“I ain’t used to a woman tellin’ me what to do,” he grumbled.
“Think of it as a suggestion,” she teased. “I’ll call your room once they get you to Mercy. You’ll be needing some jammies and stuff.”
His expression snapped back to angry in a heartbeat. “You’re gonna stay the fuck away ‘til I say otherwise, just like we talked about. Got it, doll?”
She froze in place just inside the doorway. He could tell she was shocked by his anger. Fuck, why couldn’t he dial it down a notch?
“Any idea why you’re suddenly so annoyed?” Her head was tilted to the side and her expressions more curious than angry. Most chicks would be running for the hills. This one at least had enough of a heart to cut him some damn slack after everything he’d been through. That spoke volumes about the kind of woman she was.
His eyes held hers as he tried to articulate what was eating at him. “’Cause you’re not listening to me, and I don’t like repeating myself.” The words were tossed out with no heat this time. Glancing away, he finished, “If you keep sticking your nose in my business before I’m at full strength, you’re likely to wind up dead.” His voice broke. “You can’t be dead, sugar. You just might be my one, and I’d die if that bastard put so much as a scratch on your skin.”
She nodded, a small smile forming. “I get it. You’re being protective in your own screwed-up way.” Fuck, her voice sounded almost cheerful. “Just remember, you catch more flies with honey.”
“Work with me here, doll. I can only take so much stress.” If Ryder could hear the desperation in his own voice, so could she.
Nodding, she headed out of the bay with that little smile still playing on her face. Shit, that woman was something else, and he was circling back around to her as soon as it was safe.
The pretty little thing was in and out several times in rapid succession before dropping a kiss on his lips and heading home for the day. He gave her fifteen minutes to be sure she was gone and then headed to the nurse’s station. Twenty minutes of ruckus later and he was strolling out the door. Well, it was more like hobbling with dignity, but at least he was a free man again.
Ticking off his priorities kept them clearly in mind on a day when he was not only limping but light-headed. First, he needed to stay out of sight as much as possible. Second, he needed to buy more ammo. For some reason, when they gave back his gun there were no bullets in the clip. He always counted his shots. According to his calculation, he should have had at least four bullets left. Even though he hadn’t gotten off a shot during the altercation with Ace that landed him in the damned hospital, he had earlier that day. The bottom line was, carrying an empty gun was no kind of protection at all.
The one and only silver lining in an otherwise shit situation was the knowledge that the pretty little nurse was miles away.
Tiffany sat in her SUV listening to her favorite music mix. Ryder was not fooling anyone with all the bullshit about complying with Dr. Cole’s transfer order. Her women’s intuition told her the man had no intention of going to Mercy Medical. He needed a swift kick in the pants for thinking he could fight off a killer all on his own when he wasn’t even stable on his feet. He was a serious badass; there was no doubt about that. However, he needed to hold up somewhere and recuperate before something bad happened to him.
Seeing him staggering out of the emergency room was verification of her worst suspicions. The stubborn fool was dripping sweat and limping as he tried to make his way down the street. Something in her chest tightened when he reached up to shove his sweaty hair out of his face. Starting her SUV, she pulled up beside him and rolled down the window.
“If I’d been a snake, I’d have bitten you.”
Panicking slightly, he jerked his head around. “What the fuck are you doing here, Tiff? We talked about this.”
Rolling her eyes, she just knew he was looking for his killer. “He’s not here. I’ve been keeping an eye out for you. Besides, we didn’t talk. You talked and I just listened. Get in. I want to have my say.”
Cursing under his breath, he swung himself around the other side of her vehicle and climbed into the passenger seat.
“Buckle up, hon. You’ve had a pretty rough time of it as of late. We wouldn’t want you to get injured if I have to brake hard.”
“What part of ‘being around me is dangerous’ don’t you understand?”
“The part about how you plan to defend yourself when you can barely walk.”
“I’ve got to end this,” he insisted.
“You can get back to shooting up the west once you’re fully recovered.”
“You sure the fuck are not just taking me home with you. Get your head around that fact right goddamn now.”
“Do you always curse so much? It’ not your best feature,” she replied calmly.
“Yeah, babe, we both know what you think my best feature is.”
“Your eyes.”
“Thought I was tasty.”
She bit down on her bottom lip. “You are. You have the most beautiful brown eyes, though. Can’t get them out of my mind.”
Looking out the back window, he murmured, “That’s real nice, doll. I need to stop somewhere to buy bullets.”