Chapter Ten
Talia
Shane and I are separated as soon as the local sheriff and his men arrive wanting answers, considering they have bullet holes everywhere and a few non-life-threatening injuries to the men after me.
Shane refused to leave me, but the sheriff demanded our individual stories, so we separate.
I am more than happy to provide my version of events.
The sheriff plans to get in contact with Dallas authorities so they can compare notes and tie up loose ends on both sides. I know it will take more time and investigation before the truth of what happened finally comes out.
After an hour of questioning, the men who aren’t sent off with police escorts by ambulance are rounded up and taken into custody. The end of my short nightmare has finally come, and I couldn’t be more relieved.
Shane and I are allowed to leave with Ian by helicopter to the nearest airport, at which point we’ll fly to Dallas.
The rest of his men disperse using Shane’s car.
Weight limits prohibit adding more people on the helicopter, and Shane wants me back in Dallas at a local hospital near home.
I’m not about to argue. The pain in my hip has only gotten worse, especially after I was thrown to the floor to avoid flying bullets.
I take my first helicopter ride and am mesmerized by the feel and sights around me.
With Ian around, Shane and I have no time to talk—not that I know what to say beyond thanks for saving me and good-bye.
I have no illusions about any kind of future for us.
No sooner has my situation wrapped up than Ian engages Shane in conversation about an emergency case that has just come their way.
Soon, he’ll be busy with his bodyguard business… as it should be.
I wonder how my company plays into people wanting to steal my work. No doubt, there is big money involved and high stakes for either developing my formula or burying it for good. My goal is and always will be to be back in a lab, doing my work. I don’t know or want any other way of life.
And if Sheila and her company can somehow get involved in the cure I uploaded today, I am hoping Jonah’s ex-wife will let me be involved in bringing the drug to market. I sacrificed too much of my life to the cause, and I desperately want to be a part of its future.
An exhausting number of hours later, I arrive at the hospital, where a doctor cleans out my wound while lecturing Shane on the dangers of a civilian playing surgeon.
The poor man doesn’t need the reprimand. I know he feels bad enough already. And I’ll have the scar to remember him by even when he is gone from my life. The scar will be even larger because the doctor needed to go in and clean out the wound before closing it up again.
At least this time, I have a local anesthetic to dull the pain. Not that the needles on the local are fun, but I survive the ordeal. It helps that I have Shane by my side, holding my hand while the doctor works.
Finally, the doctor, an older man with salt-and-pepper hair, snaps off his surgical gloves and tosses them in the trash. “I’ll be right back with your discharge papers and prescription for a painkiller and antibiotic.”
“Thank you,” I murmur.
“You’re welcome.” He pushes past the curtain and walks out.
Shane braces an arm on the top of the propped-up bed behind me. “Are you okay?”
I nod. “I am.”
He leans in close. I want to memorize every line and curve of his handsome face for when I won’t see him every day.
“You amazed me every step of the way,” he says, pride in his voice.
I laugh. “I have to admit I amazed myself. Shows you what you can do when you have no other choice.”
“It shows you’re strong and resilient.”
I brush a hand down his scruffy cheek. “Maybe that’s because I had a protector I could rely on.”
“Or maybe it’s because you’re stronger than you think or give yourself credit for.” His smile reaches his eyes and warms my heart. “Talia—”
Whatever he is going to say is cut off by the ring of his cell phone. He straightens and reaches for the phone in his pocket.
“Landon.”
He listens, and his relaxed features morph into a frustrated frown. “Okay, yeah. I’ll be there.” He disconnects the call and meets my gaze. “Ian’s calling an emergency meeting. New client.”
“Okay.” I school my face into a mask of understanding, not wanting him to see the disappointment in my expression.
Not that I don’t understand. I’d be a hypocrite if I had a problem with him taking off for work. I just didn’t think our time together would come to such an abrupt end. Then again, I didn’t think about it at all.
Oh, I told myself it would happen, but feeling the separation is something different altogether. Still, I knew him leaving was inevitable.
“Thank Ian again for me. And you know where to bill me.” Although that helicopter is going to kill my budget.
Shane grins. “Don’t worry. I think I can get you the friends and family discount,” he says, as if reading my mind.
Friends. Well, it is as good as it is going to get between us now, I think.
He leans down and sweeps a kiss over my lips, lingering for too brief a time but long enough for me to inhale his scent and taste him once more.
He straightens and looks at me, his expression unreadable. “Can I call someone to take you home?” he asks.
I draw my tongue over my lips and give his question some thought. My brother is coming home tonight, and I don’t want to explain my situation to anyone. I could take a cab but…
“I don’t have my phone, and I used all my spare cash. Can you lend me some money for a cab?” I ask, feeling myself blush. I know anything I purchased while on the run, Ian will probably bill me for.
He frowns and pulls cash out of his wallet, handing me a good amount. “I’m sorry I have to bail on you. I wish—”
I reach out and place my hand over his mouth, silencing him. “It’s fine. I’m fine.” I smile, although my stomach is in knots.
A part of me wishes he’d just leave already and not draw out what is hurting me more than I imagined.
I have an unexpected lump in my throat, and though I am the most independent woman I know, heading home alone after this adventure won’t be easy.
A part of me is more shaken up than I want to admit to Shane.
Or to myself. Maybe that is why he hasn’t asked for his Taser gun back.
“See you, Ms. Smarty-Pants,” he says, winks at me, then turns and walks through the curtain and out of my life.
* * *
Talia
Two weeks pass, during which I spent a lot of time repeating my story to the Dallas PD while they discover the fact that my company, Newton Laboratories, was directly involved in stopping the cure from getting to market.
The conspiracy between them and a big pharmaceutical company who was willing to pay to keep the drug buried goes all the way up to the top, from my boss to the CEO of Newton.
They all were working together with an agreement to share in the profits of the existing drugs treating the condition for the duration of a patient’s life.
A much more lucrative proposition. I will have to testify if it comes to trial, but I am hoping the men involved will take a plea.
As for my own life, I am waiting to hear from Sheila on whether her company is going to get involved in bringing the cure to the FDA. Either way, I accepted a job offer and am due to start on the first of next month. Meanwhile, I have time on my hands.
And with that time come the inevitable thoughts about Shane and our days on the road. I haven’t heard from him and assume he is either on the job he was called away for or he moved on to another assignment.
Moved on from me.
And isn’t that what I wanted? Time alone to work? To enjoy my solitary life? But when have words like alone and solitary bothered me the way they do now?
I run a hand through my hair and return to folding the laundry, no longer finding satisfaction in finishing the chores around the house. It isn’t that I miss the danger from my time with Shane.
I miss him.
I tell myself the feeling will pass. That once I return to work, I’ll have no time to be emotionally down and lonely. I’ll fall back into the comfort of routine and the excitement and challenge of the lab, where I always find satisfaction.
My doorbell rings, and I drop my nightshirt into the laundry basket, grateful for the reprieve, and head downstairs to answer it.
I open the door to find my brother on the other side. We look alike with our dark brown hair and similar features, and today he is dressed in a pair of cargo shorts and a T-shirt. Totally casual.
“Surprise!” Tate says, pulling me into a big hug.
I squeeze him back. “What are you doing here?” I ask.
I’ve seen him since my return. He showed up on my doorstep, coming to Dallas before going home to New York. He wanted to see for himself that I survived my ordeal intact. He is an awesome big brother.
But it isn’t like him to just show up in town without calling first.
“You sounded down last time we talked, and I knew you had some time off, so I figured I would surprise you with a short visit.”
I squeal in excitement. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
I look around but don’t see any bags. “Where’s your carry-on?” I know he travels light.
“I didn’t want to intrude on your privacy. I figured I’d stay in a hotel, and I already checked in and got rid of the luggage.”
“Silly. You know you can stay here.” I pull him inside and shut the door behind him.
“Can I get you a drink?” I offer.
“Do you have a beer?”
I grin. “From your last visit, I do.”
He follows me to the kitchen, a sunny room with stainless appliances and light-wood cabinets. He turns the chair around and straddles it while I pick out two bottles.
Why not join him?
A few minutes later, we are each enjoying a cold brew. “Are you looking forward to getting back to work?” he asks.
I settle into the chair across from him. “You have no idea how much! I miss being busy.” I wrap my hands around the bottle, cold with condensation.