Taxi (Take It Off #11)

by Cambria Hebert

  “Derek?” I asked when he was at the door.

  He glanced back.

  “I’m not asking you to not tell them,” he told me. “I won’t be mad if you do. She deserves to be punished… I just…”

  I held up a hand. “I understand.”

  And I did.

  He left the room, and I climbed back into bed.

  All of the sudden, I was the one with a choice to make.

  22

  Derek

  The police were coming out of her room when I returned. It was the same two men from just hours ago. They didn’t appear tired, though. In fact, they looked fresh and well rested.

  I was starting to wonder if I would ever be well rested again.

  One man looked up and saw me coming. My steps slowed the closer I got.

  “Officers.” I spoke formally. In the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but wonder if they would ask me about Laura. If they were on their way to arrest her right then.

  She deserved it.

  Right?

  Did a grief-stricken mother deserve to be punished for doing everything humanly possible (no matter how despicable) to save her child?

  I was starting to think she didn’t.

  But like Rose said, the lines were beginning to blur for me. I was entirely too close to this situation.

  After I got Rose’s release in motion, I went back upstairs. I didn’t want to see my sister, but Rocco was a different story. I needed to see him. To talk to him. To apologize for his kidney not being here like he thought.

  The whole way up the stairs, I dreaded the look in his eyes. The innocent, forgiving look of a child. I dreaded telling him the kidney wasn’t coming.

  Laura was beside his bed, just like always.

  Rocco was laughing when I stepped in, a sound that socked me right in the gut. His mom was holding an album of photographs, and the pair were bent over it laughing.

  “Uncle Derek!” he called out. “Come see these baby pictures Mom has. There’s one of you in here… We look just alike!”

  I avoided my sister’s searching eyes and directed all my attention to my nephew. He was like a son to me. In fact, I couldn’t imagine loving my own child any more than I loved him.

  After we laughed over the pictures and I teased him about his hair (when he was a baby, it stuck up constantly, no matter what any of us did to tame it), he turned serious, and I braced myself.

  Rocco had blue eyes. The one trait he’d gotten from his dirt-bag father. They were a true blue, and when they focused on me, I felt the weight of a thousand men.

  “Mom told me about the kidney.”

  I glanced at Laura. She glanced back with a lost look.

  “I’m real sorry it didn’t get here,” I told him, not sure what to say. Laura couldn’t possibly have told him why the kidney didn’t come.

  “It’s okay. Someone else needed it more than me.”

  I cleared my throat. Was it possible for a person’s chest to collapse without any kind of blow? My eyes slid back to my sister.

  She spoke up. “An emergency came in at the hospital where it was being harvested, and the patient there needed it right away.”

  So she made her son a victim, too. A victim of her lies.

  I hated her in that moment. So much it hurt to not rat her out.

  But spilling my guts to a ten-year-old boy who loved his mother was not revenge. It was cruel.

  I sat on the side of the mattress, totally turning my back on her. “That’s really big of you, dude. To not be upset.”

  Rocco shrugged. “Mom always taught me to share. If they’d sent it here, that other person would have died.”

  Laura bolted up out of her chair. Both of us turned to look. “I’m just gonna go grab some coffee. Do you mind?” she asked me.

  I shook my head.

  “Rocco, I’ll see if I can find you something good in the cafeteria.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  When she was gone, the tightness in my chest didn’t lessen. I ruffled the top of Rocco’s hair. “You know I love you, right?”

  He nodded. “Love you more.” Then he nabbed the cards nearby. “Wanna play some poker?”

  We played a couple hands. He won them all. And then I noticed my sister hovering in the doorway.

  “I had a long shift last night,” I told him. “I’m gonna go home and grab a shower and some rest. I’ll come back later, and we can play some more.”

  He nodded and shuffled the cards around for a game of solitaire. A ten-year-old shouldn’t have to play solitaire. He should be outside with his friends.

  Out in the hallway, Laura stared at me, her eyes begging the question she didn’t ask.

  “I didn’t tell them,” I said low.

  She made a whimpering sound. “Your team showed up last night, ready for the transplant. After a while, I told them you called, said the surgery fell through and you’d brief them soon.” She looked up, her eyes begging me to understand.

  I couldn’t. At least not right now.

  “They all went home, assumed you were too upset to come in.” She went on.

  I made a motion with my hand. I didn’t want to hear any more about all the lies she told.

  “I won’t hurt him like that,” I intoned, motioning toward Rocco’s door. “But I didn’t ask Rose not to say anything. She has every right to seek justice for the shit you put her through.”

  Laura’s face went stark white.

  I stared at her long and hard.

  And then I walked away without another word.

  And now I stood before the detectives, awaiting the verdict.

  “Officers,” I said by way of greeting, pushing aside what happened just moments ago.

  “Dr. Kelley,” the one who saw me first replied. “We’ve just come from speaking with Rose.”

  I nodded, waiting to see what else they would say.

  “Her story seems to corroborate everything you told us.”

  I nodded. “And the men?” I asked, hoping asking about the kidnappers might make the nerves in my voice understandable.

  “Both the bodies were recovered this morning.”

  “Both of them?”

  He nodded. “It appears he did bleed out as you surmised. We found him a short distance away from the silos. Clearly, he was attempting to escape when he collapsed and died.”

  I didn’t feel bad.

  It was the first time in my entire life the loss of a life didn’t affect me at all.

  “We’re going to need you both to come down to the station soon to identify them as your kidnappers.”

  “That’s really necessary?” I asked, thinking of Rose.

  “It’s a formality, yes. We’ll also need your signatures on the formal statements we’re having drawn up.”

  I nodded, grim. “Of course.” I cleared my throat. “So will I be arrested for murder?”

  The officer shook his head. “No. It was clearly self-defense. Everything at the scene proved both of your testimonies.”

  I nodded, not really relieved. Honestly, being arrested had barely even occurred to me. There were other things to worry about.

  “You still have my card?” the officer asked. His partner just stood nearby and listened to our exchange.

  “Yes,” I replied.

  “Good. Would later this evening work for you to come in?”

  “That should be fine,” I said, even though there would never be a fine time for this.

  The two officers took their leave, and I held my breath until they were gone. When they stepped into the elevator and it closed, I rushed after them to see which direction the elevator was going.

  Down. Not up.

  They weren’t going for my sister.

  Rose hadn’t told them.

  I let myself into her room without knocking or saying a word.

  Her room was private. I’d made sure of it before I’d gone in search of my sister when I’d first left her in the care of the ER nurses and staff.
She’d been through too much. She needed some space and time, not some strange roommate breathing down her neck.

  Plus, it was selfish. I’d wanted to be alone when I saw her. At the time, I hadn’t realized the curveball coming at me. At the time, I just wanted to spend time with her away from prying eyes.

  She wasn’t in bed, but standing across the room at the window. The sun was bright even though it was still early. The yellow-gold rays shone through the glass and created a sort of halo around her body. What didn’t touch her moved past to stretch out across the white floor in vibrant streaks.

  Her wavy hair appeared on fire, glowing in the brightness. Some strands were deep red, while others sparked with hints of gold.

  The IV had been removed from her hand, so she stood with both arms folded in front of her, the position stretching the gown at her back. It was haphazardly tied, so there was a long, wide opening that revealed her creamy skin.

  What was exposed looked soft, like the skin on a peach. I ached to run my fingers across it, back and forth, to let the velvet texture delight my senses. My eyes refused to leave the small of her back, the way it dipped in and the gown fell straight down without touching her curves. It looked like the palm of my hand would fit there, the perfect place to rest and pull her up against my body.

  All she wore beneath the gown was a pair of panties. They were white lace. See-through.

  Sexy.

  Yeah, it might be wrong to think about how much I wanted her when we stood in a hospital room in the center of a chaotic event, but I didn’t care.

  I wanted her.

  Seeing hints of her body like this only made me want her more. It didn’t matter where or when. As long as I made her mine.

  She hadn’t heard me come in. I could tell she was lost in her own private thoughts. Even though when I opened the door, I’d been in a hurry to talk to her, I wasn’t anymore.

  The length of her hair fell farther down her back when she lifted her face to let the bright light of the sun caress it.

  With the slight shift of her body, my eyes dropped down again. White lace stretched out over her well-shaped ass, and my dick jumped in my boxers. Her ass was also like a peach. Juicy and ripe, begging for my touch.

  I had the sudden instinct to push down my bottoms and go up behind her, shove aside that lace, and claim her right there in the glow of the sun.

  Now I understood all those stories I heard about people getting it on in closets around the hospital. When it came to Rose, I had close to no self-control.

  “Only about two days without the sun and it felt like an entire lifetime,” she said, her voice low, almost thick.

  So she had heard me come in.

  She knew I’d been staring.

  She let me.

  “I saw the cops on my way in,” I said, my eyes still feasting on her form.

  She made a sound but said nothing more.

  I prowled across the floor to stand so close behind her my chest touched her back. She swayed ever so slightly toward me, and I took it as an invitation. My arms wrapped around her from behind, the heat from her sun-kissed body seeping into my pores.

  Hunching around her, I let my lips play against her ear. “You didn’t tell them.”

  One of her hands glided along my forearm and tucked around the bend of my elbow. “No.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t think it will change anything.”

  I nuzzled the side of her neck and she tilted back, giving me better access.

  “I’ll take you home,” I murmured.

  “Will you stay?” Her body arched into me a little bit farther.

  I groaned. “If you want me to.”

  She turned to face me, the sun now glistening at her back.

  “You should get off that leg,” I told her, palmed her waist, and lifted, perching her on the windowsill.

  Without hesitation, the distance between our mouths closed. I brushed my lips over hers, once, twice, and then on the third time, I didn’t lift my head. I’d never wanted to kiss someone so thoroughly before.

  I couldn’t get close enough; my lips couldn’t press deep enough. I licked into her mouth like she was a melting, sinful desert and I wanted every last taste. Her lips closed around my tongue and sucked it deep, and I damn near exploded in my jeans.

  My fingers dug into her cheeks, and she pulled deeper, making a small mewling noise as if she’d been craving me all along.

  When at last she relented, I ripped my mouth away and stared down at her. Her lips glistened from our kissing. They looked slick and plump. I wanted to lower my head again but knew if I did, I might not be able to stop.

  “C’mon, fairy, let’s go.”

  “I don’t have any clothes.” She grimaced.

  “Well, you aren’t wearing that,” I drawled.

  “And why not?” she demanded, a hint of that stubborn streak I’d seen before reasserting itself.

  Oh yes, I was going to love her.

  “Because your entire luscious ass is on display back there.”

  She lifted a brow. “You didn’t seem to mind.”

  “I didn’t. But I sure as hell will mind if everyone else gets an eyeful.”

  “Maybe I’ll catch the eye of a handsome doctor.”

  She was teasing me. I liked it.

  “Maybe you already have.”

  She started to laugh, but it turned into a yawn.

  I frowned. “Be right back.”

  I found her a pair of scrubs in the doctor’s lounge and a pair of itchy-looking socks. While I was there, I realized neither of us had a car.

  I wasn’t calling a cab; that was for sure.

  With the scrubs in hand, I ran upstairs and got the keys to my sister’s SUV. She handed them over without blinking.

  The least she could do after everything was let me borrow her car.

  “Derek?” she said, coming out of Rocco’s room behind me.

  “What?”

  She winced at the bite in my voice, but I didn’t feel bad.

  “Are they coming for me?” she asked, her voice small.

  She was waiting for the police. I supposed it was good punishment. To sit and wait. To wonder. She could go to jail for a very, very long time for this.

  “As of right now?” I began. “No.”

  Her shoulders slumped and tears filled her eyes.

  I looked away.

  “But that doesn’t mean they won’t,” I said, perhaps a little colder than necessary.

  “Rocco,” she said.

  My eyes snapped back to hers. I felt the anger burning in their depths. “You should have thought about him before you did this. But don’t worry, Laura. I’ll take care of him if and when you aren’t able.”

  She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth, tears streaking down her cheeks.

  “I don’t want to miss what time he’s got left,” she whispered.

  A piece of my heart turned to stone. The thought of my nephew no longer being here was my worst nightmare. And what’s more, if it ever did come to that, he shouldn’t have to leave this earth without his mother by his side.

  I couldn’t.

  I couldn’t do it right then.

  I was so tired and so pissed off and so twisted up inside I was on some kind of emotional rollercoaster, speeding downhill.

  I needed a break.

  I needed Rose.

  23

  Rose

  Everyone handles grief, even chaos, in different ways.

  I don’t think a person ever really knows how they’ll handle an extreme situation until they’re thrust in and have no other choice but to react.

  After I signed the final paperwork presented to me by a few nurses, who obviously had huge crushes on Derek, I pondered this.

  I also pondered the fact I wasn’t too thrilled the nurses had crushes. I consoled myself with the memory of how his fingers felt teasing along the gap of skin exposed at my back due to the ill-fitting hospital gown. Most
people hated the things. I could be put on that list as well. However, I can’t say I didn’t have a newfound appreciation for the flimsy, pathetic excuse for a cover-up. After all, it had enticed Derek to touch me.

  And those were the kinds of thoughts that led back around to pondering my reaction to being kidnapped by a psycho taxi driver and chained up for my organs.

  Well, he probably wasn’t actually a taxi driver.

  I’d been on the verge of falling apart several times in those silos. I’d been terrified to the point I honestly thought I was going to die.

  Yet here I stood, thinking about Derek’s hands and the way my skin raced with chills (the good kind) whenever he touched me. I thought about more kisses, because the ones we’d already shared weren’t nearly enough.

  Did this mean I was some cold, unaffected woman?

  No.

  I was profoundly affected.

  But on the inside, not the outside.

  The alterations I felt weren’t the kind that came with tears and panic attacks.

  I certainly wasn’t chipper or in a bright and happy mood. But I was grateful.

  Grateful to be alive. Thankful for the air in my lungs and the bandage around my wrist. Because although my injuries hurt, I knew I would heal. I knew I would see tomorrow.

  In a way, I felt stronger than before.

  Why? Because I survived. Because I faced all those awful things, and I made it through.

  I felt a fresh sense of myself.

  No, I would likely never ride in a cab again. I’d probably look at strangers on the street and wonder who they really were for the rest of my life, and bondage (like with chains) during sex…

  That would be a hell to the no.

  But I wasn’t going to let what happened cripple me. I wanted to live the life I’d managed to keep. I wanted to be happy.

  If I learned anything at all (besides never get into a cab or walk alone in the dark) from all of this, it was not everyone gets a full life. Some people are robbed of days, even years. Not just from criminals, but by failing bodies.

  Even when I felt the effects of what was done to me, I was going to push on. I was going to live.

  When I came out of the bathroom, I felt a little silly dressed in a pair of all-pink nurse’s scrubs, the hems of which dragged the floor.