“How generous,” Derek said wryly. “And so cooperative, too.”
“Better late than never.”
He shot her a sideways look. “You stopped long enough to retrieve the weapon?”
“I didn’t want him grabbing it. So I did.”
Derek released the emergency brake. “We’ll talk later. You look like you’re about to faint again.”
She felt like it.
“Here. Drink this.” Before Derek shifted into reverse, he handed her a can of cranberry juice and a straw he’d grabbed on the way out. “Just sip. It’ll help.”
She took the can gratefully. “Thank you—for everything.”
“Don’t thank me. I still might kill you.” He grunted as he backed out of the two-car garage, then headed down the driveway. “I must be crazy to be in love with you.”
“Probably.” Sloane smiled faintly, taking a sip of juice. “But I’m glad you are. I was counting on it tipping the scales in my favor when you decided whether or not to kill me.”
“I wouldn’t get too cocky. I doubt I’ll feel so magnanimous once I know you’re okay, and once you’ve told me what happened and why.” Derek shook his head as Sloane opened her mouth to fill him in. “Not now. Just drink your juice and rest. We’ll talk later.”
“A reprieve. Thanks.” Sloane leaned back against the headrest again, shock slowly transforming to weariness. “I’m really beat. If it wasn’t for the pain, I’d be nodding off.”
It was the last thing she said before they reached the hospital.
She never felt Derek take the can of juice out of her hand and put it in the cup holder. She was out for the count.
Sloane hated hospitals. Particularly the ER. Nightmarish memories besieged her the minute she inhaled that antiseptic hospital smell. Fortunately, this visit was short.
Derek filled out the paperwork, and the wait wasn’t nearly as long as it could have been. The doctor who treated her administered a local anesthetic. Then, he cleaned out the three-inch gash, stitched it up, and bandaged it.
“You were lucky,” he informed her. “It’s a nasty wound, but it only penetrated the flesh. All blood vessels, muscles, and tendons are intact. I’m going to give you a tetanus shot, just to be on the safe side. I’m also goin
g to prescribe an antibiotic to prevent infection, and Percocet for the pain. Make sure to change the bandage daily, and keep it dry for the first three days. I’ll remove the sutures in ten days, so make an appointment. And call immediately if you have any major bleeding or swelling.”
“I will. Thank you, Doctor.” Sloane waited while he administered the shot and wrote the prescription. Then, she slid off the table and onto her feet, so relieved that her hand wasn’t affected that the pain in her forearm seemed insignificant.
“And get some rest,” the doctor added.
“She will,” Derek assured him. He guided Sloane out, signed whatever release papers were necessary, and picked up the two prescriptions.
Fifteen minutes later, they were in the car and on their way home.
The silence was more ominous than the impending fight.
“Are we waiting until we get home to get into it?” Sloane asked. “Because we’ve got a twenty-minute drive, and I’d just as soon start the explosion now.”
“You’ve already been through one ordeal tonight,” Derek replied curtly. “I figured the second could wait until morning.”
“That won’t work. By morning, you’ll have to file a report and make some decisions. As for me, I’m tired, but I’m fine. The Percocet is starting to work, so the pain is dulling. But that also means I’ll be dulling along with it. So let me fill you in now, while I’m still coherent. You can kill me later, after the narcotics kick in.”
“Fine. Go for it.”
Sloane started from the beginning. Her morning visit to her parents. The interviewing of those on their list. The sense that she was being followed. The confirmation that she was, and by whom. The way she’d made sure he knew what she was doing, and why.
Finally, with no apology in her voice, she told Derek about the way she’d baited the Red Dragon kid. Her ruse. Her invented role as an insurance investigator. Her talk with the other victims of Xiao’s burglaries, based on the fact that they all had works of art stolen. Her pretense about going to the NYPD with some alleged information that she’d fabricated. And the subsequent knife attack by Xiao’s punk in the deserted section of woods right down the road.
Derek listened to the entire story without interruption.