“No.” He rubbed his forehead. “Not yet, anyway.”
“Ma’am, we’re going to give you something to relax you.” She swabbed alcohol on Tessa’s arm and plunged the needle in. The prick stung for a minute, and then her muscles relaxed.
“Go get the doll.”
Did she say that or think it? Hard to tell. She floated for a little while. Lucas blurred in and out of her vision. When he spoke his mouth moved like he was under water. She giggled. The medics continued to poke and prod. Something important slipped in and out of her mind. Unable to put her finger exactly on what bothered her, she pushed it aside. The back door of the EMSA truck slammed shut and a siren wailed as they pulled away. Lucas still held her hand. Warm and strong. Like him. Maybe if she closed her eyes for a minute, she’d remember what was so important.
Chapter Nine
Dean grinned as he chomped on his gum, leaning against the brick wall across the street from Tessa’s store, arms and ankles crossed in relaxation. The bitch came out of the store coughing her head off, tears running down her sweet little face. Wait till I get a hold of that sweet little face.
He frowned as the Jeep pulled curbside and the black-haired dude hopped out, looking all concerned. The bastard made a beeline for the EMSA truck and crawled inside. Are they gonna fuck right there in front of the paramedics?
It was time to make his move. Game over. You lose. He was taking a big chance hanging around this shithole. The private jet he’d hired and his new home in Colombia beckoned. He pushed himself off the wall and strolled away from the chaos. Soon, little Tessa, real soon.
****
Lucas pulled to the curb in front of Tessa’s Treasures. From the street, the outside of the store looked fine. He got out and took a slow walk around the side of the building, surveying the blackened bricks and blown out windows. He used the key she’d given him and entered through the front door. Smoke still lingered in the air, stinging his eyes and nostrils. The front end of the store looked untouched, the smell in the air the only evidence of a fire.
Firefighters had removed the door between the store and kitchen. He shook his head. It appeared it had been removed with an ax. He carefully climbed over debris and waved his hand in front of his face at the stronger smell. His throat grew scratchy.
He winced at the mess in the kitchen. He tried the light switch, but it was out. Everything had been drenched with water, from the small table tucked in the corner to the old Formica counter tops and shelves. Fire had blackened the back and side walls. Maybe he’d get someone in to clean and paint before Tessa saw it. Until the origin of the fire had been determined however, nothing could be moved, except the box the fire department had authorized him to retrieve.
The damn doll again. He cursed the day he laid eyes on the thing. Tessa begged him to retrieve it and bring it to her in the hospital. She’d given him information on where it was stored, and the only reason he agreed was to calm her down. The knot that had started when he found her in the ambulance had taken up permanent residence in his gut.
After the shot in the ambulance had worn off, Tessa started raving about the damn doll and some curse on it. The resident on duty wanted to keep her for a couple days, for observation. Outside her hospital room door, the doctor told Lucas she was walking a fine line right now. The stress of her accidents, the amount of smoke she’d inhaled and her ramblings about the doll convinced him she needed some medically induced rest. Although he had no legal standing, Lucas agreed.
A high metal rack sat on the common wall between the kitchen and the store. Office supplies and cleaning products filled the lower two shelves. Wet soot covered everything in the room. Near the very top he spotted the box Tessa described.
He snapped on the rubber gloves he’d brought, then searched and found a step ladder. After shoving two boxes aside, he pulled the one with the doll down. He opened the lid. Ugly little sucker, but Tessa was convinced the doll had caused all her problems. Something about her having betrayed the doll. As much as he’d grown to hate the stupid thing, it was the excuse he’d use to see her again, so it couldn’t be all bad.
She’d been lucky. If she hadn’t been at the coffee shop when the fire broke out, she could have been seriously injured. If the fire had been set, she could have been knocked unconscious or even killed before the arsonist left.
His jaw tightened. Truth be known, he viewed her hospital stay as a blessing. Maybe rest and medication would restore her. In the meantime, with her safely tucked out of harm’s way, he could help Mason search for Dean.
****
Lucas quietly entered the hospital room. In the dim light, the outline of Tessa’s sleeping form appeared small, like a child. Lucas quietly approached, and slid the box he carried under the bed. She seemed fragile and tired. Dark circles ringed her eyes. Her prominent cheekbones were more pronounced. At least she looked peaceful. His gut twisted every time he noted her haunted eyes. Sleep and something other than those damn vegetables would help restore her strength. If he were the doc, he’d prescribe a good blood red steak.
She stirred, then opened her eyes, blinking rapidly as her brow furrowed and her vision adjusted to the room. When she met his gaze, her face softened. “Hi.”
He bent and kissed her lightly on the lips. “How do you feel, honey?”
“Tired. So tired.” The sheets rustled as she shifted to face him. “Did you get the doll?”
“Yes, I did. It’s under your bed.”
A small sigh escaped her lips. “And the journal?”
He dragged a chair over and sat. “I got it from the EMSA truck. They had it at the fire department. I put it in the box with the doll, so it’s all taken care of.”
She closed her eyes and settled on her back. “Thank you.”
He pressed her small hand between his palms, rubbing her soft skin with his thumb. “Tessa?”
She moved her head to the side, watched him through half closed eyelids. “What?”
He squeezed her hand. “I need for you to wake up.”
She opened her eyes wider and smiled at him. “I’m awake.”
Now that the time had come, the words stuck in his throat like a wad of cotton. In fact this probably wasn’t the best time, but he’d grown tired of waiting. He wanted—heck he needed with all his being—the right to protect her, make decisions in her best interests when she couldn’t.
“I love you, Tessa Jordan. God forgive me, but all the years I was married, I never forgot you. That’s one reason I stayed away from Duncan so long. I didn’t want to have to see you and know you belonged to someone else, as I did.” He stopped, suddenly unable to catch his breath.
One lone tear slid down her cheek. “Oh, Lucas.”
“I’m asking you to marry me. I know my timing sucks, but with the way things have been lately, no time seems to be good.” His heart pounded so hard, the nurse at the desk in the hall must have heard it.
“I can’t marry you, Lucas.” Another tear slid down her cheek. “I’m afraid.”
“Afraid of what? Not me, I hope.” His chest tightened at her words. With the thumping of his heart and the pain in his chest, either he was madly in love with this woman, or having a heart attack.
She turned away, toward the large window filling one wall. She slid her hand out from under his. “I swore when I left Dean I would never get involved with another man. After a while, I realized it was the law enforcement type that terrified me. Dean’s friends were a lot like him. Oh, I don’t know if they beat their wives, but their attitudes scared me.” She turned back. “Can you understand that?”
“I would never, ever raise a hand to a woman. I would think you know that about me.” He took her hand again. She didn’t resist.
One delicate finger came up to wipe the tears from her face. “Men are so quick to use their fists, it scares me.”
“Sweetheart, all I know is I love you. I have for a long, long time. Seeing you again after all these years forced me to admit the reason my
marriage to Patty was so cold. I didn’t—heck, I couldn’t—love her the way a husband should love his wife. I guess she felt it, and decided to find comfort elsewhere. That guilt I have to carry around forever.” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed the soft palm. “I would cut off my right arm before I would raise a hand to you. A real man doesn’t prove his strength by hitting his wife or children. He uses it to protect them.”
Tessa’s chest rose and fell with a deep breath. “I’m so tired. This medication makes everything fuzzy. I made such a terrible decision once before, I can’t give you an answer now.” More tears filled her eyes, dribbled over.
“God, it kills me to see you cry.” He used his knuckle to wipe away the tears.
“Lucas, I don’t want to be afraid. I’m sick of being scared.” She squeezed his hand, her voice a mere whisper. “Please, help me.”
His heart shattered. If he could, he’d wrap her in a cocoon of love and never let anything bad touch her. “I have a suggestion. Times are different now then twenty-five years ago. Once you’re released from the hospital, if you’re willing, we can move the rest of your stuff into my house and we’ll live together until you’re convinced I would never hurt you. I don’t care how long it takes. I’m in this for the long haul, marriage or no marriage.”
A nurse who could be the Dallas Cowboy’s next linebacker entered the room. “Mr. Raven, you must leave now. Doctor’s orders. Ms. Jordan can’t have visitors for longer than fifteen minutes at a time.”
Lucas stood, then bent and kissed Tessa. “I’ll be back later tonight, honey. Get some sleep.” He turned to the nurse. “Will you see she gets something else to eat besides vegetables?”
The nurse drew herself up, her chin pointed at him. “Ms. Jordan gets the food she requests. Now if you will please let her get some rest, I would appreciate it.”
He grinned despite his annoyance at being ordered from her room. “Will charges be filed if I bring her a cheeseburger?”
A sense of humor was not the nurse’s strong suit. She merely sniffed and pointed to the door. He made his way down the hallway and entered the waiting elevator. As he stepped into the early evening sunlight, the cell in his pocket vibrated, announcing a text from Mason.
“where r u?”
Lucas quickly typed “lvng hospital”
“meet me @ flanagans”
Lucas flipped the cell phone closed and hopped into the Jeep.
Glad Mason had picked a bar not far from the hospital, Lucas parked in front of Flanagan’s, on the corner of Main and Seventh. The day had caught up to him and even his bones were tired. He wanted to talk to Mason, but at the same time, he preferred to go home and relax until he made his last visit for the night to see Tessa.
The bar remained a favorite hangout of the police and fire departments. A small red brick building, it had housed generations of uniforms. As he opened the heavy door, he inhaled the odor of stale cigarette smoke and beer, probably there for ages. He and Mason used to sneak in through the back door when they were teens to get beer from Ralph, whose father owned the place. Now Ralph ran it, and since he had teenagers of his own, Lucas doubted he was giving away free beer out the back door anymore.
Even in the dim light, he spotted Mason at a table in the corner. His friend slouched in his chair and stared at his hands. His fingers moved up and down the outside of a beer bottle, before he raised it to his lips and took a gulp.
“Ralph, give me what Mason has.” Lucas leaned on the bar, tossing a couple bills on the scratched, worn wood. Beer in hand, he joined Mason, flipped a chair around to straddle it before taking a long pull.
“We have some info on Phillips.” Mason studied the file sitting on the table. “One of our guys found the motel he stayed at.”
His fingers gripped the bottle, his knuckles white. “Stayed at? You mean he’s gone?”
Mason nodded. “He checked out yesterday morning from some sleaze motel on the highway between here and Lawton. The kind of place usually rented by the hour. But we have other information that will really bust your balls.” Mason dragged his hand down his face and for the first time Lucas saw his stress. Deep lines ran along his forehead and the edges of his eyes. More than tired, his friend wore worry like a sheen of sweat.
“What?” Voice raw, he prepared for bad news.
“Phillips was across the street from Tessa’s store when it caught fire yesterday.”
“Shit!” I knew that bastard was involved.” He jerked back and slammed his bottle on the table. “Goddammit! He was right there and we missed him?”
“Now hold on, buddy. We have no proof he had anything to do with the fire. It seems a newspaper photographer took pictures, and passed them along to the fire department to help with their investigation. We got a hold of the pictures and sure enough, there he stood, leaning against the building across the street, watching the whole thing.” Mason’s lips thinned. “Damn bastard wore a crooked grin and looked relaxed as hell.”
Lucas vaulted out of the chair and headed to the bar. He looked back at Mason. “You want one?” The other man nodded.
After setting the two bottles on the table, he scrubbed his face with his hand. “All right, this has to stop. Tessa’s in the hospital on heavy duty meds and she doesn’t even know Phillips is in town. I gotta get her away from here.”
Mason stared at his bottle, peeling the label in slow strips.
Lucas downed the beer in a couple of gulps. “I’m going to outfit my boat and after she’s discharged, we’ll head to Corpus Christi and sail away.”
Mason rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands. “You don’t have a sailboat.”
“I’m not joking. We’re outta here the minute the doctor clears her.”
“Use your head. You gonna spend the rest of your life on a boat?” His smile didn’t quite make it. “Since when does Lucas Raven run from trouble?”
“Since I’ve fallen in love with your sister, and will do anything to protect her.” He rotated his neck. “Come on, you know he’s not here for any good reason. What—you think he found religion in prison and now he wants to ask forgiveness? Sure.”
“No, I don’t and you know that. What I do think is you should pull yourself together. Man, you’re outta control here.”
Lucas tapped stiff fingers on the table. “I don’t know what to do. I can’t fight something I can’t see. What about these accidents she’s been having? He could be at the bottom of them all. Dammit, I spent twenty-five years solving other people’s crimes, and now that I need to do something to protect the woman who means the world to me, I feel helpless.” He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with a thumb and forefinger.
“Because of his parole violation, and the fact that he’s been spotted here, we have an APB out on him. We’ll get him but it might take some time. You keep your eye on Tessa, and let us get the bastard.” Mason took the last swallow of his beer and stood. “Be grateful she’s safe in the hospital.”
****
Tessa sensed the presence of the orderly before she opened her eyes. The light over her bed had been turned off, and in the dimness of the evening, and the sliver of light from the hallway she could only make out his white uniform. He pushed a gurney into her room.
“What’s that for?” Still a bit fuzzy from her medication, the words didn’t sound right to her ears.
He kept his back to her as he fussed with the sheet on the gurney. “Tests.”
“What kind of tests? I didn’t know the doctor ordered any.” Through the haze of drugs, a small kernel of fear settled in her stomach. Something about the shape of the orderly and the voice bothered her. “Can you call the nurse for me? I want to ask her about whatever tests the doctor ordered.”
The man continued to show his back as his hands fumbled with something. A strange odor drifted to her nostrils, stinging her eyes. She rose on one elbow. Fear exploded as her suspicions grew. “Can you please call the nurse now?”
Dean turned around, a b
road smile on his face. He held a white cloth in his hand. “I’m afraid not.”
Tessa opened her mouth to scream as the cloth descended over her nose and mouth.
****
Dean lifted her limp body from the bed and placed her on the gurney. He pulled the sheet to her neck, and then raced to the door. Through the crack, he watched the nurse for a few minutes. It would only be a matter of time before she’d be summoned from her station. Five minutes later, she rose and headed down the hall. Bingo!
He opened the door wide, rolled Tessa out and sped down the hall. Most of the doors were closed, at least partially, although the sight of an orderly pushing a patient wouldn’t raise questions anyway. The elevator dinged, and when the doors slid open, he shoved her inside. He pressed the button for the basement and the elevator descended.
So far, so good.
The walk down the hallway drew no attention since only the boiler rooms and dietary kitchen occupied the space. With no meals being prepared, and the employees gone for the day, the rooms stood dark and quiet.
Dean reached the back exit, lifted her in his arms, and walked out. The rented car sat where he’d left it. He pushed the button on the key fob, unlocking the doors. He opened the rear door, dropped her on the seat, tossing the sheet on top. The chloroform should last a couple of hours. Plenty of time to get to the plane and take off.
When you wake up, little Tessa, you’ll be so surprised. I’ll bet you can’t wait.
His laughter echoed off the walls of the red brick building as he sped out, making a left turn into light traffic.
Chapter Ten
After Patty’s lengthy battle with breast cancer, hospitals always unnerved Lucas. Now late at night, as he walked the quiet halls, his nostrils twitching with the odor of illness, the hairs on the back of his neck rose. He’d told Tessa he would see her one more time tonight, and had no intention of breaking that promise. It took a bit of charming the old dragon downstairs to get him this far.
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