by Cynthia Eden
God, he was gorgeous.
“She didn’t kill anyone,” James continued grimly. “She just woke up after going through hell. Your ass shouldn’t even be in here now. She didn’t confess to a thing.” James reached for her hand. Squeezed it. “Baby, I told you—”
The detective stepped forward and cleared his throat. “Two bullets hit Morgan Waller. Two bullets from two different guns. Both guns were claimed by James Smith.”
“That’s because they were both mine. I shot with one, then the other.” His voice was flat. “How many times do I have to tell you the same thing?” His hold on Tess’s hand was so careful.
She smiled at him. “Liar.”
His brows pulled low.
She felt good. Tess had no idea how long she’d been in the hospital, but an IV fed into her arm. Whatever she’d been given, it had certainly helped her.
“I shot him, Detective Cade. Morgan was going to kill me and James, and I shot him in self-defense.” Her shoulders squared. “And I also killed Marilyn’s brother. Though, God, that was a lifetime ago.”
Now the detective didn’t just step forward. He bounded forward. “You did what?”
“I killed her brother, but, at the time, I didn’t know he was her brother. He was just some bastard who picked me up off the street when I was thirteen, drugged me, and tried to rape me. I fought, slammed a needle into him, and when I woke up in a hospital…” Her gaze slid around the bright, stark white room. “I tried to pretend it all had never happened.”
“OhmyGod.” Latonya grabbed Tess’s other hand. Squeezed hard.
Tess straightened her shoulders even though she felt her paper hospital gown starting to dip. “Before she died, Marilyn confessed that her brother had attacked other girls.” She’d woken with her mind sharp, her heart aching, and her past determined to be exposed. No secrets. “I want to find out who all he hurt. I want the families to know what he did.”
“This is insane.” Latonya appeared dazed. “This is—”
“This is what Dr. Devin Goddard told me, too,” the detective announced.
Devin? Tess frowned. Okay, her mind was sharp, but she’d sort of forgotten about him.
“He said that Marilyn confessed her brother’s crimes to him. He wanted to tell you everything, but he didn’t get the chance to do it. He was jumped by Morgan Waller. From what I can piece together, Marilyn had given Waller a syringe of drugs to use on Devin. They set him up to be found by James Smith over there.” An incline of his head toward James. Then Wesley whistled. “For some reason, it seems those two thought that you’d find Devin, surrounded by pics of Dr. Barrett, and immediately kill him. Hmmm. Wonder what they know about you that I don’t?”
James just shrugged. “I did shoot him.”
“Yes, well, Devin was armed. Courtesy of Waller. Guessing he thought if you saw Devin with a gun—combined with all those pics of Dr. Barrett—you’d attack.”
She wasn’t sure what pictures he meant.
“But you didn’t kill him.”
Her hold tightened on James’s hand. “He’s not a monster, detective.”
She saw James’s mouth curl a bit.
The detective’s gaze swept over James. “One thing is for sure, Marilyn Montgomery and Morgan Waller both hated you.”
“I stir that emotion in a lot of people,” James allowed.
“My team is digging into Morgan’s background. And just so you know, that witness who reported seeing you at Frederick Waller’s apartment? He recanted. Confessed that Morgan paid him to lie.”
No expression crossed James’s face. “That’s because Morgan killed his own brother.”
“Yeah, yeah, we, um, found the murder weapon at Morgan’s place.” He released a hard breath. “Such a freaking tangled mess. And to top it all off, I’m hearing whispered intel that Morgan Waller might have actually been some sort of hitman.”
Tess stiffened.
“An assassin, if you can believe that shit.” Wesley rubbed the back of his neck. “That sounds crazy, I know, but I’m getting some rumbles from government sources that indicate this fellow was a professional. Went by the name of Ghost.”
Tess stopped breathing.
“I’m thinking a lot of people will be glad to hear he’s gone.” Wesley inclined his head to James. He gestured between James and Tess. “He tried to take out the wrong folks this time, huh?”
Tess was trying to school her expression, but the machines around her were beeping faster and faster with every second that passed.
“It still bugs me, though. Why’d he get so fixed on you two? Don’t quite understand that part. Everything else, hell, it almost seems like it is being tied up in a nice, neat bow for me.”
“Doesn’t seem so neat to me.” Tess’s hospital gown scraped lightly over her arm. “Not when I was drugged and almost killed. Nothing neat about that.”
Immediately, remorse filled the detective’s eyes. “No, of course not, I was just trying to figure out why—”
“He and Marilyn were working as a team,” Tess said. “Maybe he did it for her.”
Wesley seemed to absorb that. His stare drifted from Tess to James, then back to Tess. “Could be. I’ve heard some people will do just about anything for love.”
He knows. He knows there’s more. He knows—
“Rest up, Dr. Barrett. I’m sure I’ll be back with follow-up questions—lots of them—but, until then, you just take care, all right?”
She jerked her head in agreement. She’d definitely rest up. Sure thing. Yes, a thousand times yes. And then—
He left.
The machines kept beeping a little too fast.
“OhmyGod.”
Tess turned her head to stare at Latonya.
“What is going on?” She shook her head. Several times. “Marilyn is dead.”
Tess’s heart squeezed.
“She tried to kill you. She tried to kill Devin. She was…she was apparently stealing drugs from the hospital, over and over. Had been, for months. Maybe years. And she—” Her breath choked out. “I never really knew her, did I?”
Latonya was still holding one of Tess’s hands. James held the other.
Tess squeezed Latonya’s fingers. “I want to tell you about my past. I want to tell you everything about me.”
Latonya nodded. “I want to hear it.” Tears were in her eyes. She licked her lower lip. “Devin was talking pretty wildly when he first came in. One of the things he told me was that Marilyn had been the one in the corridor. The one who attacked you. He saw her doing it. Confronted her, and she confessed that she’d been stealing drugs. Apparently, they had…a thing, and she begged him not to turn her in. She spilled everything about her past to him and tried to convince him to stay quiet.”
“But he started feeling guilty,” James added quietly, “and that’s when he called you, Tess, wanting to talk.”
So many secrets. Drowning them all.
A nurse knocked on the door and then slipped her head inside. “Dr. Wilson? We need you.”
Latonya nodded. Her stare lingered on Tess. “I want to hear everything,” she said again. “But for right now, I’m just glad you’re alive.”
And Tess was pretty damn glad to be alive.
Latonya hurried away. The door closed softly behind her.
James’s gaze was so bright as it slid over her face.
“I knew you’d find me,” Tess blurted. “It was just a matter of time.”
“I was scared as hell that when I got there, I’d find your body.”
Pain was in his words. Not just pain. More like agony.
He stood. Brought their joined hands to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. He was always doing that. And every time he did it, warmth spread through her.
Voice ragged, he told her, “My past almost killed you.”
“Actually, I think it was my past, too.”
Another kiss on her knuckles. “I’m not sure what I would have done if I hadn’t foun
d you alive.” He released a ragged breath. “I want you so much, but the truth is…You shouldn’t be with me. I’m no good for you.”
“You killed to keep me safe. You tracked me down when I was missing. And I’m pretty sure you just tried to take the fall for me pulling the trigger.”
He swallowed. “Baby, I’d kill for you any day of the week, and I’d go to jail a hundred times before I let you take the fall for anything.”
That was…scary. Sweet. James. “It was self-defense. Neither one of us is going anywhere.”
His gaze darted away from her.
Um, hello, bad sign. “James?”
“I can’t be sure that someone from my past won’t find me again.”
The machines were going crazy. A nurse was probably going to run in the room any moment to check on her. “I thought the detective just said that it looked like Morgan was the assassin.”
“Yeah, Wilde is putting out that story. Creating some false evidence to back it up. There will be enough gasoline on that fire to make most people who knew about Ghost believe that he was Morgan Waller.” A pause. “Most people. I can’t be certain others won’t eventually try to find me. And I can’t keep putting you at risk just because I love you so much that I want you with me every single moment.”
“No.” She shook her head, hard. “No, I did not just wake up from whatever nightmare that was to have you tell me that you can’t put me at risk.”
“Tess—”
“I take my own risks. I make my own choices. And you know what? I love you so much that I want to be with you every single moment, and I don’t care if I have to make sacrifices to do that. We can both make sacrifices. You want to join Wilde? You want to work with them? Fine. We can make that happen. We can make anything happen, if we’re together. Because I realized something about us…” Before she’d passed out, but, hey, she’d been kicking butt until that point. “We’re pretty scary together.”
His head tilted. “You’re okay…with scary?”
“I think I’m in love with it.”
Hope lit his eyes.
“I love you, James. I don’t care about your past. I want your future. That’s what matters to me. I want us to have a future together, so don’t even think about pulling some dramatic bullshit where you try to leave me in order to protect me.”
His lips began to curl. “Do you think I’m the dramatic bullshit type?”
“When you believe you’re protecting me?” Tess didn’t even miss a beat. “Absolutely. One hundred percent.”
His smile stretched. “You’re really all right.”
“I’m all right,” she whispered back. Sure, she was practically twitching to get her hands on her own chart so she could see what had happened to her and just what Marilyn had given her, but…
I’m all right.
She was alive. James was alive. They had a future waiting. Their future. They could do anything they wanted to do with it.
Anything.
“I was afraid,” he admitted starkly. “I’ve never been so scared about anything in my life. If you’d died, I swear, I don’t know what I would have done.”
“I didn’t die.”
He nodded. “Loving someone that much, it can make you weak.”
Something she’d learned when she’d fired the gun… “It can also make you strong.”
“Yes.” He leaned forward. His lips skimmed over hers.
Her eyes closed and, for a moment, she simply savored his kiss, but when he pulled back, her lashes lifted, and Tess asked him, “Will you be strong with me?”
“Always.”
“Will you be weak? Strong, weak, happy, in love—everything? Will you just be with me?”
“Sweetheart, you are my one. My only. I will love you for the rest of my life.”
The beeping steadied. “Good,” Tess told him. “I’ll love you that long, too. Maybe even longer.”
He kissed her once more.
She knew they had a real chance for their future. As long as they were together, they could face anything that came their way. She wasn’t afraid, she wasn’t holding back. It was time to grab her future with both hands.
And never let go.
***
“Okay, let go,” Blair growled as she glared at Linc.
But he kept his hand wrapped around her wrist, his fingers on her pulse. “I’m just making sure you’re okay.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s what the monitors do. You don’t have to physically check my pulse every five minutes.”
His lips pulled down. Total pout. “I’m helping.”
He had been helping. Actually, he’d been with her pretty much constantly. Watching over her. Frowning and grousing when he didn’t think the staff was helping her enough. Though, they had definitely been helping enough. He was excessively fretting over her and it was…too much. “What’s up with you?”
He caressed her inner wrist.
A little shiver skated over Blair’s body.
Immediately, his gaze jumped to her face. “Are you cold?”
No. “Yes.”
A decisive nod. “I’ll get an extra blanket for you.”
And he did. He was back moments later and the guy seriously tucked the blanket around her. When he leaned close to her, his head dipped her way, and for a moment, her eyes dropped to his mouth.
No. No, no. Her eyes whipped back up. “Thank you.”
Linc stared at her. “I can’t let anything happen to you.”
The machines gave a fast beep. Stupid monitors.
“After all, you’re the best partner I’ve ever had.” A rueful smile. “And breaking in another partner would just be a pain in the ass if you died.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Right. Wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.”
He eased back into his chair. The one that he’d pulled up right beside her bed. “Losing you would be a huge inconvenience.”
Blair shook her head. She closed her eyes.
“You didn’t thank me for saving you.”
Her eyes flew open.
“But there will be time for that later.” Linc smiled. Flashed his dimples. He always thought he could charm her with those. “After all, we’ll be on a new case together before you even know it.”
“I can’t wait,” she muttered. Her eyes drifted closed again.
“Neither can I,” he said softly. So softly she almost didn’t hear him.
She tried to sleep. Tried to calm her thoughts. Linc had briefed her on the case. She knew that the bad guys were dead. Thanks to traffic cam footage that had been recovered, they’d discovered that one of Morgan Waller’s thugs had been the one to hit them. He’d been arrested, and he’d been more than happy to roll on his dead boss.
She knew that Cole was in recovery—he was going to be okay. Tess was okay. James was okay. The team had made it, though the case had sure been one hell of a lot harder than they’d anticipated.
Heck, I didn’t even know it was a case when I first came to Savannah—
His fingers curled around her wrist once more.
She didn’t open her eyes. “Linc…”
“I’m just checking you…”
She didn’t tell him to let go. In fact, with his hand on her wrist, she felt a little bit better. Sleep tugged at her. Sleep or…maybe it was the pain meds. Maybe they were pulling her under. Either way… “Thanks,” she whispered.
“For what?”
For what? He’d asked for the gratitude mere moments before. “Saving me.” Her breathing steadied. Her body went lax.
Did he press a kiss to her temple? Felt like it. Felt like…
“Anytime, B. Anytime.” A pause. “I would never have left you. And I never will.”
Epilogue
“He’s staring,” Latonya told her with a firm nod. “Mr. Tall and Dangerous has his eyes locked on you.”
Tess turned her head and saw the gorgeous guy at the bar lift his beer toward her in a silent salute. Just seeing him made
her heart race. Always happened. She smiled, waved, and turned back to her friend.
“Yeah, okay, he’s looking at you like he could eat you alive.” Latonya took a sip of her drink. “Come to think of it, that’s pretty much the only way he looks at you.”
He was heading toward her. A fast glance showed the crowd parting quickly before him. Eagerness pulsed inside of Tess. She was so different from the woman she’d been the first time she’d entered this club. The past didn’t chain her down any longer. She wasn’t hiding her secrets. Detective Wesley Cade had joined a task force to help track down all of the victims killed by Marilyn’s brother. They were going to get their justice. Their families would get closure.
Latonya touched her hand. “You’re sure about this?”
Tess had told Latonya everything. They’d cried together. They’d mourned together. They’d stood over Marilyn’s grave and hugged each other.
The past was ugly and twisted, but the friendship Tess had with Latonya was one of the most beautiful things in her life.
“Because if you’re not sure about him, this whole club is full of guys.” Latonya waved her hand vaguely to the left. “You can always try them out.”
The two men who happened to be standing toward the left immediately perked up and locked their attention on Latonya. They began to advance.
“I’m sure about him,” Tess replied. “He’s what I want.”
The two men were almost at the table. Latonya shooed them away, well, she started to, but then she told them, “Give me two minutes.” Her stare returned to Tess. “I want you to be happy.”
“And I want you happy.”
Latonya smiled at her. “We make ourselves happy in this world, don’t we? We go after what we want, and we take our happiness.”
Yes, they did.
“So go take some happiness, and I think I’ll go take some, too.”
Tess hugged her friend, tight. “Thank you for standing by me.”
“Yes, just so you know, if I ever get a crazy killer on my trail, I’ll be turning to your guy and his Wilde friends for help. They’d better keep my ass safe, too.”
James had reached their table. He cleared his throat. “You have a standing order of protection, Dr. Wilson.”
