“One day, a DEA agent came into his office and asked for immediate assistance with a drug bust going down. Dalton had no reason not to believe the man. He went with him, walked into an ambush and was almost shot to pieces in the attack that ensued. He was in the hospital for weeks, undergoing surgery after surgery.”
“Good God!” Carson said heavily.
“He’s walking again, and he doesn’t have any obvious marks on him. But I can tell you that it left scars he’ll never lose, physical as well as mental. He had to leave the job, obviously. Mallory and Cane had bought this ranch several years earlier and the two of them had sweated blood to grow it while Tank was in Iraq, and later, working for the feds. They’ve made some amazing improvements here, turned the place into a totally green operation. It’s skyrocketed in worth since they took it over.” He shook his head. “Mallory’s got a real knack for investments. Tank does the marketing and Cane shows the cattle. They’re amazingly successful.”
Carson was quiet. He was thinking about Dalton’s injuries and especially about the ones that wouldn’t show. That would make it hard for him, with a woman.
“He never spoke of how bad it was,” Carson said.
“That’s like him. He doesn’t advertise his problems.”
Carson was reminded of Carlie’s shoulder, where he’d seen the odd fit of the fabric. He wondered if she, too, had scars that didn’t show.
Rourke drew in a long breath. “God, I’m tired. I just hope Marquez can come up with some answers that will help us solve this case before anyone else is hurt or dies.”
Carson’s lips made a thin line. “That makes two of us.”
TANK HAD STOPPED by the gift shop at the hospital while Clara went in to see her daughter. Merissa was just out of intensive care, into a room. Tank made his purchases and then made his way up to the floor where her room was.
He held his hand behind him as he entered after a light tap.
“Come in,” Merissa said in a weak, but happy tone. Her eyes lit up at the sight of him. She smiled.
“Hi, kid,” he greeted softly. “How’s it going?”
Kid? Then she remembered. He’d said, “What are friends for?”
Her face fell.
He saw that, and his heart sank. He moved closer to the bed. “How are you feeling?” he asked gently.
“Better, thanks,” she said huskily. “Sick. Tired. Scared,” she added, glancing at Clara.
Clara pressed her hand. “I’m fine. I have plenty of protection.”
“Okay,” Merissa said, relaxing a little. She looked past her mother at Tank. “Something’s come up. Hasn’t it?”
He raised both eyebrows.
“Sorry,” she said shyly. “Can’t help it.”
“I wasn’t criticizing. But yes, something has come up. I just can’t tell you about it.” He was probably being paranoid, but he didn’t even trust the hospital room not to be bugged. He must be spending too much time alone, he figured.
“Okay,” she said. She was quick. He didn’t want to talk in here. Maybe he thought the room was bugged. It wasn’t beyond imagination. After all, that man had managed to get into her bedroom at the cabin and tamper with her headache pills.
“Brought you something,” he said.
“You did?” Her face brightened when she smiled. “Is it something nice to eat? Something besides gelatin and soup? Maybe?”
“It’s a T-bone steak in a plain wrapper,” he whispered in a conspiratorial tone.
“Wicked!” She laughed.
Her face lit up when she was happy. She was beautiful. He had to shake himself to stop from blurting it out.
He drew his hand from behind his back. “It’s probably corny...”
She took the small ceramic sculpture from his hands. It was a hawk. No. It was two hawks, one male, one female, sitting together on a limb. The piece was carved from wood and hand-painted. It was beautiful.
Tears stung her eyes. “I’ll treasure it forever,” she choked out. She looked up at him. “Thanks!”
He smiled. He’d been uncertain, but that smile made his whole day. “I’m glad you like it. Merry Christmas.”
“I didn’t get you anything,” she said miserably.
“Oh, that’s not a Christmas present,” he replied. “Just an impulse thing.”
“Okay, then, I feel better. Thank you again. Did they say when I could go home?” she asked Clara.
Clara sighed. “Nobody tells me much. But I can go ask, if you like.”
“Would you?”
Clara smiled. “Of course. Be right back.”
She left the room and Tank dropped into the chair beside Merissa’s bed. He took her small hand in his and held it tightly.
When she met his searching gaze, everything since their last meeting went right out of her head, and she thought her heart would beat her to death.
TANK LOOKED INTO her eyes with aching longing. He wanted to tell her how jealous he was of Carson, how he wished he could take back the things he’d said, that he didn’t want her for a friend. He wanted her for the rest of his life.
But how could he do that, now that he’d ruined everything?
“You’re troubled,” she said softly. “Can you talk about it?”
His lips made a thin line. He shrugged. “I wish I could,” he said.
Her fingers closed around his. “Something to do with that man,” she guessed.
He just nodded. He turned her hand over and winced. There was a big bruise on the back of it.
“It just looks bad, that’s all,” she said. “They couldn’t hit a vein at first so they had to put the needle there, for the drip,” she added. She smiled, indicating her other arm, where a drip was still running into a needle in the fold of her elbow. “They got it right this morning.”
“I’m so sorry,” he said heavily. “We all are.”
“There’s no need for that,” she said gently. “This criminal is very good. He started when he was barely in his teens. Someone trained him, someone very expert in espionage.” Her eyes were almost opaque. “Someone in a tropical place. Palm trees. Cruise ships.” She flushed.
“Keep going,” he said, encouraging her. “He likes sharks...”
She blinked. “Yes. He likes sharks. He acts the same. No emotion, no regret, just a predator who takes advantage of opportunities.”
He wanted to ask her if she’d seen a watch in her visions, but he was paranoid about being overheard. Just in case the man had managed to bug her room, and why wouldn’t he; it was stupid to say anything that might be overheard. Sharks excluded, he mused. If the man was listening, that information wouldn’t set him off. After all, he was aware that people knew he’d mentioned sharks once.
“You look tired,” she commented.
He managed a smile as he looked at her. “I haven’t been sleeping well.”
“I can imagine,” she replied. “All this worry about what he’s going to do next...”
“No!” His fingers closed around hers. He shrugged and didn’t meet her eyes. “I was worried...we were all worried...about you.”
“Oh.”
She sounded surprised. He met her searching eyes. “My brothers came to the hospital with me when you were admitted. Their wives wanted to come, too, but I didn’t think it was wise to try to bring Harrison down here,
