Chapter 36
“Hi,” she croaks.
My head shoots up at the sound of Erin’s voice. It’s raspy and laced with sleep. Relief slams into me so fast I have to grip the edge of the chair to keep myself upright. I push out of my seat, close the space between us, and press my lips to hers.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
“Hi, sweetheart,” I murmur against her lips.
She’s awake.
“The doctor told me to get him when you were up. I’ll be right back,” I say, kissing her forehead quickly. I pull away and rush out the door.
The doctor’s head lifts from what he’s looking at near the nurses station when he hears me call out. He stops what he’s doing, and we head back into the room together.
“I’m glad to see you awake Miss Callahan.” He flanks the side of her bed. “How are you feeling?”
“I want an endless supply of tacos.”
I laugh and the doctor chuckles.
She can have all the tacos she wants.
Hell, I’ll buy her a damn truck.
“I’m a little stiff, but other than that I’m okay,” she answers.
“I’m glad to hear that. There’s a great place down the street. They deliver here regularly.”
“Can you help me sit up?” she asks. “I don’t want to lie down.”
“Should she be moving so quickly?” I ask the doctor, my eyes bouncing between him and Erin. He reaches for the remote for her bed, and she winces as she shifts. My stomach twists knowing that I can’t take that pain and make it mine.
“Thank you,” she says. “I hope this one wasn’t too much of a nuisance.”
“Your boyfriend was a delight. Your brother,” he pauses, “kept us entertained,” he adds dryly.
I snort because I’m fairly certain that when Rudy asked the nurse for more blankets a third time, someone seriously considered sedating him—if not for ethics and oaths getting in the way.
“But he was just scared, so I’m giving him a pass. You have a lot of people here that care about you. I’ll give you some time to catch up. I’ll be back to check on you in a few hours.”
I close the door and then sit right next to my girl, taking her hand in mine. The moment I open my mouth, two words come out of hers I’m not expecting.
“I’m sorry.”
I frown in response.
“I’m sure seeing me hurt must have been triggering for you. I’m sorry if I sent you back to a place you didn’t want to be.”
This. Girl.
She’s lying in a hospital bed, worried about my trauma. A fierce ache stirs in me—not pain, but a protective instinct that refuses to let her carry that weight.
“Are you okay?” Her voice is quiet.
“I am now that you’re awake. You scared the hell out of me. What were you thinking?”
“I saw him reach inside his jacket and… I just…” she doesn’t finish her sentence. “I should have known it wasn’t our foster father that sent me those texts. I just couldn’t take the risk. Neither you nor Griff need to blame yourselves.”
“Erin,” I whisper. “You were shot. Right in front of me. If anything would have happened to you… If I’d lost you… Erin, I need to tell you something.”
Her breath shifts, shallow and uneven, pupils blown as she stares at me. Her body goes taut beneath the thin sheets.
The monitor behind her begins to climb. It’s as if she knows three words I’m going to say and is afraid of hearing them.
Not now, Chase.
Not when she’s fighting to breathe evenly.
So, instead, I say, “I had to tell Bella about your mom showing up in Huxley Bay when she and Brodie got here.” Her body relaxes, and the numbers on the screen lower. “I didn’t tell her everything.”
“How mad is she?”
“She’s not mad. She’s hurt and confused.”
Erin sighs.
“And she’s grounding you until you’re thirty,” I add, trying to lighten the mood.
It works and she cracks a faint smile. It isn’t much, but the tiny curve of her lips is as comforting as a rainbow after a storm.
“I guess it’s time to have that heart-to-heart I’ve been putting off. Is she still here?”
“She’s staying at the hotel down the road. Do you want me to call her?”
“Yes, but I also need you to call Brax. I don’t think they’re gonna let me outta here anytime soon. And the three of us need to talk about the secrets we’ve been keeping.”
I know what she’s talking about—the locked door.
“Erin,” I sigh. “You just woke up from surgery. Give yourself a minute, baby.”
Tears build inside her again as she shakes her head. “This can’t wait, Chase.”
I swipe her sadness away.
I hate seeing her cry.
“Not anymore.” She sniffles. “Please?”
“Okay,” I say after a beat. “You’re right. The three of us do need to talk. But not in the hospital.” I keep my voice even. “Brax is already here. He’s talking to the cops about the shooting. He’ll stay when they question you.”
“Did you call him?” she asks.
“He was on his way before you got hurt. He figured out Clarissa Rose was headed here, and I guess he was right to worry,” I say, smoothing circles with my thumb along the back of her hand. “We’ll talk, I promise. But when we’re home. You need to rest. A few days isn’t going to change anything.”
There’s reluctance in her voice when she says, “Okay.”
A knock on the door steals our attention. Brax pops his head into the room.
“Hey, kid,” Brax says as he steps through. His gaze sweeps over Erin, and his jaw ticks—barely—but I sense it.
He’s rattled.
The bed dips from his weight when he sits next to her. His hand closes around hers. “I’m so damn sorry.”
“You did nothing wrong,” she reassures him. “This is not on you.”
Relief flickers in his eyes but behind them there’s tension.
I slide my hand into Erin’s without a word.
“Your mother’s been watching you since she got to Huxley Bay,” Brax says. “She tracked and gathered information on you, Chase, and Rudy. Used what she learned and the advantage of the away game to isolate you.”
A chill settles beneath the lining of my stomach. She wasn’t just watching Erin. She was watching all of us.
“I guess that makes sense,” Erin says.
“I have some contacts here in the police department,” Brax continues. “I asked them to hold off questioning you until I arrived.”
“Thank you,” she says. “The thought of being interrogated alone makes my stomach churn.”
“The shooter’s prints aren’t in any of our systems. No history, no priors, but we were able to track down his bank account. From the looks of it, he was likely hired by your mother to be her muscle to get you out of the picture,” Brax explains.
“Okay,” she says softly.
“California will handle the shooting separately, but anything involving your mother—her history, her motives—that’s my jurisdiction.
I made California aware your mother is tied to a larger, active investigation I’m working on in Michigan.
Details I can’t share with them. You won’t have to say anything about her to anyone else but me. And they won’t ask.”
“You’ll stay with me?” She looks at Brax and then to me. “Both of you.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” I assure her, squeezing her hand and not letting her miss the promise in my touch.
“Get some rest. I’ll stop by tomorrow with a few officers. I just wanted to give you a heads-up first of what they know already. We’ll talk more when you’re back in Huxley Bay,” Brax says, giving Erin’s hand a sweet pat before he leaves.
“I’m glad they won’t ask questions about my mother,” she murmurs, blowing out a breath. “I was worried I’d have to tell them everything.”
“I’ll order us tacos, and then I’ll call Bella. Let her know you’re awake and want to talk,” I say, tucking her hair behind her ear.
Her tired eyes glimmer with affection. “I imagine you’ve been here since I was admitted. Why don’t you go back to the hotel? You can shower and get some sleep while Bella and I talk.”
“I’ll give you space to talk to your sister,” I say. “But your boyfriend is a professional hockey player. I got you a private room with your own shower. I’m not going anywhere. In fact, I’m gonna sleep right here.”
She glances at the cot like it personally offended her and then shakes her head. “You can’t sleep on that. You’re not gonna fit.”
I chuckle. “Baby, the cot is just a formality. Now that you’re awake, you’re not sleeping anywhere but in my arms.”
Her brows knit together. “You’re going to the hotel tonight, and you’ll sleep in a proper bed.”
I smirk. “It’s cute that you think you’re in charge.”
“Chase Riley Harper, you’re being ridiculous.”
“I love it when you say my full name like that. It turns me on.”
“Oh, my God, Chase. Stop.”
“Especially with a growl. It’s so sexy.”
“Chase!”
“Yeah, baby?”
Her skin tinges with a deep rouge, climbing all the way to her ears, the flush staining her skin momentarily.
“You’re incorrigible.”
“You have no idea.”
Then her lips curve and that edible little dimple winks at me. I lean in and press my lips to it. “Love seeing that secret smile.”
She leans her forehead against mine, letting out a breath.
“Hey, Eighty-Seven?” she whispers. “Thanks for coming to get me.”
“Always, baby. Always.”