Night Hack: A forced proximity alpha hero hacker romantic suspense (Nightshade Book 4)

Chapter 32

Brycen

It waslate morning the day after we’d taken down Carson Platt by the time Jana was able to breathe freely. The day had started with a visit from Eloise and Jason, followed by one from the FBI. JPD came in after the FBI had left, and there’d been little time for a break between interviews.

After an in-depth update on what Devolin had been able to turn up on Platt, we’d finally been able to put the pieces of the man’s obsession over Jana together. Carson Platt had held Jana responsible for the death of his wife, a little over seven years ago, when she’d been a nurse at Onslow Memorial. With Platt’s wife’s patient file at her fingertips, Devolin was able to confirm Jana had been her nurse the night the woman had been brought into the ER, but she’d also established Jana had never been part of the reason behind the woman’s loss of life. The woman’s file had stated suspected domestic abuse, but somehow, the hospital had failed to report their suspicions. Additionally, Platt had been so disturbed with the loss of his wife, he’d ended up being treated for an acute anxiety episode.

Jana explained she had left her job as a nurse around that same time, due to having a hard time coping with patient loss and the high demands that came with treating the next patient, with little to no support from the hospital when their employees needed it for their mental well-being. She wanted to be able to help those in need on some of the worst days of their lives, but she no longer wanted to be in the action. Her job as a dispatcher had given her that, and the supports from the city were amazing and readily available.

With Platt being dead, there was no way to confirm the reason behind the man’s murders, but when looking closer at the three victim’s photos, Aspen had been the one to point out the women’s resemblances to Jana. With that in mind, Shane and James from the JPD hypothesized the three women had been victims of opportunity by simply having crossed Platt’s path. He’d killed them with no regard as to who they were, the marks on their bodies embodying the rage within him.

Now that things had settled, I’d managed to answer a few of Jana’s lingering questions, the latest pertaining to how Rex was doing. And thus, it was why I was escorting her to see the man himself.

“Oh, my God!” she gasped as soon as we walked through the threshold to Rex’s room.

Rex turned his head to face the doorway and glared at my woman. His outstretched arm was a contradiction, but I understood Jana’s hesitation in finishing her approach.

“Get over here, woman,” his voice cracked.

Standing behind Jana, I put my hands on her shoulders the moment she took a hesitating step back. “It’s okay,” I reassured her, kissing the crown of her head.

Her feet hesitantly brought her forward and judging by the softness in Rex’s expression—not to mention the glossiness in his eyes—Jana was shedding silent tears for the bear of a man.

“This is-this is m-my fault,” she hiccupped, brushing the sleeve of the sweatshirt over her cheeks. Devolin and Dalton had brought a set of pajamas and some clothes for today so she would have something comfortable to lounge in until she was discharged this afternoon.

As soon as Jana was close enough, Rex latched on to her wrist and pulled her to the side of his bed, clutching her hands in his massive ones. “Now, I know you’re trying to shoulder all of the blame, but you know as well as I do that you’re full of shit on that one, Janice Elway.”

“I-it’s Jana.” Her words came out sounding half-hiccupped, half-growled.

Smirking, Rex continued, “I was the unlucky sonofabitch to be there at the wrong time…or maybe it was the right time because, if I wasn’t there chasing that skip of mine, I’d have never known where you were, nor would I have picked up on that Platt twat. If he hadn’t stabbed me, I wouldn’t have fought, and that man’s DNA—the only piece of him that pointed to him—would have never landed on my back fender.”

“B-but?—”

Stepping forward, I wrapped my arms around her torso, letting her lean into me. “No, baby.” My voice cracked. “If you’re looking for someone to blame for the bad stuff, that shit all lies on Carson Platt. Rex knows it, I know it, you know it, and the whole damn state of North Carolina probably knows it by now.”

“O-okay,” she whispered, wiping at her damp cheeks once more, “but I reserve the right to beat myself up over having left and caused panic.”

Tilting her chin up to the side as I leaned over her shoulder, our eyes met, and I put as much conviction into my voice. “And we’ll be talking about that in due time, sweetheart.”

“Should have heard this guy when I first came out of surgery.” Rex smirked. “Brace yourself, Jana, because that man right there, he’s got an itchy palm.”

Jana turned to face me, her face colored with a delightful blush I hadn’t seen in far too long. “Itchy palm?” She seemed to fight the urge to laugh or appear appalled, but settled somewhere in between when she asked, “Do I want to know?”

Cupping the side of her face, I grinned down at her. “Oh, trust me, baby, you’ll find out soon enough what an itchy palm feels like.”

With that, Rex’s explosive laugh resonated throughout his room before it came to a screeching halt with a loud hiss. “Oh, oh, fuck.” He took a deep breath. “Shit.” Another. “Laughing hurts.” And another. “Duly noted.”

At that, both Jana and I dissolved into laughter, the heaviness of the moment lifting, and for the first time since I’d laid eyes on my love again, I knew that all would be okay.

Jana

The sound of a throat clearing behind us had me spinning so fast Brycen had to grab the sides of my arms to prevent me from toppling over.

“Thought I’d find you in here once the uniforms finally cleared out,” Reina smirked. The expression dissipated the moment her eyes strayed to Rex however, and I wondered what that was all about, considering Rex was grinning wide.

“Well, well, we meet again, Doc.” Rex’s words were syrupy. “Missed me already?”

Brycen harrumphed, and I tried and failed to cover up the giggle that inadvertently seeped out through the hand covering my mouth.

“Hardly,” she muttered with an eye roll.

“I think you might want to check his stitches, Doc.” Brycen’s voice held certain humor, and I caught the wink he threw Rex while Reina wasn’t looking. “The guy busted a gut just a few short minutes ago.”

“I’m sure his stitches are fine,” my former coworker answered nonplussed, yet fought that upward tick of her lips like the woman of steel I’d known her to be. She waved a few pages in my direction. “Got your discharge papers here. Thought you’d want to go home and find some normalcy again. How’s your nose?”

“With the degree of pain you inflicted on it yesterday, it’s either going to heal looking better than before, or you’ll be paying for plastics to fix it once the swelling goes down,” I joked, Reina’s eyes lighting up with matching humor.

“Tit for tat, right?” she singsonged.

“Right,” I muttered, then held out my hand for the papers. “Let me see those. I can’t wait to put this shitstorm behind me.”

“By the way, I’m kind of pissed at you right now.” Reina crossed her arms over her chest, her gaze probing. “I know I skipped out on you for drinks four weeks ago, but shit, Jana, what the hell? A man? A stalking serial killer?” Her eyes were wide with disbelief. “Again, I say, What. The. Hell.”

“Feels like a lifetime ago instead of a month,” I mumbled as I signed on the few lines, checking a few boxes along the way before handing the papers back to her. “Everything happened so damn fast.” I paused to look at the man who sat in the chair next to Rex’s bed, the two having watched the entire exchange with much curiosity. Brycen’s eyes were filled with devotion and protection, while Rex’s gaze was one closer to infatuated interest. I couldn’t blame him, really, my girl was hot. Shaking the thought out of my head, I grinned at the man I had finally taken a chance on.

“Jesus.” My gaze snapped back to Reina. “Never thought I’d see the day this girl fell. Love looks good on you, girl. And with that, I’ve got to get going. My shift’s about to end and I can hear my bed calling me.”

I swear I heard Rex mutter, “You sure it ain’t my bed calling you?” under his breath, but either Reina hadn’t heard him, or she chose to ignore him.

With a quick hug, Dr. Boudreaux took her leave, and while I headed straight for Brycen’s lap, my eyes busied themselves with assessing Rex, trying to figure the man out, unsure if I’d ever get that man pegged.

Rex

As my eyes followed the Dr. Reina Boudreaux, I felt two sets of questioning gazes burning into the side of my face—so I did what any self-respecting manly asshole would do—I stalled.

Beating the pillow at my head into some state of submission, I leaned back and closed my eyes, feeling Brycen and Jana’s still on me.

Jana was the first to break. “Okay, spill, dude,” she huffed.

“Met her last year when Cade and Aspen had their thing,” I explained. “Don’t know her past that.” I wasn’t going to go into how I’d known of her, however.

“Uh…huh,” was what came out of Jana, Brycen chuckling at her back.

“Anyway,” I grumped but turned to look at the happy couple, glad they had found what they had, just like the others, even though it wasn’t for me. “Aren’t you two on your way home now?”

Brycen’s knowing smirk faded to a look of determination as he gave me the chin lift, a universal signal between us NSI guys that meant he got me. “Right.” Then he tapped Jana’s hip, helping her to her feet. “Let’s get you home and into our bed, baby. I’m fucking wiped, and you need to rest.”

Jana’s eyes narrowed on Brycen but the subtle lift to the edge of her mouth denoted she wasn’t pissed at him in the least. “Our bed?”

“Yes, our bed, sweetheart.” He kissed the fight right out of her, then kept going. “You’re practically moved in right now. All we need to do is get the rest of your things, and move your shit into my closet and dresser.”

“But what about?—”

He kissed her silent. “We’ll talk about Jason and your mom soon. Until then, we’re focusing on your healing. They know this already.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, thinking over what Brycen had said, she turned to look at me and smirked. “I suppose we can do that. And, Rex.” She took the two steps needed to bend over me, kissing my cheek before leaning closer to my ear. “Don’t think you got out of telling me what the hell is going on with you and my friend. You might be a grizzly of a man, but I’m the mama protecting her kin.” On a wink, she turned, and without giving Brycen another glance, she headed for the door.

“Later, Jana,” I called, grinning. She threw a hand with a loose wave over her shoulder, and I shook my head as I peered at Brycen. “Happy for you, man.” I offered him my fist, which he bumped with his.

“Thanks, man.” He shrugged, smirking. “Don’t think she’ll let you off the hook, buddy. See you later.”

“Later,” I called to his retreating back.

I doubted she would let things go when it concerned her friend, but Jana also didn’t have the slightest clue about all the shit I held close to the vest. If anyone other than Dalton and Brycen knew—because they were my bosses—no one had ever said anything. And when it came to women, relationships, and family, it was better that I kept those at arm’s length. I’d given my whole self to one other person before—and it had cost me dearly—I wasn’t going to make that same mistake twice.