The Good Daughter

by Jean Brashear

  “This man is a hero, not a criminal.” Chloe glared. She pulled off her jacket, balled it up and pressed it into Vince’s shoulder. “I’ll give you answers after he’s tended to. And don’t you even think about arresting him again.”

  Vince would have smiled if it hadn’t hurt so damn bad.

  The ambulance siren grew louder.

  “Tino?” Vince managed to say.

  Newcombe stood over him and shook his head.

  Memories of a nine-year-old boy with terrified eyes wavered in front of Vince. “Why—” he whispered.

  “Don’t talk, Vince.” He could hear the sobs in Chloe’s voice.

  “Chloe, I—” He had so much to say to her, but his thoughts kept drifting.

  As the light faded, he felt the press of her lips. He tried to reach for her, but his hand wouldn’t move.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHLOE PACED the CCU waiting room, wishing someone would shut off the TV blaring some stupid comedy. It was meant to help pass the time, she knew, but all it did was make her edgier.

  Mike prowled the other side of the room, cell phone to his ear. He’d been on the thing almost nonstop since he’d brought Chloe here.

  Her parents had come, needing to assure themselves that she was all right. After they’d hugged and fretted, her mother had even cried over her. Finally, however, Chloe had observed her father’s exhaustion and urged them to go home. That he hadn’t argued more forcefully told her much about his condition.

  One more worry for later, but tonight Vince commanded all her attention. Chloe tried not to glance at the clock again. She’d blatantly lied to the EMTs, telling them that she was Vince’s fiancée. He had no family; she would not leave him.

  She prayed he’d regain consciousness. There’d been so much blood…

  Mike disconnected and looked at her. “How you hangin’ in there, Doc?”

  “Okay.” She attempted a smile, but it fell miserably short. “How are you?”

  “Better than Newcombe—he asked about you, by the way.”

  “Will he leave Vince alone now, you think?”

  Mike shook his head with a wry chuckle. “He’s less than thrilled to be eating crow again. And truth to tell, Vince still has some things to answer for, such as lying about Tino and pursuing an investigation he’d been told to drop.”

  “They can’t possibly expect to prosecute him for that. He was right all along. I have a mind to—

  “Whoa, Doc. Chill. Everyone recognizes what Vince has pulled off. Moreno’s dead and Akers is singing like a bird. Los Carnales is hurting right now, and Vince is the reason. Doesn’t mean, though, that Sarge isn’t going to read him the riot act once he’s better.”

  “Will he be, Mike?” Chloe’s fears gnawed at her.

  “Sure he will. Takes more than a bullet to bring him down. Vince is tough.”

  She wanted to believe him. Wished she could know where she and Vince stood. He had to get well. She realized now just how he’d tried to protect her by turning from her, that her faith had been justified all along.

  She yearned for a chance to tell him what he meant—

  The door to the waiting room opened. Chloe looked up, hoping it would be news of Vince.

  A woman stood there, small and blond, her blue eyes wide. “Chloe?”

  “Yes?” Chloe blinked. “Who—” Then it hit her. “Ivy? Oh, my word, I forgot all about—”

  Then she had no more time to ask questions. The woman rushed to her, throwing her arms around Chloe, hugging her and weeping. “We were terrified when we arrived and the police were at your house. Linc tracked you through your parents’ houseman. Thank God you’re all right.” Ivy pulled back suddenly. “You’re not hurt, are you? They didn’t lie?”

  Chloe found a smile somewhere. “I’m fine, but Vince—”

  “What happened? He’s the man you were so worried about?”

  Briefly, with Mike’s help, Chloe explained the night’s events.

  “To think we could have lost you without—” She hugged Chloe again.

  Chloe soaked in the comfort. “I’m okay. But I’m so afraid for Vince.”

  “We’ll never be able to thank him enough, will we, Caroline?”

  “No, we won’t.”

  Chloe glanced up. Another blonde stood just inside the room, this one not small and curvy but medium height and lean. Contrasted with Ivy’s honey-gold waves cascading down her back, Caroline’s pale hair was barely shoulder length and clipped in a neat pageboy. Her eyes were green.

  “You’re so beautiful.” Ivy pulled back, cupping her hands on Chloe’s cheeks. “And you’re all grown up. Caroline, come here—our baby sister is taller than either of us.”

  “I have brown eyes,” Chloe murmured in a daze. “Where did I get them?”

  “Our mother,” Caroline answered. “You have her eyes.” But still she stood apart.

  “Oh, come here, Caroline,” Ivy said. “Stop being cautious. I want to hug both my sisters.”

  “You want to hug the whole world,” Caroline said. But she smiled at Chloe and approached.

  Chloe craved the closeness, but innate reserve lingered, something she apparently shared with this new sister. Incredible to have someone else in the world like her.

  Ivy didn’t wait for them. Tears spilling from her eyes, Ivy swept them both into an embrace.

  Caroline remained stiff, sorrow in her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I was the eldest. I shouldn’t have let them—”

  Within Chloe something powerful stirred. These two women were her sisters. Sisters. “You’re here now,” she managed to say.

  Caroline blinked against gathering moisture and nodded, sliding her arm around Chloe and squeezing her hard. “We are. And we’re not leaving.”

  Chloe bowed her head, overcome. For a long moment, she forgot everything in the mighty current of their love.

  Then she heard footsteps and a baby’s gurgling laugh.

  She looked up to see two men, both striking and tall. One of them could have been an Aztec god, his long black hair tied back at the nape, his eyes an astonishing silver blue. The second man, dark haired as well, resembled more the men with whom she’d grown up, easy with money and privilege. In his arms was a beautiful blond cherub.

  “Hello, Chloe. I’m Linc.”

  Before she could answer, the baby leaped from Linc’s arms into hers with startling swiftness. She grasped the child and cuddled her. “Oh, aren’t you a love?” she crooned.

  “She could be you as a baby,” Ivy said.

  Chloe drew back to see. “Really?”

  “Our aunt Prudie has pictures. I’ll show you.”

  “We have an aunt?” Chloe goggled.

  “Great-aunt, really,” Caroline said. “On…Daddy’s side.” In her face, Chloe could see that there was still pain in the memory of the man who’d abandoned them.

  “I have so much to learn—” A thought struck her. “Did we have a dog named Charlie? A black one?”

  Ivy and Caroline traded glances. “You remember him?” Ivy asked.

  “Barely—oh, I have so many questions.”

  “There will be time for all of them,” said the man who’d remained silent. “I’m Diego Montalvo.” He took Chloe’s hand. At the contact, warmth flowed through her. And calmed her.

  “Hello,” she began. “I—”

  “Dr. St. Claire?” said a voice from behind them.

  Chloe’s heart seized.

  Diego moved aside. Amelia was gently removed from her arms. Chloe faced the aide, heart pounding. “Yes?”

  “Detective Coronado’s nurse sent me to find you. He’s waking up.”

  “Oh—” Chloe glanced around her at the concerned faces. “I’m sorry—I have to— Please—would you stay awhile?”

  Nestled against Linc’s side, openly crying, Ivy spoke first. “You couldn’t blast us out of here with dynamite.”

  Linc laughed. “Believe her, Chloe. This woman could give lessons on being
stubborn.”

  Chloe bit her lip. “Vince says I could, too.” Her heart swelled. “I can’t believe you’re all here.” She swept her gaze over them.

  “Go on,” Diego urged. “We’ll be waiting.”

  Chloe hurried to follow the nurse. Vince. Oh, Vince, you have to wake up. I want you to meet my family.

  LIGHT SEARED his eyeballs, and Vince groaned.

  He inhaled, then hissed with pain. What—

  “Vince?”

  “Unh—” He tried to speak, but his throat caught. “Dry,” he croaked.

  “Thank God you’re awake. Here, let me—” A chip of ice touched his lips, and he accepted it greedily, sucking in blessed moisture.

  A hand stroked his forehead, cool and comforting.

  He heard a sob and turned his head toward it, grimacing with the movement. He opened his eyes again.

  And there she was. “Chloe? What happened—where—”

  “Easy—you’re in the hospital. You’re—” Her voice cracked. Her lips attempted a smile, but her eyes were dark with worry. “You’re going to be fine. They kept saying you would, but you didn’t wake up, and I was so—” One slender hand covered her lips. Tears spilled over her lashes. “Oh, Vince—” She bent to him, pressing her face into his throat, her head resting on his unhurt shoulder.

  Vince tightened his fingers in her hair, loose and tumbling as he’d seen it only once, the night they’d made love. “Are you all right?” If he lived a thousand years, he’d never forget the sight of her, eyes wide with terror, a gun jammed into her tender flesh by the man he should never have trusted.

  “I’m fine, but you—oh, Vince, I was terrified for you.”

  “You were terrified—” Closing his eyes couldn’t dispel the images. “When you ran toward Tino’s weapon instead of outside, I thought Akers would—”

  “I couldn’t leave. You were outnumbered.”

  He cleared his throat. “You picked a hell of a time to become reckless, Doc. I’ve never been so damn scared in my life.” He lifted his head and pain exploded. He fell back against the pillow.

  After a long pause, he found the breath to continue. “I don’t know whether to yell at you or kiss you.”

  “I know which one I’d choose.” Her tone aspired to sass, but the wobble in her voice belied the attempt. “I’m through taking the safe way out.”

  “You took so many chances for me.” He inhaled and winced. Forget deep breaths. “Barnes…Newcombe. You posted my bail. Why?”

  Her eyes rounded. “You can’t guess?”

  He knew what he wished for, but the facts of their lives hadn’t changed. He shook his head.

  Chloe’s first instinct was to back away. To place a careful distance between them, letting civility substitute for messy emotion as she’d done all her life.

  Then she thought about what she’d learned of Vince’s past, how it had given him no reason to place faith in love, and understood that it was up to her to be bold. He would never ask her to gamble on him.

  She would have to be the brave one this time. Risk her heart. Be the first to acknowledge what was between them.

  “I could say it was because I believed in your innocence, which I did. I could say it was because I admire you, which I do. I could say that I wanted to prove Roger and Don and my parents wrong—” She clasped his big hand with one of hers, lifting the other to stroke his dark eyebrow with her thumb. “But all of those would be cop-outs. The truth is that I love you. Just that simple.”

  “But—”

  She squeezed his hand, shaking her head. “I thought I would lose you, Vince. I’m not listening to any buts. You’ve made it very clear how many barriers you see between who you are and who I am, and I grant you that they won’t magically disappear, no matter how much I want that.”

  She paused, fighting nerves, then plunged ahead. “What I need to know is if you care enough about me to tackle those barriers, the two of us together. No storybook endings, no magic wand. I’m not the same woman you met, and I don’t want to go back, but I can’t tell you where I’ll wind up.”

  Then she smiled. “They’re out there, Vince—my sisters. Waiting for me.” Abruptly, she sobered. “But I have a past to confront while still finding a way to heal things with my parents.

  “And you…you’ve suffered a betrayal and lost a friend. You don’t trust love. You’ve never had a family. Yours is a dangerous job that frightens me.” She worried at her lip. “Taken altogether, we’ve got a lot of strikes against us.”

  Vince said nothing, but he never removed his gaze from hers.

  “Knowing you…it’s changed me. I don’t have any right to ask you to wait for me to find out who I’m becoming, but—” She looked away, then back, steeling herself. “That’s what I’m asking. I want you to stop throwing up obstacles based on things that don’t matter and give us a chance. Will you?”

  “Chloe—” His voice was ragged, his eyes raw. “I can’t—”

  She closed her eyes against the heartache and pulled at her hand.

  He didn’t release it.

  But she had to understand her risks. “I could be lousy at love, don’t you see that? And I’ll never make a lot of money—”

  “I don’t need your money,” she interrupted. “I have enough for both of us, and anyway, I know how little it means as a substitute for love.”

  “I might be a terrible parent.”

  Hope stirred. “You want children, Vince?” When he didn’t answer, she forced herself to press on. “We’ve both seen the results of bad parenting. Maybe we’d try harder than most to do it right.”

  When she looked at him like that, as if she actually believed it was possible, he couldn’t seem to clamp down on the hope threatening to choke him. “What about love, Doc? You so sure you’re ready to gamble that I’m any good at it?”

  “What are you most scared about, Vince? That I’ll say no—” In her eyes was the gleam of the woman who’d challenged him at darts and hit four bull’s-eyes in a row. The woman who’d stood up to the entire law-enforcement establishment on his behalf. “Or that I’ll say yes?”

  “Don’t you have one ounce of self-preservation?” he challenged. But she’d lost her chance to run. He’d never let her go now. He tugged at her hand to bring her close. “I’m too weak to get on my knees to propose, so maybe you could just pretend that I did and—”

  He sobered as he saw her eyes filling. “God, Chloe—” he said in a ragged whisper. “More than I ever wanted anything in my life,” he murmured, “I want you to say yes.” He grabbed her with his one good arm and held on tight.

  Chloe buried her face against his shoulder, hearing the beat of his strong, valiant heart, and knew that here, finally, she’d found the center of her family. The great passion, the love she’d waited for all her life.

  She filled her lungs with the first peaceful breath she’d had in days. Years. Joy bubbled up from deep inside her.

  “I want to share my families, Vince, both of them. To meld all of us into something new.” She rose, smiling at him, seeing all his walls down at last.

  “Ready or not, tough guy…I’m saying yes.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Two months later

  CHLOE AWOKE into the purple-gray shadows that presaged dawn, blinking at the ceiling of the room where she’d concocted girlhood dreams.

  And smiled. Her wedding day. One hand rose past the covers to rest where butterflies danced.

  “Sweet dreams, Doc?” The mattress sank beneath his weight.

  She jolted. “What are you doing here? Don’t you know it’s bad luck?”

  Vince lobbed that hellion’s grin at her, dimple winking. “Superstitious? Tut-tut.” He clucked his tongue. “A Ph.D. and still slave to an old wives’ tale.”

  “Vince, I just don’t want to risk—”

  He rolled his eyes. “Don’t go getting careful on me now. You put your career—hell, put your life on the line for me, but some superstition
has you running scared?” He shook his head, that blue gaze sparking. “It’s about a hundred hours until I get you alone—and naked. I had to see you again.” His smile flashed, and she was toast.

  “I’ve had some second thoughts about waiting,” she said, watching his reaction.

  His eyes widened, then blazed. He swooped down to capture her mouth—

  And instead leaped to his feet, shaking his head. “Stop that.” He started pacing. “Sweet mercy…the longest two months of my life, and you’re tempting me to blow it in the homestretch.”

  She laughed and sat up, shaking her hair. “I have bed head, no makeup and I need to brush my teeth—how can you be tempted?”

  Vince stopped and stared at her. “You’re serious.”

  What she saw in his face rejuvenated her jitters. She nodded.

  He scrubbed one hand down his face. “I’ve gotta get out of here,” he muttered. “You’re killing me.”

  “How did you get inside, anyway?”

  “Bathroom window.”

  She goggled. “You climbed to the second floor and made it in that tiny bathroom window?”

  “I told you I was desperate.” His expression was thoroughly unrepentant.

  “And if my father had caught you?”

  Vince shrugged. “Linc said he’d take care of him.”

  “Linc? He knows you’re here?”

  “He was up with Amelia, saw me out the window.” He chuckled. “Gave me a thumbs-up.”

  Chloe burst into helpless laughter. “Will you ever stop surprising me?”

  With shocking swiftness, he scooped her off the bed and covered her mouth with his. After a long and thoroughly carnal kiss, he pressed her face into his shoulder and exhaled loudly. “I sure hope not.”

  Then, just as quickly, he placed her back on the bed and pulled the bedspread over her, trapping her arms beneath it. “Now, stop working your wiles on me, Dr. Vixen. Don’t you know it’s bad luck to see the bride the day of the wedding?”

  He grinned, claimed one more scorching kiss and strode to the door.

  “Wait,” she managed to say, still trying to recover. “The window?”