the city. Three in the morning would do that to a person. With ice on the streets, it took them longer to reach Lucy’s house. Once there he figured his head would hit the pillow and it would be lights out.
Inside the house, they stripped off their boots and coats and moved into the living room.
“Want to try and get some sleep?” she asked.
“Yeah. Let’s try.” He ruffled his hand over his hair and blew out one weary breath. “Might not work, but my brain is like mush right now.”
They stumbled into the bedroom and in a flash got ready for bed. While he slept naked, she’d chosen turquoise flannel pajamas with penguins on them. He smiled.
“Cute,” he said with a smile as he folded her in his arms and they huddled under the covers.
“What is?” she asked with a yawn.
“Your pajamas.”
She laughed, and the soft rumble vibrated against him. “I’m freezing still.”
He rubbed her shoulders and back. “If I wasn’t bruised up and damned tired, I’d make sure you got hot. Fast.”
She laughed again, this time with a higher-pitched giggle filled with genuine mirth. She propped up on one elbow and gazed down at him. Dark shadows marred her eyes, but so did a relief he wanted to understand.
Seriousness pushed away the joking expression she’d worn moments ago. She sat up, sitting cross-legged next to him.
He tucked his hands behind his head. “You were wonderful at the hospital.”
“What?” Clearly she didn’t expect him to say that.
“You were wonderful. You came to see me, number one, and to make sure I was okay.” He touched her knee, cupped her flannel-clad skin. “More than that, you were fantastic with Danny’s parents.”
Her gaze met his and tears mounted. Ah, Jesus, he hadn’t meant for her to cry. But she did, and though he wasn’t one hundred percent sure why, he didn’t need the answer. He held his arms out to her, and she came into them without hesitation. He wrapped her close, felt her tears moisten his chest. She wasn’t sobbing, her tears silent.
She sighed. “Thank you. Of course I would want to see you. And Danny’s parents are nice people. They’re so worried about him.”
“With good reason.”
“Yes. For more than his injuries.”
“You told them about the whisky bottle in the car?”
She stroked her hand, which was no longer cold, over his chest. “Didn’t have to. The police did. He’ll be charged with reckless driving and driving under the influence at the very least. I think at first his parents thought you’d press more charges.”
He shook his head. “Ain’t worth it. He’s already facing some bad times with the military.”
“I have to go and see him, you know. When he’s well enough for visitors.”
Vic didn’t want her to see him, and yet he did. Mendoza had to know once and for all that she was off-limits.
“I don’t have feelings for him any more, Vic.” Her voice held absolute reassurance.
Damn straight. The possessiveness zinged through his blood was hot and fast.
He tightened his arms around her. “Yeah, that’s for certain.” He almost gritted his teeth. “You should see him.”
She kissed his chest. “Thank you for understanding.”
“You’re welcome.”
Quiet covered them for so long, he thought maybe she’d fallen asleep. Then she said, “I didn’t finish telling you something.” She took a huge breath, as if she might be going for a swim and said, “When I met you I had an attitude about military men. You know that.”
“It’s understandable.”
She tapped his chin with her index finger. “Still, I shouldn’t have had the attitude. All military men are not alike. I know there are plenty of men out there that women don’t hit on all the time, and those men still cheat. I’ve come to realize that someone, man or
woman, will cheat if they want to. It wasn’t the military that made those guys cheat. They would have cheated no matter what job they had. I just had blinders on and was attracted to them the same way I attracted the wrong friends in high school. Yes, you’re a gorgeous man and other women are going to see that. And no matter what you do for a living, I trust you and want to take a chance.” She caressed his face, touched him with reverence. “I know it’s too early. It’s too amazing to be real. But I almost lost you tonight in that car wreck. So I want you to know, even if you don’t feel the same. I’m falling for you, Victor Moore.”
His chest expanded, but not from breath. From the beauty of her words, the comfort, the sense of home and happiness her statement gave him. No woman, other than his mother, had ever expressed love to him, and this was new and fresh and amazing. He wanted it with a fierceness, a raw emotion, a punch that hit him in the gut. With a vengeance, he grabbed a hold of that feeling, one he couldn’t define, and knew it could sustain him through all his days. His arms tightened, and he rolled her onto her back. He kissed her with a fierceness he couldn’t contain.
He finally released her long enough to look down at her, both of them breathless, his cock aching to find her hot softness. “I understand the trust issues. But I’m willing to trust you with everything inside me. I know you’d never hurt me like Shelly did. You know what I think?” Her tired smile, her soft eyes gave him strength to confess. “I think I’m the luckiest damn soldier ever to live. It would be my honor if you would write to me the next time I go on a deployment. It would make me the happiest man alive if I knew you were waiting for me when I got back.”
He waited, anxiety touching him. What if she said no? What if she couldn’t take the life of waiting for a military man to come home?
She tightened her arms around his neck. “It would be my honor to write to you. Wherever you go. Whatever you do.”
He drew back long enough to say, his eyes burning, his throat tight, “I love you, Lucy Creed.”
Hot Pursuit: Hot Zone, Book 5 Page 10
