Chapter 37
Tyler
“And then you shot yourself?” Jack asks, his tone dripping with incredulity.
Adjusting my position on the uncomfortable hospital bed, I wince in pain. “Yep, that’s what happened.”
Jack holds up a finger. “Even though I’ve spent years training you on how to handle a gun safely, so I personally know you’re not an idiot. And”—he raises his finger higher, wagging it a little—“you also know we don’t allow guns on a job unless specifically approved.”
I nod. “That about sums it up. Just a case of bad judgment and human error.”
He lets out a humorless laugh and looks over at Nate, who’s standing next to him. “Did you hear that, Nate? No big deal. Just a case of bad judgment. And whoopsie daisy, human error.”
Nate’s nod is slow as he eyes me suspiciously.
I didn’t exactly have time to come up with a better story, so I knew this would be hard for them to believe.
Not that I had much to work with, considering I’m selling it as just me and Joe in the room.
And while I hate that man and very much think he deserves it, I couldn’t in good conscience say he shot me.
“And!” Jack practically shouts the word. “The security system magically went down, and everything from the few hours leading up to you shooting yourself wasn’t caught.”
“That’s a pretty crazy sequence of events,” Nate adds.
I keep my mouth shut on that one. I had every intention of erasing everything, but when I brought it up to Joe while we were waiting for the ambulance, he informed me he had turned everything off right before we went to the bank because he didn’t want a record of someone he was meeting with later that afternoon and forgot to turn it back on.
So that was just a convenient coincidence.
We all turn when the door opens, and Ian joins us.
“Everything’s squared away with Carlos. Joe maintains that it was an accident and states he doesn’t want any charges brought against this dummy over here.
” He hitches his thumb in my direction, but doesn’t look at me. “Carlos said he won’t pursue anything.”
Nate smiles. “Chris will be happy to hear that.”
Jack lets out an exasperated breath. “What a fucking shitshow.”
Finally, Ian turns to me, anger burning on his face. “I’m glad this is just a flesh wound. I won’t have to wait too long before you’re healed. Because the second you are, I’m kicking your ass.”
Accepting my fate, I nod. “That’s fair.”
Jack rubs his forehead before looking at Nate and Ian. “Come on, let’s get out of here. I’m fucking exhausted.”
They all turn to leave, and I call out to stop them, “Uh, before you go, I need something.”
All three turn in unison, their expressions ranging from annoyance to amusement to anger.
“I need an advance on my salary. We can work out the repayment terms when I’m out of the hospital. But I need one hundred thousand dollars ASAP.”
Ian’s jaw drops. Nate bursts out laughing. And Jack shakes his head, as if to clear it.
Jack recovers first. “I’m sorry. I think I just had a seizure or something and blacked out. Because it sounded like you just asked for one hundred thousand dollars.”
“I did.” I’m proud of how strong and resolute my voice sounds under the intense scrutiny from three of the men I respect the most. “Please. You know I wouldn’t ask for this if it wasn’t extremely important.”
Ian takes a few steps forward and, with a menacing tone, spits out, “Tyler, if you got yourself wrapped up in something illegal, so help me god, I won’t wait until you’re healed.”
I hold up a hand to stop him. “The money isn’t for anything illegal. I promise. I’m just trying to help out a friend in need. And it’s time sensitive.”
I don’t go as far as to say I’m not wrapped up in anything illegal because, after today, that would be a lie. But at least I can reassure them that it isn’t what the money is for.
Jack blinks a few times before saying, “We’ll get back to you.”
I swallow my disappointment. Not that I don’t blame them for not immediately agreeing to my request. I know it’s a big ask.
The three of them walk out, leaving me in the dimly lit hospital room. I try to find a more comfortable position, when the door opens again. Expecting it to be a nurse or a doctor, I’m unable to hide the surprise that floods me as Audrey steps into the room.
She’s in the same clothes that I last saw her in, and she has what looks like a badge clipped to her shirt. Tucking her hands behind her, she leans against the wall across from the bed.
“Hi,” I say quietly, taking in her swollen eyes and flushed cheeks.
I watch her throat contract with her swallow. “Hi.”
“What’s that?” I point to her badge.
Her eyes don’t leave me as one of her hands comes up and toys with the edge of the badge. “I kind of work here.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Kind of?”
“I took a leave of absence to take care of my mom, but it was really to go work for Joe.” The last half of her sentence is whispered.
“Are you a nurse?”
“Doctor.”
“Impressive.” Every cell in my body wants to ignore that I seemingly know nothing about the woman I’m in love with. But the fact that she’s a goddamn doctor, and I had no idea, breaks my heart a little more.
“My mom is the librarian. So is Jennifer, actually. They work together.” Words tumble out of her in a rush.
I nod, my mind racing through all my jumbled thoughts. “I see.”
She rubs her forehead, her features filled with so many emotions. I just wish I could hug her. “I heard the cops talking. I’m glad they aren’t going to charge you with anything.”
I nod. Not wanting to make her feel any worse than I’m sure she already does, I don’t tell her that, right now, criminal charges are the least of my concerns. “Yeah, I lucked out. We’re friends with some of the police in town.”
“Tyler, I’m… I’m so sorry.” Her voice breaks, and I know she’s crying even if I can’t see her fully in the low light. “I didn’t know it would go this far. I just needed to convince my dad to give me money to help my mom.”
I’ve had a lot of hours to think about everything, and what I told Joe is still very much true.
I love Audrey. And if they agree to give me the money, I have every intention of helping her mom, because if I’m able, I can’t in good conscience not help if it means it would save her life.
But the more I’ve thought about the last couple of months, the more I’ve found myself spiraling into wondering what was real and what was a lie.
“Were you the one stalking Joe? Were you why we were hired?”
She shrugs. “Probably part of it. I broke into his house once. And watched from the bushes a lot. But considering his lifestyle, I might not have been the only one.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “I think I almost caught you a few times.”
“You almost did,” she whispers.
After a few seconds of processing everything she’s told me, I blurt out, “We didn’t meet by accident, did we?”
Audrey presses her lips together, her inhale loud in the quiet. She shakes her head regretfully.
My heart breaks more, making my chest ache, despite having come to this realization hours ago.
“Was anything real?” I loathe how weak I sound asking that, but I need to know.
She takes a few steps closer, but stops. “I swear, Tyler, the only thing that was fake was how we met.” Waving a hand between us. “This—us—was real.”
I swallow roughly. “I don’t really know anything about the real you, though.”
“You do,” she says emphatically. “Except for my job. Everything else you know is the truth.”
“You used me.” Just saying that out loud hurts.
Another tear trails down her cheek as she nods.
“And I would never do it under normal circumstances. But I couldn’t lose my mom, Tyler.
” A low sob slips from her lips. “I didn’t know how I would survive without her.
It wasn’t fair that my biological father had enough money to stop it, but wouldn’t.
I think we can both agree I made some really stupid decisions in order to help her. ”
When I’m silent for a few moments, she continues.
“I wanted to tell you everything. Especially after I got the job because…” She winces.
“I didn’t need you anymore. But I wanted you.
I wanted you so bad. Then, when you told me how you were disgusted with your dad for coming back into your life because he wanted money, I didn’t want you to think I was no better than him. ”
I suck in a deep breath, overwhelmed by everything she’s saying.
“I don’t know what to think about all of this right now,” I admit, even as my heart tells me to forgive her.
To tell her it’s not a big deal. Admit all my feelings for her.
But my hurt stops me. I need some time to process.
She appears to be remorseful for what she’s done.
I’d like to think that I could tell if she was lying, but I don’t trust myself.
“I understand. I just wanted to talk to you so I could apologize.” She sniffs back her emotions before continuing. “And thank you. For everything.”
She turns and rushes out of the room before I have a chance to respond, though I don’t know what I would’ve said.
But then again, maybe there’s no right answer when the woman you love admits to using you hours after she shot you.
I grunt as my feet hit the ground. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to get something worse than this flesh wound, because this has been awful. I’ve quickly realized in these last two weeks that you cannot do anything without moving the side of your body.
It’s been rainy the last two days, but today the sun is shining, and the temperature is warm for late April. I walk across the parking lot, avoiding the puddles still spread about. When I reach the door, my stomach twists. I’m not even sure why I’m nervous.
Stepping inside, I inhale the familiar scents of the library.
My mom’s an avid reader, and she passed that on to me, though I’ve done less of it in recent years.
When I was a kid, we would go to the library at least once a week and spend a couple of hours there.
Just looking through the books, finding a corner to read in.
Walking farther inside, I glance over at the front desk and am relieved to see Jennifer standing behind it. She hasn’t noticed me yet, so I approach the desk and stop in front of her.
“Hi, how can I he…” Her words trail off when she sees it’s me. “Tyler.”
“Hi, Jennifer. How are you?”
“I’m, uh, good.” She eyes me cautiously. “Not to be rude, but what are you doing here?”
I glance around before looking back at her. “Is there somewhere we can talk?”
She nods. “Sure, let me grab someone to cover the desk.”
With a grateful smile, I step back and wander away from the desk, waiting for her to come back. When she walks over to me, she motions for me to follow her.
She shows me to a small meeting room, and we both take a seat.
I lick my dry lips, unsure how to start a conversation like this. “So, uh, I have something that I need your help with.”
Tilting her head to the side, she clasps her hands on the table and draws out, “Okaaay. And what would that be?”
I pull out my wallet and remove the cashier’s check. “I’ve become involved in a medical charity that donates money to treatments not covered by insurance. And I have this check here. It’s for Kelly’s treatment. But I don’t know where to send it.”
I unfold the check and slide it across the table. Jennifer doesn’t pick it up. She leans forward to take a closer look. Her eyes widen comically before they fly to mine.
“A medical charity that just gave you a cashier’s check to hand out?”
“Yep,” is all I say.
Huffing a laugh, she picks up the check, staring at it for a few moments. She chews on her bottom lip before telling me, “I knew about her stupid plan with her dad. I tried to talk her out of it.”
I shouldn’t be surprised she confided in her friend, but I am.
Jennifer continues. “I don’t know what happened at the end. She won’t tell me. But she isn’t okay.”
My heart stutters, then starts to race. No matter what happens, all I want is for Audrey to be okay.
Holding up the check, tears fall down her cheeks. “Kelly isn’t doing well either. Just know you’re literally going to save her life, Tyler.”
“You mean, the charity is,” I correct, my chest tight with emotion.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” she retorts with a watery laugh.
With a final smile, I stand and start toward the door when Jennifer stops me.
“For what it’s worth, she really does care about you. I’ll always believe you two were perfect for each other.”
I shove my hands into the pockets of my jeans. “Because of the stars?”
She grins. “Definitely because of the stars.”