WATCHING (22 page)

Chapter
26

****

K.D. dozed on the industrial blue couch in the waiting room when he entered, having arrived while Hell was in the exam room with Georgia. Hell left her lying while he waited for word about his agents. He got an update about Compton and Carrie from the floor nurse an hour later, being told he
’
d have to wait until they were admitted before he could see them. He had nothing else to do but wait. Hell hated waiting.

An hour and forty minutes later, Georgia rounded the corner. Some nurse must have given her a set of disposable hospital scrubs and she
’
d cleaned up when she
’
d changed. The blue material dotted with cartoon puppies and kittens was rolled up a few times around her ankles, and combined with the sling holding her right shoulder immobilized, she looked smaller than she was and way too vulnerable for Hell
’
s liking.
If
she
’
d
been alone in the woods when she found Carrie what would have happened to her, to Carrie? He didn
’
t want to think about it.

Hell walked to her, meeting her before she made it halfway into the lobby.
“
What did he say? The x-rays, MRI
?
”

“
I
’
ve two cracked ribs. But they
’
re almost imperceptible. The rest is bruises. The shoulder should be fine in a week, or a little longer
.
”
Georgia yawned, blinked up at him.

“
Good
.
”
He guided her to the other small couch and she slid onto the cushion. He followed her down, draping the same arm around her uninjured shoulder, pulling her against the fresh shirt he
’
d changed into while he waited. He
’
d been at the job long enough to keep spare clothes on hand at all times.

“
Dan and Mal
?
”
she asked.

“
Still out, following a few leads
,
”
Hell said.

“
Anything on Carrie and Josh
?
”
She blinked against th
e room lights with dilated eyes. They
’
d
given her something for the pain
, then
. He wondered how hard she
’
d argued against taking them.

“
Both are stable and being treated and admitted. They
’
ve had to sedate Carrie-which isn
’
t a surprise. She hates hospitals. Was extremely upset earlier, but your Dr. Bellows calmed her down. I
’
m waiting on more about Josh,
”
Hell said.
“
Why don
’
t you lie back and rest? I
’
ll wake you when it
’
s time to leave
.
”

“
I will. I
’
m ready for this one to be over, ready to go home
.
”
Georgia stretched her legs out in front of her. He echoed her movement, his own legs stretching a good foot past hers.

He tightened his arm around her, pulling her closer into his side, ever careful of her injuries. She didn
’
t resist, and he got the impression she needed the contact as much as he.
“
Me, too
.
”

“
Are we ever going to catch this
guy
?
”
Georgia
’
s words were drowsy against his shirt.

“
Of course
.
”
He told her.
“
This bastard isn
’
t that sophisticated. He
’
s simple. Today, he got lucky. Carrie didn
’
t meet his victimology in any way. Wrong place, wrong time. But he screwed up, and Bellows shot him, and I
’
m sure you bruised the shit out of him. When we find him
,
that will cinch it for us. We
’
ll have him
.
”

“
Yeah? But when
?
”
Georgia moved her injured arm
—
held c
aptive in a sterile white sling
—
closer to her stomach. Her fingers fisted in the shirt covering his side. It was an unconscious gesture, a means of seeking comfort after a chaotic day. Hell knew it, but it thrilled him all the same.
She wanted comfort, from
him.
“
And at what price
?
”

“
I don
’
t know, but I
’
m tired of paying
.
”
He said the words as her body went slack against his and for the second time since the case began, he held her while she slept.
It was a few moments before he whispered against her hair.
“
And I
’
m not paying anymore. And neither are you
.
”

Chapter
27

****

The hospital kept Carrie for the overnight despite her hysterical insistence that hospitals were bad, putting her in the room beside Compton
’
s. K.D. chose to stay
—
to help keep Carrie calm; the hospital staff let her bunk in the extra bed in the room. The room was comped by the Bureau anyway, so Hell had no objections.

Hell had no idea what happened to Dr. Bellows, and he was honestly too tired to care. Brockman had come by, giving Hell a final status report before going back to see Compton for a while. Other than him, Hell had seen no one else from the unit.

He carried an unresponsive Georgia out to his SUV two hours after the hospital finished with her. She hadn
’
t stirred, even when he
’
d loaded and unloaded her into the passenger seat. Just how empty the motel parking lot seemed struck him as he hurried across it to their rooms. There were little signs of life in either of the motel
’
s two buildings, or in the small diner that had been working overtime since the FBI
’
s arrival.

The sun was long down, Dan and Norton were up the mountain, coordinating the search teams with Stanton and Stephenson, searching for some sign of who had attacked the four agents.

Half his team attacked, and he
’
d not been close enough to do anything about it.
To protect them.
Guilt was a heavy burden on Hell
’
s back.

He bypassed her door and stopped at his.

“
Hell
?
”
The word was a soft sigh, but he heard it and felt it against his neck. He stopped. He hadn
’
t realized she had awakened.
“
Is there something else
?
”

“
Yes. You
’
re not staying alone tonight
.
”
His tone was firm, and he feared for a moment it was too harsh as he waited for her answer. Her argument. Could he, as her boss, order her to stay in his room? Not bloody likely. But he would, if it came down to it. Or he
’
s sleep in hers.
“
Not with this bastard still out there, possibly watching this motel. You. I
’
m not taking that risk
.
”

Her mouth opened to protest, but he shook his head.
“
Either I stay with you, you stay with someone else, or I assign someone to stay with you..
.
”

It didn
’
t come down to that. She stared at him and he could almost see her brain processing his statement.

The
UNSUB
was still out there
—
and he had two known victims who had escaped him that fit his typology
—
the Montehue woman and Georgia. If it meant keeping her safe, he would cuff
Georgia
’
s
ass to his side, regardless of how much he had to fight her or anybody else.

Then she nodded, closed her eyes and yawned, giving in.

Hell closed his own eyes for a brief moment, a wordless expression of relief. He shifted her until he could free one hand and had his door swinging open without a sound.
“
Come on. I know you
’
re exhausted
.
”

“
That doesn
’
t even begin to cover it,
”
she said.
“
I need to call my son
.
”

“
It
’
s after eleven
.
”
He never expected her to be so docile, and it concerned him.
Until he remembered the meds.
He sat her on her feet beside the room
’
s only other piece of furniture. The loveseat was small and could be described with one word
—
ugly.

“
Oh. Right. He
’
s asleep. I
’
ll call him in the morning. Damn, I miss him
.
”
She rubbed her left eye, blinked up at him. She stood before him, her eyes half closed and her body swaying. She said nothing
else
, her backpack still slung over her uninjured shoulder. She stared at the bed, a confused expression in her dark eyes.

“
Georgia
.
”
Hell had never seen her like that; from the moment they
’
d first met she
’
d always been confident, poised, assured, and decisive. Aware. He stepped toward her, intending to take her backpack. His hand slid to her shoulder, grasping the black strap and pulled. She came with it. He reached his other hand up and he kept her from falling forward, a quiet laugh escaping.

“
Sorry, sir
.
”
She shook her head, weaved on her feet.
“
No, sorry, that
’
s wrong. You want me to call you
Hell
. I hate being so cloudy. Pills do that to me. Always have
.
”

“
Pills and madmen with rocks, I know
,
”
Hell whispered, as he lifted her back into his arms. Probably unnecessary to carry her again, but Hell wanted to. Needed to. The backpack slid unnoticed to the floor as her uninjured arm moved to wrap around his neck.

“
You
’
ve been doing this a lot
,
”
s
he murmured, and he felt the movement of her lips, the kiss of her breath, against his neck. She snuggled closer.

“
Hmm
?
”
She smelled like hand soap, light and floral, from where she
’
d cleaned up at the hospital. It was different from her normal scent. Hell liked it, liked the contrast.

“
Being there. Taking care of me
.
”
Georgia
’
s head came to rest on his shoulder as he stood there, uncertain what to do next.
“
I
’
m not sure if I like it. Makes me feel...odd
.
”

“
Oh? Why
?
”
Hell turned toward the bed he
’
d occupied the night before. The bed where he
’
d dreamed of her and him alone in an SUV, without clothing.
“
Why is that
?
”

“
Because it
’
s not
normal
. Not
us
. I was
accustome
d to things before. I got that. Could deal with it. Now...though...you
’
re in my head all the damned time. And you
’
re watching me. With that look in your eyes. I know what it means, too. You don
’
t like me; have never liked me
—
so why
that
look
?
”
Her voice held a quality he wasn
’
t used to hearing, but he recognized it for what it was. Georgia was high. And her inhibitions were loosening. Interesting.

“
I like you very much
.
”
More than liked.

“
See what I mean
?
”
Georgia pulled back to look at him, her eyes earnest and sincere
—
and glazed. He wondered if she
’
d even remember this in the morning.
“
Truthfully
—
I know you don
’
t like me. Six months
—
and even before
—
you
’
ve made it clear you d
id
n
’
t like me
.
”

“
Oh
?
”
Hell
’
s mouth twitched as she nodded.
“
And why is that
?
”

“
Because...well, because
—
except for K.D. and Carrie
—
you don
’
t like women. No room for them. Lack of trust, both sexually and in other arenas. Although you certainly seem to enjoy their attention. You can be harsh and overly critical, judgmental, unwelcoming, rude
—
especially with women on your own professional level
—
and you
’
re not very easy to get to know. And then there
’
s the
other
type of women you interact with. The bimbos who can
’
t help but fall all over the great Michael Hellbrook. I
’
m not one of those women!
”

“
Profiling me, Georgia
?
”
Her hand had moved from around his neck, as she
’
d ticked off his personality quirks on the fingers peaking out of the sling. He laughed at the familiar gesture, one she did often. But her words had hurt him. Did he present that way to the outside world?

“
‘
Course. It
’
s my job. What I do. And I
’
m good at it; although I don
’
t think you realize that. Or don
’
t care, because you
’
re still mad at my dad
.
”
She frowned at him, fiercely.

Hell laughed; he couldn
’
t help himself. Her expression was a cross between
pissed off girlfriend
and
chiding mother
rolled in with
superior agent
.

“
Why are you laughing? This is serious, I
’
m going somewhere where I
’
ll be appreciated instead of being a lackey
—
or secretary. I
’
m the senior agent on the team, after you and Danny, and I deserve some respect. Not just the job of collating files
.
”
He words rang with both passion and a hurt that made him feel like an asshole. He
’
d never wanted to hurt her.
“
I have to leave
.
”

“
You don
’
t have to leave, princess. And you are not transferring out. I already told you that. We
’
ll work it out. Later
.
”
He waited a few moments, standing there holding her.
“
And I
’
m sorry I made you so uncomfortable. I
’
m trying to change that; can you give me a chance? Georgia
?
”

She didn
’
t answer, her head
falling
lax against his shoulder, a soft feminine snore escaping. He stood there for a moment. They were alone in his motel room, two of his agents were up in the Black Hills, three others were at the hospital, they had no one in either room on each side of his
—
and she was injured and asleep.

His sigh was loud in the room as he lowered her to his bed. He removed the sling so she wouldn
’
t get tangled in it if she moved and rolled her onto her side
—
he
’
d seen her sleep in that position on numerous long flights
—
and she murmured in comfort. He slipped her shoes off and brought the blankets up to her shoulders.

He couldn
’
t help himself. He leaned down and brushed a kiss across her lips. He closed his eyes, staying by her side for a moment. If that bastard had used a gun instead of rocks, she wouldn
’
t be there. It was as simple and terrifying as that. She could have been killed, as could have Carrie. Two of the most important people in his world could have been gone,
just
like that.