I regained consciousness in a hospital bed, more than a little bit groggy. I could hear the beeping of machines and smell the sterile scent that always permeates through a hospital. Opening my eyes, I looked to my own greenhouse of flowers with a big bouquet of purple daisies as the centerpiece.
"Wow, it looks like someone died in here. I hope everyone got the memo I was still alive," I said to no one. I didn't know enough people to warrant all the flowers, so I was confused by them.
"I made sure of it," Nate replied, sitting up from the couch in the room. He then stood up and stretched a little. He looked like he was wearing the same thing I saw him in last. I decided to be nice and not comment about how his hair had seen better days. I doubted mine was in pristine condition.
"So, I take it the doctors confirm my suspicions that I'm going to live?"
"Yes, but you'll have to take it easy for a while. You'd lost a lot of blood by the time the paramedics were able to get to you. The doctor removed one of the bullets and left the other as a souvenir. So in the future, you're going to have a blast at airport security. Thankfully, nothing vital was hit and no bones were even broken from the bullets tunneling through your body. You're a very lucky woman."
He moved closer and stood next to my bed, brushing the hair back from my face. I could feel the usual tingles I got whenever he touched me. They happened so often I'd stopped noticing them for a while.
"You really should carry a fabric softener or something in your pocket," I said, tired of getting zapped one time too many.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, giving his usually 'you're unbalanced' look.
"The shocking." His expression didn't change, so I went ahead and spelled it out for him. "Come on, you have to feel that. Every time you touch me I get electrocuted. Do you drag your feet around on every carpeted surface you can find?"
He laughed, which wasn't what I expected. I'd come to realize I'd never be able to predict his reactions to things I did or said.
"Oh that. Sorry, I can't do anything about the sparks, but rest assured no one else has complained about it."
I found that hard to believe with how much it annoyed me. Of course, before Nate, it took quite a bit to get me riled up.
"So what's going on with Carl and how did I get here?"
It was time to figure out what happened to my missing block of time. I didn't know how much time I needed to be filled in on, but I wanted to know everything. Nate sat down in the chair next to my bed to tell his story.
"My boss had been harping on me to set a date to be back in Chicago and I didn't want to leave the city with your stalker still on the loose. The day out with your parents was meant to lure him in. It worked surprisingly well, but I wasn't planning on you getting shot in the process. If you could've held out another five minutes we would've got you out of there in one piece.
"I placed a tracking device in your jeans pocket that morning just in case the person found a way to separate us. After I came back from the bathroom and found you missing, I first checked in with your parents, but they hadn't seen you. I activated the tracking on my end and found you were moving away rather quickly, so I assumed someone had taken you.
"When I got there, Carl had already shot you and was in the process of turning the gun on himself. I shot his arm to get him to drop the gun and subdued him until backup could arrive. He's currently in a nice padded room getting the help he needs."
"You're the hero, as usual, but believe me a saint couldn't have sat there listening to his life story. He started at his very first memory and moved forward by day. He has to have a photographic memory or something. We got to the second grade and him getting an A on a test.
"If I didn't use the knife on him at that moment, there was a good chance I'd have used it on myself. I don't really want to go into details of the craziness that went on in the short amount of time I was in that house. Just remembering it is making me shiver and that hurts. When am I getting out of here?"
Hospitals had always been scary to me and even passed out for my whole visit, it had been too long. I should've asked for more details about how long I'd been out, but escaping the hospital seemed just as important.
"The doctor says you'll be in for probably three more days. If I know you at all, I'm pretty sure that translates to a lifetime."
"Ugh! I don't want to stay that long," I whined. I wondered if they'd knock me out for the duration.
"Too bad, and not only that, but they don't want you going home alone. I've taken a couple months leave of absence and have already moved into your apartment to get things ready for your homecoming," he said with a sinister grin.
"You're joking, right? You really need to give that key back. I'm sure I can get Frannie to come over and hang out for a while each day. I don't believe I need live in help." I tried to assure him.
"How about a live in boyfriend then. Along with my leave of absence, I also put in for a transfer. It should be finished in about a week. I didn't think you'd be comfortable moving to Chicago, so I figured it was up to me to make a move."
"Am I still under anesthesia or did I actually die? There is no way you just announced we were going to start dating. I've spent days telling everyone there wasn't anything romantic between us. You can't just decide there is all of a sudden." My bottom lip protruded as I started to pout.
"Sorry to disappoint, but this is real life. I decided when I saw the second bullet hit you, if you survived, I didn't care if we were working together on a mission or not, we're moving past the working relationship," he informed me, leaving no room for me to argue.
?"What if I don't want a relationship? What if I'm fine with the way things are? Don't I get a choice in the matter?" I asked deciding to argue anyway.
"At this point, no. Everything has been removed from your hands. Later I'll plead that you were too hopped up on pain killers and one of us had to make the decision." He was speaking in his arrogant voice and I wished I could slap him.
"What about my parents? Where are they and what do they know?" I couldn't imagine the situation was easy to explain to my mother.
"I'm sorry," he said, and I pretty much had all the answer I needed. "They were in the room when Liz was telling me about tracing the text message to Carl's phone and how she'd told you to come down and pick up your phone from the office. Your mom asked where she worked and Liz, being Liz, told her all about where you guys work and what you do. If ever there was a need for duct tape, it'd be on that woman's mouth."
"So how'd they take it? I'm guessing they weren't happy about being lied to all these years."
"Your dad screamed 'I knew it' and your mom just said 'that figures' and shrugged her shoulders."
"What in the world did Daddy think he knew?"
"He knew about your computer skills, maybe not how advanced you were, but he knew those skills would be wasted in a library. He didn't know you were working for the government, but he thought you had to be doing something with your brains because 'he didn't raise no fool.' That's a direct quote by the way."
"It sounds like you guys have gotten pretty chummy."
It appeared that he was a lot closer to them than I'd ever been, although, during our tour I thought we made up a lot of ground. At least up until the point Mom started asking the dating questions and grilling Nate about his job.
"Sitting around, watching and waiting to hear that someone you care about isn't going to die, is something people naturally bond over. They've been here from the time the nurses wheeled you in after surgery until just recently. I finally made them go to their hotel to get some rest. Your mom and I almost came to blows, but they left almost two hours ago. I imagine they'll be back soon."
Seeing Nate and Mom in a steel cage match would be pretty amusing. I wondered if I could play the injured pity card and get it set up. Nate had supposedly moved into my home, so I felt he owed me a little something.
Looking over at my garden again, I asked, "Are the daisies from you?"
"Of course. You mentioned them once to me and I figured they had to be your favorite. In the same joking way you once also mentioned something about the captain of the Rangers giving you season tickets.
"I couldn't get in touch with him because they're on the road right now, but since I'm moving here, we'll have to get season tickets, even if they don't come from him. That first date of ours was the most I've ever enjoyed a hockey game, and I'm admittedly a hockey nut."
"You'd be right about the flowers. I've always loved anything purple and daisies are just so cheerful. As far as season tickets go, they'd be awesome, but I'm pretty sure once you're exposed to my sports aggression for a few games, you're going to wish you never got season tickets. Plus, there's that whole deal about me not liking crowds."
"As long as you don't start body slamming hockey moms, I think I can live with a little yelling."
"I swear that only happened once and that lady really deserved it. No one talks about my little chirper and gets away with it," I said with conviction.
"Your 'little chirper'? I'm not sure I like this unhealthy relationship you have going on with him. If you aren't careful, you may end up in the room next to Carl."
"That is so not funny. I have no delusions of a relationship, but it's guaranteed I'll be screaming the loudest when he's on the ice."
"I think it's best we move the conversation on from talking about him. How about I go and get you some food to eat? They don't want you eating anything too crazy, so I was thinking a chicken wrap and some chicken noodle soup," he suggested.
My stomach rumbled at just the thought of food. "I guess that answers your question."
"That it does. I'll be back in a few minutes." He walked towards the door and turned. "Oh and the answer is three."
"What?" He'd lost me because I had no idea what the question was.
"You said you always carry the same number of knives. You used two during the fight and they removed a third from your body when they were checking out your injuries."
I laughed. "Darn. That means you've learned all my secrets. How will you ever find me interesting again?"
"Don't worry I'm sure there are other mysteries to uncover. Give me another month and then maybe I'll know everything." He walked out the door to get me my food.
I lay back down and shut my eyes, deciding to take a little nap while he was gone. The next couple of months in close quarters were going to be interesting. I planned on taking bets on who'd kill the other person and how soon it would happen. Any takers on that bet?
?
THE END
AFTERWORD
The place I try to make sense of all my ramblings
I just wanted to say thank you again to anyone who stuck it out and read the whole book Please stay tuned. When we next hear from Avery, she'll be past her recovering period and there will be a lot of changes in her life. She'll have a new job, try to get over some lifelong fears and maybe even get a pet. At the same time, we'll find out a secret that has been hidden from Avery since the day she was born. Fun times ahead.
?
Amber?
About the Author
Amber has always had a passion for the written word. Along with that, she's always had ideas for stories swimming around in her head. It finally got to the point where she couldn't take it anymore and had to start getting her thoughts down on paper. There are still too many ideas, but she is working to get them out as fast as she can. Her hope is that one day her brain will be hers again.
Other hobbies of Amber's include: drawing, baking, arts and crafts, motorcycles, hockey and archery. She likes to think she has eclectic tastes where her hobbies are concerned. She loves to laugh and tries to make herself smile at least once a day. With the crazy thoughts going on in her head that usually isn't hard.
Other books by Amber Lynn:
Argonauts' Adventures
The Witch's Web
The Dragon's Fire
Daughter of Gaia Series
Daughter of Gaia
Queen of Aquima
Nightwalker Saga
The Nightwalker Knocks
The Nightwalker Teaches
Unlucky in Love series
Calypso in Love
Nani in Love
Rhea in Love
Hermia in Love
Desma in Love
Nyx Slaughter series
Night Calls
Night Marks
Night Bites
Night Howls
Night Lurks
Night Finds
Night Rises
Nyx Slaughter: Books 1-7
More Books
Searching for Home
Between Blood
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends