Things had gone from bad to really and truly awful.

*

Adrenaline pumped through Jason’s veins as he launched through the emergency room entrance and straight up to the front desk. Since receiving West’s phone call fifteen minutes ago, Jason had been in panic mode. Someone had tried to kill Brinley and had almost succeeded.

He hadn’t been there to protect her and that was his fault. He’d heard her moving around this morning and getting ready for her ride but he’d stayed in bed like the coward he was, not wanting to deal with the issue hanging between them.

Brinley was right. He was a chicken-shit.

He’d been using his past as a shield because he was afraid of love and committing to one person. Hell, she hadn’t even asked him about the future but he’d been miles ahead of her on that one, already worrying about something that might never even happen.

His gaze darted around the waiting room and landed on Logan who had been leaning against a wall, but on seeing Jason straightened and came to his side.

“Just relax. She’s going to be okay. West is back with her getting a statement. I told him I’d wait for you out here.”

His heart was beating so fast he thought it would jump out of his chest. He needed to see she was all right with his own two eyes. He needed to touch her and tell her he was a total asshole who didn’t have a clue.

“Can I see her?”

“We can go back. The doctor is done and she’s just waiting on discharge papers.”

Jason followed Logan back amongst the bustling nurses and orderlies. Each patient area was curtained off and it offered a modicum of privacy, but he’d be glad to get her home and tucked up into bed where he could take care of her.

“She’s in here.” Logan pushed aside a curtain and gave the woman lying on the bed a big smile. “Didn’t I tell you he’d break every speed law in this county to get to you? And here he is in record time.”

Jason didn’t expect much of a reception after what had gone down between them last night, so he was surprised when she gave him a trembling smile and held out her hand. He reached for it and then hesitated. Both of her palms were wrapped in white gauze and he didn’t want to hurt her. Again.

Instead he gently reached for her arm, careful not to put any pressure on the delicate skin that was already turning purple and blue. Someone had tried to kill her and when he got his hands on that someone he was going to…

“Jason?” Brinley prompted, interrupting his thoughts that were becoming more pissed off as his gaze swept her head to toe, cataloging the injuries.

In addition to the bandaged hands, her right wrist and ankle were both wrapped in those stretchy bandages for support. Her skin looked like someone had taken a handful of rocks and rubbed them all over her body, gouges and cuts up and down her limbs and one high on her cheek. Anger churned in his gut and he vowed to make whoever had done this pay for their actions.

A hand landed on Jason’s shoulder and he turned to see his brother West, a cell phone in his hand. “Your lady did good, brother. She got the license plate of the guy who did this. I’ve got a cruiser en route to the house the vehicle is registered to. We’ll get him.”

Everyone was waiting for Jason to say something but he couldn’t seem to push words past the lump in his throat. Terrible images of an injured Brinley kept running through his mind, giving him a more horror-filled nightmare than being down in that cell. Losing this woman would be far worse.

“That’s good.” He finally managed to get his voice to work. “How did this happen? I mean, what happened? I only got a few details on the phone.”

“That’s because I only knew a few when I called.” West shoved the phone back into his pocket. “Do you want to tell him or shall I?”

Brinley took a deep breath and patted the mattress next to her. “I’ll tell him. Jason, why don’t you sit down for a minute? You don’t look too good.”

He didn’t feel too good either, the acid in his stomach mixing with the coffee he’d been drinking when West called. He eased onto the side of the bed, trying not to jar her after everything she’d been through.

“Tell me. I want to hear every detail.”

Then he wanted to find this guy and rip him limb from limb. Slowly.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

‡

Brinley pressed the off button on the television remote and leaned back into the soft pillows on Jason’s bed, exhausted and sore. Every square inch of Brinley’s body ached although her right side had taken the brunt of the fall. She’d sprained her ankle and her wrist, wrenched her hips and back, and abraded her skin until it felt like sandpaper. She’d whimpered and cried when the nurse had dug into her cuts to clean out the dirt and gravel, not just from the pain but from the overwhelming realization that the person who wanted her dead was still out there.

This whole nightmare wasn’t over. As soon as they caught this crazy killer she was going to put that damn house up for sale. It was the cause of all of this heartache and it no longer felt like much of a dream home, other than it had led her to Jason. Now that was something good.

He’d carried her from the hospital to his truck and then into the house as if she was made of glass. He’d gently combed the dirt and snarls from her hair and brought her juice to wash down her pain pills. She’d napped on and off during the day, but used to being more active she’d quickly become bored.

She’d even managed to convince Logan to bring up the additional paperwork that Lita George had found of Anita’s regarding the Barnes murder. There was no guarantee any of it would be helpful but it needed to be reviewed. Jason had talked about going back to the beginning and looking at the evidence again so she might as well help since she was laid up for the foreseeable future.

“You’re supposed to be sleeping.”

Jason stood in the doorway with a fresh glass of iced tea and a grilled cheese sandwich on a plate.

“I’m tired of sleeping. If I sleep all day I won’t sleep tonight.”

He strode in and set the plate and glass on the bedside table. “I bet you will. Those pills will see to it. Don’t be a hero. You’re in a lot of pain and the medication can help with that.”

She reached for the glass with her left hand, wrapped in gauze, but he shook his head and carefully placed her hand back down on the mattress. He lifted the glass and held the straw to her lips so she could sip at the cool liquid, ambrosia to her dry throat.

“I made you some grilled cheese. West supervised so I think it’s edible. You should have something in your stomach.”

He wasn’t going to let her lift a finger, instead hand feeding the toasted sandwich to her although she only nibbled at first. By the time she’d eaten half of it her stomach growled in hunger.

“This is good.”

“You must be hungrier than I thought if you say that. I can bring you more if you want. Anything you want I’ll get.”

From the way he avoided her gaze she was pretty sure they needed to clear the air about last night. Near death experiences had a way of putting things into perspective. She only wished her head wasn’t so fuzzy from the medication, but on the bright side it lowered her inhibitions.

“I’m not angry anymore.” She swallowed the last bite and let him feed her more iced tea to wash it down. “I had time to think this morning before I was hit and I’d decided to back off and let you figure things out for yourself. But I’m not going anywhere. I’m just not going to put any pressure on you to declare feelings you’re obviously not ready for.”

“Jesus, I don’t deserve you.” Jason set the glass on the table and softly cupped her face with his large hands, setting her heart into overdrive. It was always this way with him. One touch and she was lost. “I had some time to think too. I was a gigantic asshole last night. You were right about me being scared and using what happened to me as an excuse. I do have some issues that I have to work out. The nightmares. The sleeping. But that’s no reason not to beg you to love me. Because I do love you.”