Page 5 of Axel (Reed Hawthorne Security #6)

Axel

“The officer said you were involved in an explosion,” a doctor says as she points her flashlight into my eyes. “I need to check you for a possible concussion.”

“Nothing hit my head,” I say.

She nods. “You could be concussed from the pressure of the explosion. You mentioned to the nurse you were a Navy SEAL. Did you ever ride in those fast boats?”

I frown. “Fast boats?”

“Yes, it came out recently that riding in those is bad for your brain. Have you not heard about this?”

“No.”

“Follow the light,” she says. She runs a few more tests and then grabs a clipboard and writes something down.

“Good news. You don’t show any signs of a concussion.

It looks like you only have the cut on your upper back that needs stitches.

We’ll get that taken care of, and then you can go home.

The nurse will be in soon. You were really lucky. Good luck, Mr. Charles.”

The moment she leaves, Durango’s face peers in through the curtain.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

He steps through the curtain and up to the bed I’m sitting on.

“Emergency contact, remember? I got a call telling me you were in the emergency room, but they wouldn’t tell me why.

Then I get here, and they say you were involved in an explosion.

” He fists his hands. “I thought maybe you, you know…” He stares at the ground.

I get it. It’s a call none of us wants to get but know it’s possible in our line of work.

“Hey, I’ll be fine. I only need a few stitches. And Savvy wasn’t injured at all, which is a miracle.”

Durango’s head jerks up. “Savvy? The real estate agent? You were with her?” The corner of his mouth curves up. “I knew you really liked her.”

I hold up my hand. “No, nothing like that. She was showing a property and was uncomfortable about the client. She asked me to go with her. That’s all.”

He crosses his arms. “Well, it looks like she had reason to be uncomfortable. Why didn’t you call me or any of the guys for backup?”

“Listen, I had no idea someone was trying to kill that guy. I just thought he was a creep.”

“Are you sure the guy was the target?”

No. I’m not sure, and I also have no idea where Savvy is. “You think it was Savvy? ”

He shrugs. “Maybe there is more to her asking you to go with her than she told you.”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize you weren’t alone,” Savvy says as she stands at the curtain entrance.

Durango turns to her and then arches a brow at me. “Please stay. I’ll head out to the waiting room.” He turns to me. “I assume you’ll need a ride home?”

I nod. “Thanks. That would be great.”

Savvy walks up to the bed as Durango leaves. Her eyes widen as she stares at my bare chest. “How are you?” she asks.

“I’ll be fine. The cut was deep enough that I need stitches, but that’s all.”

“So that’s why you don’t have a gown on?” She continues to stare at my chest with heat in her eyes.

I admit, it’s a turn-on, but this isn’t the time or place. I shift to hide my reaction. “That’s why.”

She meets my eyes, and I’m grinning.

“If you prefer, I can take my shirt off whenever I see you.”

“Oh.” Her face flushes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare at you like that. I should be apologizing again. It’s my fault you were there and that you got hurt.”

“And if I weren’t there, you’d be dead.” It’s harsh, but it’s true. “Clinton wouldn’t have left so fast, and you two would have likely been closer to the blast location.”

A tear falls down her cheek. “You’re right. Thank you for coming with me. I really appreciate it.”

I’m not used to seeing her like this, vulnerable. For a second, I forget that she drives me insane. “Hey,” I say. “I have to ask you something.” I stare at my hands. Normally, I don’t struggle with saying what’s on my mind, but I feel I need to tread carefully here, or I’ll scare her off.

“What is it?”

I meet her gaze. “Do you think you were the target of the explosion?”

She swallows. “Me?”

I nod.

Her brow furrows as she stares at the ground. “Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous. Why would someone want me dead?” She avoids my eyes.

“I’m worried you might be in danger.” Now I am even more so based on how she’s reacting.

She gives a nervous laugh. “No, I’m fine. I’m sure the bomb was for that man.”

“Bomb?” I ask.

“The officer who questioned me after you left said there were two explosive devices found inside.”

“They got a bomb guy there that fast?”

She shrugs. “As far as I could tell, it was the first officer who showed up that found them.”

Just our luck. We have some small-town cop trying to take charge, possibly ruining evidence. Hopefully, he left the devices in place to be examined. We need all the evidence we can get to find out who placed it there. And hopefully, that will tell us who the intended target was.

“Seriously, can you stay with my sister tonight? Don’t go back home. Just in case.”

She nods. “I wasn’t planning to.”

Not planning to. Why wouldn’t she unless she believed she was in danger? I open my mouth to ask her about this as the nurse comes through the curtain.

“Time to stitch you up,” she says.

“I’m going to leave. Sorry about all of this,” Savvy says. Then she’s gone before I can say anything else.

The entire time the nurse is working on me, all I can think about is that I need to call my sister and tell her what’s going on.

She’ll insist that Savvy stay with her tonight.

Hell, probably for the next month. And I trust Maria.

She can defend herself and Savvy. I’m not worried.

She’s a black belt in jiujitsu, can shoot a target better than most of the guys I served with, and she has a top-notch security system.

That reminds me, I didn’t get a chance to talk to Savvy about self-defense and carrying something with her to showings. I’ll have to do that tomorrow.

Wait. Am I finding excuses to see her again? I think about it for a moment. No, she really does need to know how to defend herself. I should ask Maria to talk to her about it.

“Mr. Charles, here are your release papers,” a nurse says as she steps inside the curtain. She goes over what they say.

Once she’s done, Durango appears. “Ready to go?”

“Yes.” I wince as I put my jacket on.

Durango grabs us food to go on the way back to my place and helps me get set up at the table.

“Thanks,” I say.

He eats several bites of his sandwich before he sets it down. “I spoke to Reed. ”

I’m not sure why he spoke to him. I was fully prepared to call him and tell him about my stitches later today.

“He’s going to reach out to the local police and try to get us any information he can.”

I set my sandwich down. “He is? So, you told him what all happened?”

Durango frowns. “Of course I did. For all we know, you could have been the target.”

I shake my head. “No, Savvy only asked me to go with her this morning. No one else knew I’d be there.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am.”

We finish our lunch in silence. Durango wipes his mouth with a napkin and then tosses it onto the table.

“Tell me every detail about how you came to be in that building.”

I relay the story, starting from kayaking this morning to ending up in the ER. Durango turns his gaze to the window. I know that look. He’s thinking through every possibility. I give him time.

“There’s no way to know if it was that buyer or Savvy who was targeted,” he finally says.

“True.”

“Has anyone reached out to him?”

That’s a good question. “I don’t know, actually. When I was taken away, Savvy was being questioned by the officer. She must have given him the guy’s name.”

Durango pulls out his phone and starts typing. “I’ll ask Reed if he can find out through his contact.”

While he’s occupied, I check my messages. Reed sent a text that says he hopes I’m doing all right. I reply that I am. So much for a few days of relaxing.

That’s when I remember my car is up at the cabin.

Maybe Durango will drive me up there. If not, I’ll grab a cab if I can get one to drive me out that far.

The cabin fridge is already stocked, and I won’t have to worry about the guys popping by to check on me at any time of day.

I love all the guys I work with. They are like my brothers, but they are also annoying in that way sometimes, too.

“Okay, do you need anything else?” Durango asks.

I take a deep breath. “A ride to my cabin?”

His brows shoot up. But then he stands up. “All right. Let’s go.”

“Really?”

He shrugs. “I’ve always got your back.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

He grins. “Don’t worry. I’m sure I’ll ask you for something soon.”

Knowing Durango, he won’t. But if he ever does, I’ll be here for him.