A knock rapped at her door.
“Come in!” If her visitor was a nurse then she could grill her for information about Max.
Special Agent Kenton Lake popped his dark head in the room. “Kenton?” she whispered. “What are you doing here?” Shouldn’t he be off doing a news interview? Wrapping up this mess and making the SSD look good?
He flashed her a wide smile. It was the same smile that had—once upon a time—made her heart flutter.
“Couldn’t leave without seeing you.” Kenton ambled inside and pushed the door closed behind him. “Damn, woman, when I heard about the scene with Malone…” Running a quick hand through his hair, he approached the bed.
When the Watchman had taken her and played his twisted game, Kenton had been there. When she’d opened her eyes, choking on water and struggling for breath, he’d been the first person she’d seen.
He’d also seen her, later, in the hospital. He’d seen her when she broke down, sobbing until the doctors had to drug her. He hadn’t told anyone about that. Kenton was a man who knew how to keep secrets.
But he hadn’t been the man to keep her heart. They’d dated, just casually, but he’d never made her need, never made her feel, like Max did.
His gaze raked her. “You look like hell.”
Ah, Kenton, always the sweet talker. Actually, he usually was a sweet talker. “I feel like it.” She tried to push up in the bed. Her wrist immediately protested, and a gasp broke from her lips. “They won’t tell me anything.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Max,” she sighed his name. “I need to know how he is.”
Kenton’s gaze was too watchful. “Malone’s brother?”
She nodded.
“You care about him, don’t you?”
Stop being afraid. “I’m in love with him.” And she’d tell him as soon as he could hear her.
Kenton sucked in a deep breath. “They brought Quinlan down to the office. I, uh, think there’s something you should know.”
A nurse bustled in without knocking. “Ms. Kennedy? Max Ridgeway’s out of surgery. Dr. Gretchen said I could take you to see him—just for a few minutes—if you felt up to it.” She pulled a wheelchair into the room behind her.
Up to it? Nothing would keep her out of his room. Sam’s left hand shoved back the covers, and she ignored the pain as she tried to get up.
Kenton leaned over her. “Wait.”
No, there was no waiting. “I need to see him.”
But he didn’t move. “It’s hard when you care, isn’t it? When someone else’s life matters more than your own.”
No, it wasn’t hard. It was freaking terrifying.
“But you have to be careful, Sam. Just because you love someone, it doesn’t mean they’re perfect.”
What was he talking about? She knew Max wasn’t perfect. She loved him because he wasn’t. He was real, solid, strong, and ready to take on hell for her. A woman couldn’t ask for more. Perfection could wait.
“Quinlan says…” Kenton leaned in even closer to her and dropped his voice so that the nurse couldn’t overhear his words. “Quinlan is saying that Ridgeway was in on the kidnappings from the very beginning. He says they planned everything together and that Max only changed the plan because he fell for you.”
She shook her head. “No, no, Max wouldn’t do that—”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” She wasn’t going to listen to any more. I need Max.
Kenton inclined his head in a grim nod. “You trust him that much?”
“I do.” She’d seen the sick horror on Max’s face. The fury when he realized just what his brother had done. No, Max hadn’t been in on the crimes, no matter what crap his brother was spewing. Max wasn’t like Quinlan.
Not evil.
She climbed carefully from the bed, but shook her head at the nurse. “I don’t need that chair. Just tell me where he is.” I’m coming, Max.
The nurse blinked. “Room… ah… 212, just down the hallway.”
Sam kept her head up and her spine straight as she walked.
“Sam!”
She glanced back at Kenton’s cry.
“You did good on this one. Damn good.”
“Thanks.”
“I always knew you had a core of steel. You walked through hell, and it just made you stronger.” His lips lifted the faintest bit. “You didn’t break.”
She knew he’d been through his own nightmare. The man had walked through fire on his last case with the SSD. She forced a smile to her lips. “Neither did you.”
“And we’re stronger for it. Remember that. You’re not weak, Sam, and you never have been.” Because he knew her well. “You beat that bastard before, and you beat this one, too.”
Yes, she had. But she’d had help. A man who’d willingly stepped between her and a killer.
How was a woman supposed to walk away from a guy like that?
She wasn’t. She was supposed to stay with him, screw what came, and fight like crazy for a future.
The machines surrounding Max beeped and whirred. His face was pale, and his lips were still tinged a bit blue. Bandages covered most of his upper body and mid-section.
“It took a long time to close those wounds,” the young doctor beside her murmured. “Someone sure did a number on him.”
Sam’s hand reached for Max’s. “How long until he’s awake?”
“He’ll drift in and out for a while, but he needs to sleep. After all that blood loss, he needs to rest.” The doctor slanted her an assessing glance. “So do you.”
She saw the redness in his eyes. Another long night for the doc. “There’s a chair right here. I’ll be fine.”
His lips tightened but he gave a curt nod. “Anyone we need to notify? Family?”
Someone sure did a number on him. “His family knows.”
He closed his clipboard. “All right then, when your boyfriend opens his eyes, let him know that he’s lucky. Very lucky. The shot in his thigh nicked an artery but the cold water slowed down the bleeding. If the vessels hadn’t constricted…” He trailed off and shook his head. “Going into the water saved his life.”
“No.” Her fingers tightened around Max’s. “When he went into the water, he saved my life.”
The door clicked shut behind the doctor. Sam used her foot to pull the chair closer to the bed, and then she sat, holding tight to Max’s hand. The night stretched before her, long and dark.