Guarding Kelsey ((Books We Love Romantic Suspense)) (31 page)

The waiting room at the University Hospital was noisy and crowded.
She had a choice of watching a daytime talk show or reading a year old copy of Popular Mechanics.
Neither one was of any interest.
She vaulted from her chair every time a doctor came through the swinging doors until she finally cornered the right one.
He didn’t want to give her information about Wolf’s condition, so she lied and said she was his
fiancée
.
Even then, she got nothing more than the assurance that his condition was stable. She wasn’t comforted by the words. She had to see him for herself.

A nurse took pity on Kelsey and called her the minute Wolf was moved to
a
room where he could receive visitors.
He was resting when she entered. His hair was matted against his head, and the blue hospital gown couldn’t hide the bulky bandage along his side. The burden of guilt weighed heavy on her heart.
She was responsible for this as surely as if she had pulled the trigger herself.
If she had listened to him from the beginning, none of them would have been in that garage this morning. But then, they wouldn’t have had answers either
..

She stood by the bedside and watched the steady drip of the antibiotic IV.
When she thought about what could have happened, she felt physically ill.
She straightened the bedcovers around him and took his hand in hers.

He opened his eyes and grinned.
“What took you so long?”

“I thought you were sleeping” she said.

“Who can sleep in one of these places?
There’s someone coming in every fifteen minutes trying to stick me with something.
They better release me soon so I can get back to work.”

“Don’t be in such a hurry.
Make sure everything checks out all right.”

“A little flesh wound.
It barely broke skin.”
Despite his macho need to blow off the incident, she knew he was in pain, or soon would be when the painkillers wore off.

“I’m so sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?
It’s not your fault. It’s an occupational
hazard
.”

Occupational
hazard
?
This wasn’t some injury he’d received in the line of duty.
His injuries were a direct result of her refusing to listen to reason.
Could she really blame him for wanting to get back to work?
Back to his life?

“What are you going to do now,” he asked her.

“I have no idea.
Finish the semester, I suppose. I haven’t planned anything beyond that.”
She would have to take
one-step
at a time.

“Are you still going to sell the properties?”

She shrugged. “I can’t right now.
There will be all kinds of investigations going on.”

“I’m sorry.”

She drew in a calming breath and exhaled slowly.
He could have been killed because of her and he apologized for a minor financial inconvenience?
“Why?
I’m the one who’s sorry.”

“For what?
T
rusting family.
Last I heard it’s an admirable trait.”

“For not listening to you when you tried to tell me the truth.”

“
You’ve got your life back now.”

“Yeah.”
She managed a smile. “And you aren’t stuck babysitting me anymore.”

He nodded.
”It had it
s moments, but I am looking forward to getting back on the streets.”

She tried not to show how much his words hurt.
She owned him her life, but it wasn’t going to be much of a life without him.
Wolf would always see them as opposites who belonged in two different worlds. She asked for no promises and he had given her none.
She knew the rules going in and she couldn’t change them when the game didn’t go her way.

But damn, it hurt.
By now she should be numb to the pain of loss.
She wasn’t.
A tear slid down her cheek before she could stop it.

“What’s that for?”
He traced his thumb along the damp streak.
“It’s over.”

“I know.”
For him, it was over.
He could move on.

“It isn’t over for you, is it Kelsey?”
Concern tinged his words.
“You have an investigation and a trial to get th
r
ough but eventually, you’ll be able to put it all behind you.”

How would she put a broken heart behind her? She couldn’t turn off her love like an electric light.
She had a million things she wanted to say to him but the words wouldn’t come.
Why put him on the spot and make him feel awkward?
Or worse, push him to confess that he didn’t feel the same?
This way, she could walk away with her dignity intact.

“I’ll be fine,” she assured him.

He tangled his fingers into her hair and pulled her to him.
“You always were.”
His lips brushed ever so slowly over hers.

The chill in her body warmed.
This she would miss more than anything.
The feel of him, the taste of him.
All the sensations he had awakened in her.
She didn’t want the kiss to end.

Nothing good
lasted forever.
Especially in a busy city hospital where doctors, nurses and visitors alike were free to walk in as they pleased.

“If this is a new treatment for gun shots, somebody shoot me and send me a nurse like her.”

The wisecrack was followed by a round of cheers.
Her entire body blu
shed.
Apparently men with badges
didn’t have to adhere to the two visitors per room rule.
Not only were she and Wolf no longer alone, an entire frat party seemed to have joined them. She had hoped to have more time with him.

“You have visitors.
I should go.”

“Don’t leave on our account, honey,” one man joked.

Wolf squeezed her fingers.
“You need to get some rest yourself.”

As she moved away from the bed, Wolf’s friends and co-workers filed in the room.
By the time she reached the door, she felt as if he were miles away.
She waved goodbye.
The last thing she saw was his apologetic smile.
She waited until she was in the hall before letting the tears fall freely.

A cop shot in the line of duty always brought an outpouring of support from fellow officers, but Wolf wished they’d leave.
He didn’t like hanging out in a hospital gown, being treated like an invalid.
He had too many other things on his mind.
No, he had only one person on his mind.
If he had been in any condition to move, he would have walked out the door with her.
But he had lied.
The freaking injury hurt like hell.
He refused to ask for painkillers because he didn’t want to be knocked out and forced to spend the night.

“So, Krieger,
I heard you never even knew you
were shot.
Is that true?” O’Brien asked.

Martinez walked in the door.
“Yeah, right.
He was in agony, but he wasn’t gonna wimp out in front of a woman.”
He placed a vase on the
windowsill
that held one red rose.

“Jeez, Martinez, I didn’t know you cared,” Wolf joked.

“I don’t.
Some candy-striper was trying to deliver this, but she couldn’t get in the door.”

“Who’s it from?” he asked.

Martinez grunted as if the answer should have been obvious.
“Who do you think?”

O’Brien laughed.
“You’d think with all her money, she could afford more than one.”

“Why don’t you guys get the hell out of here,” Wolf grumbled. “I’m suppose
d
to be resting.”
He wasn’t in the mood to socialize.

“Didn’t look like you were resting when we came in,” someone muttered on the way out.

No, he’d been doing a lousy job of saying goodbye when they had barged in.
Lucky for him, they did.
Otherwise, he might have spouted words of love that would make the situation worse.
Kelsey had been to hell and back this past week.
She was confused, betrayed,
and afraid
.
She needed time to sort out her feelings.
In her present state, she might believe she loved him, but she was drawn to him because he made her feel safe.
Once her life got back to normal, she would understand the difference.

“Are you going to see her again,” Martinez asked on his way back in the room.

“I thought you left.”

“It’s meatloaf night.
I’m in no rush to get home. So
.
.”

“What?” Wolf asked, feigning ignorance.

“Kelsey Winston.
Are you just gonna walk out of her life now that the case is over.”

“I think it
s best.”

“For who?”

“Her.”
Letting her leave, when all he wanted to do was call her back and beg her to spend eternity with him, had been the hardest thing he’d ever done.

“She loves you.”

“Are you an expert on women’s emotions?”

Martinez chuckled.
“I have five sisters, a wife and two daughters. I’d say I’m damn close.”

“Unless Daniel Carlyle p
lans to plead guilty, we’re all going to spend
a lot of time testifying in c
ourt against him
.”

“Do you think she can’t handle that after he tried to kill her?”

“I don’t know.”
He couldn’t handle it. She was carrying around a pile of guilt and she felt indebted to him. That’s not what he wanted from her. How could he be sure that one day, when the guilt and gratitude faded, her feeling for him wouldn’t fade away as well?

“This doesn’t have anything to do with her money, does it?”

Surprisingly, he realized it didn’t.
Kelsey had too much pride to live off a trust fund like a society princess.
Money was not the issue.
“She doesn’t know what she wants right now.”

“And you do?”

He didn’t, but he wasn’t going to insinuate himself in her life until the
y
were both sure. Only time could give him the answer.
“You’d better get to work on your report.
We’re both going to be written up for this one.”