Their conversation had opened up her eyes a bit more, and she realized that not once had someone at the nurse’s station given her a second look. The judgement that she thought had been there from the very beginning might never have existed for the vast majority of the staff. Lily commiserated with Paul, and maybe most everyone had felt the same toward her after Parker’s arrest and subsequent prison term.
With the exception of whoever called the press to let them know when she would be leaving the hospital. Lily had already had her fifteen minutes of fame, not that she would have wished them on her worst enemy. Still, someone had taken the time out of their daily routine to let the media know where she was for what probably amounted to maybe a hundred bucks if they were lucky. She wasn’t sure what the going rate was for newsworthy tips nowadays.
Oddly enough, Lily didn’t have Ridge’s cell phone number. He hadn’t been away from her side, so she technically hadn’t needed it. She would have to ask him for it first thing, though. She didn’t like not being able to reach him. It wasn’t like they would simply part ways after The Widow Taker was brought to justice, anyway. At least, she wouldn’t want to lose contact with him completely.
They’d formed a friendship under strenuous circumstances, and she would like to cultivate it even after she was able to safely go home. If she were honest with herself, she’d even be willing to—no. She wouldn’t even allow her mind to go in that direction. He’d said numerous times over the last week that he was still adjusting to civilian life. He wasn’t looking for anything more than what already existed between them.
“You shouldn’t be looking, either,” she mumbled to herself, figuring she might as well change out of the outfit that she’d worn to the hospital. She peered around the curtain one more time to look outside, only seeing Deputy Chen’s cruiser in the driveway. He probably had Ridge’s cell phone number, but how foolish would she look by calling it? She had to remind herself that he had a life outside of babysitting her. “I really need to take up knitting.”
A half an hour later, Lily was back into her comfortable set of jeans with her favorite white zip-up hoodie. She’d been too worried to eat lunch, but she was too wired for coffee. More than anything, she would have liked to go on a run. She’d missed her daily workouts immensely. With her stitches out, she might be able to even swing a light jog. It was too bad that Ridge didn’t have a treadmill.
Lily thought about turning on the news, but that would mean the likelihood of watching her former in-laws run their mouths on national television, most of which Lily had heard numerous times before. It wasn’t healthy to immerse herself in the past, and she’d as much said so to Paul.
Needing something to drink besides coffee, Lily made her way into the kitchen. She got a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water from the tap. While she leaned back against the counter, she surveyed the work that Ridge had done on the cabinets. He’d mentioned that his dad had been helping with the renovations. The weathered oak had been the perfect choice for the rustic style of the kitchen.
She leaned her head back while suppressing a groan of frustration. She was envisioning the far wall being a caramel color to offset the lighter, natural color of the log walls when she had no say in how the cabin was decorated. She needed something else to focus on besides wondering where Ridge had gone after leaving the hospital.
Lily returned to the living room and claimed her recliner, setting her glass down next to the rest of the case files that neither she nor Ridge had bothered to look at. The profile had been an interesting read, but Agent Malone and his team already knew the identity of the killer. Still, she picked the top folder up out of boredom.
An hour passed by in what seemed to be a matter of minutes, and Lily only looked up from the crime reports that had documented Tamara Johnson’s murder—the first known killing by The Widow Taker—when she heard the distinctive chime of the new perimeter alarm. She quickly stood, dumping the papers into the seat behind her as she made her way back to the window near the front door.
Sure enough, Ridge had finally made it home. He was already out of his vehicle with a large pizza in one hand and a familiar tote bag in the other, but he’d stopped to speak with Deputy Chen. She opened the front door just as Ridge began to walk toward the porch.
“Did you have trouble leaving the hospital?” Lily asked, searching his face for any sign that he’d had difficulties with the press. She reached out for the bag that had been in her front closet, but he chose to hand over the pizza box instead. “You had me worried when you didn’t come back home right away.”
“And not keep my promise of one large pepperoni pizza and your laptop?” Ridge said lightheartedly, completely opposite of his earlier demeanor. He closed the door behind him and didn’t even bother to suppress a shiver of cold. “Not a chance. Damn, it’s cold out there.”
Lily found herself relaxing somewhat at his good-natured manner. She finally took the time to inhale deeply, taking in the delicious aroma of cheese and sauce from her favorite local pizza shop. She was pretty sure her mouth watered in anticipation of that first bite.
Ridge set down the tote bag as she carried the pizza into the kitchen. She could hear him taking off his jacket as she put the box down on the table. It didn’t take her long to grab a couple of paper plates and napkins, able to set their placemats before he ever crossed the threshold.
“We’re friends, right?” Lily asked, broaching the subject of asking for his phone number. It technically wasn’t that big of a deal, yet her palms began to perspire at the thought of requesting such personal information. She was sleeping in his spare bedroom, for crying out loud. “I have to admit to being pretty worried when you didn’t come right home, and I realize that I didn’t have—”
Lily turned around with the intention of grabbing some silverware, somehow not hearing that he’d come up behind her. She would have stumbled back had he not caught her.
“Are you okay?” Ridge asked, his left hand immediately going to her right side. His large hand gently rested over where she’d had her stitches removed just this morning. “I didn’t expect you to turn so fast.”
“I’m fine,” Lily replied softly, slowly releasing her grip from the sleeve of his sweater. She glanced up to find that he was monitoring every emotion that crossed her face. “Clumsy is all.”
They stared at each other longer than was necessary, and Lily would have taken that first step that had been going over and over in her mind had Ridge not held up what appeared to be her favorite beverage from the local café. He even stepped back once he was sure that she had her footing, handing over the treasure with a crooked smile.
“Caramel macchiato with a touch of cinnamon.” Ridge shrugged as if the additional errand that he’d run wasn’t a big deal. It was, and she was still sorting out how to deal with the attraction between them. “What were you going to ask me before?”
“Oh, nothing really.” Lily cleared her throat and turned back toward the table so that he didn’t catch sight of the flush that undoubtedly colored her cheeks. “I was worried when you didn’t arrive home right after Deputy Chen and me. It made me realize that I didn’t have your phone number.”
“I’ll make sure that you have it before we leave the house next time.” Ridge pulled out her chair before opening up the lid to the large pizza box. The delicious aroma was even stronger than before, and her stomach grumbled in hungry protest that she hadn’t eaten a thing today. “The media shouldn’t have known you were there, so someone had to have called them, giving them a heads up. Dean is looking into it, but there’s nothing we can do about the vultures. We’ll just need to be careful going forward.”
It was lovely to sit down at the table and enjoy the late lunch without that uncomfortable pinch she would occasionally feel from her stitches. Her wound was still a bit tender, but she was able to laugh at his witty comments that had her relaxing after the day’s dramatic events. For the first time since her attack, their table talk didn�
��t include anything from the case.
“You threw toilet paper into the trees of your chemistry teacher?” Ridge shook his head as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I don’t believe you.”
“Oh, believe me,” Lily said with a laugh. “Parker was the one who made sure that I passed the class, though. He would give me his notes to study from, and they made a hell of a lot more sense than mine did.”
“See? Your memories of him aren’t all bad,” Ridge responded in a kind manner.
“The stress of med school definitely took a toll on our marriage.” Lily pushed her empty plate away, placing her used napkin on top of it. “I had hoped it would get better once he began work at the hospital, but the crazy hours only made it worse. Looking back, I should have recognized the signs of him taking meds to stay awake. It then morphed into drinking on his days off to help him sleep. Anything that I said or did at the time only made it worse. What happened in that operating room devastated him. He lost what little faith he had left in himself. That young girl’s death destroyed his soul and left her family in tatters.”
Lily realized that her talk with Paul today had helped her deal with some of the ramifications that she’d suffered through back then. She didn’t want this time with Ridge to be all about her, though.
“Why is it that you never got married?” Lily asked, genuinely interested in knowing the answer. It was easy to see that he was a man of integrity, honesty, and kindness. There was also the intense side of him that she’d witnessed today, but it was most likely what had made him so good at his job. “Or did you?”
Lily wasn’t sure why she’d assumed that he hadn’t married. For all she knew, he could be divorced twice over. She’d read an article once about the difficulties military marriages faced with the long deployments throughout their service.
“No,” Ridge chuckled, leaning back in his chair. “Doing what I did, I was out of the country more than I was home, so it didn’t seem fair to commit to someone when I couldn’t give the time and attention that a marriage deserved. The evidence of how well that worked out for many of my buddies was enough for me to recognize the folly of going down that road.”
Lily contemplated asking if he believed in marriage, but he might take her inquiry the wrong way. She didn’t want this safe and intimate meal to end, though. It was really nice to relax after the chaos of this morning.
“You’re still young,” Lily pointed out, steering the conversation into safer waters. “Why didn’t you stay in longer?”
“The physical toll from the job accumulates after a while.” Ridge patted his right shoulder. “I had to accept that I was slowing down and there wasn’t another tour in me. On the bright side, I can definitely start a second career as a meteorologist.”
“Did you ever get surgery on—”
It sounded as if Lily wasn’t going to get her wish for relaxation if the piercing sound of the alarm was anything to go by, which was completely different than the usual soft chime the system gave off when triggered. Ridge was already out of his chair and halfway toward the living room before she was even able to stand up from the table.
“Stay where you are.”
Ridge had his phone in his hand, which was connected to the new system. He said a few choice words after seeing what was on the display, but he remained in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room.
“It’s fine, hazelnut. It’s not Alan Harrison.”
Ridge walked into the living room, anyway.
Lily slowly followed and joined him in front of the fire, and she was grateful for the additional warmth. What she saw on the phone churned her stomach, and she wished she had the ability to turn back time. Just five minutes or so, when the two of them had let the stress of the day wash off themselves.
“Someone leaked to the press that you’re staying here with me,” Ridge murmured, his throaty displeasure vibrating her arm, which happened to be pressed against his. He shifted so that he could wrap the same arm around her and hold her close. She fought against closing her eyes at the security that he represented right now. “It had to have been someone from inside the department.”
Lily had a slight knot in her stomach, recalling her conversation with Janice the other night. The one woman who had stood by her side as a mother figure would never have turned her back on her friend’s daughter. Just believing so had Lily realizing that she hadn’t lost all faith in humanity.
“I did mention it to Janice, but she wouldn’t have revealed my location to anyone,” Lily said in defense of the older woman. “She wouldn’t have had anything to gain by doing so, and she would never put my life in danger.”
“It looks as if Deputy Chen has it under control.” Ridge hadn’t bothered to address her observation about Janice. “He’ll see to it that the media stays away from the entrance to the driveway.”
Lily couldn’t see the media vans staying in the area too long, especially given the falling temperatures. Either way, she was now regretting all the stomach-churning grease from the pizza that she’d just consumed. She was well-acquainted with the lengths that people were willing to go to in order to get a story.
“I’m not so sure, Ridge,” Lily replied in resignation, hating that he now had to deal with her mess. He’d been so supportive and helpful. He didn’t deserve to have his life put underneath a microscope. “Those reporters might not leave until I walk out there and give them a statement.”
“Not happening, hazelnut.” Ridge surprised her when he pressed his lips protectively against her forehead. “Let’s go back into the kitchen. I’ll find us some dessert while you set us up for a new Monopoly game.”
Lily caught Ridge’s hand before he could get too far, no longer wanting to resist the urge to look through the rest of the files. He was the perfect individual to read through them after the training and responsibilities he’d been given in the service.
“I have something else in mind, Ridge.”
He’d been close enough to Lily Hudson to inhale the fragrance of her shampoo. The soft strands held a citrus aroma that was enticing, yet it reminded him that he’d failed in his mission to give her peace. It had taken all of his inner strength not to end her life right then and there.
He’d had to even out his breathing and not do anything rash that would have him getting apprehended and thrown behind bars. How would he be able to carry out his mission if he was put away in a cage?
He wasn’t just some animal who didn’t have a purpose.
He would finish what he’d set out to do, and he’d already figured out a way to give Lily Hudson peace without sacrificing his freedom.
“I’ll make it better, Mother”
Chapter Seventeen
Ridge wasn’t sure what he’d been thinking when he’d touched Lily in such an intimate manner. Add on to the fact that she’d wanted to comb through the case files that contained graphic crime scene photos and details about murders that had basically already been solved, and he wasn’t quite sure what he’d gotten himself into.
They had spent the rest of the evening comparing notes and discovering that Alan Harrison’s black soul was simply a void. Ridge had seen many like him during his time in the service, devoid of humanity after long periods of high stress and surrounded by death. Some people just shut it all down.
Reading over the details of this monster’s kills had brought back memories best left in the past. Hunting another human off the battlefield wasn’t acceptable, and Ridge had to basically bury and snuff out the desire to do what came naturally to him.
Lily had turned in for the night a couple of hours ago, after they’d received word that Linc had arrived in West Virginia. He hadn’t been able to stop into the nursing home, but instead had visited the old apartment complex that Paul Harrison had resided in to ask questions regarding the man’s previous life. His initial purpose being to find out if he’d had any known contact with his half-brother.
Ridge was half-tempted to pay Paul Harrison a visit an
d ask his own hard questions. He was being released first thing in the morning. If the man had any inkling as to where his half-brother was holed up, there were ways to get him to talk. Unfortunately, such practical exercises were frowned upon in civilian world. With that said, there were ways to discover someone’s secrets through the proper application of probing questions.
He shifted in his desk chair in the office and reached for his phone. It didn’t take him long to find the number that he’d programmed into his contacts last week.
“Do you know what time it is?” Dean asked wryly after picking up on the second ring.
“Yes, and I have no doubt that you’re still at the station,” Ridge countered as he went back to viewing the various blocks of images on the monitor that made up his property. Two state police detectives were back on duty, having replaced Deputy Chen around twenty-one hundred hours. The news crews hadn’t lasted long, leaving a few hours after they’d arrived at the house. “Paul Harrison is being discharged from the hospital tomorrow.”
“I’m well aware of that.” Dean sighed in a combination of resignation and exhaustion. The manhunt for Alan Harrison was taking up every minute of his day. “I see that you’ve been talking to Linc, although he’s currently out of the state, as you’re well aware. Are you calling to tell me how to do my job, Killian?”
Ridge cracked a smile.
“I’m well aware that I’ve been put out to pasture, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t observe from the fence line,” Ridge said, not even bothering to deny that he wanted to be involved in the case. Would it happen? No, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t keep apprised of the current situation. “Were you able to get a warrant to tap Harrison’s phone in case his brother reaches out to him?”
“I’m able to do a lot of things in my line of work.”
The Reclusive Widow (The Widow Taker Book 3) Page 15
