Chapter Twenty
Cully felt the tickling sensation on her hand. A gentle touch of someone’s fingers. It was enough to cause her to stir and force herself to wake up.
But it was the sound of the voice that got her eyes open.
Declan.
She smiled when she heard him say, “Cully.”
It took her a couple of seconds to focus, to see him, and her smile vanished when she saw his worried look. Not just worried but something she’d never seen on Declan’s face.
Fear.
“You’re awake,” he said, and there was relief in his voice. Not much of it in his expression though.
And that’s when she remembered what’d happened to her. She’d been shot.
That gave her a hit of adrenaline, and the reminder caused her to try to bolt upright. Declan stopped her by gently taking hold of her arm and lowering her back to the bed.
A hospital bed, she realized. She was in the hospital because Noah had shot her when Declan and she had been trying to save her mother.
“Mom,” Cully blurted, ready to try to get up again. “Is she hurt? Is she all right? And what about Tansy?”
“Tansy, Dr. Bennett, and I are all fine,” her mother said, followed by the sound of soft footsteps as Alice approached the other side of the bed. “You gave us a bad scare.”
Yes, Cully could see that frightened look on her mother’s face as well. “I’m okay,” she insisted but then had to consider if that was true. “I am, aren’t I?” she had to ask.
Declan nodded and touched his mouth to her hand that he was still holding.
“The bullet was a thru and thru and nothing vital was damaged.” He motioned toward her upper left hip. “The shot caught you just below the Kevlar vest, and you needed surgery to remove some bone fragments.”
Cully was about to say she didn’t remember any of that. But she did. It all came flooding back to her. The EMTs rushing in to take her to the hospital. Declan, being in the ambulance with her.
“You told me not to die,” Cully recalled.
“I did,” he admitted.
Then, something else came to her. “You said if I had a scar from the bullet wound, I could cover it with a heart tat.”
Declan winced a little. “It’s a bad joke. Like your mom said, you gave us a bad scare.”
“But we’re all going to be fine now,” her mother insisted. “Tansy’s recovering in a room just up the hall. So is Dr. Bennett. Renee’s dead, and Noah’s in jail.”
“Good,” Cully murmured.
She wasn’t exactly rejoicing Renee’s death—correction: her murder—but she was relieved that the woman and her henchman, Noah, weren’t around to go after anyone else. The two of them had created a nightmare that would stay with a lot of people for a long time.
Including Cully.
“It looks as if Noah was telling the truth when he said Renee was going to try to set him up to take the blame for all four of the murders,” Declan explained. “The CSIs found that bloody handkerchief in Renee’s pocket. The one with Savannah’s blood on it.”
Yes, that would have definitely been a solid piece of incriminating evidence. “But why try to kill the three of us?” Cully asked.
“According to Noah, Renee thought our deaths would put an end to the investigation, that he would be blamed for all seven murders and might even be killed in a shootout with the cops. Renee thought it would make sure she was in the clear and that no one ever suspected she was a killer.”
That’s exactly what Renee was. A killer. And Cully felt more of that relief that the woman was dead.
“According to your doctor, you’re going to make a full recovery,” her mother said, “so that makes us all very lucky indeed.”
It did, and Cully was beyond thankful for it. Thankful, too, that her mom was obviously having one of her clearer moments. No distance, vacant look in her eyes.
Just the love.
Love aimed at Cully, and she felt every bit of it.
She took her mother’s arm and eased her down so Cully could kiss her cheek. She was about to suggest that Alice go home and get some rest. Then, Cully recalled that with Tansy in the hospital, there’d be no one there to take care of her mother.
“You’ll need a place to stay,” Cully insisted.
“That’s taken care of,” Declan assured her just as Cully heard the sound of footsteps.
Harley came walking forward, and Cully realized he’d been in the doorway of her room.
“I’ll take Alice to my place for the night,” Harley said.
Cully was about to say that was too much to ask of him, but then she saw her mother smile. “It’ll be okay,” her mother assured her. “I’ve got my meds, and Harley said he’d keep an eye on me.”
“I will,” Harley vowed. “Your mom will be fine.” He took out a pen from his pocket and wrote down his number on a napkin that he took from the table next to her bed. “Call me if you need anything,” he added, putting both the pen and the napkin on the edge of the bed next to Cully.
Yes, she believed it would be okay. And while her mother’s Alzheimer’s would almost certainly continue to progress, for this moment, Alice seemed like her old self. Well, with that tinge of worry for her daughter.
“I’m okay, really,” Cully said, to try to give her mom the assurance that the bad stuff was over and the good stuff was right here, right now.
Alice nodded and smiled. “Then, I’ll be going with Harley so we can get some rest. You need rest as well,” she added to Declan.
He tipped his head to a chair near the bed. “I’ll crash there later.”
The chair didn’t look especially comfortable, but Cully didn’t try to dissuade him from staying. She wanted him with her.
Alice gave Cully a kiss on the cheek and then gave Declan one, too. “You’ll be a fool if you don’t tell my girl that you’re still in love with her,” she said. And with that little bombshell, Alice and Harley walked out.
“You don’t have to tell me that,” Cully was quick to assure him. She didn’t want Declan to feel pressured or trapped.
He shrugged. “Are you in pain?” Declan asked.
Cully felt something she didn’t want to feel. Disappointment. She realized she’d wanted him to say he still loved her. And he hadn’t.
“Well?” he prompted. “Are you hurting anywhere?”
Trying to tamp down that blasted disappointment, Cully shook her head. “Just a few twinges.” That would likely change though when the pain meds wore off, but she’d deal with that later.
“Good,” he responded.
He leaned down and kissed her. Really kissed her. Long, slow, deep and French. A full Declan kiss that washed away every sensation but pleasure. He didn’t stop until he had her breathless and aroused.
“This seems like a good time to pour out my heart,” he said, easing back from her just a little. His mouth still hovered over hers. “Yeah, you’re in a hospital bed, recovering from surgery for a gunshot wound. And I’m sitting in here in still wet clothes after getting soaked in the rain. Still no pain?” he tacked onto that.
“No. Just a slight buzz. You and that kiss are responsible for that.”
He grinned. “Good,” he repeated. “Because a buzz is a nice bonus for when I tell you that I’m in love with you. And, no, it’s not because you scared the life out of me tonight. And, no, it’s not because of the spent adrenaline. It’s because I love you.”
Cully felt the flood of emotions go through her. No disappointment whatsoever.
“Good,” she echoed. “Because I’m in love with you, too.”
That put a big grin on his amazing face. “Just what I wanted to hear.”
He kissed her again, and she hadn’t thought it possible, but he managed to make this one even hotter than the last one. Once more, he didn’t stop until he had her breathless and wanting a whole lot more.
More that obviously couldn’t happen now.
“If I were in any shape for it, I’d let you carry me off to bed,” she said.
“If you were in any shape for it, I’d carry you off to bed,” Declan assured her. “For now, we might just have to settle for more kisses…and maybe a temp tattoo.”
Cully laughed and watched as Declan picked up the pen that Harley had left. He used it to draw a heart on her hand. It was about the same size as the one she’d seen on his shoulder.
“My initial,” Declan said, penning it in with the numerical date below it. “Fresh start from this moment on.”
She liked the sound of that. And it was even better when he kissed her again. It seemed to seal the deal on that fresh start.
Cully sank into the kiss and let Declan show her just how much he loved her.