The doctor said Sarah was suffering from a mild concussion and if she wanted to go home—and no way was she spending the night at the hospital—someone would need to stay with her. But who? Lori would probably volunteer, and that made sense, but Sarah wanted John. She couldn’t very well ask him, though. They’d barely gotten back together.
She sat on the edge of the bed, growing more frustrated by the second. Stupid sleeve wouldn’t hold still and her arm was too sore to bend correctly. Bracing for impact wasn’t the brightest move she’d ever made, right up there with intentionally crashing into a building. Doctor had said she was lucky not to have broken any bones. Instead, she’d overused every muscle in her body, especially her arms and legs. Ah, but what was a little soreness as long as she was free and still breathing?
John and Lori entered the cubicle during another unsuccessful attempt with her jacket and he came to her aid, holding it in place.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Where’s your coat?” Lori asked.
“It got…dirty.” Sarah glanced at John and he gave her an apologetic smile. Even soaking the darn thing hadn’t gotten the blood stains out and she had ended up tossing it in the trash.
Lori handed Sarah her scarf and purse. “As soon as they come back with your paperwork, I’ll take you home”
“I can take her home.” John took the scarf and carefully draped it around Sarah’s neck. His loving touches nearly did her in.
Lori narrowed her eyes at John. “She needs someone to spend the night. I can do that. I’ve done it before.”
“I can stay the night,” he said. “Besides, you have to work tomorrow, I don’t.”
Oh, yay! Decision made. “Lori, I love you to death, but I think I’ll feel safer with John around.”
Which wasn’t a total lie. Brian was still out there, probably waiting for her to be alone again. She forced back a shudder.
Her statement brought a smile to John’s face and a frown to Lori’s. Sarah grimaced at the hurt look on Lori’s face, but her mothering was the last thing Sarah wanted.
“You better not take advantage of her.”
“Lori!” Sarah chided.
He placed a hand on her shoulder. “That’s okay, Sarah. She cares about you.” He said to Lori, “I’m not Steven. And I’ll be a perfect gentleman.”
A perfect gentleman? She might be sore, but she was far from dead. Oh why did she have to get hurt?
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply you were.” Lori turned her back to John and spoke softly. “You call me if you need anything, okay?”
Sarah promised. Lori gave her a kiss on the cheek. When she left, Sarah was itching to follow. The hospital brought back too many memories. She just wanted to go. Anywhere else would be better.
“How many more hours must I wait for that nurse?”
John chuckled. “She’s only been gone for five minutes.”
When the nurse finally returned with the paperwork, Sarah would have run for the exit if not for her poor legs. John became her crutch and led her to a bench in the foyer. She waited while he brought his car around. A gust of frigid air blasted its way inside the hospital. Dang, the temperature had dropped considerably. Her jacket would not do for long-term, but she wasn’t in any condition to shop for a new coat. Plus, she was officially without transportation. “Totaled” was the word she’d heard.
No coat. No gloves. Holding the stupid ice pack wasn’t helping her retain heat, either, but the nurse insisted she take it for her forehead. Of course, her face was still bruised, so what was another bump?
The Bumblebee pulled up to the curb. John came rushing around the vehicle and dashed inside, probably afraid she’d come outside on her own. While she couldn’t wait to leave, she wasn’t in any hurry to rush out into the freezing air. He blocked the wind while escorting her and lifted her inside, keeping her exertion down to a minimum. Somehow she didn’t think Lori would have gone to so much trouble.
Sarah tossed the ice pack in the cup holder, thankful to get rid of the cold thing. The seat belt cut into her ribs, which were tender from the accident, so she held it out, relieving the pressure.
John slid behind the wheel and nodded toward the ice pack. “Aren’t you supposed to put that on your forehead?”
“Yes, but it’s cold. I’m cold,” she grumbled.
“As soon as the car warms up, you’ll get some heat.” He then took off his denim jacket and gave it to Sarah. “Here, put this on. It should help.”
This wasn’t his normal coat. Why wasn’t he wearing his heavier… “Oh crap.”
“What is it?”
“Your stuff is in my trunk.”
“Don’t worry about it. Now put on my jacket.”
“Aren’t you cold? Don’t you need it?”
“No. I only wear it for show.”
She liked the show he gave her right now. Even with the crappy way she felt, he left her breathless. What was she thinking? It’s not like she could jump him. Dang it. And she really wanted to jump him.
As he drove off she attempted to put the jacket on the correct way, but it hurt to move and the seat belt kept getting in the way. Turning the jacket around, she slipped her arms through the sleeves and wore it backward.
John chuckled. “Do you need any help with that? I can pull over.”
“Nope, I’m good.” She snuggled inside and took in his scent. “Is there anything bad about being a vampire? So far it seems like the way to go. You don’t get cold, you’re stronger, hear better, see better, read people’s minds, and don’t age. What’s not to like?”
“Well, you don’t eat food anymore, and there is the whole ‘stay out of the sun’ thing.”
“Yeah. I guess there is that.” It sure seemed like a small price to pay, though.
Then there was his super healing. Boy, she wouldn’t mind that right about now. Did he scar? She stared at his side.
He brushed his hand against his shirt. “Is there something on me?”
She blinked and shifted her gaze to his face. “No. Can I see?”
Though she hadn’t elaborated, he nodded. At the next light, he lifted the shirt. The skin looked smooth and pale, as if she’d never stabbed him. She tentatively touched it and he gasped.
“Does it hurt? Or am I cold?” she asked, rubbing her hands together.
“It doesn’t hurt and you’re far from cold. I just forgot what your touch does to me.”
The light changed and he drove on. Sarah pulled his shirt back down. The view was too irresistible.
John took her hand. Her heart started the old flip-flop again, telling her she’d been away too long. Knowing he was a vampire didn’t change the way her body felt about him. It had only been two days and it seemed like an eternity. During those two days, she’d felt incomplete, like part of her was missing. And that part was sitting beside her. She’d never let him go again.
As if he could read her mind, John said, “God, I missed you. I’m so glad you’re okay.” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
“I missed you too.”
Sarah laid her head back and closed her eyes. It wasn’t like she hadn’t gotten enough sleep during the day, but that accident had drained her dry and she must have dozed. In no time, he was parking the car.
He told her to wait until he came around to get her. Even though the last thing she wanted was a blast of cold air, she hated being waited on. “I’m not helpless,” she muttered to herself.
He opened her door. “I know you’re not helpless.”
Damn super hearing.
He helped her untangle the seatbelt from the jacket and put it on the correct way. As she stepped out of the vehicle, she stumbled on her unsteady legs and nonchalantly reached out for John, hoping he wouldn’t notice. Maybe it was a good thing she’d waited. He saw and gave her a smug look.
The muscles in her legs refused to work properly and she shuffled like an old lady, but John never said a word. When she reached the stairs, he seemed tempted to pick her up, but only offered his arm instead. She wasn’t sure whether to be glad or upset. She didn’t want him to think she couldn’t walk, but she hurt. Eventually they made it to her apartment and he helped her settle on the loveseat.
“Where are your blankets?” he asked.
“There’s one in my bedroom, on the chair.” John left to get it. “You don’t have to baby me, you know!” Now, why had she yelled?
He returned with the blanket and shook it open. “Will you drop it? I’m going to baby you, so just get used to it.” He laid the blanket on her and tucked her in. “How’s that? Do you need me to turn up the heat?”
His wrapping resembled a cocoon and her arms were trapped inside. She wiggled a bit and freed them. “I’m fine, the heat’s fine. Thank you. Now, will you sit down?”
He was worse than Lori, but where Lori would have gotten on her nerves, he didn’t. It was sweet how much he cared. When was the last time anyone, besides Lori, had babied her during an illness? Steven never had. In fact, he’d blamed her for disrupting his routine. Of course he’d blamed everything that went wrong in his life on her, probably still did.
And her mother? Hell, she probably hadn’t babied Sarah even when she’d been a baby.
John picked up the ice pack and held it out. “Unless you want a bump the size of a baseball on your forehead, put this on.”
“Okay,” she said in defeat. Vampires must possess a super good memory, too. She put the pack up to her head and used the blanket as a glove, pretty much covering half her face. Not the half that could see him, though, no way would she block that view.
John shook his head and chuckled as he knelt on the floor beside her. “Here, let me. The cold won’t bother me.” He lowered the blanket and took the pack, gently placing it against her forehead. “You really scared me tonight, Sarah. I thought I lost you. What were you thinking?”
She had told the police everything that happened, including Brian’s description and the part where she had deliberately driven into the building. John had paled more than usual after she admitted that. He might have yelled if they hadn’t been in the hospital. Heck, he might still yell.
“I was thinking I could knock him out since he wasn’t wearing a seat belt. Just my luck, I get knocked out and he goes free.”
“Free.” A look of remorse flashed across his face. “I should have never let him go.”
“You said you didn’t see anyone.”
“Not at the wreck. Back at the garage.”
“So, Brian did attack me at the garage.”
“Why do you keep calling him Brian?”
“Because that’s the name he gave me.” After she explained, John informed her that Brian was Ray’s middle name. After an unsuccessful attempt at getting her to meet discreetly, Ray had settled on abducting her. “What happened to not having to worry about this Ray or Brian or whoever? Were you lying?”
“No. I’ve been looking for the bastard ever since you told me about the news article.”
“The news article? But that was about…” The air became thin and she began to hyperventilate. The serial killer had attacked her. Which meant, if not for John, she’d be dead? “Oh God. Oh God.”
John put the pack down and held her face in his hands. “Calm down, Sarah. You’re okay. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She batted his hands away. “I’m not okay. You just told me I’m that killer’s next target! How could you keep something like that from me?”
“Because I didn’t want you to worry.”
“That’s not your job. You should have told me when I told you about that article.”
He sat back on his legs. “And how exactly would I have explained myself? You didn’t know about me then. I swear, as soon as I realized he hadn’t turned himself in, I searched everywhere. If I thought there was any chance you were in danger, I would have protected you better.”
And he would have, of that she had no doubt. “So what happened? How did he find me?”
John took her hand and ran his thumb across her knuckles. “I honestly don’t know. It could have been chance. You were in the same area as before. Maybe he’s been staking the place out. You don’t know how badly I feel. I should have done better by you. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. You thought you had taken care of it.” Her anger dissipated while fear reclaimed her. Would she ever feel safe again? Sure, John helped, but he couldn’t be with her twenty-four-seven. She concentrated on him stroking her hand, anything to keep from screaming. “We should tell the police we know who the serial killer is.”
He looked at her as if she’d gone mad. “You can’t tell the police that Ray is the serial killer.”
“Why not? I want him caught!” Frustration caused her eyes to water. She wouldn’t feel safe until Ray was behind bars.
“He will be caught. You’ve given them his description. Please trust me. If you even mention the words serial killer, they’re going to ask a lot of questions. Questions we can’t answer. Do you understand?”
How could she think reasonably when there was a killer on the loose? A killer after her? But John probably had resources the police didn’t have. “I suppose so. Just don’t expect me to be calm about this.”
He smiled before kissing her forehead. “I’ll do my best to take your mind off of it.”
The forehead? Really? She might be sore, but her lips worked fine. She opened her mouth to protest and her stomach growled.
“When was the last time you ate?”
He did seem fixated on her dining habits. At least she knew why he didn’t eat, special liquid diet, indeed. But when had she eaten last? “Lunch yesterday?”
“Yesterday?” He shook his head. “Sarah…you need to take better care of yourself. What can I fix you?”
Good thing he didn’t ask what she ate for lunch. Ice cream and cookies weren’t exactly nutritious. She sat up. “Food doesn’t appeal to me right now, but I guess I can find something light.”
John held her down. “No, you stay here. The doctor said you should rest.”
It was just as well. That little movement had hurt.