Page 87 of Reacher
“Don’t mind him, love. He’s shutting up now.”
She took a breath. “I just wanted to let you know that if you remain stable, we’ll probably be able to release you in the morning, Mr uh…Reacher.”
I grinned widely. “Thank you, darlin’. That’s the kinda news a man needs.”
She frowned at both of us.
“Of course, it’s the early hours of the morning, and instead of resting, you’re sitting talking about… stuff… and drinking… drinking coffee?” She heaved a huge sigh.
“You were advised to avoid caffeine.”
Shit. I tried another grin. “It’s his. He needs a lot of it, see, so I’m just helping him out by holding his spare. I might have sniffed it though. Does that count?”
She eased the paper cup out of my hands.
“Lie to yourself when you’re out of here, Reacher. We’re trying to make you better. You’ll be leaving with a long list of advisories, to try and avoid this, or worse, happening in the future, so rather than being a stubborn man, maybe you should actually try following them.” She left before I could complain about her stealing my coffee.
“I blame you.” I jabbed a finger in Ryder’s direction, and he sighed, slumping further in his seat.
Twenty-Nine
Iwaswokenthenextmorning, after a fitful night of regularly waking because of random noises around the ward, and freakish dreams that I didn’t even want to think about.
What woke me though? A warm hand suddenly grasping mine, and one word…
“Woman…”
My eyes popped open, and blurred briefly, before they settled on a face I never thought I’d see again. He was really here. Alive, and here with me!
“Reacher…” My voice was barely a croak, and his face tightened angrily, as he took in the bruising on my face, and throat.
“I’m so sorry, woman. I fucking failed you.”
I took in his appearance, now that my vision was clear. He looked worn out, paler than normal, his beard was even more grizzly than normal, and he was leaning on the bed a little more heavily than he normally would.
“Sit, please.” He moved slowly around the bed, and dropped with a heavy sigh into the chair beside me, taking my other hand.
“I was so scared,” I blurted, watching his face fall.
“I’m so sorry. You should never have been in danger like that, should have never been within that bastard’s reach. I talk up a big game, but I let you down.”
“Jesus, will you shut up?”
He frowned and glared at the same time, which was pretty impressive, and made me smile.
“I meant I was so scared because they told me you were dead. I didn’t want to live without you.”
He cursed, leaning closer to press his lips against my hand, his beard tickling my skin.
“He’s gonna pay for that, woman.”
“I don’t understand what happened to get me away from him, but I’m grateful. More than that, I’m so fucking relieved that you’re alive. You’re a fucking asshole for scaring me like that.”
His eyes widened. “Damn, woman, I didn’t do it on purpose!”
“I guess you’re gonna have to avoid sex and stuff now, being old and weakened.”
His grip tightened on my hand.
