Page 10 of My One and Only (Blackhawk Security #10)

J o knocked on Cam’s hospital room door at ten o’clock the next morning. After a long moment, she heard him say, “Come in.”

She walked into the room and closed the door behind her. Cam was sitting up in bed, decked out in a blue and white striped gown. He turned his head slowly toward her.

“Jo,” he said, frowning. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m taking you home, Cam. Don’t you remember talking about it yesterday? I said I’d be here at ten.” She tapped her phone. “It’s ten right now.”

“The doctor was here a while ago. He needs to look at the CT scan they did this morning.” Cam was speaking too slowly, and Jo moved closer. “Then he’ll tell me if I can go home today. I have to get home. I have…” He pressed his lips together, as if afraid some secret would leak out.

Instead of asking him what he had to do, she sat in the chair beside his bed. “How do you feel this morning?”

“Like hell,” he said. “My head feels like it’s gonna explode. And I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast yesterday, because I’m afraid I’d puke it right back up. I’m exhausted. They woke me up every hour to check my eyes. Asked me to read a line on a card. And they wheeled me down for a CT scan at the butt crack of dawn this morning. All I want to do is go home and sleep.”

“Wow,” she said. “Are you always this much of a pain in the ass when you’re sick?”

He stared at her for a long moment, then laid his head gently on the pillow. “Sorry, Jo. I’m acting like a spoiled kid because I hate being sick. But that’s not a reason to take it out on you.”

“No one likes being sick. Or being stuck in the hospital,” she said, brushing her fingers over his too-warm hand. She liked touching him, she realized. She curled her fingers into her palm to stop herself from touching him again.

“You’re entitled to be pissed,” she said. “Someone targeted you. Deliberately hit you. I get it.”

She eased away from him, unhappy about the breathless tone of her voice. As if she was panting after Cam Pierce, for God’s sake. She closed her eyes, remembering how she’d lain awake half the night, worried about him.

Only because he’d looked so pale and… and in pain yesterday morning .

“I hear a ‘but’ in there,” Cam said, opening his eyes.

“No buts.” She managed what she was sure was a strained smile. “You had an accident. It was deliberate and you were injured. You get a free pass on being a PITA. Offer good for today only, so take advantage of it.”

He huffed out a laugh. “Yes, Ma’am. I’ll be the grumpiest possible version of myself today.”

“Good, although it makes me feel sorry for whoever has to take care of you.”

“I can take care of myself,” he said, glaring at her. “I don’t need anyone hovering. Fussing. Asking me every fifteen minutes how I feel.”

Jo raised one eyebrow. “So you’re going to monitor yourself? Get yourself to the hospital if something isn’t right? You, the guy who didn’t want to go to the hospital at all yesterday?” She shook her head. “Sounds to me like a recipe for disaster.”

He began to shake his head. Stopped immediately. “I’m gonna crawl into bed and sleep until…”

He clamped his lips together and looked away from her.

She put her hand on his arm, and he glanced down at her pale fingers circling his tanned skin. Swallowed.

“Until what, Cam?” she asked quietly.

“Until I’m forced to get up to eat something,” he said after a long moment. “Drink some water. Recycle it.”

“You have someone on speed dial in case you need help?”

“My parents live pretty close. I can call them.” He didn’t meet her gaze, and she wondered why. Was there a reason his parents lived close to him? Were they ill? “Okay,” she finally said. “I trust your mom and dad.”

The door opened and his doctor walked in. He wasn’t smiling, and Cam’s gut clenched. “Bad news, Doc?”

The doctor shook his head. “No, actually good news. No sign of any blood in your brain. I’m going to release you, but if you get a bad headache, or can’t stay awake, I want you back here ASAP. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, Doc. I get it. Trust me, I don’t want a brain bleed. I’ll pay attention and get myself back here if I need to.”

The doctor nodded as he studied Cam. “No driving for the next forty-eight hours,” he said. “In fact, go home and sleep. That’s the best thing for you right now.”

“Already planning on that,” he said.

The doctor shifted his gaze to Jo. “You’ll keep him quiet, right?”

“Not sure anyone can do that. And anyway, he says he’s going to do nothing but sleep.”

The doctor frowned. “Someone has to be with him,” the doctor insisted. “For the next twenty-four hours, at least.”

“Fine. I’ll get my parents to babysit me,” Cam said.

The doctor frowned as his gaze jumped from Cam to Jo. Back to Cam. The question in his eyes was crystal clear. Why would he get his parents when he had Jo?

Finally he said, “Whatever works for you. But you can’t be alone.”

“Got it.”

The doctor nodded. “I’ll get your discharge papers ready. You can go ahead and get dressed.” He studied Cam for a long moment, then his gaze touched on Jo. Back to Cam. “Good luck.”

“Would you make two copies of his discharge papers?” Jo asked. “I’m going to need one.”

The doctor frowned at her. “I thought you weren’t his girlfriend.”

“I’m not,” she said, her voice cool. “I’m his bodyguard.”

The doctor froze and looked from her to Cam. “Is that okay with you, Mr. Pierce?”

“Fine,” he said, his voice both irritated and weak.

The doctor looked back at Jo, studying her. Cam was pretty sure he knew what the doctor would say.

Finally the doctor said to Jo, “You don’t look like a bodyguard.”

Bingo. Score one for him. Maybe his brain wasn’t as rattled as it felt.

Jo didn’t notice Cam’s cringe when he moved his head. She was too busy staring down the doctor. The doctor was too busy drilling his gaze into Jo. Cam suspected the doctor would fold first.

When the doctor finally looked away from Jo, Cam’s mouth curled in an involuntary smile. Jo for the win. He wanted to pump his fist. But he didn’t. He was pretty sure it would make his head hurt too much. Instead, he lay back on the pillow and watched the show.

Jo’s unflappable gaze lingered on the doctor. “Appearances can be deceiving.”

“Yes,” he said. “I suppose they can.” He stared at her for a long moment. “Fine. I’ll release him to you and get you a copy of the discharge papers.”

As soon as the doctor disappeared through the door, Cam rolled his eyes. “He said that like he thought I’d need good luck to get through this.”

Jo’s mouth twitched with the effort to hold back a smile. “I think he meant good luck with shoving away all the people who want to take care of you.”

Cam pushed himself to a sitting position, keeping the blanket over his lap. “Unless you’re looking for a show, you should wait in the hall while I get dressed,” he said.

Jo stood up and looked around. “Where are your clothes?”

He began to shake his head. Stopped abruptly. Fuck a duck, that hurt, too. “No clue. I’d guess in that closet over there,” he said, nodding at the built-in wood cabinet.

Jo walked over to it, and Cam couldn’t resist watching the graceful way her hips swung. She opened the door and gathered Cam’s clothes from the hangars. She set them on the bed, then put his shoes on the floor. “I’ll help you with the shoes after you get dressed,” she said. “I think your head would object, loudly, if you tried bending over to put them on and tie them.”

“Okay,” he said, the effort to sit up and swing his legs over the side of the bed exhausting him. “I’ll call you when I’m dressed.”

“I’ll help you if you need it,” she said. Her mouth curled into a mischievous grin. “I’ve seen one or three naked men before.”

“Get out of here, Jo,” he said, barely avoiding grinning back at her. “The day I can’t dress myself will be a cold day in hell.”

She held up her hands. “Just offering,” she said, her lips still quivering with her smile. “Yell when you’re decent.”

Ten minutes later, he was in a wheelchair, waiting at the exit for Jo to pull up in her car. Eventually she showed up, easing the little tin can to the curb in front of the door. She hopped out and opened the passenger door as the nurse wheeled him toward her. “Not sure I’m gonna fit in there,” he said.

“I’ll get a shoehorn if I need one,” Jo said, shoving her fingers through her dark red, wavy hair fluttering around her face in the sharp breeze.

Cam stood up and took a step toward the car, feeling suddenly unsteady. Wobbly. Jo curled one arm around his waist, holding him against her, as she walked him toward the car. There was a wheelchair opening in the curb, so he could shuffle his feet as she walked him slowly to the car door.

When they reached the car, he turned so his back was to the seat, folded himself in half, and sat down heavily. Before he could swing his legs in, Jo lifted them and guided them onto the floor. When she was sure he was all the way in, she closed the door.

He saw her say something to the aide who had rolled him to her car, and the aide smiled. Nodded. Then Jo hurried around the car and slid into the driver’s seat.

She twisted the key, and the car coughed a couple times before it turned over. She shifted into first and drove away. As they left the grounds and turned onto the main highway, she shifted like a pro.

“How’d you learn to drive a stick?” he asked.

“I learned in the Army. No automatic transmissions for them. It was all stick-shift. I either had to learn to drive one or rely on someone else to get me where I needed to be. Since I didn’t like that option, I learned to drive a stick.”

At the next stoplight, as they waited for the light to turn green, she wrestled her phone out of her coat pocket. Handed it to him. “Would you open the maps app and type in your address?” She nodded at the cord lying on the console between them. “Then plug it in.”

It only took a few moments to do that, then the map with the directions popped up on the small screen. “Thanks,” she said, shooting him a quick smile.

The tiny car droned over the pavement, and Cam’s eyes drifted closed. Jo was a good driver, never slamming on the brakes or accelerating too fast. His head was grateful.

After what seemed like a minute, she touched his shoulder. “We’re here, Cam,” she said softly. “At your house.”

He shot up in his seat, shocked that he’d fallen asleep. “Thanks, Jo,” he said, still groggy. “I’ll get it from here.”

She put her hand over his, and electricity shot through his skin and bones. “You keep your butt in that seat,” she ordered him. “I’m walking you to your door. I don’t want to have to scrape your sorry ass off the pavement.”

He struggled to open his door as he waited for Jo to walk around the back of the car. Before he could get it open, Jo was there. She unlatched the door and pulled it open, then he realized that she’d backed into his driveway. It made a shorter trip to his front door, and he was suddenly very grateful. He needed to go to bed and get some sleep.

She wrapped her arm around his waist again, as if she’d done it a hundred times, and eased him to his feet. He liked the pressure of her fingers against him. Liked it too much.

But before he could think about that, she gripped his waist and walked him over the sidewalk toward the front door. Then, still gripping his waist, she helped him up the stairs to the front door. They took the steps one at a time, and she was amazingly patient. Never rushed him. Let him walk at his own pace. Finally, when they were at the door, she held out her hand. “Keys, please.”

He handed them over and she unlocked the door. Helped him into the living room. When she tried follow him, he spun around and faced her. His head spinning, he put both hands on the door frame, facing her. Blocking her way into the house, although he hoped she didn’t realize that.

“Thanks, Jo,” he said, his voice low. “I appreciate the ride home. A lot. I’ll give you a call tomorrow to let you know how I’m doing. Okay?”

She nodded slowly, her eyes never leaving his. “You don’t want me to be your bodyguard, then?”

He frowned at her. “I already said I did. But I don’t need one right now. I’ll be in my house. In bed. Asleep.”

She studied him for a long moment. Finally said, “I never thought you were a stupid guy, Cam. But you’re sure acting like one. You think the guy who rammed into your truck is going to be polite and considerate and wait until you’re on your feet again before he makes another run at you?”

Cam frowned at her. “What the hell are you talking about? My head hurts and I just want to get into bed and fall asleep.”

“And you think the guy who put you in the hospital doesn’t know that? What better time to get to you than when you’re recovering from a concussion.”

If he let Jo in, she’d see the shelf of children’s books in the living room. The toys his daughter had probably left on the floor. He thought about Fiona’s open bedroom door, just waiting for Jo to peer inside and see the girly quilt on the single bed.

Swallowing, he shook his head. “Thanks, but I’ve got this. And if I fall down, I can crawl to my bed.”

The flash of hurt in her eyes was momentary, but he noticed it. “Jo, listen. I…”

She interrupted him. “It’s okay, Cam. Go to bed. Stay there all day. I’ll be gone in a few days, anyway. But you need to hire a bodyguard.” She pulled a business card out of her wallet. “This is the company I work for. All their bodyguards are very good. Hire one of them.”

“I don’t want anyone but you, Jo.”

She shoved her hands into her pockets. Yeah, it was cold out here, and with him standing here, with the door open, it’d be cold in the house, too.

“Let me get this straight. You do want to hire me?”

“Yes,” he said, pressing his left hand to the side of his head. “I already said that.”

“Okay, then.” She put her hand on his chest and pushed him backward. Surprised, he stumbled a couple of steps, struggling for balance. By the time he’d recovered, Jo was in the house and she’d closed the door behind her.

“What the hell are you doing?” he asked, his voice rising.

“Being your bodyguard,” she said, holding his gaze with a ‘don’t mess with me’ glare that he was sure intimidated most people.

“Not in my house,” he said.

“Of course in your house. That’s where an attack is most likely.”

She glanced around the room, and he saw her cataloging everything. But her gaze didn’t touch on the bookshelf, or the toys on the floor. It was focused on the windows. The placement of the furniture. The angles of the room.

Finally she turned to him. “Go to bed, Cam. I’ll be out here. You’ll be safe.”

Safe? Not with Jo in his house. Once she spotted the toys on the floor, she’d realize he had a child. She’d find out about Fiona. If Jo was here all the time, Fiona would get attached to her. Just like he was atta…

He scowled. “Why can’t you sit in your car?”

She recoiled as if he’d slapped her. Finally said, “If you’re in my car, that’s where I’ll be. But since you’re in your house, I’m in your house. You’re gonna have to choose, Cam. Me as your bodyguard? In your house? Or someone else as your bodyguard. As long as you’re using Blackhawk Security, those are your only options.”

“Fine,” he said, feeling as if he were a tree, swaying in the wind. Ready to topple over at the next gust. “I’m going to bed.”

“I’ll be here when you wake up.”

That’s exactly what he was afraid of.

He glanced at her one last time, realized there was no getting rid of her, then turned away and shuffled into his bedroom, dread coiling in his chest.