'You're hurt,' she whispered, concern and love evident both in her gaze and the emotive swirl surrounding her.
It hurt him more than any wound could—simply because it was something he was willing to give up, something he would never have again. He took a deep breath and tore his gaze away from hers, watching Mack walk across the clearing instead.
Her confusion rolled around him, as sharp as a knife. He ignored it and smiled at Mack grimly. 'Nice shot.'
Mack nodded, stopping near Maddie's feet to study them both with a critical eye. 'Sorry about the ear.'
Jon shrugged and stripped off his coat, wrapping it around Maddie. Now that her internal heat had disappeared, she was beginning to shiver. Her skin felt like ice; hypothermia was only a step away.
'It's a nick, nothing more. You called an ambulance?'
'Yeah. Looks like you both need one.' Mack stopped to light a cigarette. 'How, exactly, am I going to explain this?'
Jon glanced across at Eleanor's body. She was still more cat than human, trapped even in death by the white ash dagger. Like Hank, her body was beginning to disintegrate. By the time the coroner got here, there'd be little left. 'Don't try. Report the facts and let them come up with their own conclusions when they see her.'
Mack exhaled a long plume of smoke, then turned. Several men had entered the clearing, the paramedics among them.
'Help is here,' Jon said, smiling down at Maddie.
Her fingers wrapped around his and held on tight. Her touch, though icy, ran heat through his soul. But it was the accepting gleam in the tears in her eyes that was almost his undoing.
'Promise you won't leave without saying good-bye,' she said softly.
Such a simple request, and yet one that would take every ounce of his strength. It would be far easier to walk away now and never see her again. He stared at her face, trying to imprint every small detail in his mind.
'I won't leave without saying good-bye,' he said, and felt some of the tension ease away from her body.
But even as the medical officers separated them, he wasn't entirely sure he spoke the truth.
Chapter Twenty
'Maddie, are you listening to me?'
Maddie jumped, then rubbed a hand across her eyes and smiled grimly. She hadn't heard a word Jayne had said in the last five minutes, but she wasn't about to admit that.
'How's Evan coping?' she said, fiddling with the phone cord in an effort to gain a few extra inches so she could rest back against the pillows.
Jayne's sigh was a sound of frustration. 'You weren't listening.'
She grimaced. 'Sorry.'
'Evan's fine… mostly. He's still not talking to Steve, though.'
'I don't really blame him.' Her stupid brother-in-law wanted to take Evan to a psychologist. He couldn't accept the fact his son was gifted, preferring to think there was something mentally wrong with him. He was so like their father it was scary. And in her case, the only winner from her experience had been the psychologist's bank account.
'The police did recommend it,' Jayne said softly. 'He's still having nightmares.'
'Nightmares are natural, Jayne. It's only been three days since he escaped Eleanor's clutches.'
Three days, she thought, in which she hadn't seen Jon.
She bit her lip, letting her gaze move to the window. A sparrow scooted busily from one tree branch to another, chirping cheerfully. She wished she felt an eighth of his happiness.
'Still, it can't hurt,' Jayne murmured.
Anger flared. 'Oh for God's sake Jayne, get real,' she snapped. 'You know as well as I do that visiting the psychologist did nothing for me except make everything worse. Here I was, a kid with this amazing ability to see the future and light fires with just a thought, and that psychologist and our father made me feel like an abomination. Do you really want that for Evan?'
The phone hummed with silence for several seconds. Then Jayne sighed. 'No.'
'Then get a backbone and stand up for your son. He has gifts, Jayne, gifts that saved his life. Make Steve see that. Because if he doesn't, he'll push Evan away, and you'll both lose him.'
She'd seen it in her dreams. Had seen Evan walking away. It was a future that could be prevented only if Steve saw the error of his ways and stopped acting like such an ass.
'You've seen this?' There was a fearful edge in her sister's voice. Jayne no longer questioned Maddie's abilities, but in some ways, she still feared them. And rightly so, perhaps. They were far more dangerous than Evan's ever would be.
Maddie sighed. 'Yes.'
'Oh God, I don't want to lose him. I don't want him to end—' Jayne stopped speaking, but what she'd meant was clear enough. Don't want him to end up like you.
Maddie smiled grimly. It wasn't something she wanted, either.
Jayne cleared her throat. 'When are you getting out of the hospital?'
'Today.'
'We're heading home in a couple of days. I'll call you when we get back.'
'Fine,' Maddie said and hung up.
The nurse bustled into the room, her smile as white as her uniform. 'All dressed and ready to leave, I see.'
Maddie nodded. Three days spent under constant observation, with no one to talk to but nursing staff and cops asking too many questions, was more than enough. It was time to escape and go back home.
And do what? It was a question that had nagged at her since she'd awakened in the hospital—alone.
She no longer needed a retreat. She was willing to face her past, ready to accept responsibility for her gifts. She just didn't want to do it alone.
'I'll be back in a few minutes, then,' the nurse continued. 'With the wheelchair.'
She didn't bother answering—the woman had already bustled out the door. She stared out the window again. Where was Jon? It hurt that he hadn't bothered coming to see her, that he hadn't kept his promise and let her say good-bye. He'd simply left her clothes and her bag near her bed when she was asleep and had left the hospital. No one had seen him since, not even Mack.
She glanced down at the ring on her finger. For the first time she saw it was a hawk, etched over the shape of a heart. She twisted it around her finger gently and wondered why he hadn't even come back for the ring. He obviously valued it.
'Ready to go?'
The nurse's question jerked Maddie from her thoughts. She nodded a second time and hastily got off the bed, grabbing her bag and climbing into the wheelchair. The nurse wheeled her out of the room. Mack was waiting in the hall.
'Your truck is waiting out the front, but I can arrange a driver if you don't feel up to driving,' he said, falling into step beside the chair.
'I appreciate the offer, but I'm fine.' She held out her hand, and he shook it gravely. 'Thanks for everything.'
He smiled. 'The police will be in contact if we need any further information.'
She nodded. He'd already told her the case was basically closed. Eleanor's death had ensured that.
'You heading for home now?'
'I have two weeks' vacation coming. Might stay here a while and enjoy some surf fishing.'
