AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What?”
“ ‘Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Kindest regards, Colin Rowe.’ ”
“Why is that so surprising?” she asked. “He’s a regular at the restaurant. And a friend, sort of.” Recalling her uncomfortable encounter with him in the ladies’ room at Rusty’s made Lexie’s nose crinkle, and she wondered how a person that strange managed to function in society. She didn’t think on it too deeply though—didn’t have the energy.
Nico told her of Colin’s arrest and everything that had preceded it, including the intrepid capture of Logan Hayes right from the heart of his hostile mountain community—something he said he was sure would come back to bite him in the ass before long. He told her about Bryan Fowler’s unexpected release from prison and his swift death thereafter. She tried to feel anything but glad about that but came up wanting. He shared more details of how George Riley had died, the things he’d said beforehand, how Esme had escaped into the woods. Lexie suppressed a shudder when he mentioned Sara’s grave, undecided if it was beautiful or spooky that she’d died there. When he’d said it all, Lexie leaned into him. Their foreheads touched. The world fell away.
“I’m sorry,” he said again.
Lexie sighed. “I’ll forgive you on one condition.”
“Name it.”
She lifted her face to look into his eyes. “That you forgive yourself.”
Nico thumbed away the tears on her cheeks that just kept coming. “I promise I’ll try.”
The next morning, Lexie was halfway through a cup of Jell-O when a light knock sounded at the door. She turned to see her brother standing there in rumpled travel clothes, a large duffel bag slung over one shoulder. His hair—blond and windswept from the trip—had grown out since the last time she saw him, and she could have sworn he wasn’t nearly as tall, nor did he have such broad shoulders, when he left. His blue eyes that matched her own shone with sorrow against his adventure-tanned skin.
“Hey, sis.”
“Jake.” Lexie held out her arms and he dropped his bag to the ground so he could hug her. She closed her eyes and smiled, feeling more at home in his presence than she had in a long time.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m okay.”
“You should have told me you were in trouble,” he said, still holding her. “I would have come back.”
“I know. The truth is, I didn’t realize how much trouble I was in until it was too late.”
Jake had been photographing caves in Spain when Annie contacted him. After hearing of Lexie’s ordeal, it had taken him a day and a half to trek out of the jungle and another day to arrange a flight home. They had spoken briefly over the phone about everything that had happened, but she knew he had a lot more questions. Fortunately, he had the grace not to ask them, at least not yet.
“Are you sure you’re alright?”
“The doctors say I’ll be fine, though I’ll have an impressive scar.” She gingerly turned to show him the bandage on her back where she’d been stabbed. Rather than airlifting her out, they’d flown a trauma surgeon in to repair the damage. She knew they’d done the best they could, but still, her vanity was taking a hit.
“Shit,” Jake exclaimed.
“I know. It’s bad.”
“Calm down, it’s not that big,” he assured her.
“It’s huge,” she sulked.
“Okay, we get it, yours is bigger than mine,” a wheezy voice said from behind the curtain to her left. “It’s not a competition, you know.”
Lexie and Jake both looked over, startled. There had been nothing but silence from that side of the room until now. She hadn’t even realized she’d been sharing with another person.
“Frank? Is that you?”
Jake pulled the drape aside to reveal Sergeant Dekker lying in the adjacent hospital bed.
“Morning,” Frank rasped.
“Oh my god.” Lexie looked him over, noted his pale skin, his mussed hair, the general limpness of his entire body. “What happened to you?”
“I got a hole in my belly the size of a bullet, is what.”
