Revenge (29 page)

Her face contorted with sorrow, then smoothed out. She licked her lips. “Your heart stopped during surgery, too.”

Son of a bitch.
“How long have I been in here?”

“Four days.”

Four days lost. He racked his brain, trying to remember what they were talking about before he passed out. Each piece of the conversation settled into place right up to . . . “Jared.”

“Is dead.”

He jumped at her matter-of-fact statement. “How?”

She laid her hand over his then worked it around until she cradled it in hers. Her warmth made the chill flee. Her thumb massaged his palm as she avoided his gaze. “I killed him.”

Had she told him she'd gone out and won her coveted National Finals Rodeo and discovered her mother's killer all in one day, he wouldn't have been as shocked. “
You
?”

Those amazing eyes flicked to him. A wry smile played with her mouth. “Damn straight.”

“Should've seen it, partner.” Anderson entered the room and came to a halt at the end of the bed. “She nailed him good.”

Cody? His Cody had shot and killed Jared Savard?

“I don't think he believes us,” his partner said to her.

“Would you if you were unconscious when it happened?”

Anderson shrugged. “Probably not.” He jerked his thumb at the door. “You're needed out in the hall, Cowgirl.”

Cody scowled as she stood, her hand slipping from Remy's. The breath of cool air against his skin chilled him, making him long for her touch.

“Who is it, Marine?”

“An agitated woman.”

“Ah, crap.” She looked at Remy. “I'll be right back.”

Once she disappeared through the doorway, Anderson took a seat on the corner of the recliner facing Remy with his elbows braced against his knees. “Good to see you alert.”

“Four days?”

“Today starts day four. They tried to wake you all day yesterday, but you weren't having anything to do with it. Apparently Cody was the magic touch.”

Apparently. Remy reclined on the pillows. “Who's out there?”

“Kim.” Anderson interlaced his fingers, drew them apart, and twined them together again, keeping his focus on his hands. This wasn't the confident, straight-laced partner Remy had dealt with on a daily basis for two and half years. The man next to him looked like someone had kicked him when he was down. “'Bout what I did during the McBride case.” Anderson continued to hang his head, sighed, and then brought it up. “I'm sorry, man. I shouldn't have squealed. You trusted me with vital information, and I blew it. I should've had your back.”

“You did.”

He frowned.

Remy held up his hand to stop him from speaking further. “Turning me in was the best thing you could've done. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come back to New Orleans.”

Anderson scratched his squared jaw. “So you let me stew in my regret?”

“Would you have come out here if I didn't?”

“Yeah. I would've for Cody.”

For Cody.
Remy was certain of Cody's loyalty to him. But where did Anderson's loyalties lie? Was his partner harboring feelings for Cody?

“How long have you been teaching her to handle a weapon?”

Hiding a grin behind his hand, Anderson leaned back, crossing his arms. “Right after the assassin attacked us. She was damn well determined not to end up like Marie.”

She didn't. Cody defied the odds Remy had placed against her. Not only had she rescued his ass from Paul, she'd shot and killed Jared.

“Cody ain't the same gal you met, Remy.”

That was the first time he could remember hearing his partner call him by his first name. “How so?”

“I don't think she'll be needing rescued anymore.”

Voices right outside his room made Anderson glance over his shoulder. He moved to stand, then paused. “One other thing. She let the cat out of the bag during the police interviews. I didn't have time to teach her how to package the truth.” He leaned forward. “All of New Orleans knows one of their finest didn't die during Katrina. And their beloved DA lied to them.”

Remy's sigh was cut short at the pain that motion cost him. “I hoped to get out of here unnoticed.”

“Not with the DA's death announced. Vic managed to keep the vultures at bay, but she won't be able to hold them back once you leave the hospital.”

“I'll deal with it then.”

Cody emerged, with Kim hot on her heels, to slip next to Remy's side and bend over the bed. The faint scent of cinnamon and spice filled his senses and caused his heart monitor to rapidly beep. Her gaze slid to the machine and a knowing smile touched her lips. She pressed her mouth to his cheek and whispered, “I might keep that on you from here on out.” She brushed a kiss against his bearded cheek.

“Hell, no,” he whispered.

“I need to go with Kim to the police department.”

“Heard you squealed on me.”

“Hey, what's a li'l celebrity status to make our lives interesting? Besides, they were gonna find out sooner or later. I've had the damn reporters hounding me since they got wind of Savard.” She kissed his cheek again. “I'll be back later.” She moved to leave.

Remy snagged a hand and stopped her, bringing her closer. “
Je t'aime
.”

“I love you, too.”

Two days after waking, Remy was released from the hospital. Laying the charm on thick, he cajoled everyone into helping him sleep in a comfortable bed. That night, with the warm body of the woman he loved curled next to him, he had the best night's sleep in more than six years. He regretted being an invalid. Having Cody that close and not able to truly love her made him ache. Eventually he would be whole.

Four days later, he was able to navigate the stairs in Vic's home alone. During that time, three detectives, the NOPD commander, and the mayor paid him a visit. All were seeking answers to how DA Paul Dumond, aka Alphonse, was killed and Remy's connection to the ordeal. He answered their questions with questions, and turned their investigations upside down. With each visit, Cody was there, hovering and running interference. Remy enjoyed watching her trip up the detectives and give the commander and the mayor a verbal strip down. Anderson hadn't been lying when he mentioned the change in her.

The afternoon of the fourth day out of the hospital, Remy lounged in the den, watching the newscast on the recent developments in the Dumond investigation. Luc Santorini had left a few hours earlier with a promise to check in on Remy and Cody soon. Except for Cody, the house was empty. Remy enjoyed the homey feel.

When the news broadcast ended, he switched to another news station. The pad of bare feet on wood dragged his attention from the TV. Cody loomed in the archway. She wore a snug blue shirt and pair of shorts that revealed enough of her lean legs to make his pulse throb. She'd managed to tame her wild hair in a twist. Stepping down into the den, she crossed the floor and turned off the TV.

“Don'cha know they never get it right? They're biased.”

He chuckled. “You spend too much time around cops.”

“Well,” she sauntered over to the couch, hooking her thumbs in her belt loops, “it's hard to avoid it when my boyfriend is one.”

“I need to have a talk with this guy and tell him to stop revealing our secrets to you.” He propped his right arm on the back of the couch.

One of her eyebrows peaked. “You do that, and we'll see what he says.”

Jerking his head at the empty space next to him, he crooked a finger at her. A sly smile danced across her lips, and she slid in beside him, curling her bare legs under her body. He hooked his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a heated kiss.

When he had her thoroughly breathless, he broke it off and watched her languidly open her eyes.

“Not fair,” she muttered.

“No, not fair is having you in my bed every night and doing nothing about it.”

She poked a finger in his side, high above his surgical area.

He shifted away. “Watch it.”

“Behave.” She laid her head on his shoulder and let her hand rest on his chest above his heart. “I'm ready to go home.”

There it was; the topic he'd been mulling around in his head for the past few days. He wanted to return to Texas, but he needed to go home to Houma before he did. Fifteen plus years of no contact with his family had been long enough. Remy rubbed Cody's arm and settled his chin on top of her head. In all the mulling, he hadn't known how to approach her, until now.

“
Chère
, about that.”

“Hmmm?”

“Before we go, I want to stop somewhere first.”

She drew away and looked at him. “Where?”

“Houma, to see my family.” He stroked his knuckles along her satiny cheek. Gone was the warrior woman he'd witnessed outmaneuvering a thug, and in her place was the sexy redhead he loved. “I want them to meet you.”

“Do you think they know you're alive? Or that you were supposed to be dead?”

“It's possible.”

“Won't that be kind of a shock to them?”

Remy smiled and brushed his lips against hers. “
Ma 'tite fille
, you have a lot to learn about
acadiens
.”

Cody closed the back door on Vic's Charger then turned to face Kim. Her best friend stared solemnly at the ground.

“You're sure about this?” Cody nodded at the house. “Staying here?”

Heaving a soul weary sigh, Kim crossed her arms at her hips. “Everything I knew back in Fort Worth was a lie. I don't know who I am anymore.”

“I don't think it's the wrong thing to do.” Cody settled her hands on Kim's shoulders. “Just don't forget you're still that girl I grew up with. What you know now doesn't change that.”

“I broke up with Heath.”

The bluntness of her statement threw Cody.

Kim plowed ahead. “I was wrong for going off on you about you two-timing Remy. I know technically you two were separated, but . . . we've known each other since we were in diapers, and you would have never done anything to hurt me. You love Remy, I saw it, but I let my anger at my problems blind me.”

“Kim, are you sure you want to break up with Heath?”

“I'm not in a good place to cope with him. And I don't think he's ready for something serious with me.”

Cody sympathized with Kim. She'd thought and felt the same way months ago when she wasn't even sure if Remy loved her. When her emotions were out control and the cravings for alcohol got the best of her, Cody had said and done things she'd regretted. Kim took a more classy way to express her anger. That was Kim.

“It's your decision, and I won't tell you different.”

Giving her a sad smile, Kim drew Cody in for a tight hug. “Call me when you get there and tell me what his family is like.”

“I promise.”

“If he proposes, you damn well better make me your maid of honor.”

“Like I'd have anyone else.”

• • •

Remy clapped his partner's shoulder. “When you heading back?”

Heath dragged his attention away from Kim and Cody and blinked at Remy. “Um, this afternoon. It's gonna be quiet without the women with me.”

“It'll help clear your head.”
It better clear his head.
Remy still had the impression Heath was battling his attraction to Cody.

Shaking his head, Heath rotated, putting his back to the women. “Talked to Moreno. He says you and I can have a few more weeks off.”

“He hear about what happened here?”

“Some of it.” Heath drove his fingers through his mussed hair. “He's . . . coping.”

They laughed.

When their amusement died down, Remy studied his partner. His friend.
Mon Dieu
, when had he started considering Anderson a friend?
Oui
, he'd turned into a raging lunatic when he witnessed Cody hugging and dancing with Heath, but this man had risked his career and his life for him. No man had done that for Remy before. Because of that, Remy could overlook any mistakes Heath had made with Cody. Hell, how could Remy fault him? Cody was the kind of woman any guy would love to have for himself. And Remy was the lucky bastard who managed to win her love.

“So, don't rush going back to Dallas,” Remy suggested.

“What? Stay here?”

“You could check out the rest of Louisiana. There's more than just New Orleans.”

Heath chuckled. “I guess I could. Been all over the world when I as a Marine, never saw anything outside of California or Texas while stateside.”

“So, wander. Maybe, uh, stop in Houma. We'll have a li'l party.”

Remy enjoyed watching the slow progression of realization crossing his partner's face.

“Maybe I will. I'm always up for a party.”

“It'll be good.”

Heath lightly punched Remy on his good arm. “Sure it will. Stay out of trouble.”

“Always.” He watched him enter Vic's house.

The moment his partner disappeared inside, Vic emerged carrying a thick envelope. She strode down the walk toward Remy. “When you're ready to go home, call me and I'll bring your bike out.”

“No joy-riding.”

She gave him an innocent expression. “Who, me?” She grinned. “Don't worry. I'll treat it like a baby.”

“Sure you will.” He pointed at the envelope. “What's that?”

“This,” she lifted the envelope and held it aloft, “is something you're going to take, no rebuttals.”

He scowled.

Vic reached out and grabbed his good hand and slapped the thick envelope in it. “A long time ago my brother offered a reward for anyone who could give us information about our parents' death. I forgot it was still available until yesterday. So, here it is.”