Twenty-Three #2
“Okay,” I muttered, thinking that Greg had helped Caleb for Susan. That might have done it. If Susan was the only maternal figure Greg had really ever had, it made sense that he would help Caleb. It was a twisted mess and I doubted I was going to get all my answers.
“Perhaps,” he said, looking at me, “being alone is not such a bad thing.”
“I’m not alone anymore.”
“You’re not going to be anything anymore,” he said, ready to shoot me.
“Please don’t, Susan,” I begged, using the name he would recognize at that moment.
“I have to. I hate you. I want you in the ground.”
I thought of Sam. I thought of Dane. My heart hurt.
I felt how tense my muscles were, heard the blood rushing like a train in my ears, tried to pull in air and found I could not.
There had to be more. More Sam, more family, more friends, more time, more everything.
I lunged forward without thinking, heard him yell from so far away.
No. Not him yelling, someone else.
His right shoulder exploded with blood, and he screamed like a wounded animal as he crumpled to the floor in front of me. I went to my knees beside him, whipping off my T-shirt and balling it up before pressing it to the wound, holding it there.
“Mr. Harcourt, stand clear!”
But how could I? Caleb was looking at me with such wounded eyes.
“Ohmygod, Jory.” His voice was shaky. I saw the color drain from his face, saw his eyes get glassy, the beads of sweat on his forehead. “Are you all right?”
I nodded before I was suddenly grabbed from behind and thrown backward onto the couch.
I watched the two officers who had been outside move in unison, one kicking the gun across the room, the other holding on to Caleb before he was flipped over onto his stomach, his good arm twisted up behind his back.
It looked rougher than it needed to be, more brutal, faster.
“No!” Caleb howled.
The two officers were on top of Caleb, holding him down, one pressing his face into the floor, the other cuffing him tight, sitting on his legs.
There was no way he was moving; there was no escape this time.
I heard thunder in the hall before the front door was thrown violently open.
More officers came through it, guns drawn, announcing themselves by yelling until they realized everything was already under control.
I heard them say that the scene was secured and was comforted.
I watched in a daze as they spoke into the radios on their shoulders, calling to tell whoever what had happened.
They had me stand up, and I was quickly checked over, questions barked at me, making sure I wasn’t hurt before they sat me back down.
I was wrapped in a blanket from the couch and asked again if any of the blood on me was mine.
I shook my head. “No.”
They left me then, taking Caleb with them as he screamed my name. When I didn’t hear it anymore, I closed my eyes and leaned back, letting the fear and cold and nausea roll through me. I couldn’t stop shaking. I’d thought I had been cold before…turned out I was wrong.
They needed somewhere to take me. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, so I elected to go to a hotel instead of someone’s house.
The room was checked and double-checked, but I wasn’t worried anymore.
The only person who’d actually ever wanted to kill me was now in police custody.
The officers who had brought me over were the same ones from outside my door earlier.
The older one, Officer Fadden, had shot Caleb.
He stopped me before I got inside and thanked me for worrying about him and his partner.
I hadn’t called to them to rescue me because I hadn’t wanted them to get hurt.
Apparently, because I was normally more chatty, bringing them snacks and coffee, they got worried when I didn’t and came in to check on me.
It always paid to be nice to people; I said that all the time.
“Detective Kage will be here soon,” Officer Fadden promised me, squeezing my shoulder.
I nodded, feeling like a zombie, and walked into the hotel room. A long time later I heard the bathroom door open, even with the shower running.
“Baby?”
I didn’t answer.
The shower curtain moved slowly, and I looked up and found Sam.
“What are you doing in here?”
“I have blood all over me…it’s in my hair.”
“Jesus,” he breathed, yanking the shower curtain all the way open so he could turn off the water.
I was sitting in the tub, knees drawn up to my chest, hugging them to me.
“Baby, the water’s freezing.”
“Is it?”
“You let it run cold.”
I couldn’t really tell the difference.
He grabbed towels and effortlessly picked me up before sitting down on the edge of the tub with me in his lap. He wasn’t careful as he dried me, going for fast instead of gentle. “How long have you been in here?”
“I dunno.” I barely got it out through chattering teeth.
“Shit.” He sighed, stood up, then carried me out of the bathroom to the bedroom.
“I wanna move into your place. Don’t sell it—let’s go there.”
“Baby—”
“Caleb watched me sleep this morning after you left… I’ll never feel safe in that apartment again.”
He made a noise deep in his chest before his voice came out, hard and gruff. “As soon as they release the crime scene, I’ll have movers there first thing, okay?”
I trembled hard, and he threw back the sheet and blankets before he put me in bed and covered me completely, even my head.
“I was so scared, Sam.”
He didn’t answer, but I heard the jingle of his belt buckle, the thump of boots hitting the floor, the sound of fabric as it slid off his skin.
“You were right… I should have been more afraid this whole time.”
The covers lifted as he slid into bed beside me.
His bare chest was pressed to my back, his arms wrapped around me, his face down in my shoulder as he eased my ass against his groin.
Nothing sexual about any of it, just him wanting to warm me, hold me, make me feel safe.
And it worked like magic, because with him I was bulletproof, and the heat radiating off the man was incredible.
“You’re like a block of ice, J. I gotta get you warmed up.”
I shivered hard, feeling his body heat start to seep into me. “I know a way to warm me up.”
He held me tighter in his arms. “Don’t tease me—just rest.”
“Okay.”
He cleared his throat. “It was smart what you did.”
“What’d I do?”
“You told them to call me about the shift change.”
“Yes.”
“I knew something was wrong; I told them to get in there.”
“I was certain you would.”
“I wish they’d called me faster.”
“It’s okay. They did it and I was saved.”
“It was a mistake to leave you.”
“No. You had to talk to Susan. Tell me what she said.”
“I will later.”
“I thought I was going to die, you know?”
I felt him tremble.
“I didn’t want to die, Sam.”
“They told me you tried to save Caleb—ended up using your shirt to try and stop his bleeding.”
“Is he gonna be all right?”
“Yes.”
I was relieved. “Why did he come after me?”
“He was always going to—just a matter of time.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re amazing.”
I ignored the compliment. It didn’t seem like the time to give any or take them. “Is Caleb at the hospital?”
“Yes.”
“He’s not gonna die, right, Sam?”
“Right,” he affirmed.
I realized I’d asked him again, but I couldn’t help myself. Sometimes, I had to be reassured more than once.
I was quiet, savoring his warmth, and he tucked my head under his chin as he hugged me tighter.
“Close your eyes.”
I did, even though I was sure there was no way I could ever sleep again.
“I’ll be right here. I won’t move.”
Which turned out to be all I needed to hear. Safe there in his arms, I was out in seconds.