Page 124 of Second Chance Savior

I staunched the bleeding as best I could, then carried Torres to my car. The unconscious Agent Rainey went in my trunk, hands and feet secured.

Charlie sat in the back seat with Torres, cradling his head in her lap. She’d protested that she was fine, but I’d insisted on putting a bandage from my first aid kit on that gash on her head.

“Hurry,” she said. “Please, River. We can’t let him die.”

“He won’t.”

In the rearview, I saw her wipe a tear. “You don’t know that.”

“On the contrary. Reality is what I say it is.”

That finally coaxed a smile out of her.

A couple hours later, I walked into Charlie’s room at Hart County General’s emergency department. Genevieve was sitting in the chair beside her, speaking quietly.

The lights were dimmed, but Charlie’s eyes lifted as soon as she saw me. “Any news?”

“Torres is still in surgery.” I took her hand, lifted it up, and kissed it. “But he’ll be fine.”

“You keep saying that.”

“Because I believe it. The guy is tough. Almost as tough as me.” I winked, and Charlie squeezed my hand.

They’d stitched up the gash on Charlie’s head and were monitoring her for a concussion. Doctors were seeing to Rainey too, though Owen had deputies waiting to arrest him.

Word had spread far too quickly: there had been another attempt on the lieutenant governor’s life. Owen was keeping a tight lid on the identity of her attacker, but reporters had already descended on the hospital. They’d never really left the county. The FBI was calling. The governor’s office. Everyone wanting to know what the hell was going on in Hartley.

The truth could leak any moment. Which could lead to more revelations than we were ready for. Like the list of Stillwater moles I had just decrypted. The list we hadn’t decided how to handle yet.

Genevieve wanted to publish the thing. So did my hacker friend Cerberus, which was why I hadn’t given him access yet. Brynn wanted us to turn it over to her bosses.

As for me? I just wanted to grab on to Charlie and get her back to my secluded cabin. Hold on to her, keep her safe, never let her go. Give her so much love and cuddles and tenderness that she forgot the horror she’d experienced today.

I’d come so close to losing her, and in the end, I hadn’t saved her. She’d saved herself.

Ihad left her vulnerable. Rationally, we had believed Charlie was safe in Hartley. Safe with her FBI agent friends. But my gut still churned with all the blame I aimed at myself.

“I need to get out of here,” Charlie said. “I can’t just sit in a hospital bed. There’s way too much going on.”

I sat on the mattress beside her, reaching out to trace my thumb across her cheek. “Okay, sweetheart. How about Genevieve creates a diversion for us, and we make a break for it. We won’t tell anyone where we’re going. We can disappear for a few days again, just you and me.”

“I’m not kidding. I need to get to work dealing with this situation before it blows up even more.” She smiled weakly. “If you want to be my favorite person ever, you’ll make that happen.”

Ihadn’tbeen kidding. But I grinned, shrugged like I was sayingyou got me, and turned to Genevieve. “Her favorite person ever if I do what she wants. You see how manipulative she is?”

Gen snorted. “Then you two are perfect for each other, aren’t you?”

I kissed Charlie’s hand again, but her eyes slid away from me. “Please, River. Find a nurse for me? Use your powers of persuasion.”

“You just don’t want them complaining to the media that the lieutenant governor is a difficult patient.” I set her hand gently on her lap. “I’ll see what I can do.”

I went out to the hallway. The moment Charlie couldn’t see me, I leaned into the wall and rubbed a hand over my face. I was exhausted. I’d barely slept in days. And I couldn’t take away all the burdens on the woman I loved, and that knowledge was tearing me up inside.

Then my phone rang, and I checked my screen.

Ross.

Oh, hell.

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