“Thank you for that,” Nicole said to Erin. She hesitated, rubbing her hands against her khaki pants. “The other thing I wanted to tell you is that I have to get back home soon. I took time off from my job to look for my sister. But I’m not getting anywhere and I haven’t heard from her, and . . .” She trailed off.
“Erin has a job, responsibilities . . . and she hasn’t been able to do any of them because your sister could jump out of a corner with a knife at any minute,” Cole said, making Erin realize that his silence hadn’t meant he wasn’t focused on what was going on here. She should have known better.
Nicole winced and Sam stepped up beside her.
“Erin’s right. None of that is Nicole’s fault,” he said, scowling at Cole.
Erin decided it was time to empty out the room. Cole needed time to focus on his father and himself. “Nicole, thank you for coming. I guess I’d hoped you would have some fresh ideas for us on how to lure out your sister, but . . .”
“I don’t. I really wish I did. Helping you find her hideaway was about the best I could do.” Regret shone in her eyes.
Erin touched the other woman’s shoulder. “I believe you.” She’d dealt with enough people through the years, questioned the guilty and the innocent, and her gut told her Nicole Farnsworth was nothing more—or less—than she seemed: a woman worried about her mentally ill sister.
Sam nodded to Cole and met Erin’s gaze. “Let me know as soon as you have news about Jed.”
She smiled, knowing her brother truly cared about Jed. And in her heart, she wanted to believe her brother had come to like Cole as a person, despite the fact that he wasn’t thrilled about the one night that had changed the course of Erin’s life.
Even if she was.
Erin blinked, startled at the realization that if she could go back, she wouldn’t change that night or its outcome. Her hand came to rest on her stomach, on top of the life growing inside her.
Her baby. Cole’s baby.
How could she ever regret that?
• • •
Cole wasn’t sure how many hours had passed when he jolted awake. Could there be any place more uncomfortable than a hospital waiting room? His neck hurt from leaning the back of his head against the wall, and he realized Erin had stretched out, her legs along the row of chairs, her head in his lap. She hadn’t left him through this whole nightmare, and not because she needed his protection. She could have gone to stay with either one of her brothers for that.
He smoothed her hair with his hand and she shifted, moving her head around, making certain parts of his body even more aware of her.
“Hey,” she murmured, yawning as she looked up at him.
“Hey, yourself.” He smiled at her.
“Any news?” She pushed herself into a sitting position and he missed her warmth pressing intimately against him.
He shook his head. “No.”
She sighed and shut her eyes. He stared down at her beautiful face, making him realize she might appear fragile, but she possessed an inner core of strength he admired.
Before he could speak, the swinging doors opened and the doctor strode through. “Mr. Sanders?”
Cole rose, and Erin stood too. “How’s my father?” he asked.
“He came through the surgery and is in recovery.”
Cole’s entire body nearly collapsed in relief. He hadn’t realized how much tension he’d been holding inside until the doctor had spoken. Erin eased beside him and shoved her smaller body beneath his arm, bolstering him physically as well as emotionally. Sensing his need, as usual.
He swallowed over the unexpected lump in his throat, a dual assault from the news of his father as well as Erin’s unconditional support.
“Thank you,” Cole said to the doctor.
The other man merely nodded. “He’ll be out of it for a while. You should go home and get some rest. Come back in a couple of hours, and you can see him for fifteen minutes the first time.”
Cole nodded.
“Make sure the nurses’ station has your cell number and go on. Leave here for a bit,” the doctor said, then strode off.
Erin turned to him, a huge smile on her face. “That’s great news!” She threw herself into his arms, treating him to a full-body hug. Her cheek touched his, her breasts pressed into his chest, and her lower body settled into the cradle of his hips.
But the overwhelming sense he got from her was emotion and elation.
“I knew you’d get your second chance with him,” she said.
Her words proved right. She was truly relieved Jed had survived the surgery, not just for Jed, but for him.
“It’s over,” she said softly, pushing herself off him. Without meeting his gaze, she brushed the wrinkles out of her clothes.
He felt a loss that was somehow more than physical and he watched her carefully. “Erin?”
“Hmm?”
“Something wrong?” he asked, going with his gut that this Erin was different from the one who’d held him close before and during his father’s surgery.
She shook her head. “Not a thing,” she said too brightly. “Let’s do what he said and go home for a little while. We can eat something, rest in a bed, and come back in a few hours.”
“Sure. There’s nothing more we can do here.”
“Good.” She picked up her purse and started for the door.
He called her name once more and she turned, her eyebrows raised.
He swallowed hard. “Thank you. For being here during all this.” He didn’t think he could have gotten through it without her.
She inclined her head. “You’re welcome.” Her tense smile did nothing to reassure him. “That’s what friends do for each other, right?”
Friends. The word left a foul taste in his mouth, as once again, his gut proved on target. With his father out of imminent danger, Erin was pulling away.
• • •
The sun still shone bright when Erin walked out of the hospital, Cole not far behind. She walked quickly, trying to outrun the emotional closeness of the last twenty-four hours. She felt too much and wanted way more than she’d ever get from Cole, and now that his father was out of surgery, it was time for a little self-protection to return.
She sprinted through the parking lot on another unseasonably cool day, trying to remember where they’d left the car so many hours before.
“Erin! Slow down,” Cole called out to her.
Knowing she couldn’t distance herself from the hurt or disappointment no matter how hard she tried, she slowed her steps and turned back to him just as the sound of a gunning car engine ripped through late-afternoon silence.
From the corner of her eye, she saw a dark sedan barreling toward her. Everything next happened in slow motion.
Cole shouted her name and sprinted forward. Acting on instinct, Erin dove between the nearest cars, hitting the pavement. Ignoring the jolt of pain shooting through her on impact, she immediately pulled her knees to her chest and curled into a tight ball, her only thought to protect the life inside her. Erin heard the deafening crunch of metal as the oncoming vehicle crashed into the cars surrounding her and felt the vibration of impact on the car next to her, while shards of glass sprayed around her.
She wasn’t sure how much time passed before she allowed herself to become aware of her surroundings again. Cole was shouting her name and she pushed herself to her knees, gathering her breath. “I’m okay!” she called out to him.
She braced a hand on the car next to her, using it to push herself to her feet. She could walk through the other aisle and find Cole, she thought, ignoring the pain in her side.
She took one step forward when she was stopped by the sound of a woman’s shriek.
“Liar!” Victoria stumbled into Erin’s only way out.
“You said you and Cole weren’t together, that you didn’t want him!” the clearly unhinged woman screamed at her.
“We’re not! I don’t!” Erin swallowed over her fear, forcing t
he words out of her bone-dry mouth.
Suddenly Cole stepped behind Victoria. Relieved, Erin let out a whoosh of air, though she didn’t acknowledge him, knowing he needed the element of surprise.
“Liar! You’re with him. You’re always with him!” She ran a shaking hand through her disheveled hair. “You need to go away and leave us alone.”
“She will,” Cole said in a perfectly calm voice.
Startled, the other woman jerked around to face him. “Cole?” Her voice softened.
He nodded. “Let’s talk,” he said, gesturing for her to step closer.
“You slept with her. You got her pregnant,” Victoria said, her voice full of betrayal and hurt.
Erin leaned harder against the car door, the knifelike pain in her side suddenly robbing her of breath.
Cole caught her gaze, his eyes widening at the realization something was wrong. Erin shook her head. He needed to focus on Victoria.
“It was a one-night stand. It meant nothing,” he assured the other woman.
At this moment, Erin knew he’d say or do anything to calm Victoria and subdue her. She’d been prepared to hear the worst on that night at Joe’s, but that hadn’t happened. Now she was unraveling from the stress of the last twenty-four hours, oh hell, from everything. The last thing she needed was to listen to Cole dismiss her and everything they’d shared.
“But you moved in with her,” Victoria said, her voice shaking.
“Because you left me no choice. You had her shot, right?”
“I told him to scare her, not to shoot her!”
Erin closed her eyes at the admission.
“But the more you did to Erin, the more I had no choice but to protect her, because that’s my baby she’s carrying. It was about the baby, not her.” Cole’s warm, imploring gaze settled on the crazy woman. He held out a hand to her. “Come here. Let me hold you and calm you down, okay?”
“You really don’t want her?” Victoria shot a triumphant look over her shoulder at Erin before refocusing on the man who was her obsession.
“Not at all.” He beckoned to her with a gesture and a look, and Erin’s stomach curled with unwarranted and unreasonable jealousy.
“Come.”
Victoria finally broke and flew into his arms. He whispered in her ear, while slipping his arms down until he finally grabbed her wrists, pinning her against the nearest automobile.
“What?!” Victoria realized she’d been had and began to struggle, hissing and cursing, but Cole held on.
Erin sought her bag, wanting her cell phone. Just as she caught sight of where it had flown in the commotion, the sound of police sirens echoed around them.
“Thank God.” Knowing it was finally over, Erin’s knees buckled and she let herself sink to the ground.
• • •
Too many things happened at once, preventing Cole from getting to Erin. Hospital personnel came running, and Erin was immediately taken into the emergency room.
Cara arrived and subdued Victoria, who continued to shriek, even as Cara read the hysterical woman her rights. Nicole’s arrival didn’t help matters, since Victoria blamed her sister for coming to Serendipity and ruining her chances with Cole. Not rational, but then, this was Victoria. Finally, the hospital staff had to step in and sedate her, which meant booking would have to wait, but at least she was cuffed to her bed and had an officer assigned to watch over her.
Victoria was no longer a threat to Erin. But were Erin and the baby still in danger?
Cole started to head back to the hospital, only to have Cara stop him. “I need your statement,” she called out.
“I need to check on Erin.”
“Sam and Mike are with her by now.” Cara gentled her voice. “But if you want me to be able to hold Victoria and make the charges stick, you need to talk to me now.”
Cole stared at the woman in uniform, understanding she was doing her job, but not liking her timing. “Fine.”
“Tell me what happened here today. You’re the only witness.”
He hated reliving the moment he’d seen the sedan aiming for Erin, but he managed to give Cara a play-by-play, including placing Victoria behind the wheel. “She aimed directly for Erin and deliberately hit the parked cars in an attempt to hurt her in some way. She followed her path directly.”
Cara finished taking notes and looked at him. “You’ll have to come by the station and sign the statement, but that’s it for now. Thanks.”
He nodded.
“How’s your father?” she asked.
“In recovery,” he bit out. Though he knew she meant well, Cole’s mind was in one place only.
She nodded. “Go,” she said, tipping her head toward the building.
A few minutes later, Cole talked his way past the front desk and navigated the same cubicle area as the last time Erin was here. He had to restrain himself from ripping the curtains open one by one to see where she was.
“Cole.”
He turned at the sound of his name. “Sam. How is she?”
Erin’s brother walked up to him. “So far so good. They want to keep her for observation, but the baby’s heartbeat is strong.”
If Cole were near a wall, he’d have collapsed against it in relief. “And Erin?”
“She’s bruised in some places from where she hit the ground, but she’s fine.” Sam slapped him on the shoulder. “You’ve been here for too long. Why don’t you go home and get some rest? I’ll call you if anything changes.”
Cole opened his mouth, then closed it again. “Excuse me? You expect me to leave? Without seeing her?”
Sam met his gaze. “She needs rest.”
“Who’s with her?” Because Cole knew her brother wouldn’t have left her alone.
“Mike’s in there.”
Cole eyed the other man warily. “And you’re out here . . . why? To make sure I don’t bother her?”
“Look, I get that you’re worried. We all are. But I was just going to call my parents and let them know she’s okay.”
Cole clenched his hands into tight fists. “So they can come see her, no doubt. Yet you’re telling me to leave, which means—”
Sam blew out a deep breath. “Erin doesn’t want to see you right now, man.”
What the hell? “Why not? Is she blaming me for this all of a sudden?” Cole ran a hand through his hair, crazy at the thought of not being able to see for himself that she was okay.
He wanted to hear the whoosh, whoosh on the monitor and know the baby was fine.
Sam looked more uncomfortable than Cole had ever seen him. Given that he was the easier-going brother, Cole’s nerves were strung even tighter.
“Just say it.”
Sam eyed him with pity. “Look, Erin said now that Victoria isn’t a threat, you don’t need to watch over her.”
Fuck.
“She’s scared, she’s upset, and she’s been under more stress than she can handle. Just give her some time to calm down and see things more clearly,” her brother said, steering Cole toward the door with a hand on his back.
Cole let him, only because he knew better than to cause a scene and upset Erin, never mind that his entire body had gone into shock. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead at the realization that Erin was ending things.
Doing exactly what he’d told her needed to happen. He’d said himself, when the threat to her was over, he’d be gone. Back to undercover work. Out of Serendipity and out of her life—except for the minute details of raising a child, something they’d never gotten around to hammering out.
Erin had been smart. First she’d tried to make him see they could have a real relationship, but he’d withdrawn or rebuffed her every time. From the moment she realized he couldn’t give her what she wanted, she’d put her armor on. Which was why she’d pulled away the minute she knew his father was out of the woods.
She’d known this day was around the corner, and she was protecting herself. He didn’t like it, hated it in fact, but he respected her
decision because her instincts were right.
It was time for him to wrap things up here and return to his world. His job. The job he loved, Cole was forced to remind himself, even as his stomach clenched and rolled in denial.
“Cole?”
He realized Sam was trying to talk to him. “Yeah.”
“You’re good?”
He forced a nod. “I’m fine. Erin’s right. Victoria’s under guard. When she’s stable she’ll be booked. Your sister’s safe. She doesn’t need me anymore.”
• • •
Erin lay in the hospital bed, hooked up to the fetal monitor, an IV in her arm . . . just in case. She hadn’t asked in case of what. She didn’t want to know.
All her thoughts and whatever energy she had were going toward positive thoughts, calming breaths, and keeping this baby inside her. That was the main reason she’d sent her brother out to the hall, to make sure he waylaid Cole before he was able to get through the red tape and come check on her. The other reason she’d sent Sam to intercept Cole was that she was a coward. She didn’t want to face him and burst into tears. She needed time to get herself together, and to do that, she needed the baby to be okay. Then she’d put the pieces of her broken heart back together.
“Knock, knock!”
Erin recognized the voice. “Come in, Macy!”
The minute her best friend lowered herself next to Erin on the bed, she let the tears she’d been holding back run free. Macy knew exactly what Erin needed and sat while she cried, not questioning her, not asking which part of her completely screwed-up life she was crying over, just hugging her and running a hand over her hair until her tear ducts ran dry.
“Thank you.” Erin wiped her eyes on a too-rough hospital tissue.
“Any time. Where is everyone?”
Erin sniffed. “Mike got an emergency call and Sam’s out doing me a favor.”
Macy nodded. “Okay, so what can I do for you?”
God, she loved her friend. “Can you head over to Nick’s place where I was staying and pack up all my things? You have the spare key to my condo, right?”
Macy nodded.
“Just drop everything off there.”
“Will do. Anything else?”
Perfect Fling Page 23
