To the Moon and Back

by Becca Van

  She’d been told she’d been in a car wreck, but for the life of her she couldn’t recall what had happened.

  The doc had told her she was lucky she’d been wearing a seatbelt, because her injuries would have been much worse if she hadn’t. Her forehead was sore, she had a pounding headache and her muscles were stiff and tender, but at least she was still alive.

  She recollected not feeling well because she’d had a monster of a headache and being so tired she’d could barely stand. She gave a mental snort. The headache she had now was way worse than the other one. Even though she’d had blurry vision, right now she felt as if she was seeing double, but since she’d whacked her head on the steering wheel as she’d been told, and now had a concussion, that wasn’t a shock. She also remembered the hot cops who’d come into the shop, but since she hadn’t served them she had no idea what they’d bought and she was curious.

  Weariness was pulling at her again. The lack of sleep over the last few months combined with the concussion was making it hard to stay awake. Yet, she was also finding it difficult to drift away into sleep since a hospital wasn’t a very quiet place.

  She heard a squeak and a scrape, but since she was in that place where she wasn’t quite asleep and not quite awake, almost in a doze, she thought the sound had come from the hallway outside of her room, but when she heard deep voices whispering she forced her heavy lids open.

  “You’re awake. We didn’t disturb you did we, Jodi?”

  She blinked up at him trying to bring his face into focus, but it didn’t help, so she closed her eyes again. “Deputy Kyson. What are you doing here?”

  “We need to get your statement, Ms. Regan,” Walt said.

  “Call me Jodi.”

  “Jodi then, and call me Walt.”

  “You can call me Dirk.”

  She turned her head slowly and peered at Dirk from between her squinty eyes.

  “How are you feeling, Jodi?” Dirk asked.

  “Okay,” she answered.

  “What was the doc’s prognosis?” Walt asked.

  She glanced down at her chest, sighing with relief to see she was wearing a hospital gown before moving, then braced her hands on the mattress and tried to push herself further up the bed.

  “Hey, stop,” Dirk ordered. “You shouldn’t be moving around too much. Let me help you.”

  “I can—” Before she could finish her sentence, both men were there helping her. Dirk sat on the edge of the bed, clasped her arms, and gently pulled her upright and against his chest. She could hear rustling behind her and realized Walt was fluffy the pillows up. The soft whirring of a motor sounded as Walt adjusted the top half of the bed, then Dirk eased her back against the pillows.

  “Thanks.” She sighed. Now that she was sitting up more, the pounding in her head eased slightly. If she’d known that being more upright would alleviate her headache a bit, she would have adjusted the bed before now.

  When she was settled, the men moved away, grabbed a couple of seats, carried them toward the bed and sat down. Walt pulled out a small notepad and a pen. “Can you tell us how you crashed your car?”

  Jodi bit her lip and sighed again. “I can’t remember.”

  “Did you encounter another car on the road or maybe an animal?” Dirk prompted.

  Jodi gasped as clarity slammed into her mind. She opened her eyes, but when the light hitting her retinas made her wince, she quickly shut them again. “There was a dog. I didn’t want to hit it and kill it. I swerved trying to avoid it and my tires went into the gravel on the side of the road and I lost control.”

  She heard movement but kept her eyes shut.

  “You can open your eyes now, Jodi,” Dirk said. “I’ve pulled the blinds and turned the overhead lights off.”

  “Thank you.”

  “We’d pretty much figured out what had happened,” Walt said quickly jotting things down into the book in his hand. When he was done he glanced up at her. “Do you have vehicle insurance?”

  “Yes, but my car is old and I’m not sure it’s worth making a claim.”

  “I think you should,” Dirk stated. “Replacing the fence you smashed through would be costly. Would you like us to contact your insurance agent?”

  “I can do it. I’m sure the doc will let me go home in the morning.” She was hoping that was the case since she hadn’t taken the time to read over the health insurance plan she’d swapped over to when she and Talia had started the new business. She was kicking herself for being so lax, but with everything else that had been going on it had completely slipped her mind.

  “Is there anyone we can call for you, Jodi?” Walt asked.

  “No thanks,” she answered quickly, trying to ignore the frown of concern on his face and her attraction to him and his brother. She was just glad that the younger brother Emmet wasn’t here with them. She was having a hard enough time dealing with the two authoritative deputies without another one to contend with. Since she wasn’t at her best, she wasn’t up to verbally sparring or arguing with them if they tried to push her.

  “Okay, but you should call a friend or a family member when you’re cleared to get out of here. You’re going to need a ride home,” Dirk stated as he rose and shoved a hand into the pocket of his uniform pants. When he pulled his hand out he had what looked like a business card in it. “This is my contact details. It has my direct line at the sheriff’s department on it, as well as our home phone and cell number on it. Call if you need a ride home or if you remember anything else about the accident.”

  “Okay,” she answered as he placed it onto the table beside the bed.

  “Here,” Walt said as he stood and passed something to his brother. “Put my card with yours.”

  Dirk did as he was told, then gazed down at her again. “Take care and get better soon, Jodi,” he said.

  “Make the most of this opportunity to rest up,” Walt said.

  “Thank you,” she replied and tried to ogle both the deputies’ asses as they walked toward the door, but since she couldn’t see very well, it was pointless. With a sigh of frustration, she slumped against the pillows and closed her eyes.

  The Kyson deputies were gone, and she was once more all alone.

  Dejection set in and though she tried to convince herself it was because she’d crashed her car and been injured, she knew that wasn’t the reason.

  The three Kyson brothers got to her in ways she’d never felt before. Nonetheless she didn’t have the energy to examine her feelings.

  With a sigh, she sank deeper into the pillows and wondered if she’d ever see the handsome, sexy Kyson men again.

  She gave a mental shake of her head and shoved them from her mind and tried to fall asleep, but no matter how hard she pushed, they wouldn’t leave, and that scared the crap out of her.

  Chapter Four

  Once he’d heard about the car wreck the bitch had been in and that she was in hospital, he planned to drive out to her house as soon as he could.

  His boss was riding him hard to find the stash, but so far, he hadn’t been able to get into her place. The men who lived in the town of Slick Rock were nothing like he’d assumed they’d be. The assholes were so fucking vigilant, observant, and overprotective of the women in town, it was almost sickening. What had shocked him was the prevalent ménage relationships most of the townsfolk were in. Even the fucking sheriffs and most of the deputies were sharing a woman between them.

  It had been really easy for him to infiltrate the town given his background as a soldier and his squeaky clean record. It wasn’t that he was a model citizen. In fact, the opposite was true, but he’d been lucky enough to be elsewhere when the cops had raided the warehouse in Denver. As far as he knew, no one knew he was in cahoots with the current drug lord. The legalization of marijuana in the state of Colorado had somehow been seen as a go ahead for other illicit substances to become rife throughout the state.

  His boss had fingers in a lot of pies around Colorado and the country. If h
e’d been higher up in the chain of command he would have steered his leader away from Slick Rock, but it was far too late for that.

  The stupid motherfucker, who’d been right under the noses of the cops in the small rural town, had ended up dying from a drug overdose. The landlord had notified the police and after the crime scene had been combed over and the death was ruled accidental suicide, the little house had been cleaned out then re-leased.

  Of course, his boss had sent a few men to town when the place had been empty to search for the missing packages, but they hadn’t been found. Boss man had even sent someone to the landlord’s place, but again, nada.

  Now it was up to him to find out where the kingpin’s stuff had gone. As far as he knew, the packages hadn’t been found and it was up to him to track them down.

  He’d kept his ear to the ground and even asked a few subtle questions of people who’d be in the know regarding what he was seeking without giving himself away or mentioning what he was looking for, but his unknowledgeable contacts hadn’t even frowned. No one was that good at body language, so he knew that he stuff he was seeking had to still be in that house. But where?

  After he’d finished working, he was going to that bitch’s house and he didn’t care if he had to tear the place apart to find his boss’s property.

  He was running out of time fast and could practically hear the clock ticking down. If he didn’t get his leader’s shit, he was either going to end up in prison when the motherfucker ratted him out, or he’d be killed and put six feet under.

  Neither of those options were good.

  He’d already been in town for about three to four months and he’d be given a six month deadline. Nevertheless, he didn’t think he would get that much time. The kingpin was getting impatient, and every time he contacted him, the asshole chewed him out. The prick was getting more and more aggressive, and he just knew deep in his gut his time was almost up. Of course he’d tried placating the asshole and it had worked so far, but it wouldn’t take much to send the crazy bastard over the edge. The boss had wanted to send in all his goons and shoot the town up, but thankfully, he’d talked him around.

  Though he didn’t give a shit about the residents of Slick Rock, he had a feeling there’d be a blood bath if the other members of the cartel were sent here. The men in this town might be saps when it came to their women, but they were all as hard as nails otherwise.

  They were trained Marines, SEALs, and other fucking soldiers with elite military training. He could see them winning against the kingpin and taking out all his minions without losing any sleep over the deaths.

  Nothing mattered but finding those fucking packages.

  He was going to get what his boss ordered him to and get the hell out of Dodge.

  * * * *

  “We need to get to the hospital early,” Dirk stated.

  “I agree.” Walt nodded.

  “Do you think she won’t have anyone to come and pick her up if she’s released tomorrow?” Emmet asked. “She might not have any family here, but she has friends. From what I’ve heard, Talia isn’t just her business partner.”

  “That’s my guess,” Dirk said.

  Emmet sighed. He wished he and his brothers were already in a relationship with her, but he didn’t think that was going to happen. She was wary around them, and he had a feeling they scared her, but he wasn’t sure why. Though it went against every grain of his morals, he was tempted to do a search of Jodi Regan, but if he did and she ever found out, she’d be pissed and the shit would hit the fan. She also likely wouldn’t want anything to do with him, Walt, or Dirk if and when she found out.

  He’d hated seeing her all bruised and banged up from the accident. He wanted to go back to the hospital and sit with her until she was allowed to go home, but he figured that would just make her even more wary. She’d probably think he was a creepy stalker or something.

  Emmet thought about calling Talia to find out the lowdown on Jodi, but he wasn’t sure she’d know anything. From what he’d heard from the grapevine, Ms. Regan was a very private person and never talked about her life.

  She might have been in town for over twelve months, but as far as he knew, no one really knew anything about her. It frustrated the hell out of him, but unless she’d broken the law there was no reason for him and his siblings to investigate her.

  That line of thought sent him into a tailspin. What if she was a criminal and didn’t talk about herself because she was trying to keep the eyes of the law off of her?

  His gut knotted up, but after taking a couple of deep breaths, the tension eased even if it didn’t totally dissipate. “Do you think she’s a felon?”

  Fuck! Why the hell did I ask that?

  “I don’t think so.” Walt scowled at him.

  “We’re pretty good at reading people,” Dirk said. “She’s definitely hiding something, but I don’t think she’s the type of woman to break the law. If she had been she would have turned tail and run from this town as soon as she’d seen all the lawmen and the other men in town. She’s had to have heard about how commanding and shielding all the males are.”

  Emmet sighed and nodded. This time all the tautness in his muscles faded away. His brothers were right. Jodi wasn’t the criminal type. Even though he’d known that deep down inside, he’d still been concerned about what was going on with her, was still going on with her other than the fact she was being terrorized.

  That worried the absolute fuck out of him.

  He wanted to find the motherfuckers scaring her, but he wanted her in his home where she’d be safe, more.

  Somehow he didn’t think that was ever going to happen.

  * * * *

  Though Jodi felt much better after sleeping most of the night, she was still feeling lethargic and groggy. Her head wasn’t pounding anymore, but she still had a headache and was having a hard time concentrating on any one thing. It was like there was a thick mist inside her brain that stopped her from seeing things clearly, and her muscles were all pretty stiff and sore, but thankfully, the doc had just been to visit and after examining her, had told her she could go home. She was just waiting for one of the wonderful nurses to bring in the papers she was supposed to sign.

  While she was lucky enough to have her purse with her, she didn’t have any clean clothes to wear since hers had been cut from her body, or so she’d been told, but that wasn’t going to stop her from leaving. She was going to ask one of the nurses for a pair of scrubs and then she’d call a taxi or get an uber. That was if she had enough cash in her wallet. From what she could recall, she’d only had ten dollars, and she wasn’t sure that was enough money to cover the fee of a ride home.

  She’d thought about calling Talia and asking her to come and pick her up, but her business partner had enough on her plate. She had three fiancés and the business to run all by herself. Although Jodi felt guilty about leaving Talia in the lurch, she really didn’t think she was up to spending a day on her feet to serve customers. The doc had told her to rest for the next few days and had even given her a medical certificate, but she had no intention of staying away from work for another three days. The shop had been so busy, she and Talia had barely managed to keep up as it was. Talia had been making noises about hiring another person, and though they could probably afford to, Jodi didn’t want to yet.

  After failing at the internet café business and with all her student loans, Jodi was still trying to get her head back above water. The more of a profit she and Talia made, the more confident Jodi became that their business would thrive.

  Talia had three fiancés to support her if things took a downward turn, but Jodi had no one. If this new venture of theirs went bust, she’d be out on the streets. Since she’d been there before, she never wanted to go back.

  “Are you ready to get out of here?” the nurse asked jovially as she entered the room.

  Jodi forced a smile. “You have no idea.”

  The nurse laughed.

  “Thank y
ou for taking such good care of me,” Jodi said.

  “You’re welcome.” She smiled then held up the bundle in her arms. “Since you have no clothes and no one who’s been to visit brought you any, I grabbed you some scrubs.”

  Tears of gratitude burned Jodi’s eyes, but she hurriedly blinked them away. “Thank you.”

  “Again, you’re welcome. If you sign all the papers now, you can then go and take a shower. It’ll take a bit of time to put everything into the system,” the nurse suggested.

  “Okay.” Jodi took the papers the nurse handed her and quickly filled them out and signed on the dotted line before handing them back. The nurse smiled then hurried away.

  Talia had heard about her accident and had visited last night just after she’d been brought something to eat. Her friend had bought her the best gift ever. Talia had stopped at the small gift shop and bought her a comb, toothbrush, toothpaste and other toiletries for which Jodi would be forever grateful, because even if she didn’t have her own clothes to put on, at least she wouldn’t stink or look as if she’d just rolled out of bed.

  By the time she’d showered, she was exhausted and looking forward to going home and crawling into bed. Just thinking about the small two-bedroom rental had her heartrate and breathing escalating, so she quickly tried to push it from the mind. It wouldn’t do for the nurse to come back to tell her she could go only to find her hyperventilating. The kind nurse would probably tell her to get back in bed and rescind her release documents.

  Just as she got her fear under control, said nurse entered her room with a wheelchair. “Is someone coming to pick you up?” she asked as she locked the wheels on the mobile chair.

  Jodi who been sitting on the edge of the mattress, slid to her feet, keeping her head down and using her hair to shield her face as she sat down. “Yeah,” she lied. “My ride is going to be a few minutes late though.”