Slenderman by CeeRee Fields (good novels to read TXT) 📗

“He’s called in the cavalry to set up roadblocks and checkpoints, but I think he’s too late. She’s had a lot of practice getting in and out without leaving a trace.”

“Years,” Jo added succinctly. Her thoughts were interrupted by the snapping of the stretcher being unfolded.

“We need to get him to the hospital,” one of the paramedics said.

“I’m riding with him,” Rhys stated packing up his med bag and setting it next to the couch.

“Me too,” Rian piped up.

Sighing, Jo stepped in. “I’m going too. Rhys needs to ride with the paramedics, Ri since he has medical power of attorney for Evan. We’ll follow them in Rhys’s Audi.”

“I’ll bring my SUV in case anyone needs to leave early,” Lisa replied from the doorway.

With a plan in place, they walked out of the pool house. Rhys never looked back at her, never acknowledged her. She didn’t know if their relationship would survive this. It was one thing for her to face a killer. It was quite another for Rian to play a superhero.

~ ~ ~

Jo found a quiet hallway away from Evan’s room. Rhys hadn’t looked at her once in three hours they’d been there. Where she would have been next to him, in this instance, he was across the room holding Evan’s hand and offering comfort to Rian. It was as if a vast gulf had opened between them and it was her fault.

If she had not left her office door open for Rian to see those pictures in the beginning, he would never have been involved. If she’d not asked for him and Evan for a list. Something innocent had snowballed into a nightmare.

With her back to the wall, she slid down to the floor and rested her forearms on her raised knees. Tears pushed at the back of her throat, but she refused to shed them. Would Rhys end it? Walk away from her this time? She’d thought for sure after the Skinned case Rhys would leave her, but he’d stayed even after getting shot. The difference was Rhys had been in danger and not Rian.

“What the hell are you doing down there?”

“Go away, Karma.”

“Yeah, because that always works.” Karma plopped down next to Jo and stretched her legs out. “Why are you out here and not in there helping your man?”

“Rhys is going to leave me.”

Karma jolted. “What? Why?”

Jo raked her hand through her hair, dislodging several chunks from the twist she kept it in. “I got his brother involved in this case. It’s my fault Evan’s hurt and if Kyle hadn’t called me, Rian, Evan, and Lisa would be dead.”

“Exactly,” Rhys said

She jumped. When had he gotten there?

Karma scrambled to her feet. “Well, you two have this in hand.” And she hurried down the hallway, giving Jo a thumbs up behind Rhys’s back.

Rhys took Karma’s place. “Do you really think I’d leave you over this?”

Jo ran a hand over her eyes ignoring the need to fall into his arms and release the tension that wound tighter and tighter the longer they were in this place. She hated everything about hospitals. The antiseptic smells, the constant noise, and all the eyes. Eyes that felt as if they were weighing her guilt and misery and finding her lacking in each. Needing to be honest with him, she ripped it off quick like a Band-Aid. “Yes.”

His muscled arm wrapped around her shoulder and pulled her into his side. “Jesus hon, why? What have I done that would make you question my love for you?”

“It’s not your love for me. It’s all the crap I’ve brought into your life since we got together.”

“You mean all the laughter? The fun we have wherever we are even if it’s just driving to the grocery store and belting out whatever Halestorm song is playing? Your crazy family? You helping me to achieve my dream of becoming a Pediatrician? The amazing sex—”

“No. Me getting thrown down a ravine and you having to take care of me while my arm healed. You getting kidnapped and shot and ending up in ICU for over a week. All the crazy stuff that happens when I’m working and even when I’m off the clock. Because a cop is a never-ending job, because there are always people who do bad things to other people. Whether I’m on duty or off.” She pushed deeper into him, absorbing the ocean and mint scent she associated with him. “Now, Rian—”

“I don’t blame you for any of that.”

She snorted, but it came out more as a sniffle. “After we found Evan, you looked at me as if I was shit on your shoe.”

“I was in shock. And if you saw blame or accusations in my eyes, it was at myself, not you. I should have let you fill him in more. It was my blindness in thinking if he had no information, he wouldn’t do anything.”

“That’s true. Your brother needs to see things through, especially when it touches on his friends.” The tension slowly ebbed from her when she realized he wasn’t angry at her but at himself.

“As for Rian, you did exactly what we talked about after he saw those photos. You locked your door, had Redden and Ian doing the same so as not to drag my brother further into this mess. You didn’t discuss the case around him or Evan no matter how many times they pressured you over dinner, breakfast, and any other time they caught you.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “I played a part in this, but them setting Evan up as bait. That’s on them. Rian knows he’s in deeper than a night in the dog house. He’ll be lucky if he’s allowed to play a video game after I get done with him.”

“He and Evan both need consequences.”

“Yeah.” He dragged her onto his lap and nestled her against his chest.

She peered up at him from under her lashes. “If you want me to quit my job,