Chapter 30
The clock on the wall of their little recovery room read three am. Central Redemption Hospital’s emergency section had actual rooms for its patients, not just partitions between them like some of the hospitals Cruz had been in.
Thank god for the room, but he was ready to jump out of his skin. Every mottled and marred inch of Rosie’s face made him want to kill Esau, slowly and repeatedly.
Guilt had been ripping long, agonizing slashes in his soul ever since that Facetime conversation. His beautiful country girl had been attacked, kidnapped, beaten and bound—because of him. He was lower than low, an ex-inmate with powerful enemies. She deserved a nice guy whose past wouldn’t come calling like a nightmare.
Not him. As much as he loved her, he couldn’t ask her to live her life in danger.
Still in her work clothes, Rosie lay on a bed, propped up on a mountain of pillows and with a blanket over her because the hospital air conditioning was on at full blast. They were finally alone after a dozen staff members had come by to do test after test. One of the county officers had come by to get a statement from each of them.
Now, they were waiting on lab results. Rosie removed the ice pack she’d had on her cheek. “Ugh, this is too cold, and this room is already freezing.”
Cruz set it on the counter of the sink in the corner. “You probably don’t need it anymore.” He settled back on the chair next to her bed. “Is that Tylenol helping?”
“Yeah.”
He took her hand between his. “Rosie… I’m sorry.”
Gorgeous blue eyes blinked in confusion. “You don’t have to be sorry for anything.”
“Yes, I do. This entire night was my fault.” He held up a hand when she started to protest. “Someone came after me. They couldn’t find me so they did the next best thing and grabbed you. To get to me.” His voice dropped to a growl. “You got hurt because of me.”
She shook her head. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t anticipate some lunatic coming after you.”
“And that’s my point.” He ran a hand over his hair. “Some of the men I knew, they might still be in jail but they can still order hits. They have that much power.”
Her mouth twisted downward. “I’m still confused about what those two guys were saying in the woods. Someone ratted someone out?”
“That, I’m not sure on.” He blew out a breath. “Johnny Crazy Legs was the one whose testimony did me in.”
“I remember you said that. He lied and said you shot that guy.”
“And three months ago he recanted—but I never heard why. I didn’t question it.”
Her fingertips rubbed along his. “Of course not. It was the truth. Finally.”
He forced himself to study the myriad of red and purple on her cheek. Hatred that his past led to this oozed through his body like lava. There was no avoiding its destructive path. “Rosie…I don’t know when someone else will get pissed and try something like this again.”
“Cruz…”
“You could have died. I can’t live with that.”
“You could have died too!” She sat up higher on the pillows. “He was holding a gun to your head. I was terrified that I might lose you. Cruz.” She squeezed his fingers. “I love you.”
Her words punched a hole in his gut. “You shouldn’t. I don’t deserve it. My past is part of me that I can’t escape. That ugly criminal part. It’ll always be there.” Her eyes narrowed and he knew an argument was coming. “No. I can’t ask you to potentially put yourself in danger because of me.”
“You’re not asking.” Her voice took on a defiant edge. “I’m telling you, I’m not going anywhere.”
Don’t argue with a country girl. Shit, she was making this harder and harder. “What if I can’t get to you in time next time? I can’t stand to see you hurt again.”
She reached to cup his jaw. “What if the sky falls and the world ends tomorrow? You can’t live your life hiding from the what ifs.”
“I’d rather live it knowing you’re safe.”
“Cruz.” Blue eyes pierced him with so much love he couldn’t breathe. “Before I met you, I almost died.” She let the words linger in the air. “Anything can happen to anyone on any given day. It hasn’t been easy to move forward, but I did. Mostly. And what I couldn’t move past, you accepted. Don’t you see? You accepted all of me. The parts I hid and couldn’t share with anyone else. I love you and I need you. And if you’re trying to get rid of me, it won’t work.”
“We’re talking about your life. I can’t let you risk it.”
“My life?” She shook her head. “My life is connected to yours. I love you. And if I die tomorrow, I’ll die happy knowing I had these months with you. That I had months with someone who held me and accepted me, who let me cry and told me it was going to be okay.” Tears sprang to her eyes. “Someone who didn’t think I messed up too bad to have a fresh start.”
“Of course you didn’t.” He grabbed a tissue and handed it to her. It killed him that she was so hard on herself, that she let one mistake become a ruling factor in her mind. And it humbled him more than anything ever had that she trusted him with her deepest scars.
She dabbed at her eyes. “And you moved here for a fresh start. Damn it. Cruz, you deserve it. Don’t you dare tell me you don’t.”
He stared into the endless blue of her eyes, at the mix of love, anger, and fear there. And he knew she was right. Their lives were connected. Even if he left, she might still be a target if anyone came after him again. And he’d rather be here, to protect her, than in some other town.
And god knew, she was it for him. No other woman. Ever.
He smoothed a strand of hair away from her cheek. “All right, you stubborn country girl. I won’t argue with you.”
“You were arguing with me.” She raised a brow.
“My mistake.” He brushed a gentle kiss across her lips. “I love you so damn much, and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I know you don’t,” she whispered. “And I don’t want you to go anywhere. Never let me go. You promised.”
“You got it, pretty girl.” He kissed her more deeply, teasing her lips with his tongue—
A sharp knock sounded on their door and the on-call doctor opened it. “Oh, I’m sorry!” She paused.
Cruz pulled back from Rosie and turned to the doctor. “It’s okay.”
“Come in,” Rosie said. “Dr. Farran, right?”
“Yes. Good memory.” She stepped in, carrying a laptop, and closed the door. “I just wanted to give you an update.”
“Go ahead.”
“The deputies called in, reporting they found a chemical called chloroform in the vehicle belonging to the, uh…men.” She said the last word with distaste, as if she’d rather call them something else but knew it wouldn’t be professional.
Rosie frowned. “Is that…bad?”
“Well, it can cause unconsciousness if inhaled, as you know. But the good news is that since you seemed to have gotten a relatively small, one time dose, I don’t anticipate any side effects. It won’t linger in your body.”
Rosie let out a sigh. “Whew.”
“So, everything checked out okay.” Dr. Farran walked to the sink and carefully balanced the laptop on the counter. She clicked though a few screens. “All your vitals are healthy. Other than the inhaled substance, your injuries consist of bruises and lacerations. You’ll be able to go home soon.”
Rosie squeezed Cruz’s hand. “Best news I heard all day.”
The doctor smiled. “I can imagine.” She closed the computer. “Keep taking Tylenol for any pain you might have. And call us if anything feels worse. I’ll get you some paperwork and then you can get out of here.”
“What about work?” Rosie asked.
Dr. Farran pressed her lips into a line. “Remind me of what you do?”
“I’m a bartender and waitress at the Sundown Bar and Grille.”
“Hmm. You may want to take a few days to rest, though you have full motion in your legs and you didn’t have trouble moving your wrists. It’s up to you. If you need the distraction, fine.”
Hell no. His woman needed to heal. “I agree with the doc.” Cruz stroked her hair. “Take it easy.”
“You can think about it. Be right back.” The doctor stepped out and close the door.
“I’m gonna get you home and spoil you. No work for the rest of the week. I’ll make you breakfast and wash your hair.” He’d pamper her as much as she’d let him.
“I’m actually too tired to argue,” she said softly.
“Whoa. Are we sure all that crap is out of your system?”
“Ha ha.” She rubbed a thumb over his knuckles. “You know I don’t like to sit around. But right now I feel like I could sleep for a week.”
“That can be arranged. I’m sure Owen doesn’t expect you to be in for that long, at least.”
Her blue gaze locked on him, so full of love he couldn’t believe it. And the deep red marring her face would anger him forever. “I would say that I don’t want people to see my face—but I bet the news is already all over the town.” She sighed. “I’m so ready to go home. Wait. We don’t have a car here.”
“I’ll text Shane. Bet he or another deputy can give us a ride.” He pulled out his phone and typed a quick message. Shane hadn’t been able to get away from the scene in the woods, but Cruz had sent him regular updates.
In seconds, his phone chimed with a reply from Shane: Be there in ten. The Sheriff’s taking over.
Cruz straightened in his chair. “Ten minutes, pretty girl. Shane’s on his way.”
“You can’t call me pretty girl right now. I went to the bathroom. I saw what I look like,” she said softly. “Thank god it wasn’t worse, but—“
“Wrong. I will call you pretty until my voice gives out, and then I’ll start texting it to the world.” He stroked a finger down her arm. “That’s what you said when you disagreed with me.”
She let out a soft breath. “True.” She grabbed hold of his fingers. “I’ll let you win this one.”
“Baby, you’re here with me. I already won.” He leaned in to place a kiss on her lips. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” She gave him a smile so happy he felt something fall into place in his soul. She accepted him with her feisty sweetness that he could never live without. “Let’s go home.”
Home. Home with his unexpected, beautiful country girl—that was all he needed in life.