Page 38

Hunt

“I’ll take ‘Noises’ for three hundred, Alex.”

The camera zooms in on the ghostly game show host. “The answer is: beep-beep, hushed voices, clanking, TVs, and squeaky food carts.”

I slam my palm on the buzzer. “What are hospital sounds?”

My pal Wulf answers instead of Trebek. “Yeah, we’re in Burlington. Welcome back.”

“Hey, since when are frogs allowed on Jeopardy?” I assume the voice belongs to me—why else stick a straw in my mouth? Swallowing hard, I lift my eyes to my friend’s grin.

His punch to my shoulder is gentle but firm. “You were supposed to count undocumented aliens, not sheep.”

For some reason, this strikes me as hilarious. I laugh until a white-hot pain stabs my side. When I throw back the sheets, I expect to find a knife lodged there. Instead, a thick bandage stares back, covered in plastic wrap.

Oh, yeah. I was shot. “Where’s Kelly?”

Wulf tilts his head toward the hall. “Right outside. She’s anxious to see you.”

After the door swings open, in walks the most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes on.

Face bruised, hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, she smiles shyly. The light catches behind her head, creating a halo or perhaps it’s the drugs.

Her hand fits perfectly as she squeezes my fingers. “How ya doin’, Wildlife?”

Other than like I fell off a mountain, got beat up, shot, and almost froze to death? “Never better.”

The heart monitor disagrees. It beeps in protest at the tsunami of memories flooding my brain. “Did we stop them?”

Wulf steps closer. “Hundreds arrested. Biggest bust in years. Too bad we can never tell anyone. You’ll probably get one of those medals you can never wear.”

We joke. People come and go. Meds. Eyelids lower.

Goodnight, moon.

When I wake again, sunlight floods the room. A uniformed man blocks my view of the hall. Nose red, eyes swollen, Kelly snores in a recliner beside my bed. Five coffee cups and two empty water bottles clutter the windowsill.

Her puffy lids flutter open, so I pat the mattress. “Come here, babe. What’s the matter? Is Mack okay?”

Careful not to disturb my side, she brushes her lips across mine. “Everyone is fine. It’s all…a bit overwhelming.”

She’s lying.

“Talk to me.” I plan on spending the rest of my life with this woman. To do that, I need to get better at dealing with her vacillating emotions.

“Dante was dirty as hell.” Snatching a tissue from a box near my head, she blows her nose and exhales through her teeth.

The slimy bastard. My hands fist. If he wasn’t dead already, I’d make him wish he were. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

“I t-trusted him. I covered for him. He was a surrogate father to me.” When her voice cracks, it reverberates in my aching chest. If only I weren’t stuck in this damn bed. I’d hold her, kiss away her grief, and then make love until nothing exists except our future.

Cupping her cheek, I pray for the right thing to say. “He’s gone. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

“Know what? I’m glad he’s dead.” Eyes lowered, she pulls on a loose sweater thread. “Does that make me a bad person?”

Seriously? My woman risked everything to save millions. Where the hell is this coming from?

As I wait for her to reveal more, a knock interrupts us. Mack rushes in first. Leaning over the side rail, she shares a shy hug. While Kade and I shake hands, the other two embrace. Seeing their love, a longing like I’ve never had before, cuts me deep. How the hell am I supposed to return to my lonely life in DC?

Once her family leaves, I’m left alone with the teary-eyed warrior I adore.

“I guess you’ll be going home soon.” The emptiness in her voice sends a chill down my spine.

Ah, babe, don’t give up on us. “Perhaps I’ll apply for Dante’s job.”

She shakes her head, smile strained. “But you’d be my boss, and sex would be off the table.”

If she was trying to be funny, she missed the mark.

Hands rubbing up and down her arms, she stands. “We both knew it couldn’t last.”

I freeze. Huh? Is she giving me the brush-off? Was I only some… adrenaline-induced fling? What a fucking idiot I was. Here I thought, I’d found my forever woman. My throat closes, choking off my words.

In the end, all I manage is a hoarse “Yup.”

When she turns to walk out the door, she takes my heart with her.

What the fuck happened here?