The Truth (6 page)

Suddenly, everything began to move in fast forward. The suspect threw the store clerk to the ground and aimed his weapon at Jordan. The door blew open and another gunman came through, shooting round after round in the direction of the officers.

Jordan stood and shot at the first gunman, hitting him in the shoulder and causing him to drop his weapon, but the second gunman now had a clear shot. Grayson rushed from behind his cover, jumped in front of Jordan and pulled the trigger.

He watched the suspect hit the ground before everything went black.

Lexie felt like she was walking through fog. Nothing was clear, her thoughts weren’t making any sense, and her emotions were running close to the surface. She’d been so sure she’d never love again. That it wasn’t possible after the loss and heartbreak in her past. They were still strangers in a lot of ways. She didn’t know anything about his family, where he grew up, why he’d joined the military or why he’d gotten out. She didn’t know his favorite color, although she’d bet money it was blue. She didn’t know if he was allergic to anything or if he still had his tonsils. As she went through her normal routine, she found herself questioning the feelings that surged through her.

She had never been a woman to jump in head first. She was cautious, rational, a realist that didn’t ever let her emotions take the lead. So why did she feel like her feet weren’t connected to the ground? Why couldn’t she catch her breath when she thought of her life without him?

“Lex, you okay?”

Looking up into the worried eyes of her best friend, she smiled, “I’m fine, sorry, making lists in my head.” She hated that her first instinct had been to lie.

“Nice try. Spill it.” Marissa sat on the edge of the desk and crossed her arms.

Lexie and Marissa had been friends since high school. Sometimes she hated that Marissa could read her so well, but it didn’t surprise her after so many years. Marissa was the head nurse at Nathan’s Hope Hospice, and after Ryan’s mom had passed, Lexie became a volunteer one to two days a week as a way of giving back.

“I’m waiting,” Marissa reminded her as she began to tap one tennis shoe impatiently against the floor.

“It’s nothing, really … ”

“It’s definitely something. You are never distracted, and today I’m afraid to let you near the patients. You’ve got something on your mind, so out with it.” Marissa slid further onto the desk.

“Ryan went to the emergency room last night.”

Marissa’s eyes grew wide. “Is he okay? Why are you here? You should be home with him.”

Lexie reassured her worried friend. “He’s fine, just needed a couple of stitches and Mom’s with him. That’s not it.”

“Then what is?”

“I was with Grayson. He was so wonderful with Ryan. He even stayed the night to help me take care of him.” Lexie blew out a frustrated breath.

“I don’t understand. That sounds like a good thing, so why do you say it like it’s not?”

Lexie ran her hand through her hair and shook her head. “I don’t know if I’m ready for this. He’s damn near perfect for me.”

“He’s perfect for you? He’s wonderful to your son and treats you like a queen? He’s sexy, funny, and employed? That bastard!” Marissa clenched her teeth and pounded her fist against the desk in mock anger.

Lexie cocked her head to the side and watched Marissa’s performance. “I know I sound ridiculous. It’s just that … it’s just … these feelings scare me to death. He makes me laugh, he makes my knees weak when he kisses me, and Ryan is nuts about him. But there’s so much at stake. He’s the first man in a long time to make me feel anything, but there is still so much I don’t know about him.”

“We never know everything, Lexie. The discovery is part of the process.”

“I know you’re right. There is still so much I want to learn about him. So why am I freaking out?”

Marissa placed her hand gently on Lexie’s shoulder. “Have you told him about Kyle?”

Lexie shook her head.

“Why haven’t you?”

Lexie looked down at her hands folded in her lap. “I don’t know. It never seems like the right time.”

“Or maybe you’re afraid he’ll realize you compare him to Kyle every time he puts on his uniform.”

Lexie’s head shot up. “I do not.” Her voice cracked. “I … I … I do not!”

“Yes, you do.” Marissa nodded her head. “You know it and I know it. But it isn’t fair to Grayson and you know that.”

“I don’t compare … exactly.” The corners of Lexie’s mouth trembled, and her voice lowered to barely a whisper, “I just remember.”

“It’s okay to remember.” Marissa grasped both of Lexie’s hands and squeezed. Looking directly into her eyes, she added, “But remember the happy memories, the love and the laughter. Don’t hold so tightly to the end.”

Lexie opened her mouth to speak and jumped when the phone rang beside her. She held up a finger urging Marissa to stay and picked up the receiver. “Good afternoon, Nathan’s Hope.”

There was a long pause on the other end before she heard someone clear their throat. “Lex, it’s Jordan.”

She immediately knew something was wrong as she held to phone to her ear.

His voice quivered. “You need to come down to the hospital.”

She shot out of her chair, knocking it to the ground. “Is it Ryan? Is he okay?” She didn’t think she could stand another scare like she’d had last night.

“Ryan’s fine.” The silence crackled through the phone line. “It’s Grayson.”

Her hands shook and tears ran unchecked down her cheeks, “Grayson?” She finally managed to ask.

“Lexie, he’s been shot.”

Lexie struggled to catch her breath as she hurried down the hallway of the emergency room. Again. She stopped and leaned against the wooden rail that ran the length of the wall and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the visions of blood and tubes flooding her thoughts. She couldn’t do this again. She’d known that the minute she fell for Grayson. Why couldn’t she find a nice doctor, or a lawyer to fall in love with, a successful man with a safe job? Anyone who didn’t wear a badge or carry a gun.

Jordan stepped into the hallway, and, spotting her, made his way to her side. Concern was etched in his face as he pulled her into his arms. “He’s going to be fine. He was wearing a vest so the bullet didn’t enter his body. He’s got a few broken ribs and a small concussion from landing on the cement, but he’ll be fine.” He smoothed her hair beneath his large hands, like one would a scared child and spoke to her in a soft tone. “He saved my life today. I’m just so glad he took the time to put on a vest.”

She couldn’t speak. Concentrating on the words Jordan was saying, she tried to erase the visions from the past. Nodding her head, she opened her mouth to respond. The lump in her throat burst in a small howling sound, and she began to sob. Her body shook as Jordan pulled her tighter against him, whispering encouraging words she couldn’t understand.

“I can’t do this,” she finally managed to whisper.

“Can’t do what, sis?” He didn’t release his hold of her.

“I can’t be in a relationship with a cop. I just can’t go through this anymore.” Her sobbing escalated, as she leaned in closer to his chest.

“That’s not fair. Grayson is going to be fine. He’s a smart cop. You can’t punish the both of you because of the past.” Jordan tipped her head back to look into her face. “You never told him, did you?”

She shook her head.

“Don’t you think it’s time you did?”

She didn’t answer. Instead, she walked past him into the bathroom. She leaned against the sink and stared at herself in the mirror. Streaks of mascara ran the length of her cheeks. Her eyes were red and swollen, and the fear still lingered there. She needed to pull herself together and take the last few steps down the hall to Grayson’s room. The worst part was she didn’t know what she would do once she got there.

She turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on her face. Reaching for a paper towel, she scrubbed the make-up from her cheeks and beneath her eyes. Pulling out a compact, she attempted to cover the red blotches the remained on her face. It was obvious she’d been crying, but she also knew it would be a good hour before the evidence was gone, and she couldn’t wait that long to see him.

She spotted Jordan leaning casually against the wall when she emerged from inside. She took a deep breath and asked, “Where is he?”

“I’ll take you,” he replied, reaching down and taking her hand. When they stopped outside the door to his room, he turned to her, “Don’t do or say anything you’ll regret. Take some time to think it through before you make any decisions, okay?”

She nodded her head and pushed open the door. Grayson appeared to be sleeping. The sheet lay at his waist, exposing the wrappings around his rib cage, and the scar on his shoulder where he’d been shot before. She noticed the large purple lump on his right temple, and the scrapes along his arm. She fought down the knot in her throat and walked around to the side of his bed. She sat quietly in the chair next to him and stared at the man who’d given her a second chance at love.

Every part of her wanted to run. She didn’t want to feel the fear, the worry, or remember the endless pain. She couldn’t even feel relieved that his injuries were so much less than they could have been. His eyes fluttered open and a smile covered his face when he spotted her.

“You look terrible. Stop worrying, I’m fine.” His voice was thick and scratchy, evidence of the heavy doses of medication still running through his system.

Unable to speak, she reached over to take his hand.

“The clerk made it, Jordan’s okay, and the bad guys are locked up. See, everything is fine. I’m fine.” He squeezed her fingers running his thumb over the back of her hand.

She laid her cheek against the back of his hand and closed her eyes, trying to soak up the comfort he was desperately trying to give her. Her mind drifted back in time to the muffled shouts of doctors, the beeping of machines, and endless amounts of blood. She squeezed her eyes tightly, trying to block out the visions. She couldn’t. She heard the panic escalate in the doctor’s voices, the rushing of feet against the linoleum floor, and the sound of the heart monitor as it stopped beeping. Then the long horrible buzzing as the peaks on the heart monitor flattened into an endless straight line.

Panic threatened her again, as her chest constricted, and her eyes burned with the tears threatening to spill. She sat up in the chair and pulled her purse onto her shoulder before standing up. “I have to get Ryan, but I’ll come see you tomorrow. Get some rest,” she said, avoiding his eyes.

She could hear him speak but couldn’t make out his words as she rushed from the hospital room, her face once again covered in tears.

Grayson tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable in the small hospital bed. His mind continued to replay the scene from the day before. What had happened with Lexie? It didn’t make sense. She’d rushed from his room without a backward glance, and now she wouldn’t answer his phone calls. She seemed to be pushing him away, but why? He’d tried to talk to Jordan when he came by but he simply said Lexie had a hard time with hospitals. Jordan wouldn’t look him in the eye when he spoke, proving to him it was much more than that, and nothing Jordan was going to divulge. How was he supposed to understand if she wouldn’t even talk to him?

He would be discharged in the morning and had left a message asking Lexie to pick him up. He needed to see her and knew his anxiousness was keeping him awake, causing the time to go by incredibly slow. The night nurse came in to check his vitals, and scolded him for not resting. After she injected sleep medication into his IV line, he smiled gratefully at her and finally nodded off to sleep.

He awoke late that morning to something heavy landing on his bed. He struggled to focus, rubbing his eyes and scooting up on the bed. He scowled when he saw Jordan sitting on the end of the bed, his duffle bag on his lap.

“Where is Lexie?” Grayson snapped.

“She’s not feeling well, she wanted to make sure you got home safely and called me to pick you up.” Jordan rose and pulled his clothes out of the duffle bag. “I bet you’ll be glad to get out of here.”

Grayson recognized Jordan was uncomfortable and felt badly for him, but he couldn’t just let it go. He didn’t understand what he’d done to push her away. “That’s a lie, Jordan, and not a very good one. Why is she avoiding me?”

Jordan helped him into his shirt, and set his boots on the floor. “You’ll have to talk to her. I’m in the middle here and I don’t like it.”

“How can I talk to her if she won’t even answer the damn phone?” His voice rose. “What the hell did I do?”

“You didn’t do anything. Just give her some time, she’ll come around.” Jordan set the magazines stacked on the table into the bag and threw the bag over his shoulder. “Let’s get you home.”

Grayson stood up and obediently sat in the required wheelchair. He reached out and clasped Jordan’s arm. “You and I both know I have no intention of going home. We can do this one of two ways: you can drop me off at Lexie’s, or you can drop me off at home and I will immediately climb on my motorcycle and drive myself.”

Jordan sighed and stepped behind the chair, wheeling Grayson slowly from the room, mumbling under his breath the entire way.

As Grayson knew he would, Jordan diligently dropped him off at Lexie’s door, shook his head in disapproval and drove off, still chattering under his breath about stubbornness, life being unfair, moving to an island in the Caribbean, referencing the fact he would always be single, and how none of this was his fault but he’d be the one Lexie blamed.

Grayson stood outside her door, trying to decide how to start the conversation once she opened the door. His mind was blank. He’d just have to wing it. Taking a deep breath, he rang the doorbell. He waited a few minutes and rang it again. Nothing. Clenching his jaw and balling his fist, he painfully pounded on the door. “Lexie, open the damn door!”

The door remained closed, and no sound came from the other side. He knew she was home. He’d spotted her car when he arrived. This time he rang the bell, and pounded in intervals he knew made him sound crazy. He also knew he wasn’t going home until she talked to him. “Lexie!” He shouted again.