Tiffany sat in her SUV listening to her favorite music mix. Ryder was not fooling anyone with all the bullshit about complying with Dr. Cole’s transfer order. Her women’s intuition told her the man had no intention of going to Mercy Medical. He needed a swift kick in the pants for thinking he could fight off a killer all on his own when he wasn’t even stable on his feet. He was a serious badass; there was no doubt about that. However, he needed to hold up somewhere and recuperate before something bad happened to him.
Seeing him staggering out of the emergency room was verification of her worst suspicions. The stubborn fool was dripping sweat and limping as he tried to make his way down the street. Something in her chest tightened when he reached up to shove his sweaty hair out of his face. Starting her SUV, she pulled up beside him and rolled down the window.
“If I’d been a snake, I’d have bitten you.”
Panicking slightly, he jerked his head around. “What the fuck are you doing here, Tiff? We talked about this.”
Rolling her eyes, she just knew he was looking for his killer. “He’s not here. I’ve been keeping an eye out for you. Besides, we didn’t talk. You talked and I just listened. Get in. I want to have my say.”
Cursing under his breath, he swung himself around the other side of her vehicle and climbed into the passenger seat.
“Buckle up, hon. You’ve had a pretty rough time of it as of late. We wouldn’t want you to get injured if I have to brake hard.”
“What part of ‘being around me is dangerous’ don’t you understand?”
“The part about how you plan to defend yourself when you can barely walk.”
“I’ve got to end this,” he insisted.
“You can get back to shooting up the west once you’re fully recovered.”
“You sure the fuck are not just taking me home with you. Get your head around that fact right goddamn now.”
“Do you always curse so much? It’ not your best feature,” she replied calmly.
“Yeah, babe, we both know what you think my best feature is.”
“Your eyes.”
“Thought I was tasty.”
She bit down on her bottom lip. “You are. You have the most beautiful brown eyes, though. Can’t get them out of my mind.”
Looking out the back window, he murmured, “That’s real nice, doll. I need to stop somewhere to buy bullets.”
His quick change of subject was jarring, but Tiffany shook it off and replied, “I got you covered. Check the glovebox.”
“What the fuck. You’re driving around with bullets in your glovebox. That ain’t safe, sweetness.” Popping open the glove box, he pulled out her tiny gun safe.
Reaching over, Tiffany swiped her thumb over the biometric lock and the latch sprang open, surprising him.
“Shit, that’s high-tech.”
She shrugged. “My last boyfriend was a cop. He took me to the firing range every single weekend.”
“What you got in here?”
“It’s a small semi-automatic. I believe there’s an extra clip in there as well.” She jerked a thumb toward the rear of the SUV. “There’s another in the back under the tire. He called it my ‘back-up’ gun.” Rolling her eyes, she giggled. “How many people need guns, much less back-up guns?”
“You’d be freakin’ surprised. You sure you don’t mind if I use it?”
“Knock yourself out. It’s not like it has sentimental value or anything.”
Snapping the lid on the gun box shut, Ryder frowned. “Back to the going home with you part. You can’t take me to your place. It’s too dangerous. Drop me off at a hotel.”
Shaking her head, Tiffany informed him, “I’ve got a much better plan. My godparents own a cabin. It’s miles from anyplace. We’ll both hold up there. My weekend just ended, so I’m all yours.”
He looked skeptical. “You sure nobody knows about this cabin?”
“Since nobody knows about my godparents, I don’t think anyone would think to look for me at their vacation cabin,” she assured him. “They haven’t even been up there in years. It might take me a minute to get it cleared out and cozy though.”
Loading a clip into the gun, Ryder tucked it into his waistband, all business. “Sounds like a plan. Thanks for thinking of me, even after I warned you off.”
Smiling at his handsome profile, she responded quietly, “You’re more than welcome. There’s one of those warehouse clubs near the cabin.” They could pick up supplies there to tide them over for a while.
“Forget that,” he said brusquely, shooting that idea down flat. “If anyone runs your shit, they’ll see you shopped there. Stop by an ATM and I’ll pull out cash. You do the same. From now on, we don’t do anything to leave a paper trail. Drive safely. We can’t get pulled over. We pay cash for gas and groceries. We’ll stop at a superstore of some type and grab clothing and food at the same time. Take your battery out of your phone and disconnect your GPS.”
She stared at him, wondering where he’d learned to do all of this. “You’re alarmingly proficient at not drawing notice.”
Swiping the back of his hand across his sweaty brow, he nodded. “I guess you get good at things like that in my line of work.”
“I don’t guess you were given any scrips since you left AMA.”
Shaking his head, he stared out the window. “No. They didn’t give me anything. Just stop by a Mexican market on your way out of town. I’ll pick up antibiotics and some Tylenol there.”
“You sure you don’t want to call and ask Dr. Coal for a prescription?”
“I don’t want you anywhere near that dickhead. We get our meds this way when we’re between a rock and hard place. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”
Nodding, she did as he asked. He was in and out in a matter of minutes and had two strange bottles of orange soda pop. Taking his meds, he jerked his chin for her to drive. To her trained eye, it was obvious he wasn’t doing as well as he pretended. She made a beeline for a drive through ATM, and they both took out their daily max.
As she drove them toward the cabin, Ryder fell almost immediately into a listless sleep. As he slept, she worried.
Stopping at a superstore, she left him to rest. Inside, she loaded a buggy with clothing and household stuff then another with food. Trying to think of everything, she grabbed a couple of sheet sets, blankets, pillows, and towels just in case the cabin wasn’t stocked.
Maneuvering two buggies was a skill she’d learned early in life as the oldest in a large family. On a whim, she grabbed a couple of prepaid phones. This shopping excursion had cost her about half her cash.
Ryder was still asleep when she returned to the SUV. Careful not to wake him, she quietly loaded up the back of the SUV and climbed behind the wheel.
Before leaving the parking lot, Tiffany glanced over at Ryder’s sleeping form. He was sweating worse than ever, and the nurse in her immediately noticed his pale coloring. Reaching over, she touched the back of her hand to his forehead.
Ryder was burning with a fever. Remembering the details of the plan he’d set out for them, she was pretty certain the last thing he would agree to was going to the hospital. So she headed directly for the cabin.
Pulling him out of the vehicle took every ounce of strength she had in her, but she managed. Once inside, she wrapped his bandages in plastic to keep them dry. Ryder’s eyes were glassy as she maneuvered him into a cool shower and sponged him clean.
Wrapping a towel around him, she quickly made the bed and tucked him between the cool sheets. He hadn’t spoken since he woke up, but his brown eyes followed her as she scurried around taking care of him.
As soon as she was able to break away, she emptied the SUV and got busy cleaning the musty cabin. Thankfully, there was one of those expensive, super-sucking vacuum cleaners tucked away in a closet.
She removed the furniture covers and tossed them in the washer along with the curtains then set about vacuuming every square inch of the place. Tossing the furniture covers in the dryer, she broke out the new mop for the floors. Soon the place was actually looking like a real vacation retreat.
She took vitals on Ryder every hour and made sure he took another dose of medication. He was agreeable to drinking when she pressed him, so at least he wasn’t getting dehydrated. Breaking out the new, inexpensive crock pot, she plopped a huge roast into it with some seasoning. Next, she rewarded herself with a cup of coffee from the ten-dollar coffeemaker she found on sale. One sip of the potent brew and all was right with her world. On a whim, she pulled out her hefty first-aid kit from the SUV and plugged in the prepaid phones to charge.
Feeling like an overworked elf at Christmastime, Tiffany slid into a hot shower. As the water cascaded over her tired body, Tiffany worried about whether she’d bitten off more than she could chew with this one. Seeing Ryder so sick tugged at her heartstrings because she could tell he was used to being strong and in charge. She supposed that him being so accepting of her help probably meant something to him. Truth be told, it meant something to her as well.
She shuddered to think of what would have happened to him had she not waited for him. He’d be lying in a cheap hotel somewhere burning with fever all night. To hell with that! He was better off with her, no matter what happened later on down the line.