Chapter 16
Rebel sat beside the hospital bed. Tammy had been moved from Intensive Care into a regular room. She had come out of the drug-induced stupor and was now sleeping naturally. The doctors warned it would take at least a day—if not two—for the charcoal treatment to extract the drugs fully from her system. That was good news for Rebel. The last thing she wanted was to think Tammy needed weeks to recover from her ordeal.
Rebel knew psychologically it would take a lot longer, and that Tammy would need counseling of some kind to deal with the trauma of what she’d been through. Daniel was in a similar position, although he’d taken a bit more of a beating. He looked like he had resisted in some way, as he had a couple broken ribs. Rebel hadn’t been in to see him yet. She kept hoping Tammy would wake up, and Rebel wanted to be sitting beside her best friend when she did.
Knowing Tammy would eventually be fine, Rebel settled back in her chair and waited. She’d had almost no sleep last night, and just to know that she could relax now was huge. She wished she had brought her laptop with her so she would have something to do.
Her life had been on hold for eleven days. Even now she wasn’t sure what had happened to her job. Did she have one still? She had phoned her boss, left a message. But nobody got back to her. She’d walked out, taking her week’s holiday, but then should have returned a few days ago, only she hadn’t gone back yet. But she did touch base with her boss earlier, giving him the update on Samantha. Still, that was not the way to keep her job. At the same time, her apartment had been gutted. Now that things had calmed, she should properly notify her landlord. Those crime scene tapes on her door weren’t the first way he would want to find out. Because those repairs would take time, she needed a place to live until then. She also had to notify her insurance company of the loss she had sustained.
She just didn’t know what to do. She was torn because she knew Saul was a large part of her indecision. She hadn’t expected to find anybody in this crazy world, but she had. She didn’t want to see him go, even while she sat beside Tammy.
But Saul would be sent back to Texas soon. And Rebel couldn’t leave Tammy in San Diego.
Even though he had lived in California, his life was in Texas now. She was at a crossroads, but she had probably lost her job and had no place to go. She also had no real reason to go to Texas either—except for him.
She sniffled. If she’d met him when he still lived in California, maybe she could have convinced him to stay. Then she thought about what she’d been through for the last week and a half. Some things in life she couldn’t go back to.
She thought about asking for and returning to her job, but everything inside of her revolted. She hadn’t been kidnapped, and she hadn’t gone through any of that subsequent abuse, but several people she worked with had. She was emotionally affected.
Inasmuch as she enjoyed her job, she certainly didn’t want to work with that same group who had done this to Tammy and Daniel. And Samantha.
Nothing would replace the ugly memories of the last eleven days. And it would take her a long time to stop seeing Samantha’s battered face and broken body.
Rebel knew the police would be looking into her employer in a big way, and she didn’t want to be a part of that either. Once her name was linked to the investigation, especially since she had handed over the damning information that would damage her company’s reputation—twice—she for damn sure didn’t have a job to go back to, based on that alone.
She groaned, picked up her feet, set them gently on the edge of Tammy’s bed and leaned back, closing her eyes.
What a mess.
“Rebel?”
Rebel bolted to her feet and stared down at Tammy, whose eyes were open, a little cloudy, showing some confusion, but actually open. Rebel sat down carefully beside her friend. “Oh, my God! You’re awake!” She picked up Tammy’s hand. “How do you feel?”
“I feel like shit. Did somebody drop me off a bridge, run over me a couple times, pick me up and throw me in a closet somewhere?”
“I have no idea. But you have no broken bones, and you’re in relatively decent shape, although you’ve been heavily drugged. However, the drugs are slowly leaving your system.”
“Maybe you should tell me what happened.” Tammy went to shake her head. Then winced at the movement. “Or maybe not.”
“You called me eleven days ago from Daniel’s place. You’d planned to go for the weekend, and that Friday night you called me, you were outraged and said you were on your way home. You said you would call me and talk to me as soon as you got there and that you didn’t want anything to do with him. Except,” Rebel took a deep breath and added, “you never called me back.”
Tammy stared at her in confusion. “Eleven days ago?”
Rebel nodded. “Eleven days ago,” she said quietly. “I’ve been looking for you ever since.”
Tammy gently squeezed Rebel’s hand. “Thank you for finding me.”
“We made a deal with the devil to get you back. Thankfully it worked.”
Tammy frowned as she lay in the bed, her face crinkling up with memories. “Daniel was with me?”
Rebel nodded. “We got him too.”
“All is well that ends well.” She rolled her head from side to side. “It’s all so foggy, so distant, as if I can’t quite remember.”
“And maybe that’s a good thing. They kept you sedated so you wouldn’t cause any trouble.”
“Figures. I remember fighting with Daniel and then being attacked as I left his building.” Her eyelids flew open. “It was two men. I remember them injecting me with something.”
“Yes, it would make sense to have done so right away. I don’t even know if they kept you that way for the whole eleven days, but I’d presume you were awake part of the time.”
“We were, part of the time. I remember eating, going to the bathroom. We were allowed to step outside on the deck for a little while. But we couldn’t see anything but trees. Then I was led back inside and tied up again, given more shots.” She stared at her arm. “I feel like a pincushion.”
“Well, it’s over now. You can forget about it. All we need is to get you happy and healthy again.”
Tammy stared, shadows in her eyes. “I’m trying to understand what led to this.”
“Do you remember finding some information you copied on a USB?”
Tammy’s frown deepened.
Rebel pressed on. “Information to do with Samantha and Daniel?”
“Samantha, yes. I asked Daniel about it, but he said he wasn’t doing that anymore.”
“But he had been?”
Slowly Tammy nodded. “I think so. That’s the reason we broke up over a year ago. I thought he was doing something illegal. When he came back to me these last few months, he said he was done with it.”
“And then you changed your mind about being with him?”
“Something Samantha said at work, just a couple hours earlier. And I thought he either was having an affair with her or was involved with her in some illegal business venture. At his apartment I accused him of it because Samantha had contacted me. He said they weren’t having an affair, and he hadn’t had a relationship with her at all. That’s why I got so mad because I figured he was lying. I tried to walk away, only to end up”—she motioned with her hand—“like this.”
“Well, Samantha’s not involved anymore. It appears she was selling company info to the higher of two bidders. She was kidnapped by the one she didn’t sell to. He beat her very badly. I was supposed to get you back in trade for the USB key. Instead we got her, and she died right in front of me.” Rebel’s voice dropped from the trauma of the memory. “All I could think of from that point on was that you would be found in the same shape.”
Tammy just stared at her friend in horror. “They killed Samantha?” She struggled to sit up, then collapsed back into the bed. “I had no idea it would be so dangerous. I left the key in your car because I didn’t know what else to do with it.”
Rebel nodded. “And a homeless man had his throat sliced for no reason other than he was in the wrong place at wrong time. When we found him, he had your locket in his shoe.”
“I remember being at a warehouse, but I don’t know for how long.”
Rebel shook her head. “I haunted Daniel’s apartment for days, thinking he was involved.” She frowned. “Was he kidnapped the same time you were?”
Tammy shrugged. “I didn’t see him at the beginning. I don’t remember.”
“It’s okay. We found texts between Daniel and his brother while you were missing, but they may not have actually been sent by Daniel. We think he was taken several days after you were.”
She shrugged. “You’d have to ask Daniel. He just showed up beside me, but I don’t remember when.” She closed her eyes and whispered, “So tired.”
“Just rest, Tammy. Just rest.”
When her friend fell asleep again, Rebel walked out to the hallway and quickly sent a text to Saul, explaining Tammy’s confusion.
His reply text came back immediately.
I’m at the hospital talking with Daniel. I’ll come see you when we’re done here.
With a silly grin on her face, she went back inside the room and sat next to Tammy. She hoped this was all over for Tammy, but, just in case, Rebel didn’t want to leave her friend alone for very long.
Another fifteen minutes passed before the door opened, and Dakota, Merk and Stone walked in. Tammy’s eyes flew open, and Rebel reached out a hand to her friend. Tammy glanced at the men, then back at Rebel and asked, “Who are they?”
Saul, the last one in, walked forward and said, “We’re part of the group who found you.”
Rebel squeezed Tammy’s hand.
“And, for that, you have my greatest thanks,” Tammy said quietly.
The men asked a few questions, but they were more about her health than about anything that had happened to her.
She did say, “I’m sorry. Everything seems to be pretty confused in my head at the moment.”
They nodded.
“Chances are it will come back slowly.” Saul motioned to Rebel. “I’d like to talk to you outside for a few minutes.”
She hopped to her feet and walked out to the hallway. “What did Daniel say?”
“Apparently she walked out of his apartment late that Friday night. Daniel didn’t know anything about her subsequent disappearance other than she wouldn’t return his calls. When she didn’t show up for work, he tried harder to get a hold of her. He was worried after you raised such a stink about her being gone. At first he thought she had just disappeared because she was so angry with him. But then he made some inquiries to see what else was going on. Samantha warned him how he better stay out of it or else he’d end up like Tammy. Apparently he disappeared the next day.”
“And then Samantha disappeared after that?”
He nodded.
“Was he involved with Samantha at any time, like Tammy thought? Businesswise or personal?”
“Apparently not. He wanted to try again with Tammy and had tried to cut all ties with Samantha and her illegal activities. But, of course, that’s not so easy to do.”
“Is it over?”
“We’d like to think so. We don’t know if anybody else in the company is involved. Chances are good there are others, but that doesn’t mean whatever they were doing was illegal. Daniel also explained that he set up the breakfast meeting with his brother knowing that, if he didn’t show, his brother would go looking for him.”
She nodded. “Good. Hopefully we can move past this now.”
Saul looked at her intently for a moment. “What are your plans?”
She grimaced. “While the contents of my apartment are now garbage, I don’t have very much in the way of belongings anymore. Nor do I have a place of my own to stay in. Although I could crash at Tammy’s apartment, it doesn’t have the same comforting feel as it did before.” She gazed at him and shrugged. “Aren’t you going home now?”
He nodded. “I’ll be leaving soon.”
She took a deep breath. “Do we get to spend any more time together?”
“We’ll be doing whatever it takes to finalize this job today.”
“I need to stop in at work to see if I still have a job.”
“You may not have a job? Why?”
“I took last week off with vacation pay, but, this week, well, I’m not sure. I talked to HR a couple days ago, but it’s not like I said anything about coming back. If I was the boss of the company, I wouldn’t hire me back again,” she admitted.
He smirked. “You could always move to Texas.”
She froze, her heart stalling, her gaze widening. Then she relaxed. “You’re just kidding.” Inside, her heart started to beat again. How she wished he wasn’t kidding. But she wasn’t the impulsive type. Okay, not that long-term kind of impulsive anyway. How the hell could she possibly make a move all the way to Texas?
Her mind told her that, if there was a time to make that move, now was it. No possessions, minimal belongings, an insurance check to start over with, a job she probably had to replace anyway.
“But Tammy,” she muttered under her breath. “I can’t leave her.”
Saul grinned. “Bring her. Sounds like she should get away from here after all this too.”
“I can’t make that decision for her,” Rebel said honestly. “And she’ll likely need a lot of support for a little while.”
“Maybe,” Saul said. “But what I also saw was a woman already on the road to recovery.”
“Almost. I’m not sure she doesn’t have something going on with Daniel. So she may want to stay here to see if the two of them could make their relationship work.”
Saul nodded. “You don’t want to leave her then, do you?” He stared off in the distance, then seemed to take a mental and a physical step back.
One she instantly hated.
She shook her head. “Tammy’ll be here all day, possibly overnight. After that I can always go to her place with her.”
“Or you can leave her to get some solid sleep here, and you could come back to Richard’s to spend the night with me.”
“That sounds appealing too.” She pursed her lips thinking about it. “Chances are the doctors will keep her overnight for observation anyway.”
Saul nodded. “Exactly. I’ll see you in a few hours. The guys and I have things to check up on. We’ll be back to look in on Daniel in a bit. I think Foster’s planning a big dinner for all of us tonight to celebrate.”
She smiled. “That sounds lovely. I’ll stay in touch. I have my car, so we’ll be good here.”
He nodded. “Okay, if you leave here, let me know.”
The door to Tammy’s hospital room opened, and the other men came out. There was a bit of an awkward silence as she studied them. She quickly took a few steps toward the room and said, “I’ll see you later.”
Once inside, she sat down, smiling at her friend and gently squeezing her hand.
Tammy studied Rebel with knowing eyes. “I see you found someone you’re into.”
Rebel’s eyebrows rose. “What are you talking about?”
“The man waiting for you. You’ve been so damn picky for the last couple years that I figured you’d never find anyone. But you knew, didn’t you? As soon as you saw him, you knew.”
“No, I didn’t know right off the bat. And even now I’m not sure. He works in Texas. Only a few months ago he lived here, but he moved to Texas to join the security company he works for now.” She stared off in the distance. “He did suggest I move there, though I’m sure he was only joking.”
“What’s stopping you?”
Rebel stared at her friend, her jaw dropping. “Are you serious? I’m not giving up everything I’ve got here and leaving you to go to a state where I don’t have a job and I don’t know anybody.”
“We know people. Or have you forgotten the girls we went to school with? They moved to Texas.”
“But we haven’t seen them in years.”
“So?” Tammy said. “I won’t have a problem calling them out of the blue. We talk to them on social media all the time.”
Rebel tapped her friend’s arm. “That doesn’t mean I should just pack up and leave.”
“Oh? What do you want to do then? Go back to the same old job?” Tammy stared at her. “I don’t know that I want to go back to that job. I sure don’t want to work for the same company. I’m not sure I even have a job.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Rebel admitted. “I didn’t show up for work this week when I was supposed to return from my vacation. I basically walked away to find you.”
“I collected proof of illegal activities by company employees. Being a whistleblower doesn’t bode well for me keeping my current job, much less getting another one.”
The two women stared at each other. “We’re a mess.”
“But we’re alive.”
Rebel reached out a hand; Tammy reached back.
“Best friends forever.”
“But that doesn’t mean best friends without boyfriends,” Tammy said.
“Maybe. I’m still not so sure.”
“Nobody said you had to be sure. But, in order to find out, you have to get closer in proximity. He came here and found you, but you may have to go there to see if it’s real.”
Rebel stared at her friend in shock. “That so doesn’t sound like you.”
“No, maybe not, but nothing like being kidnapped and held for eleven days to make you realize how much being safe and living quiet is boring. It doesn’t allow you to branch out of your comfort zone and do the things you wish you were doing. So what if we’ve never been to Texas? We’ve never been to New Mexico either. If we move to one state, we can start traveling around all the others. We did a lot of that here. We traveled up to Washington, Oregon and down to Baja. But we’ve never been to Texas.”
“We?” Rebel asked to be sure.
Tammy shrugged, then said, “Possibly.”
“I don’t know where in Texas he lives.”
She laughed. “I’m sure we can find out with a quick phone call. Who did you say he worked for?”
“Legendary Security. For a guy name Levi and his partner, Ice.”
“Let me see your phone.”
Rebel pulled her phone from her pocket and handed it over. Within seconds Tammy had the name and contact information of the company up in her hand.
She held it up so Rebel could see it. While Rebel watched, Tammy hit the Dial button. And she handed it back. “Time to make that call.”
Rebel snatched the phone from her best friend’s hand. “No, wait.” But already a woman’s voice was on the other end of the phone.
“Legendary Securities. May I help you?”
Rebel took a deep breath. “I think you already have.”
The woman snapped, “Explain.”
Rebel recapped the last eleven days the best she could. “So you see, my friend Tammy is now alive and well thanks to the men you sent out here for Daniel. And although Daniel’s not my favorite person, I’m very glad he’s not dead too.”
The woman’s voice softened. “You must be Rebel.”
“Yes, how did you know?”
“My team told me about you.”
“Oh. Which one?” Rebel asked. “Never mind. Don’t answer that question.”
Ice’s chuckle was low and husky. “They all spoke about you, but Saul said the most.”
“Oh, I’m glad to hear that,” she said, flustered, heat washing over her cheeks.
“I understand your life in California has been uprooted.”
“Well, I don’t have a job. I don’t have an apartment. I don’t have much in the way belongings,” she said, “but I do have a best friend who will need some time and effort to heal.”
“Well, when you two are ready, come out for a visit. Maybe you’ll both find Texas to your liking.”
And Ice hung up.
Rebel turned her head and stared at Tammy. “She said whenever we are ready to visit Texas, maybe we’ll find it to our liking.”
Tammy grinned.
“And apparently Saul spoke to her about me.”
“Live up to your name. Be a rebel.”
Rebel shook her head. “I went to hell to find you, and I am not losing you now.”
Tammy settled back in her bed and said, “Then we will both go. Lord knows I don’t want to stay here.”
The two women stared at each other in silence. Finally Rebel spoke up. “We were looking for a change a year or so ago, but we never thought we would do something like this for a man.”
“But it’s not for a man. It’s for our future. Besides, these men are heroes. They saved me and Daniel, and that’s worth everything. If there’s anything I can do to help them in return, I will.”
*
When Saul returned to Richard’s house that night, his nerves had a frayed edginess to them. He’d been surprised to hear himself ask Rebel to move to Texas, but, at the same time, he realized he wasn’t joking. He just knew long-distant relationships wouldn’t work. And he’d already risked a lot to make the move to Texas, and, now that he’d settled into that new life, he loved it. But he wanted her, and he had no idea how to make this work. Sure, maybe down the road Levi would open up a California office, but Saul couldn’t see that happening right now. It just wasn’t the time. They didn’t have the manpower or the logistics for something like that. It took a lot to set up a new operation in another state. And honestly Saul wasn’t ready to leave Texas. It was beautiful. He was thoroughly enjoying the time he had there. But to think Rebel wouldn’t be there with him was a wrench to his heart.
“Any word from Ice on Benji?” Foster asked. He busily worked in the kitchen, preparing dinner.
Saul leaned against the doorframe and shook his head. “Not yet. Ice will update him first chance.”
Foster nodded. “That would be good. I’m sure this has been eating at him.”
“Yes, I suspect so. I understand we’ll be in the air heading home by noon tomorrow.”
“That sounds good. And Rebel?” Foster asked.
Saul shrugged. “I’m hoping she’ll come back here tonight.”
“That would be lovely. She’s a nice young lady.”
“She is fiercely loyal.”
“A lot can be said for that. You could do a lot worse.”
Saul gave Foster a suspicious look. “But I won’t be here long enough to make anything happen.”
Foster turned and smiled. “It’s already happened. You just have to decide what you want out of it.”
“I made a lot of changes to work with Levi and Ice. I’m not about to give that up.”
“And maybe you won’t need to.” Foster didn’t say another word.
Saul went upstairs to his room and packed. While there, he grabbed his phone and called Rebel. “Hey, are you still at the hospital?”
“No, I’m at my office. I decided on a quick trip to HR to see what my options are.”
His heart sinking, he said, “You were supposed to call me when you left the hospital. But, more important, did you decide to go back to work?”
“I don’t want to work here. But I’m not sure if I’ve been fired or if I have any severance package coming or if I’d have any good references from them,” she said. “I need to sit down and figure out my finances. I also owe them an apology.” She paused. “I’m just walking into the front door now. It’s a bit late, but I’m hoping Roger is still here.”
“I’m back at Richard’s.”
“Oh, I was hoping to be there when you arrived. I should be about half an hour, hopefully not longer.” He heard a knock through the phone. “I’ll call you back, okay?”
“How long?”
“Give you a shout in ten minutes,” she promised. “I’m getting off on the third floor. If I don’t answer, come looking for me,” she said with a laugh.
He put away his phone and sat down with his laptop. When ten minutes came and went, and she didn’t call, he stared at the phone, willing it to ring. He waited a couple more minutes, but still no call came. Finally he picked up the phone, knowing he was being foolish but unable to get rid of the uneasy feeling.
He dialed the number and got no answer. “Damn.” He sent her a text.
You okay? Where are you?
And got no response at all. He waited thirty seconds, staring at his phone, then was out of his room, keys in hand, as he bolted downstairs.
Foster was still in the kitchen. “What’s up?”
“She’s in trouble.”
Saul bolted outside to find Stone, Dakota and Merk standing beside the jeep, talking about one of Richard’s cars. They looked up, startled, as he ran past.
“She’s in trouble.”
Instantly the jeep filled with men. Saul hopped into the driver’s side, turned on the engine and ripped from the area. He gave them a running commentary as to what the problem was.
“You sure you shouldn’t wait five or ten minutes? Not everybody runs on military time.”
“I don’t like the idea of her going to that office. Just because we know Samantha was involved doesn’t mean others weren’t as well.”
That shut them up.
He pulled into the parking lot and found her car there. He raced around to the front, but the doors were locked.
Shit. He checked his watch. Now thirty minutes has passed since they spoke.
Hearing noises inside, he turned and saw several people walking out just at that moment. He grabbed the door and held it until the crowd walked out, then they slipped inside.
On the third floor he bolted from the elevator, but the hallway was deserted. He ran down one side, looking at name plates. “Rebel, are you here?” he called out.
He tried opening the door that had the name Roger Ginrod on it, only it was locked. A light was on inside, but it wasn’t bright.
Nobody answered his heavy knock. He glanced at the other men. Stone already had his lockpick out, and within two seconds he had the door unlocked. Then he pushed it open.
“Hey, who are you, and what are you doing in here?” A tall slim man bolted to his feet in an angry panic. “Get out of here, or I’ll call security.”
Saul filled the doorway like an avenging angel. “I’m Saul.” He glanced around. “And where the hell is my sweetheart?”
The man walked from behind the desk. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
Saul shook his head. She was here; he knew it by his gut feeling. A door was off to the side. While the man protested, Saul walked over and flung it open. Rebel was on top of the boardroom table. A needle in her arm. “This asshole drugged her,” Saul yelled. He raced over, ripped out the needle and threw it across the room. “Rebel, can you hear me?”
Her eyelids fluttered, and she groaned. He reached down and kissed her. “Rebel, please wake up. Wake up.”
Behind him, he could hear Roger protesting. “I’ll call the police.”
Merk said, “We’ll get the police here all right. Don’t you worry about that.” Already he was dialing 9-1-1, asking for an ambulance and the police.
Roger was still complaining but went silent went Stone said, “Shut up.”
Saul glanced back to see Stone standing over Roger, now sitting cowed before the big man. Damn right. Saul would like a few minutes alone with Roger, but Saul had to look after Rebel first. Furiously he growled, “What the hell was worth hurting all these people for?”
When Roger didn’t speak, Saul turned, ready to lunge at him.
“The company is applying for new regulatory concessions. Another company wants to take us over at a cheaper price. Proof of wrongdoing will do that.”
“So, money. Greed. Presumably you’re the one behind Tammy’s and Daniel’s kidnapping. And hired the intruders who came after Rebel at Richard’s house.” Saul shook his head and stroked Rebel’s cheeks.
“We needed the information she had. I didn’t know about the men who killed Samantha.”
Saul ignored Roger, picking up Rebel in his arms and walking to the window where the sunlight would fall across her features. He whispered to her, “I don’t know how you slipped into my heart like you did, but I can’t let you go. Please wake up.” He jostled her ever-so-slightly and studied her features. “Wake up, sweetheart. Please wake up.”
Her eyelids lifted slowly, and she stared up at him, dazed. She reached for his face only to have her arm fall back against her body. “Drugged.”
“I’ll look after you. You just fight it off. Try to stay awake.” He turned and carried her gently in his arms as he made his way to the outer office. “Where is that ambulance?”
Stone answered. “On their way. And the police will make sure to get to the bottom of this.”
Using a tissue, Dakota picked up the needle Saul had flung from her arm. Dakota stuck the evidence under Roger’s nose. “Wanna bet your fingerprints are all over this?”
Saul was already out the office door, calling over his shoulder, “I’m not waiting. I’m taking the jeep and getting Rebel to the hospital.”
Dakota spoke up. “I’ll drive.” Turning to Stone and Merk, Dakota added, “Once the police come for their prisoner, can you taxi to the hospital? Or I’ll come back for you two afterward. Let me know.”
Carrying her, his feet going as fast as he could make them without causing Rebel further harm, Saul got into the jeep with Dakota driving them to the hospital.
“You’ve got it bad, don’t you?”
Saul gave a heavy sigh. “Apparently.”
“I’m jealous, man. I didn’t think you’d find somebody, but, just like that, boom, there she is.”
“But is she the right one?”
“From the look of your reaction right now, she has to be.”
“That’s not fair. Maybe I’d feel this way about any girlfriend.”
“No, not like this. You just have to look inside your heart, and then you’ll see.”
Saul settled back in his seat, holding her close. He had a seat belt on, but she didn’t. There wasn’t any other way to do it. He didn’t dare wait any longer for an ambulance. This was faster.
When they reached the hospital, he unbuckled his seat belt and stepped out with her in his arms. He carried her right into the first empty emergency cubical and laid her on one of the beds.
The same doctor that had been dealing with Tammy came over, took one look at Saul and asked, “Another one?”
He nodded. “We found the needle this time, and she couldn’t have had more than fifteen to twenty minutes alone with the kidnapper.”
The doctor took the needle from Dakota and put it in a specimen bag, setting it off to the side, and said, “Step away.”
Saul had no choice but to back up while the medical team went to work on Rebel. He paced outside in the waiting room, impatient for the doctor to come out.
When he joined them, he had a smile on his face. “She’ll be fine. She’s awake, not very cognizant, but she’s awake. She keeps calling for Saul.”
Saul stepped forward. “That’s me.”
“Good. We will put her in the same room as her friend.”
After that, events happened fast as they moved Rebel on a gurney to Tammy’s room. Tammy took one look at her and cried out. Saul quickly explained about her trip to HR and what had happened.
Tammy stared at him in horror. “That’s terrible. She walked right into a trap.”
“Either one of you could’ve done the same thing. The good thing is, this should put an end to that company at least.”
“It definitely does for us. We’re not going back.”
“Good. Then you tell her that she needs to come to Texas.”
Tammy chuckled. “We were talking about it earlier. It’s one reason she went to see Roger. To see about money owed her and any chance for references.”
Saul studied her, hope in his heart. “Really? Would you move with her?”
Dakota walked in just then and stepped up beside Saul. He studied Tammy with interest. “Seriously, would you do that for your friend?”
“Well, we have to pack up my apartment, and I’m still weak. But we’d be willing to make a few months’ trial run anyway. I could even put my stuff in storage if we couldn’t find a place immediately.”
Saul smiled at her. “You’re a good friend.”
Tammy said slowly, “One of the things you learn in life is that, when you find real friends, you’re friends forever. You make compromises for them.”
Saul was happy to hear it and nodded in agreement. “Exactly. All of us at Legendary have exactly the same philosophy.”
“She’d be very lucky to end up with you,” Tammy said sincerely. “And you’d be very blessed to have her.”
Saul sat down on the bed beside Rebel. He gently stroked her cheek. “Hey, beauty, wake up now.”
Rebel’s eyelids fluttered open, but a smile teased at the corner of her mouth. “I knew you’d come.”
“How the hell did you know that?” he protested.
“Because you’re my hero. That’s what heroes do,” she whispered, then her eyes drift closed.
He leaned forward and whispered, “This is not exactly how I planned to spend our night together. You know that, right?”
A small chuckle slipped out. “Well, tell the doctor to give me something to push this crap through my veins faster. I have no intention of staying here if the alternative is a night in your arms.”
“Or you can move to Texas, and you can spend a lot of nights in my arms.”
“Find me a place to live, and you got a deal. If you want me, that is.” Just then the drugs took over again, and she slipped into asleep.
“But you’ll remember what you said when you wake up, right?”
“She will,” Tammy said in a serious voice. “She’s talked of very little else.”
“Good. What kind of accommodations do you two want?”
Tammy smiled and said, “We’re not fussy. But I’m in IT, and she’s in marketing, so it needs to be some place where we can find related work.”
“No problem,” Dakota said with a big grin from just inside the doorway. He turned to look at Saul. “Maybe it’s time to talk to Ice.”
Saul’s eyebrows raised as he stared at Dakota. “Really? You’re thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Why not? Even if Legendary doesn’t need anybody, I’m sure they know somebody who does.”
On that Saul agreed. Maybe he could make his future happen after all, keeping his job and keeping his woman.
A whisper drifted toward him. “Saul?”
He softly rested his hand on Rebel’s cheek. “I’m here.”
She smiled. “Do you want me to move?”
Her voice was so low that he could barely hear her. He leaned closer and whispered, “I want nothing else but to have you at my side for the rest of my life.”
When there was no answer, he figured she’d fallen asleep again.
But her fingers laced with his. “Good. Make it happen.”
And she was out for the night this time.