Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Gina had nothing to lose. She’d already lost so much, and now Pete was coming after her hard.
It worried her that his goons had shown up outside her work.
She was almost positive they wouldn’t come inside the hospital.
There were cameras in here, and it would be harder for them to hide their activities with cameras recording their every move.
She had to leave the building at some point, but she knew they couldn’t sit around all day waiting for her to get off work.
Her odds weren’t perfect, but they weren’t too bad. She just had to pay attention.
After Wave left, she made sure she looked semi-presentable and then headed up to finish her shift. She grabbed a bag of chips and a candy bar from the vending machine, knowing she couldn’t go back out for lunch without getting accosted again.
A few of the nurses looked at her weirdly, but she smiled as if nothing was wrong. When she showed up on her floor after trying to grab food, the charge nurse asked her what had happened.
She shook her head. “Just tripped and ran into a sign. It’s no big deal.”
“You should put a band-aid on it.”
She nodded, glad the nurse hadn’t told her to go home. She wanted to finish her shift, maybe work a few more before her troubles became too much, and she had to leave.
After about ten minutes, she spied Cassandra heading into her mother’s room. The poor girl had been so lost. At least her brother was here now, and she didn’t have to carry the full load on her shoulders.
It bugged her that Wave hadn’t shown up before now. Of course, she didn’t know the situation. Sometimes families just had too much going on to play nice. Gina forced herself not to dwell on Wave and Cassandra as she started her rounds.
Cassandra certainly didn’t deserve this kind of pain. No one did. She hoped they both could get over their mother’s death. When her own mother passed away , it had been one of the most difficult times in her life. Eventually, she learned to live with the pain, but she never got over it.
Wave hugged Cassandra close, glad his little sister was there now. If their mother passed, at least Cassandra would be here to say goodbye instead of stuck at school.
“How is she now?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. She hasn’t regained consciousness. I think it’s close.”
Cassandra moved to the side of the bed and grasped their mother’s hand. “Mom, I’m here now. I passed everything. I’m done with high school. It’s okay to go. I’m moving to California with Aaron. We’ll be okay.”
Tears burned Wave’s eyes. He hated that Cassandra had to learn this lesson early.
The first friend he’d lost to combat had hurt.
When a few of his SEAL brothers had been killed in action, he felt like he’d lost an appendage.
Cassandra would feel the loss of their mother, but he would be there for her.
They stayed beside their mother’s bed, not saying much for over an hour. Then the door opened, and Gina stepped in. The bandage on her cheek was hard to miss.
“Gina,” Cassandra said as she hopped up and moved to the nurse, giving her a quick hug.
“Cass, I heard you finished high school.”
“Finally! I was so done. My teacher graded my paper right then and told me I passed. So I’m really done. I don’t have to go back.”
Gina gave her another quick hug before stepping back and washing her hands again. Wave watched as she checked the equipment, making small adjustments.
He stayed out of the way, letting Cassandra talk to Gina.
He wished he’d been around more for Cassandra.
He tried to help whenever he could. A few years after he left, he set up a bank account for her, making her promise to use it for things she needed.
He checked the account every so often, seeing that she was using the money for food and some clothing, and also at the pharmacy every month.
He figured it was either birth control or something else he didn’t need to know about.
Every couple of months, she would head to a fast-food joint and use the card there, but those outings were few and far between.
Cassandra was responsible, and he knew that when she came to live with him, he wouldn’t really have to worry about her.
He would keep an eye on her, but he wouldn’t need to worry that she would go wild and act a fool.
Gina could feel Wave’s eyes on her. She glanced over, trying not to look too obvious, and saw him staring, but it wasn’t weird or threatening. He seemed interested in her.
She turned back to her work, knowing that his being interested wasn’t anything she needed to get excited about. He wasn’t really interested in her as a person. More than likely, he just wanted to make sure her issues didn’t follow her into this room.
“It’s almost time for my shift to end. I’ll be here tomorrow.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Cass said.
“You need some sleep,” Gina said.
Cass shook her head. “No way am I leaving Mom’s bed. She isn’t going to—” Cass stopped speaking and glanced at her mom. “I don’t want her to be alone.”
“I can stay. You need sleep,” Wave said.
Cass frowned. “What about you? You need sleep, too.”
“I can sleep anywhere. This chair is a lot more comfortable than some of the places I’ve slept.”
Cass rolled her eyes, acting like a teenager. It was nice to see her acting young. “Jesus, you’re such a dork.”
Gina hid her reaction, not wanting Wave to see her laughing. She liked their interaction. They seemed to care about each other.
She finished working on their mother and moved to the door. Wave stood and followed her. He paused and looked back at Cass.
“I’ll be back in a bit.”
Cass waved as she took a seat beside the bed. Gina stepped out of the room, knowing Wave was going to be a problem. Not a problem like Pete’s guys, but he wanted to know everything about her troubles, and she wasn’t sure it was wise to tell him the ins and outs of what was going on in her life.
She stopped beside an empty room, turning to face him. His forehead wrinkled, and his lips pressed together in a thin line.
“I would really appreciate it if you’d tell me what is going on with you. I get that you don’t want to, but—” he glanced around, looking for something, but she wasn’t sure what. He leaned in closer. “If you don’t get this solved soon, it looks like it could get really nasty.”
His words sent a shiver straight through her. He was right. Pete was ready to make it nasty. He’d warned her to give it up, but she didn’t have what he wanted. She needed to leave town, but where could she go?
Pete was a local criminal, and she doubted he would follow her to another city or state, but she didn’t know for sure. Could this man help her?
History told her that no man would help her.
A man was the reason she was in trouble in the first place.
If she hadn’t gone on that date, she wouldn’t have been forced to walk home, and she wouldn’t have ended up in that alley, passing Pete’s garage.
She never would have seen that woman on the ground and stopped to help her.
The woman had escaped, which Gina was thankful for, but Pete thought that the woman had passed something on to Gina.
She hadn’t, but Pete was like a dog with a bone and wouldn’t let it go.
Now Gina was in a desperate place, searching for a way out. Could Wave help her get free of this mess?