CHAPTER 105
ICU
Baltimore, Maryland
Iwas in a good mood.
The surgeon had emerged from the OR with a glowing report of complete success.
Not only had the shoulder reconstruction been virtually flawless, but Meg’s vitals were the strongest the surgeon had ever seen post-op.
Between her physical conditioning and positive attitude, he was extremely optimistic that Meg would be back in action in six to ten weeks.
She could call these next two months a vacation and never miss a beat.
They let me watch her sleeping peacefully for a few minutes. She was heavily sedated, of course, and they would keep her under for another day of rest. I couldn’t wait until tomorrow, when they brought her out of it.
As beaten up as she was, Meg always had my back and supported me even when she may have disagreed. She made me laugh. She knew how to push my buttons when I needed them pushed.
Rowan’s call brought me back to the present.
I was looking forward to seeing her. Rowan was awesome.
I could totally see a long game with her.
Maybe after the trip to Paris, we could go away together and see what happened.
For now, it would be great just to spend a few hours together.
It was a good day—and about to get better.
I waited ’til I was outside the hospital to check my Sig P225. I had two magazines on my belt plus the one in the well. I unbuttoned my jacket for an easier draw if I needed it. So far, I hadn’t seen a single person on the ground floor as I waited for the elevator.
I hit the button and headed to the third floor.
There wasn’t a soul around—not that I minded.
When Rowan said she needed a chaperone, it had put me in a good mood.
She could easily have walked over by herself.
I knew she knew how to handle a gun. Rocket’s Red Glare didn’t quite give me carte blanche to go around town whacking bad guys, but it also didn’t tell me not to.
It was pretty dark, but I could see Rowan looking for something in the trunk of her car—leaning over in a very seductive way, though that might’ve just been my own wishful thinking.
She must have heard me, as she turned away from the car without closing the trunk.
Not quite like the reunited-love scenes in movies, but we did walk a little faster toward each other as we went in for a hug.
Her ball cap fell off as I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her off the ground. I felt her hair against my face. She laughed and our lips connected. We got lost in each other for a few seconds. I was exactly where I needed to be.
“Man, I needed that,” I laughed. “Thanks for coming, Ro. You look amazing.” She held on for an extra beat.
“Well, it takes two to tango, mister.” She laughed back at me, composing herself. “Let me grab my purse and we can get out of this dump.”
She walked back to the trunk of her car and grabbed her bag. She slung it over her shoulder. She was so beautiful. It reminded me of the first time I had seen her at my house.
“Nice wheels,” I said.
“Elise let me borrow it for the night.”
“Well, thank her for me.” I turned away from her instinctively to make sure no one had followed me. The third floor still looked deserted. “How is the widow Courville, anyway?” I laughed over my shoulder, waiting for Rowan to catch up to me.
Silence.
“She’s dead, Nat.”
Dead? Did I hear that right?
I started to turn toward Rowan when that familiar report registered in my mind.
It felt like someone had hit me with a baseball bat just above my belt on my left hip.
The fire spread immediately through my body.
The second round hit me exactly where Meg had been shot.
I spun around involuntarily as I fell to the ground.
The pain was excruciating. I could feel the warm blood soaking my shirt.
I kept blinking my eyes, trying to focus.
I tried to crawl but my legs would not respond.
Where was Rowan? Why wasn’t she helping me?
She was standing there watching me.
There was no white light, no chapters of my life unspooling at warp speed. There was pain and there was anger. I was helpless, lying on the floor of a shitty parking garage in fucking Baltimore bleeding out because the woman I’d thought I could make a long game with had killed me.