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Over the next several days, Holly slept the majority of the time. Ryan became crankier and crankier until finally the nurses gave up trying to keep him in his bed. On the fourth day, they officially discharged him.
The same day, Holly was moved from the step down unit to a regular room. Adam finally relaxed. Both Ryan and Holly were out of the woods. Soon he’d have his family back home where they belonged.
He sat in a chair next to Holly’s bed while she slept and flexed his neck. He rubbed tired eyes and wondered if he’d ever sleep another night until he knew for certain the threat of Holly’s husband was removed.
Across the room, Ryan sat propped on the couch, several cushions around him. His younger brother hadn’t rested nearly enough after his injury, Adam knew, but short of tying him to a bed, Adam didn’t know how to make Ryan settle down.
Ethan sat in a chair next to Ryan, fatigue ringing his eyes. They were all so damned tired. They all wanted the same thing. To go home.
Adam’s cell phone rang, and he hastily scooped it up so it wouldn’t wake Holly.
He stood and walked toward the door, away from Holly’s bed. “Adam here. ”
“Adam, it’s Lacey. Is this a bad time?”
“No, what’s up?”
Lacey hesitated for a moment. “How are Ryan and Holly?”
“Better. They discharged Ryan today and moved Holly to the floor. Both need a lot of rest, but they’ll be okay. ”
“Hey, that’s great, Adam. Look, I called because I thought you ought to know we found the guy who shot Ryan and tried to kill Holly. He’s dead. ”
“Fuck. ”
“Yeah, tell me about it. I wanted the bastard alive. Adam, you know this makes it hard to pin anything on Mason Bardwell. ”
“Yeah, I know,” Adam growled.
“What do you want me to do?”
Adam sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Don’t do anything yet. I need to talk to Cal as well as Ryan and Ethan. We can’t take Holly back there if it isn’t safe. ”
“I’ll let you know if my investigation uncovers anything else,” Lacey promised.
“Thanks,” Adam said as he closed the phone.
He turned around to see Holly studying him.
“Hey,” he said as he walked toward the bed. He bent and kissed her forehead then smoothed her hair from her cheek with his hand. “How are you feeling?”
Her cinnamon eyes stared apprehensively at him. “Who was that on the phone?”
He didn’t want to upset her, but he wasn’t going to lie to her either. “That was Lacey. The man who hurt you…he’s dead. ”
Something savage flashed across her face.
“Good. He nearly killed Ryan,” she bit out.
“He nearly killed you, baby. ”
“How is Ryan?” she asked.
Adam blinked at the abrupt change in topic. But then Holly’s sole concentration when she was awake was Ryan’s well-being. He knew she was still dealing with the fright of nearly losing him. It was a feeling he was intimately familiar with.
He glanced over to where both Ethan and Ryan were slumped over asleep.
“He’s resting. ”
Holly closed her eyes for a moment then opened them and nodded her approval. “He shouldn’t be out of bed. ”
Adam leaned in to kiss her again. He couldn’t touch her enough. He kissed her, held her every chance he had.
“I want to go home,” she whispered.
“I know you do, baby. Soon. I promise. ”
He stroked her hair and settled on the edge of her bed, careful not to jar her too much.
She seemed to withdraw within herself. Something he’d witnessed with more frequency as she spent more time awake. It worried him. He had no idea what she was thinking.
He started to ask her, but her eyes fluttered, and she slowly closed them. He sat with her until he heard her soft, even breathing then he eased from the bed and sank down into his chair. He could use a few winks himself.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Holly stared at the ceiling, her thoughts in chaos. Adam, Ethan and Ryan were all asleep. They looked uncomfortable as hell, but she didn’t want to do anything to wake them.
Guilt weighed a ton in her chest. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Ryan falling again. Her worst fear had been the danger she was bringing to the brothers’ doorstep. A fear that had now been realized.
It was time for her to make sure nothing more happened to Adam, Ethan or Ryan. Especially Ryan. She loved them all so much. The idea of losing any of them created an unbearable ache in her heart.
She glanced over at Adam just a few feet away. His cell phone lay on the small table next to her bed. She stared at it for a long moment then slowly reached for it.
She knew Lacey had been the last to call so her number should be stored. Holly quietly flipped the phone open and punched the series of buttons to pull up the last received call. Then she hit send.
A few seconds later, Lacey’s voice filtered over the line.
“Lacey? This is…this is Holly Bardwell,” she said in a stronger voice.
There was a long pause. “What can I do for you, Mrs. Bardwell?”
Holly took a deep breath and checked to make sure she hadn’t already wakened the men.
“I need you to contact the district attorney for San Francisco County,” she said in a voice just above a whisper.
Another long pause. “Does Adam know you’re calling me?” Lacey asked.
“No, and I want to keep it that way,” Holly said firmly. “Look, Lacey. I know you don’t like me, but I do know you like Adam. Do you want what happened to Ryan to happen to him? I have to do what I can to keep him safe. Keep them all safe. ”
“What do you want me to say to the D. A. ?”
“Tell him I have some information on Mason Bardwell he would be very interested in. Tell him where to find me. I won’t talk over the phone. It has to be in person. ”
“Are you sure that’s wise?” Lacey asked.
If Holly didn’t know better, she’d swear there was actual concern in the other woman’s voice.
“It’s my only option. I can’t let them be killed because of me. ”
Silence descended between the two women. Finally Lacey spoke.
“All right, I’ll make the call. ”
“Thank you,” Holly said softly.
She closed the phone and carefully replaced it. Then she sank into her pillows, exhausted from the energy she’d expended.
* * *
Two days later, the D. A. arrived, two Colorado state patrol officers flanking him. They walked into Holly’s room, eliciting immediate reactions from the brothers.
Dread tightened Holly’s chest, squeezing her until she struggled for breath. She knew who he was and why he was here.
“What the fuck is going on?” Adam demanded as he stood to his full height.
Ethan and Ryan also stood. Heavy tension clouded the room, so thick you could stir it with a spoon.
