Texas Hunt (3 page)

Had his life seemed a little lacking lately? Sure. It would cycle around again.

And if it didn't, he'd get a dog. People were so damn disappointing.

Chapter Two

A hospital was no place to sleep. Even with the lights turned off Lisa couldn't relax, especially since Ryan had gone home. To make matters worse, a nurse or technician padded in every hour on the dot to wrap gauges around her arm or take more blood. After what felt like the fiftieth time but was more like the fifth, Lisa was beginning to lose patience.

Lack of sleep and constant ache did nothing to improve her mood. Plus, the news of her father...she couldn't even go there. Grief would engulf her if she allowed herself time to think about it. Emotions were a luxury she couldn't afford. Beckett was still out there. The rest of her family was in danger. As difficult as it was, Lisa had to maintain focus.

At least she'd convinced her sister to leave town. Lori and Grayson were in a swank fishing cabin on a lake in Arkansas. That was the only bit of good news in what had been one of the worst days of Lisa's life.

Dad.

Thinking about him, about what had happened brought a whole new wave of sadness crashing down around her.

She tried to ease to a sitting position, searching her memory for any sign he'd been relapsing. Pain pierced her chest, her arms and her back with movement. No use. She'd refused pain medication, needing a clear head. She was still reeling from the news of losing her father while trying to sort out why any of this was happening now. She'd kept Beckett's secret, dammit. Shouldn't that have bought her a pass?

One of the lab techs padded in.
Great.

Trying to sort out the day's events while Prickzilla jabbed another needle contributed to a dull ache in the spot right between her eyes.

Take a deep breath. Count to ten.

It wasn't a magical cure but she felt better.

“Try to get some sleep,” Dracula-in-an-aquamarine-jumpsuit whispered before she closed the door behind her and disappeared.

If only it were that easy.

Lisa tossed and turned for another half hour at least. As frustration got the best of her she resorted to counting sheep.

Still didn't work.

Just like when she was a kid, the darn things shape-shifted into snakes, their slimy bodies slithering after her. The closet had offered a perfect hiding spot when she was six. Another half dozen years later, Beckett Alcorn had been the beast that kept her awake nights. There wasn't a closet big enough now for the monster she faced.

In the category of “not making it better,” she was wide-awake at—she checked the clock—three fifteen in the morning.
Great.
Even the chickens were conked out at this hour. Lisa had been drifting in and out, but every time she got close the door would creak open and a nurse or technician would pad inside. It was probably just as well. Anytime Lisa got anywhere near real sleep, she'd jolt awake from one of several nightmares ready to cue at a moment's notice.

In one scenario, hands were closing around her throat. She woke screaming, giving the nurse who was attending to her quite a scare.

In another dream, fists were coming at her from every direction and she felt blood spilling out of her cracked skull with each jab.

After the last round of fifty ways to beat up Lisa, she gave up checking the clock. There was no use realizing just how late it was and how little REM she was getting.

The worst-case nightmare involved being held under water, drowning, only to bob to the surface and find that it was Ryan holding her down. There was no doubt in her mind that he would never try to hurt her in her waking world. Absolutely no way could she even consider him doing her harm on purpose. The dream must represent something she feared. Didn't need a psychology degree to know she'd been afraid of the opposite sex ever since that summer, ever since Beckett.

What did it say about her that even a male friend scared her to death?

She thought about that as she drifted off to her first real sleep.

A hand clamped around Lisa's throat so hard she feared her windpipe would crack. She struggled against the crushing grip. It was like trying to peel off custom-fitted steel.

Her fight, flee or freeze response triggered as she railed against the force pushing her deeper into the mattress. She tried to scream, but no sound came out. In her other dreams she'd always been able to shout.

Coughing, she had the frightening realization that this wasn't a dream.

She was wide-awake.

A soft object, maybe a pillow, was being pressed against her face, suffocating her.

More coughing came as her lungs desperately clawed for air.

Could she somehow signal one of the nurses? Where were they? How had someone walked right past them in the middle of the night and gotten into her room? She felt around for the call button, but came up empty.

Oh. God. No.

Desperate and afraid, she reached for her attacker. Her hand stopped on denim material. Must've been his leg, meaning he was most likely straddled over her. Beckett?

At twelve, Lisa had blamed herself for what he'd done to her. She'd been too embarrassed and too scared to tell anyone. Beckett had threatened to kill everyone she loved if she so much as breathed a word of his actions, and he had the power to follow through with his warning. He'd threatened to do worse to Lisa's little sister. And if Lisa told, he'd said it would be her word against his, and who would believe her, anyway? He'd made a good point. She'd been a shy girl, in and out of the system, who'd mostly kept to herself. Worse yet, she was daughter of Henry Moore, the town's constantly rehabilitating alcoholic.

Lisa wasn't a little girl anymore. No way did he get to destroy her. She followed the inseam straight up to his groin, grabbed and squeezed with every ounce of strength she had.

He muttered a curse as he shifted position long enough for her to take in a swallow of precious oxygen. She clasped harder and he groaned, cursing her.

The weight on top of her lifted for a second as he wriggled his groin out of her grasp. His hold loosened on the pillow pressed against her face so she fought the pain burning through her as she drew her knees to her chest and then thrust them toward his face. They connected with his chin.

His head snapped back.

Lisa screamed for the nurse. She tried to launch another attack, pushing through the agony that came with every movement. Her arms felt like spaghetti and even a boost of adrenaline didn't give her enough strength to keep fighting.

The mattress dipped and then rose as he pushed to his feet.

“I'll be back. You'll regret this, bitch.” The voice wasn't Beckett's. It was too dark to get a good look at the details of his face.

A fresh wave of panic seized her as she searched for something, anything on the side table. Her fingers reached the landline phone, so she hurled it toward the stranger's back. “You won't be able to hurt me from jail.”

What was taking the nurse so long?

The dark silhouette slipped out of her room and disappeared moments before the door reopened and the night nurse rushed in.

“Someone was here. He's out there. In the hall,” Lisa said through coughing fits.

Light filled the room as the concerned nurse's face came into view.

“I was just out there and didn't see anyone. My name's Alicia. I'll be your nurse this evening.” She spoke slowly, calmly, as if she were talking to a three-year-old in the heat of a temper tantrum.

“I'm not making this up. I swear.” Lisa sat upright, heaving.

The way the nurse stared at Lisa, the questioning look, she knew Alicia was ready to call for a psych consult.

“I promise. A man was just in here. He had a pillow over my face. Can't you see what he did to me?” Her breath came in bursts.

Alicia's forehead crease and raised eyebrow gave away the fact that she was skeptical. With a quick look communicating that Lisa should be grateful Alicia was about to indulge the fantasy, she retreated toward the door. “I'll check again, but I was just out there and I didn't see anyone.”

All Lisa could think about based on Alicia's reaction was that she most likely attributed this outburst to a very realistic nightmare or head trauma.

The expression on her face when she returned convinced Lisa of the latter.

“I know how this must seem to you but someone was in here,” Lisa said defensively. She glanced around on the floor. “Look. The pillow he used is there.”

“It's okay,” Alicia soothed. The words came out slowly, again.

Great.
The woman thought Lisa was crazy. Lisa wasn't about to let the nurse get away with it.

“Look at me. I must have red marks or bruising. He shoved that pillow in my face and held me down.” She held her hands out to check herself over. A pillow on the floor wasn't exactly a smoking gun. Even Lisa rationalized she could've knocked it off the bed during a nightmare.

The only real evidence was a black-and-blue display up and down both arms.

“You've been through a lot recently. Let's see if we can get you to lie down again,” Alicia said as she began her exam, evaluating Lisa's injuries.

She moved to the computer. “We'll send someone down to speak to you.”

Either Alicia believed Lisa or the nurse was following hospital protocol. Neither mattered; the only person Lisa wanted to see right now was Ryan. He'd said to call if she needed him, day or night. As much as she didn't want to push the boundaries of their friendship or drive him away she needed to be with someone she trusted.

Would he even pick up at this ridiculous hour?

What choice did she have? Her father was dead. Her sister was more than four hours away, not that calling her in the middle of the night was an appealing thought anyway. Lori would have too many questions and that could be deadly.

Once again, Lisa was frightened into silence. Could she call the sheriff? Tell him everything even after she'd lied to Deputy Adams earlier and said she didn't know her attacker?

The deputy had simply shaken his head while taking down the details for his report, cursing the luck of her family to have both of these things happen within twenty-four hours of each other. He'd warned her to watch out because bad things usually came in threes. And with her father's alcohol history, maybe the deputy had really wondered why something like this hadn't happened sooner.

Adams had confirmed that her father's death had been considered an accident. No one had argued differently. Her heart knew better.

Lisa knew for certain that her attack yesterday hadn't been random. She'd seen Beckett with her own eyes after ripping off his ski mask. But whoever had slipped into the hospital wasn't him. Maybe her brain was damaged and she'd imagined another person's voice. Who else would do something like this?

Beckett could've hired someone to do his dirty work for him. Attacking her in a hospital setting was high risk. There'd be cameras. Maybe he feared getting caught this time. It might not have been him carrying out the actual crime, but her instincts said he had to be responsible.

What good did it do her to know? If she told anyone he'd be back to kill all the family she had left—her sister and nephew.

Panic gripped her. She couldn't even think about anything happening to them.

They were safe.
For now.

Lori and her infant son were everything to Lisa. And if she gave up the name of the man who did this to her, both of them would be dead in a heartbeat.

There had to be another way.

Calling Ryan was a risk she had to take. He'd be even more suspicious and he might think she was a little crazy. What was the alternative?

Stay there, unprotected, and she'd be dead by morning.

Try to leave by herself and she wouldn't make it out the door.

As soon as Alicia stepped into the hallway, Lisa grabbed her cell from the side table.

Calling Ryan was the only reasonable option. He'd volunteered his assistance. She'd take him up on his offer.

If he pressed her for more information, she'd have to cut him loose or risk putting him in danger. She hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Chapter Three

The sound of fear in Lisa's voice when she called had shocked Ryan out of a deep sleep.

All she'd said was “I need you.”

Those three words had kicked Ryan into action faster than buckshot. Her voice had blasted a different kind of heat through his chest, sent it spiraling through him. He'd dismissed it quickly as an inappropriate reaction and focused on the terror coming through the line. He'd hopped out of bed, ignoring the aftershocks of sexual awareness, thrown on clothes and raced toward the hospital. He'd made the drive in record time, parked and still hadn't come up with a plan to get past security.

Something had happened to Lisa. He intended to find out what was going on. She'd convinced him she'd been too tired to talk earlier that day and he hadn't wanted to put undue pressure on her, given all that she'd been through. This was different. No way could he go back to sleep without answers. And no one could stop him from getting them, not even her.

“Sir, visiting hours are over,” the nurse warned as he stalked toward Lisa's wing.

“I received a call from a patient of yours. She's expecting me.” Like hell he wasn't going into her room.

“I can't allow it. Hospital policy.” The nurse sprang from her seat and moved around the desk too late to block him from entering Lisa's hallway.

“Call your supervisor if you have to, but I'm not leaving until I know my wife is okay.” Ryan used the earlier lie he'd given in order for her to receive treatment. He'd had to think quickly then. Surely they wouldn't refuse a husband access to his spouse now. He figured he had at least a few minutes before hospital security could catch up in order to toss him out of the building.

“Sir.” Her voice trailed off, which meant she wasn't following him. She'd most likely doubled back so she could call the security desk.

Ryan pushed Lisa's door open and rushed to her side. Desperation was a net, casting a wild animal look over her normally soft, feminine features.

“I don't have long. The nurse will have me evicted in a few minutes. Tell me what happened,” he said.

“Someone was here, Ryan.” The urgency in her words nearly knocked him back a step.

“Who?”

“I'm not sure.” An emotion he couldn't quite put his finger on flickered behind her eyes. It was more than fear.

“Was it the guy who attacked you?”

“Yes. No. I don't know.” Her bluish-green eyes were wide and scared.

“I need you to tell me what's really going on.” When he sat on the edge of the bed, he realized she was shaking. It took every bit of strength not to pull her into his chest and comfort her.

“I would if I could.” She looked away.

What the hell did that mean? He'd been exposed, firsthand, to people in trouble. Make no mistake about it, Lisa was drowning. He couldn't do anything to help her unless she gave him something to hang on to.

If he'd learned one thing from trying to save his brother, it was that people helped themselves. Sure, sometimes they needed an extra pair of hands. Ryan never hesitated to be there for a relative or friend in need to offer support. But drowning people were notorious for pulling others down with them. Ryan had learned to keep a healthy distance until they took those first few strokes on their own.

“Why can't you?” Seeing her looking so small in that damn oversize gown overrode rational thought. He fisted his hands to keep them at his sides.

Didn't work. He brushed the hair from her face, ignoring the urge building inside him to hold her until she stopped shaking.

“Believe me, Ryan, you're the only one I would tell if I could, but this is...complicated and innocent people will be hurt if I don't play this right.” Her words broke at the end and sobs racked her shoulders.

Ryan didn't debate his next action. He just hauled her into his arms, where she buried her face. “I'm here. It's okay.”

He half expected her to push him away and tell him she was fine. She didn't. Instead, she pressed deeper against his cotton T-shirt while he whispered reassurances in her ear he couldn't guarantee.

There was no worse feeling than watching someone he cared about in pain and not being able to help.

Against his better judgment, he told Lisa he would do whatever she needed.

She broke away and stared him directly in the eyes. “If you really want everything to be all right, take me home with you.”

Hold on a minute. She couldn't leave the hospital. The determination in her bluish-green eyes said otherwise. Maybe he could talk her off the ledge.

“Is that wise?” He glanced at the bruises on her arms.

“I'd walk out of here on my own if I could,” she said, and he had no doubt she meant it.

Could he convince her otherwise?

“The doctor wants to keep an eye on your head injury.” Was it safe for her to leave the hospital against medical advice?

“I can't stay here. He'll come back, or send someone. I'm in danger here. You're the only one I trust.”

“Did you tell the nurse?”

“Yes, I did. She didn't believe me. She's most likely calling in a psychiatrist. I won't make it that long. He'll slip right back in and...” She bit her bottom lip as if to stop if from forming the next words.

“Tell me exactly what happened.” They were running out of time. Security would burst through that door any second now. Ryan believed something had happened and he needed to know more. Whatever it was had scared the bejesus out of her. But how could it be the same guy who'd attacked her earlier? That was supposed to be a random occurrence. Ryan had been sitting in this very room when she'd given the deputy her statement.

“Maybe he works here.” Her shoulders sagged and she looked to be in considerable pain every time she moved. “That's impossible, isn't it?”

“Security will be here any second. What if we explain what happened to them? Maybe we can get them involved.”

“It's no good. The nurse will tell them not to believe me.” She held her arms up as though she wanted him to inspect them. “She thinks I'm crazy and she's sending me for a psych evaluation. End of story. It's the middle of the night and my doctor isn't here, but what would she do, anyway?”

She gestured toward her arms again.

Ryan didn't want to say the bruises could've been from the earlier attack. She needed to hear that someone believed her. Otherwise she'd jump out of her own skin if someone sneezed. “I see what happened and I believe you. I won't let him get to you again. I promise.”

He didn't say that might not be an option if he was booted out. He'd figure something out. Lisa had been afraid before, but there was a grasping-at-her-last-straw quality to her voice now that didn't sit well with him.

Touching her was a bad idea because his emotions started taking over his logical thought. Nothing good could come of that.

There was more than her reaction that bugged the hell out of him. The persistence of this guy was unsettling. It took guts to attack at a well-staffed hospital even in the middle of the night. Then again, dress in scrubs or a maintenance uniform and he might blend right in. Ryan needed to get into contact with their friend Dylan, who owned a personal security company. He might have enough contacts to get hold of the footage at the hospital.

The questions of the day were...who was doing this and why was he being so persistent?

Lisa had never been a liar, but one look at her said she was at the very least holding back something that could get her hurt or killed. Plus, she'd practically forced her sister out of town for a few days. A storm was brewing and Ryan needed to know just how big this squall was going to get.

“Take me out of here.
Please
.” The way Lisa emphasized the last word shredded Ryan's resolve. This was a bad idea. Being there was sketchy enough. Walking her out the front door in her condition was borderline insanity.

Leaving her there, alone, was out of the question.

Voices down the hall neared. Security would walk through the door at any second. Ryan had about two seconds to make a decision. All of his experiences, instincts railed against doing what he was contemplating. He'd be stepping in a boot full of sludge trying to justify this.

Not to mention the fact that his feelings for her clouded his judgment. Logic told him to bolt, to let authorities handle this. And yet she hadn't trusted them enough to tell them everything.

Only a fool or someone in serious trouble would do that.

“What if I stay here with you? I'll stay awake and keep watch.” He'd be irresponsible if he didn't put that out there as an option. The fear widening her eyes said she wouldn't take the offer.

“So he can come back and kill us both?” She sank deeper into the bed like a deflated airbag. “I didn't consider this before, but I'm putting you in danger. You can't be here. I didn't think this through all the way. I'm sorry. Forget I ever called you.”

Wait a minute.

Was she kicking him out?

“Fine. Where's your stuff? I'll grab a bag.” He stood as she stilled, staring blankly at him in disbelief. “We need to get moving. Several people are going to come through that door and none of them are going to be happy to see me in here.”

“I can't let you do this. It was a mistake to get you involved.” She stared toward the window, blankly.

“You've already told me the risks. Consider me informed. I'm going to take you home with me, but we gotta go now.”

The door opened so hard it smacked against the wall.

A guy close to Ryan's height wearing a blue security uniform with a squawking radio filled the frame.

“Sir, I need to ask you to leave,” he said. His polite words were delivered with a clipped tone. “You can come back to visit between the hours of eight a.m. and seven p.m.”

“My wife is ready to go now,” Ryan said, folding his arms across his chest as he assumed a defensive stance. The name on the security officer's badge read Steven. If Steven wanted to go a few rounds, Ryan had every confidence in his own fighting abilities. That said, he preferred to save his energy for more important things. It would be up to the big guy which path they took. “I'm not walking through that door without her, Steven.”

* * *

“I'
M
LEAVING
.”
With great effort, Lisa pushed off the bed and stood. Ryan was by her side, urging her to lean on him for support before she lost her balance again. All kinds of heat fizzled through her where they made contact, but she pushed it out of her thoughts.

“You heard her. She's ready to leave.”

Steven glanced at Alicia.

“That's not a good idea,” Alicia said. “Let's all settle down and think this through.”

“You're assuming I haven't already.” Lisa winced as she took a step forward. Ryan was there to catch her as her knee gave out, his steadying arm around her the only thing keeping her from falling flat on the floor. “You aren't keeping me safe here.”

“I'm afraid I can't allow you to go. Doctor's orders.” Alicia's resolve was steady.

Panic overwhelmed Lisa. Ryan couldn't help her and deal with the big security guard at the same time. The air in the room was thinning. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest in part from stress and the very real feeling of contact with Ryan. What was it about him that could calm her and send her body into such a pinball machine of awareness all at the same time?

Trying to take another step toward the door, she faltered.

Ryan hauled her against his chest and made a move to kiss her.

He was giving them a show. She understood that on some level, but his hand guiding her lips toward his sent heat rocketing through her.

Ryan's moment of hesitation—a brief pause to catch and hold her gaze for a split second—sent her heart soaring and caused a hundred somersaults to flip through her stomach.

His lips, tentative, barely touched hers. Her breath caught and she could've sworn she'd heard him groan right before deepening the kiss.

She tilted her head back to give him better access as she parted her lips for him. For one dizzying moment when his tongue slid into her mouth her pain disintegrated and all she could feel was his lips moving against hers and how right it felt to be in Ryan Hunt's arms.

The thought was startling. She didn't belong there.

Breaking away first, she forced her mind to the present because for a moment she got lost—lost in the moment, in the feeling of awareness, in the feeling of life being right for just a second.

Turning toward the folks intent on keeping her in that room, Lisa put one hand on Ryan's shoulder and the other on her hip. No way could they push past Alicia and the big guy. Ryan was not small, nor was he incapable of handling himself. She was the weak link. She was the liability. Anger surged through her for being the one to hold them back. “Do you have a court order keeping me here, Alicia?”

The nurse's lips thinned as she shook her head.

“Then I suggest you step aside.” The look of approval on Ryan's face, the way he smiled out of the side of his mouth shouldn't make her this happy. It did. She told herself it was because he was putting himself on the line for her. She owed him this at least.

He squeezed her waist and more of that fiery electricity shot through her, warming her in places she didn't want to think about with him standing this close. Or maybe it was just that she didn't want to go there with other people in the room.

Her thoughts couldn't be more inappropriate under the circumstances. Because that kiss made her wonder if Ryan was feeling more for her than he'd let on.

And what exactly was she supposed to do with that? Her life was a mess and he deserved so much more than she could give him.

In times like these, Lisa had to remind herself to take it one moment at a time.