“Fuck it.” He didn’t care. He had plenty of his own money. The twenty million hadneverbeen for him. But Jacqueline, shewashis. Always. Forever. Everything else in the world could be replaced. But not her.
He pulled her toward the door. Kept tight to the screwdriver. Saw the gleaming edge of a gun on the floor and he started to snag that weapon.
But two figures burst through the doorway before he could. The reddish smoke was every damn where, so he could barely see them, and he brought up the screwdriver with a roar.
“Is that any way to greet your best friend?” Constantine demanded.
A shudder rippled over Remy.
“And a CIA agent,” a familiar voice added. “Couldn’t very well let you have a party without me. You know how I love tagging along on your adventures.”
Ty.The guy Remy had once thought of as a junior CIA operative. But the man had come into his own during their last assignment. In that moment, Remy had never been happier to see two people in his life. Mostly because…
Yeah, he’d had a shit ton of blood loss from his thigh.Did that bastard hit something vital?Remy sure as hell hoped not. But, just in case… “Priority,” Remy gasped out. “J-Jacqueline…”
“Yeah, I remember,” Constantine assured him as he waved a hand against the smoke that drifted in the small room. “She’s the center of your universe, and I swear I’ll get her out for you, buddy.”
Excellent. Because with that promise, Remy’s injured leg gave way, and he slammed into the floor.
***
“Remy!” Jacqueline jerked upright, his name a scream on her lips.
“It’s all right. You’re safe.” A woman in green scrubs leaned over and gave Jacqueline a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “You’re in the hospital, and everything is just fine.”
But things didn’t feel fine. Things felt incredibly blurry. She remembered being in the bar on Bourbon. Red smoke spilling from the exploding dye in the safe. And blood. A lot of blood.
Much of that blood had been streaming down Remy’s thigh. Jacqueline grabbed the hand of the woman—the nurse?—and held on tightly. “Where is Remy?”
The woman’s blond eyebrows rose. “Who is that? A friend of yours?”
“He—he’s…”Everything.“He should have been brought in with me.” Because he’d been hurt, and hurt people were taken to the hospital.
Concern flashed on the woman’s face but was quickly hidden. “My name is Debra,” she said. “I’m your nurse. You came in with a concussion. You took quite the blow to your temple, so it is understandable if you’re suffering a bit of confusion.” She tugged her hand free of Jacqueline’s grip. “Don’t worry. Your vitals all look great. The doctor is very pleased with your healing rate.” She gave a little hum. “Do you remember seeing the doctor?”
No, she didn’t. The last thing she remembered was seeing Remy collapse in front of her. “Where. Is. Remy?”
Debra darted back a step. “You weren’t brought in with anyone else. Some federal agents have been in and out, but no family. No friends.”
She didn’t have family. “Remy was hurt.”
Debra licked her lips. “If your friend was hurt, he wasn’t brought here. At least, not with you.”
“Remy.Rembrandt.I need to see him.” She had to make sure that he was all right. Her temples began to throb. Especially the one on the left. It throbbed hard with every beat of her heart.
“I’m sorry.” The nurse paused near the door. “But I don’t know about any Remy or Rembrandt. You were brought in alone, and federal agents said…they said that was how they found you. You were alone when they rescued you. Well, you were with Preston Guidry. It turns out that he was a very dangerous man.”
He was dangerous. But she hadn’t been alone with him. Remy had been there.
“I want Remy,” she said.
The door closed behind the nurse.
I need Remy.
Chapter Eighteen
The door jingled when the new customer stepped inside her bookstore. It had been two weeks since Jacqueline had woken up in the hospital, desperate for Remy, only to be told that…