Chương 3
Rafe looked at her.
“You laughed.”
“Unfortunately.”
“That sounds like a threat.”
“It is a fact.”
June shook her head.
“You two are strange.”
Neither answered.
That made it worse.
The hospital lights were too bright.
Rafe hated them.
He hated the smell of disinfectant.
He hated the waiting.
He hated the way strangers touched him without knowing what he was capable of.
Mostly, he hated lying still.
Tessa noticed.
“You are trying to escape.”
“I am sitting.”
“You are mentally escaping.”
“That is not a medical diagnosis.”
“It is when the patient keeps looking at the door every twelve seconds.”
Rafe looked away.
She checked the monitor.
“You really did that.”
“Did what?”
“Count.”
“I did not.”
“You are a terrible liar for someone who scares so many people.”
That almost earned another smile.
Almost.
A nurse entered with paperwork.
“Mr. Calder, I need your emergency contact information.”
Rafe reached for the form.
The nurse hesitated.
“You can fill it out later.”
“I can do it now.”
She looked at his injury.
“Probably not.”
The exchange was ordinary.
Small.
Almost boring.
Tessa watched his expression change when the nurse walked away.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You hate needing help.”
His eyes moved toward the ceiling.
“Everyone hates needing help.”
“No.”
She adjusted the blanket over his legs.
“Some people just hate being seen needing help.”
The room became quiet.
Rafe looked older for a moment.
Not weaker.
Just tired.
“You always analyze people?”
“Only when they make it obvious.”
“I make things obvious?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“You walk into a room and everyone changes.”
“That is useful.”
“It is lonely.”
The words landed harder than she expected.
Rafe did not answer.
The monitor continued its steady rhythm.
A cart rolled past the hallway.
Someone laughed at the nurses’ station.
A child cried somewhere near the pediatric wing.
Life continued without caring that a powerful man was sitting in a hospital bed.
After several minutes, Rafe spoke.
“Why did you become a nurse?”
Tessa looked surprised.
“That is a strange question.”
“You asked strange questions first.”
She looked down at her hands.
The small scar near her thumb was almost invisible unless someone knew where to look.
“I liked fixing things.”
“People are not things.”
“No.”
A pause.
“They are harder.”
Rafe waited.
She did not continue.
Most people would have pushed.
He did not.
That was something she noticed.
“My father was a mechanic,” she said eventually.
“He could take apart an engine and put it back together without looking at a manual.”
“That sounds useful.”
“He thought people were the same.”
Rafe watched her.
“They are not.”
“No.”
She folded a wrapper from a medical supply into a smaller square.
“My brother joined the military because he wanted to prove he was not afraid.”
“And?”
“He was not afraid.”
The way she said it made Rafe stop asking.
The silence afterward was not uncomfortable.
It was careful.
Then the door opened.
A detective in a dark suit stepped inside.
“Mr. Calder.”
Rafe’s face changed immediately.
Professional.
Cold.
Controlled.
The man noticed Tessa.
“Can we speak privately?”
“No.”
The detective glanced at him.
“I did not ask you.”
Rafe’s eyes narrowed.
Tessa felt the room shift.
Not because of anger.
Because two people used to authority had met.
“I am his medical witness,” Tessa said.
The detective looked at her.
“You saw the shooting?”
“No.”
“Then you are not a witness.”
“I saw his condition afterward.”
“That is not relevant to the investigation.”
“It is if someone caused his condition.”
The detective studied her.
Then looked back at Rafe.
“Your employee, Victor Salazar, is missing.”
Rafe’s expression did not change.
But his hand tightened around the blanket.
“Victor would not do this.”
The detective opened a folder.
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“Because everyone who knows him says he is loyal.”
Rafe waited.
“And everyone who checked his access logs says he was inside that building with a weapon.”
Tessa watched the detective carefully.
He was not accusing.
Not yet.
He was testing.
“Where is Victor now?” Rafe asked.
“We are trying to find out.”
“That means you do not know.”
“That means someone inside your organization may have planned an attack and disappeared before we arrived.”
Rafe looked toward the window.
The city lights reflected faintly against the glass.
“Find him before anyone else does.”
The detective frowned.
“Is that a warning?”
“No.”
Rafe looked back.
“It is advice.”
The detective left without another word.
Tessa waited until the door closed.
Then she spoke.
“You believe him.”
Rafe looked at her.
“Victor?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you answered too quickly.”
“That means nothing.”
“It means something.”
She sat down in the chair beside the bed.
“You trusted him before you checked the evidence.”
Rafe looked away.
“I know my people.”
“People change.”
“Sometimes.”
“Sometimes they were always different than we thought.”
The words stayed between them.
Because both of them understood they were not only talking about Victor.
The words stayed between them.
Because both of them understood they were not only talking about Victor.
The detective returned two hours later with news that made the room feel smaller.
“Your employee’s vehicle was found near the waterfront.”
Rafe sat up despite the pain.
Tessa immediately noticed.
The monitor changed before his face did.
“What condition?”
The detective looked at him.
“Empty.”
“Blood?”
“No.”
“Weapon?”
“Not in the vehicle.”
Rafe leaned back.
“That means nothing.”
“It means he left in a hurry.”
“Or someone wanted it to look that way.”
The detective folded his arms.
“You seem very certain.”
“I seem informed.”
“You seem protective.”
Rafe’s eyes sharpened.
“Be careful.”
The detective did not move.
“About what?”
“Confusing suspicion with evidence.”
Tessa watched the exchange quietly.
She had seen men with power argue before.
Most of them relied on volume.
Rafe relied on patience.
That was somehow more intimidating.
The detective eventually left.
The moment the door closed, Tessa spoke.
“You did it again.”
“Did what?”
“Changed the subject.”
Rafe looked at her.
May you like
“I answered.”
“No.”
