Safe With Him (39 page)

Bree sat in the empty hospital room on the bench-seat at the window, knees drawn up, arms wrapped around her legs, and her head laid on top her knees, staring out the window. When the door opened for a split second her heart gave a little jump, then came crashing down when Cole walked through the door instead of Draco. She should just give up on all thoughts of Draco coming anywhere near her after the way she treated him, the way she spoke to him.
I’m sure he hates me by now
, she thought. She raised her head and smiled a little at Cole as he walked through the door and over to her.

“Hey, sweetheart. Where’s Storm off to?” Cole asked quietly with that same sad smile he always gave her as he sat down beside her.

“They took him down to x-ray. Wanted to see if the swelling has gone down any.”

“And you’re here alone? Where’s everybody else?”

“I told them I was going down to x-ray with Storm but when we got down there it was going to take a while, so I was told to come back up.”

“You were wandering around the hospital alone?” Cole bit out a little harshly.

“No, cowboy, the cop at the door, what’s his name, Ryder? He was with me the whole time.”

“Oh, well, that’s good. Now, how many times I gotta tell you? I’m not a cowboy.”

She smiled a little. She had been teasing Cole off and on about the cowboy outfit he had worn when they first met. “You looked like a cowboy to me.”

“Because I was undercover,” he stated with his usual fake exasperation. “Have you seen me dress like that since?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I think you’ve got a closet full of cowboy attire that you break out when you think no one is looking.”

“Is that what you think?” He chuckled. “I’ve a secret cowboy thing goin’ on?”

“Yep.” She giggled. “You’re a closet cowboy, but it’s okay.” She reached out and patted his cheek. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

“Storm ever tell you, you’re a brat?” Shaking his head, he chuckled.

“Not me,” she forged innocently, “I’m way too sweet.” She giggled because she couldn’t seem to hold a straight face.

Then the door opened and an orderly wheeled Storm’s bed where a still unconscious Storm lay. Bree jumped up and went over to the opposite side of the bed as the orderly and started firing off questions. “How is he? Is there any change? Has the swelling gone down?”

“Bree, give the man a second to answer,” Cole said as he stepped up beside her and placed his arm around her middle.

“Sorry. Has the swelling gone down?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, I’m an orderly. I was only asked to bring the patient back to his room from radiology. I don’t know his condition, but I’m sure the doctor will be in shortly to speak to you.”

“Oh, right.” Bree sighed. “Sorry and thank you.”

The orderly looked at her for a beat before he gave her a small sympathetic smile. “I hope everything goes well.”

“Thank you,” Bree and Cole answered together as the orderly left the room.

Bree looked down at Storm. “Please be okay, please wake up,” she spoke softly as the tears began to run down her cheeks.

“Hey, hey, what’s this?” Cole turned Bree in his arms and held her while she cried.

“I can’t lose him, I just can’t. Why won’t he wake up?” she mumbled into his chest.

“You remember what the doctor said? Right now this is a good thing. It means his body is giving his brain time to heal. If he wakes up too soon he could risk all sorts of things going wrong.” Cole held her while trying to give encouraging words. “Besides, if he doesn’t wake up soon, I can always dress him in
my cowboy attire
.”

Bree tried to image Storm dressed as a cowboy, and she couldn’t hold back the giggle. “Could you imagine Storm waking up dressed like that?” Her giggles turned into a laugh, followed by Cole’s hardy chuckles.

With them both laughing and Cole’s arms still wrapped around her, the door opened and they both turned to see Draco standing in the doorway.

“Draco,” Bree breathed out or thought, she wasn’t even sure because at the sight of him she lost her ability to breathe.

Draco never even looked at her as he spoke harshly to Cole, “Sorry to interrupt, but need a word with you.” Not waiting for a reply, he turned back around and left, letting the door close behind him.

Draco walked back down the hall, away from Storm’s room, away from his Breezie being held, being comforted, by another man. He knew this was a bad idea, but he needed to talk to Cole and the man wouldn’t answer his phone. When he got to Storm’s floor he was going to have him paged, but not seeing anyone posted outside the door Draco asked what the hell was going on and was told the officer was with Bree down by radiology while Storm had more x-rays done and that there was another officer in the room. Thinking that the ‘other officer’ must be Cole, Draco went to the room completely unaware that Bree would be there. So when he opened the door, he felt his world fall apart all over again.
She didn’t even call me Dra
.

“Hey, man, what’s up?” Cole asked as he walked down the hall toward Draco.

“Where the fuck is your phone?” Draco barked, not caring how loud he was being or the amount of eyes turning in his direction.

“It’s…” Cole pulled his phone from his pocket. “Shit, forgot to turn it back on.”

“Where the fuck is Ryder? There’s supposed to be a guard at that fuckin’ door at all fuckin’ times.” Again Draco ignored the uneasy glances from passersby.

“Calm, man. It’s good. I told Ryder to take a break while I was here.” Cole looked at him for a beat. “You think I would let something happen to Storm or to Bree?”

Draco narrowed his eyes. “Don’t fuck with her, she’s had too much bad shit in her life already.”

“Damn it, Draco, she’s Storm’s sister!”

“I know who the fuck she is!”
Didn’t stop me from fallin’ in love with her.

“You think I would hit up on a fellow officer’s sister? My fuckin’ partner’s sister?” Cole flashed him a cocky ass grin. “
I
got better sense than that.”

“Keep it that way,” Draco growled.

“So, what’s up?”

Draco took a breath before he told Cole everything they had found out. “Marcus Warwick was using Storm to take down Hugo Serafino. Still not sure how Warwick found out Storm was undercover, but he did. Figured he could sit back and wait for Serafino to take the fall then take over.”

“Marcus Warwick thought he could take over Serafino’s whole drug business?”

“Yeah, but that’s not all. Seems Warwick was building himself a little business on the side, behind Serafino’s back.”

“No shit? Way I hear it, Serafino doesn’t like any competition. Usually takes it out himself. Hard to believe Serafino didn’t know his supposed second was selling behind his back.”

“Yeah, except Warwick wasn’t sellin’ drugs. Seems fuckin’ Marcus Warwick had himself a little stable.”

“A prostitution ring? Fuck, that’s all we need.”

“Way it’s lookin’, Warwick would use Storm to bust Serafino, take over, then combine both businesses together, under new ‘management.’ Only problem, Serafino found out, sent word to Warwick, who is, by the way still in the fuckin’ wind.”

“And Serafino?”

“So far, still sittin’ pretty in his ivory tower, clean as a fuckin’ whistle. Unless Storm has Intel he hasn’t shared.”

“How the hell did Serafino find out what Warwick was up too?”

“Bree.”

“Bree? What the hell does she have to do with it?”

“Seems while Warwick was gathering information on Storm, he neglected to find out that Bree was his sister. Warwick assumed Bree was just another cop hopper, became obsessed with her, and wanted to add her to his fuckin’ stable. Thought if he could get his hands on her, he could
season
her himself.”

“That sure as fuck ain’t
never
gonna’ happen,” Cole growled, and Draco saw his eyes shoot to the door of Storm’s room.

“No shit. But now here’s the bitch of it. Warwick is fuckin’ pissed that Bree whipped his ass, and he’s out for fuckin’ blood. Preferably Bree’s.”

“He won’t be getting nowhere near Bree, that’s for damn sure.”

“He better fuckin’ not,” Draco growled again. “But in all his rage, not checkin’ his tongue, Warwick let it slip about Storm bein’ a cop and him lookin’ for payback on Bree as well as his plans. That shit got back to Serafino. Warwick thought he could convince him that he just found out about Storm being a cop, and take Storm out himself. Then he’d come after Bree next. That’s what Warwick is doin’ now, comin’ after Bree.”

“He won’t get fuckin’ near her,” Cole promised, his voice aggressive.

“You make damn sure he doesn’t. Somethin’ happens to her…” Draco had to pause at the thought of something happening to Bree before he continued, “I’m holdin’ you responsible.” With that Draco turned to walk away but stopped abruptly, turning back to Cole. “She’s so damn headstrong and can get pretty damn sassy when she wants somethin’. And she’ll want to be left alone from time to time.” He took a step back to Cole. “Don’t let her out of your fuckin’ sight.”

Cole stared at him for a second, and Draco could see the cogs turning behind his eyes. “What are you gonna do?”

“I’m goin’ after Warwick.”

“Draco, man, you know we got your back, but don’t do something stupid. Something you might regret later.”

“Don’t worry.” Draco turned his back on Cole and headed for the elevator. “I won’t regret a fuckin’ thing,” he growled low in his throat just as he hit the elevator’s call button.

Bree sat in the chair beside Storm, holding his hand, and thinking of Draco. He hadn’t even looked at her when he stood in the doorway. Wouldn’t even come into the room.
Guess with Marcus locked up, his job with me is done
. She felt her heart break all over again.
Was that all I was to him? A job
? If anyone would have told her last Saturday night that she was only a job to Draco she would have never, in a million years, believed them. But then again, before last Sunday, she would never have thought that Draco would lie to her either. She looked down at Storm. “Why, Storm? Why wouldn’t you tell me you were a cop? Why would you hide that fact from me?” Of course, he didn’t answer.

She looked to the door as it opened and again her heart sped up at the thought that maybe, just maybe, Draco would come back, that was until she saw Cole walk through the door. She tried to hide her disappoint and asked, “So what did Dra…” It hurt just saying his name, and she had to clear her throat. “What did Draco want to talk to you about?”

“The case,” Cole stated, but he didn’t come across the room. Instead, he stood just a few steps from the door.

“Yes, I figured that much. What about the case?”

“There have been some new developments.”

“Again, I figured that too, seeing as he came all the way here just to talk to you. What are the new developments? Do they know who shot Storm?”

“It’s an ongoing police investigation, I’m not at liberty to discuss it with you.”

Bree turned in her chair to fully face him. “I don’t give a damn about your investigation. I want to know if they know who shot my brother.”

“I’m not at liberty to discuss it with you,” Cole repeated flatly.

“I’m not asking you to discuss it with me. Do you know who shot Storm?”

“Bree—”

She stood up. “It’s a simple yes or no Cole. Do you know?”

“Bree—”

“Yes or no!”

“I can’t—”

“Do you or don’t you? Answer me!” Bree was getting louder and madder.

“You might wanna answer her, or she’ll never shut up.” Bree heard the raspy voice whisper from Storm’s bed.

Bree whipped back around to see her brother looking up at her. She shouted with glee.

“Storm!”

Draco crept through the old, run-down storage buildings just outside the city limits of Roanoke. He knew this was Marcus Warwick’s newest hideout. While Lee and the rest of his unit were following procedure as they obtained information on Warwick, Draco and Marco went with the B&T approach. Bribe—and then if that didn’t work—threaten. Years of experience had taught Draco that one of the two—on occasion both—worked every time. Marco, his little brother who owned the video store, yeah he was that, and so much more. But whatever the hell Marco did while he was in the Army, let’s say that Marco’s
talents
came in handy more than a few times. Case in point, right now, as Draco crept around another building, he knew Marco was on the other side doing just as Draco was and had his back.
What the hell was the man plannin’ on doin’ with old storage units
? Draco wondered as he slowly made his way from the back lot toward the front. He was out of uniform, but hell, he didn’t wear it that often anyway. But normally he would always have his badge with him.
Not tonight
. He had purposely left his badge at home. Tonight he was not a cop. Tonight he was…his father’s son.

*  *  *

Bree stood beside Storm’s bed, looking back and forth between a sitting up, eyes open,
awake
Storm, to the doctor as the doctor explained the results of the x-rays. Yes, all the swelling was gone. Yes, so far there seemed to be no residual side effects from the swelling. Storm showed all the signs of a plausible full recovery. Bree couldn’t stop smiling. Every time she looked at Storm, she had to smile at him. Her brother was going to be okay. When she heard Storm’s voice, turned to look at him and saw him looking back at her, she had wanted to shout with delight. She wanted the world to know. She wanted Draco. She had reached for her phone ready to dial his number before she even realized what she was doing. Then, just like a smack in the face, it all came back to her. She wanted to just crawl off into a corner and cry, it hurt so much, so she looked back at Storm. She had to be strong for him. She had to be there for him. Just because he was awake, didn’t mean that everything was perfect. She heard the doctor talking about the gunshot wound, and therapy, and another full exam, to be sure there would be no delayed side effects from the brain swell. So she had to push her pain away and be there for her brother, just like all the times he had been there for her.

As the doctor left, Bree looked back at Storm to see him looking back and forth between her and Cole, who had been standing right beside her, one arm around her shoulder. “Cole…Ree, how…uh how do…so y’all two have met?” Storm stumbled out.

“Yes, Storm, we’ve met, and you know what else?” Bree narrowed her eyes at her brother. “We’ve talked…” She paused only a second, not long enough for him to reply but long enough for Bree to see the realization come into his eyes. “And you’d be surprised at what two people can
find
to talk about over the course of three days.”

“Ree—”

“How could you? Why would you?”

“Ree—”

“I trusted you, Storm. I thought we didn’t keep secrets from each other. But you did for about nine years. Years, Storm.
Years
! Why?”

“Ree—”

“Just tell me you had a good reason. That it was top secret and you couldn’t tell anyone. You know…” She deepened her voice. “If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you.” She switched back to her normal voice. “That kinda thing. You couldn’t tell me, right? I mean, what other reason could there be?”

“Ree—”

“Just tell me the truth! I’m so dang tired of being lied to!”

“Ree—”

“I just want the truth, that’s—”

“Damn it, Ree, I was scared!” Storm spoke over her, louder than what he intended.

Bree stood, mouth open, staring at Storm. Her brother. Her big, strong, take-on-the-world-to-keep-her-safe, brother was… “Scared?” She finally squeaked out.

Storm looked away from her to Cole. “Can you give us some time?”

Bree felt Cole’s arm that was still across her shoulder give her a little squeeze before he silently walked out of the room.

“Yeah, Ree. I was scared. I was terrified of losin’ you.”

“Losing me? What are you talking about?”

Storm blew out a breath, scooted over and patted the small space beside him. Bree sat facing him and just barely fit on the small hospital bed with Storm’s big body taking up most of the room.

“Ree, you’re my sister, and I love you so much. I just couldn’t handle it if you hated me.”

“Storm, I could never hate you. Not ever. Why would you think that?” she told him, but he kept talking like he didn’t hear her.

“I wanted to tell you. Tried a million times. After I joined the academy, every time I would mention the word cop, you would scowl, make some nasty comment, and show your disgust with cops in general. Don’t get me wrong, I know where it was comin’ from, and I completely understand why you felt that way. You had damn good reasons to hate cops. I get that. So I figured since we didn’t live that close and I was the one who always visited you, that—”

“You wouldn’t let me visit you. Every time I said something about coming to see you, you always had an excuse. Not having enough room, you had a roommate that didn’t like overnight guests, you would be out of town, and on and on.”

“I know. And sometimes that was true, but mostly, I didn’t want you to find out.”

“But why? I don’t understand.”

“Because, Ree, I was scared if you found out I was a cop, the one thing you’ve hated most of your life, that you would hate me too.”

“But you moved me to Mt. Eve. How did you think you would be able to hide it?”

“I was already plannin’ on movin’ you out here, was just waitin’ on an apartment to become available. But then, that asswipe at that college you were attending started harassin’ you, and then that night when he cornered you…Ree, I could hear the fear in your voice over the damn phone. That was it. I wasn’t gonna just sit around with you miles away and something end up happenin’. I’d never be able to forgive myself. As for hidin’ it, I had already planned to tell you. I wanted to finish up this case I’d been workin’ for months, and I didn’t want you to worry until it was over.”

“Storm, you’re my brother. You also have been the one person, the only person, who has been there for me my entire life. You’ve protected me, kept me safe even when that meant risking your very freedom. How could you ever think that I could ever hate you?”

“Not safe enough,” Storm mumbled. “I hoped you wouldn’t, but I was too scared to risk it. Please don’t be mad, Ree. You’re my only sister, my only family. I couldn’t take the chance of losin’ you.”

“I’m not mad. A little confused, but I kinda understand why you didn’t want me to know. But nine years?”

“I’m sorry, so sorry, and even sorrier that you had to find out like you did. Hell, even Draco tried to warn me.”

“Draco?”

“Yeah, he jumped my shit every time he saw me. Practically begged me to tell you.”

“Yet he couldn’t be bothered to tell me.”

“Because Draco is honorable. The day after he met you, when he returned your bag to me, I made him give me his word that he wouldn’t tell you before I got the chance to tell you myself.”

“What?”

“Yeah, it ‘bout killed him. But I guess he did end up tellin’ you, huh?”

“No,” Bree whispered as she cast her eyes downward.

“He didn’t? But I thought—”

“No, he didn’t. Cole did. Well, sorta. When I first met him here in the ED waiting room, he introduced himself to me as your partner.” She gave him a little cocky smirk. “At first I thought he meant partner, as in part-ner.” When Storm just gave her a ‘what-the-hell-do-you-mean’ look, she added, “As in gay.”

“Gay?” Storm choked out. “Ree, you thought I was gay?”

She laughed. “For about a second, but it was only because I never would have guessed you being a cop.” Then the smile dropped, and she looked right at Storm. “Why? I mean, why a cop?”

“You remember when I got you away from home? Took you to that first apartment in North Carolina?” When Bree nodded, because she would never forget that, Storm continued, “Well, Drex, this guy I had met, he helped me. When I first met him, he seemed to be a pretty decent guy, and we kept in touch. I didn’t know he was a cop at the time. It wasn’t until you had been hurt and in the hospital that he even told me who he was. He already knew what was going with those dirty cops back home, and he knew what could have happened to you. Drex was the one who helped me out, helped get you away, helped me keep you safe. It was him who told me what I needed to do. How to fake your running away, and it was him who convinced me that not all cops were dirty. In time I met quite a few good, decent cops out there. And I,” Storm shrugged his shoulders, “I knew I wanted to be that. A good cop, one who helped, not hurt. So I thought I would give it a shot and joined the academy.” Storm took a breath. “The academy was in Richmond, and that would have put you even farther away from me. So I found another apartment closest to the state line where you would still be in North Carolina, but still not too far from me.” He looked shyly up at her. “I knew when I went into the academy that for about eight and a half months I wouldn’t see you much, because of the training, so I needed you to be as close as possible.” He studied her before he confessed, “You were only a little over an hour’s drive away. At the time I wasn’t sure where I would be placed after my training, but I lucked out and stayed in the Richmond area. I needed to be a good cop, but I also needed to be close to you.”

“And are you? A good cop?”

“I try my damnedest to be.”

“Being a good cop got you shot, though.”

“Not…technically.” He paused, looking away from her. “Being…pissed got me shot.”

“What?”

Storm again blew out a breath. “When I heard that Warwick grabbed you, Ree, I lost it, and I went after him.” He grinned back at her. “I read your statement and saw your handy work.” His grinned faded. “I’m proud of you.”

She felt herself blush before she admitted, “I was so scared, but I heard you. I mean, in my head. You encouraging me and to remember everything you taught me.”

“It’s natural to be scared, but you didn’t give into your fears and give up. You fought back.” His grin came back full force. “And my little sister kicked ass.”

She couldn’t help but feel pride well up inside of her. Storm was proud of her. She leaned into him, kissed his cheek, and whispered softly to him, “Love ya always, Storm.”