Page 7 of Ozzie

“If he’s not in custody, we need to know. He might come after her again.”

Adams reaches into his pocket and hands me his card. “Give me a call in a few hours and I’ll let you know.”

I’m surprised by his change in demeanor. Instead of treating me like a suspect, he’s being helpful. Well, I shouldn’t question it. “Thank you.”

He nods, and they leave.

“She must be awake if they talked to her,” Axel says.

A nurse leads us back to a bed that is only blocked off by a curtain. When she pulls the curtain open, I’m struck by Piper’s appearance. The bruise on her cheek has darkened, and it looks painful.

As I step into her space, her eyes meet mine.

“Hi,” she says.

I take her hand in mine.

“I didn’t mean what I said. I lied because John was there.”

“I know.”

“I really, really like you. I’m sorry I’ve been holding back.” She slurs her words a little.

They likely have her on painkillers, which means she might say more than she’d normally say, especially if she’s like her cousin, Durango. As much as I want to hear what she has to say, I need her to be lucid whenever we discuss the possibility of us.

“Is John in this hospital?” she asks.

I don’t want to tell her, but he is. “Yeah, but he’s not going anywhere. He’s in surgery.”

She nods. “So, he can’t get to my room?”

The fear in her eyes guts me. “No, he can’t. I’ll stay here and make sure of it.”

Her eyes grow heavy. “Thank you.” She falls asleep, and I simply stare at her.

We were going to talk to Durango when he returns about us dating. The man has been against the idea. Even though we haven’t asked him about it, he makes it clear to me weekly she’s off-limits.

I don’t understand why he’s so against us, but I hope I can change his mind. When I found Piper shot, the first thought through my mind was that I couldn’t lose her. The second thought was how much time we’ve wasted trying to be just friends. Life is too short, and I don’t want to wait any longer to be with this woman.

CHAPTER 3

Piper

Only one nightin the hospital for a gunshot wound. That sounds dramatic. I’m sure if I’d been shot somewhere more serious, they’d want to keep me longer. I’m thankful to be home and even more thankful John was arrested. But that doesn’t stop Ozzie from insisting on staying here. Not that this is his first choice.

“Seriously, we should stay at my place. The security at my condo is great.”

“You said John was arrested. We’ll be fine here.”

“What if he wasn’t here alone?”

I’m sitting on the couch with my leg up on the ottoman. Taking it easy has never been my thing, so I’m going a bit stir-crazy.

“He was alone. He’d never let anyone else see this side of him. Trust me.”

Ozzie sits next to me and takes my hand in his. “Can you tell me about him? How did you end up dating a guy like that?”

I blow out a breath. “It’s a long story.”

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