Page 106 of Preying Heart
A model home. I asked Heath to stay with me, but he opted to bunk with Justin whose wife is a nurse. At least I have Glock and Lucy to keep me company.
I suppose a man has to have his pride, and Heath doesn’t want me to be the one helping him around on a wheelchair. His wounds require him to pack the bullet’s track with saline gauze three to four times a day. There’s danger of infection and pretty much a burn path into his muscles, blood vessels, and nerves. They say six months for the flesh to heal from the inside out, and then there’s physical therapy.
The shoulder will take ten to twelve weeks, and the broken bone at least six weeks.
I’d gladly take care of him if he’d let me.
He hasn’t said anything about giving me the ring or even any indication of remembering what he said in the recovery room. The nurses warned me that he could forget—that they tell patients not to enter into any contracts or make promises while still under the influence of the anesthesia.
Lucy assures me he remembers but is too prideful to propose until he’s able to get down on his knee to do it properly.
“They’re coming over today.” She hands me a cup of tea. “Your mother and brother.”
“Right. I guess they got all their legal problems fixed?” I’m still mourning my baby and out of sorts, not knowing what exactly happened during the time Gavin took me and Lucy out to the Farm.
“Complete immunity in exchange for their testimony,” Lucy says, sitting down next to me. “Claudia has lawyered up. She’s claiming victim status and disavows Gavin. He’s not going to be making bail this time. Judge deems him a flight risk, and his mother’s been begging to see you.”
“I don’t want to be near her.” I sip on the tea and stare at the swirl of steam. “I just want to be with Heath. I know he doesn’t want me to see him like this, but how can I convince him to let me in?”
“He can’t stay with Justin forever,” Lucy says. “I’m sure he’ll come around once he realizes he’s hurting you by pushing you away.”
“He doesn’t remember the moments in the recovery room.”
“Give him time. He’ll come around. The important thing is we’re safe. They caught Gavin with the unedited recording of him coaching you to tell Slade to kill Claudia and make it look like an accident. He can’t squirm out of it this time, and get this, he might have hired the hit on his father by using his father’s own Bitcoin.”
“How’d he do that?” I rub my bleary eyes. “Did his dad give him his secret key?”
“Apparently his dad trusted him. Asked him to help engineer his disappearance. Of course, Gavin did it his way. He emptied the wallet, but not before someone else stole a Bitcoin and transferred it to Heath. Or maybe his dad did the transfer. We’ll never know.”
Mention of Heath dispels the fog in my brain. “The Big Dude. Did we figure out who he is? What if he was in cahoots with Stan Greasley?”
“Maybe Stan wanted to save his grandchild.” Lucy picks up on my train of thought. “Maybe he asked the Big Dude to hire a bounty hunter to protect you.”
“This makes my head hurt. I’d better take a shower and get ready before the family reunion. I want Heath to be here. He was there when Slade was almost run over.”
I take out my phone and text Heath our good morning message.Hey, big guy. Slade and my mother are coming over. I need you here to fill in the blanks. You up to it? Love, Remi
It feels good to use theLword. I’m going to keep it on my lips and never let it get away.
I’m in love with Heath Ruger, and love has set me free.
Heath
The haze of pain keeps me awake at night, but I can’t cry out. I can’t burden anyone with my broken body. Justin’s wife, Wendy, is an angel, but I can’t rely on her forever.
Six months before I can walk.
Packing my flesh wound is hard with one hand, but I have to do it on my own.
I pull myself, one-handed into the wheelchair. If I hadn’t broken my arm and dislocated my shoulder, I’d be more functional. But this can’t go on forever.
The interviews with the police. Giving depositions to Slade’s lawyer. Over and over, meticulously recalling the events as I recall them. Slade’s lucky to be alive. When I shot out Gavin’s front tire, the truck plowed into me and turned over, barely missing crushing Slade underneath. I was thrown clear over it, and Glock was tossed from the tailgate. Thank God he survived. I was sure he was a goner. I owe my life to that brave dog—the one my buddy gave me. Seeing Glock brought the war back to him and triggered his PTSD. I miss Glock, but he’s doing his job keeping Remi and Lucy safe in that penthouse.
It takes me all morning to sponge bathe and redress my thigh. I have to pick out every bit of used gauze. Then dip new strips into saline solution. The worst part is pushing it in with a six-inch Q-tip. The pain’s never muted, not even with the painkillers. I don’t want to be an addict so I make do with a lower dosage.
I’m sweating bullets by the time Wendy checks on me with a tray of food. She has to work the evening shift, so she should be resting rather than serving me.
“I can finish that for you,” she volunteers. “By the way, your girlfriend misses you. She texted just now. She wants to see you.”
