Page 73 of London
She’d read once that a woman defeats everything, and then cries. It seemed it was her time to cry, because she couldn’t stem the tears sliding down her cheeks.
“Don’t cry,chérie.” Gerard reached out a hand to her and she clasped it. An intravenous tube ran from a bag of clear liquid into his arm. She hoped it contained quality pain medication and antibiotics.
He was pale, so pale that even his lips were colorless, but he smiled at her. Linda sat gingerly on the edge of the bed and kissed his hand.
“How do you feel?”
“Woozy from the drugs, but I told you it wasn’t serious.”
She wanted to smack him. “Really? You lost two pints of blood and fainted!”
“I wouldn’t have fainted if you hadn’t pushed me hard enough to send me head first into the coffee table,” he argued.
“I was trying to save your life,” she grumbled. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” The last word came out as a whisper, her throat so clogged with emotion she could barely speak.
“I know. And you did,” he said softly. “You’re my hero. What happened? I can only remember bits and pieces, I don’t know the whole story.”
“Do you remember talking to the police?”
“Maybe. You called them right after you shot Tony.” He moistened his lips. “Is he dead?”
“No.” Linda looked down at his hand, stroking it gently. She searched her heart, looking for some positive emotion aimed at her husband but came up empty. “The doctors say he’ll survive.”
“I’m glad,” Gerard said, squeezing her hand weakly. “I wouldn’t want you to have his death on your conscience. Besides, I want him to spend a long life in prison, although I have no idea how we’ll get him there. It’s his word against ours.”
Linda shook her head, feeling a little smug. “It’s more than that. I told the police everything that Tony said to me. They went to question Jane Orwell. She must’ve known what Tony planned to do because she had her solicitor with her. The lawyer started talking even before the police did, offering to make a deal.”
Gerard chuckled. “Typical. I’ve always assumed she would sell out her own mother to save her ass.”
“Well, she sold out Tony, and that’s all I care about. Jane’s providing the police with all the evidence they’ll need. They have the name of the man Tony hired to break into your flat and follow us in Romania. Ricardo Barro. He’s low level muscle for the mob. He has a record, so the police hope to track him down soon. Detective Inspector Patterson was here earlier. He’ll see the case through since it was his because of the break-in.” Linda took a breath, then continued. “He’s very concerned about the gun. I had no idea handguns were illegal here. Many people have them in Italy for self-protection. That’s why Tony had a few. He never went anywhere without two, sometimes more. I didn’t know what to tell Patterson other than you had it, and I took it from you after Tony had shot you.”
Gerard started to shrug, but winced. Obviously, the medication wasn’t blocking all the pain.
“It wasn’t mine. I’ve never used one. It’s a good thing you knew what to do.”
“If it wasn’t yours, where did it come from?”
“From Tony.”
Her brow furrowed. “I don’t understand.”
“I hurried to feed the fish and change my shirt. I couldn’t have been any more than fifteen minutes behind you. When I got to your house I went to check on my car. I thought I might’ve left some mail in it the night of the robbery. I went around back and saw a rental car. I checked the door and saw it was unlocked. I opened the glove box to see who had rented it, who might be in the house with you, and found bloody tissues as well as a handgun. The tissues made me think it was Tony. I had this sudden feeling that you were in danger, so I grabbed the gun, stuck it in the back of my pants, and let myself into the house with the key you’d given me. You know the rest.” He looked into her eyes, squeezing her hand with all his strength. “If anything had happened to you, Linda, I… I wouldn’t survive. I love you more than life itself.”
Tears brimmed in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks, as she pressed his hand against her face. She was ready to fall apart. He was the only thing holding her together.
“I love you, too,” she whispered. “Tony threatened to kill me if I didn’t call you and tell you to come, but I would never have called you.”
“I know. I heard everything when I let myself in, praying you were still okay. I stood in the hallway and listened.”
“You should’ve called the police.”
“There wasn’t enough time. Besides, I had his gun. I’m not sure what possessed me to look in that car, but it was the best decision I’ve ever made.”
Linda scoffed. “Isn’t it ironic? I shot the bastard with his own gun. I wonder who he intended to kill with it. Mrs. Orwell, maybe?”
“I doubt he’ll tell us. We may never know.”
The nurse came in and reminded her that Gerard needed to rest. Linda bent and kissed him gently, drawing strength from the touch of his lips, telling herself they would be together soon, and could leave all of this mess behind them.
