Chapter 4

Tom Wheaton had taken personal leave and was at Johnny's house when his cell phone rang. His heart skipped as he glanced at caller ID. It was coming from the precinct. He'd left his number as contact for updated information regarding Carey's disappearance.

"Hello, this is Tom."

"Tom…Detective Gardner here. I have news. Eggers's car was found early this morning, wrecked on Pope Mountain, and with the driver missing. A local resident found her in the woods. It's Carey. She'd been shot in the back, which indicates she was running, and she had not regained consciousness before they took her to surgery. It's not good, but last I heard, she's still alive."

"Oh my God," Tom muttered. "Where is she? What hospital?"

"She's in Jubilee. There's only one hospital there," Gardner added.

"Thanks for the update. She mentioned something about Billy arguing with someone called Gunny, or something about money in her text to Johnny. Did you get a hit on the alias?"

"Nothing as of yet, but they are still running tests on evidence from the crime scene. We're hoping to get a hit on some prints. The living room was destroyed in the fight, so there should be prints all over the place, and hopefully we'll pull some DNA from Eggers's body to point us in the right direction."

"Got it. Thanks again. Keep me updated," Tom said, and breathed a sigh of relief as he hung up. This wasn't the best news, but it also wasn't the worst news. Carey was still alive.

He googled the number for the Jubilee Hospital, then asked for the nurses' desk at the surgical wing and got the runaround about not giving out information to anyone but family, but he persisted.

"Yes, ma'am, I know that. But I'm a police officer with the Bowling Green PD. I gave you my name and badge number. You can confirm that with my commander. I gave you his name and number. Carey Eggers's only family member was murdered last night, and I am standing in her house with her fiancé, who is recovering from very serious orthopedic surgery. So, at this moment, I'm the only upright and mobile person on this earth who gives a shit about what's happening to her. All I need to know is if she's still alive. Because if she's not, I'm not driving a man on crutches all the way to Jubilee to look at her body."

"Please hold," the nurse said.

Tom took a breath and waited, and then waited, and finally, the nurse was back online.

"She is in the ICU. Her condition is grave. That is all I am allowed to tell you."

"Thank you," Tom said. "That's all I needed to know. The next time you hear my voice, you'll be looking at my face, and I'll be pushing a man in a wheelchair. His name is John Knight. And don't fuck with him like you just did with me. She is his world."

He was shaking when he hung up. Now he had to tell Johnny, help him pack a bag, then go home and pack for himself and rent a wheelchair. The last time he and Johnny had gone on a trip together was their long fishing weekend just before his fall. And now this. Life had a way of lifting you up so high, just to see how well you fared after you were dropped.

And then Johnny hobbled into the living room. "What's going on?"

"Sit down," Tom said.

Johnny paled. "Just say it!"

"They found the car. It had been wrecked. They found Carey in the woods on Pope Mountain. She'd been shot in the back, which means she was running when it happened. She had not regained consciousness when they took her into surgery. She is out of surgery and in critical condition. That's all I know."

Now Johnny sat. "Where is she?"

"In the hospital in Jubilee."

"The big tourist town?" Johnny asked.

"Yes. I know you want to go. I'll take you. I'll pack your bag; then you sit and wait while I go pack mine and rent a wheelchair. I'll be back within a couple of hours. Okay?"

There was a muscle jerking at the side of Johnny's jaw, but he was scary calm and quieter than Tom expected.

"You okay, buddy? She's still alive. We have to hang on to that."

"Just get my suitcase out of the back bedroom. It's in the closet. I can pack it myself," Johnny said.

Tom didn't argue, and when he carried the suitcase back to their bedroom, Johnny was already stacking a few things on the bed. Tom opened the suitcase, then stepped aside.

"I'll be back as soon as I run down a wheelchair and pack a few things," he said. "Take a pain pill before we go. That's a long ride and you're gonna be hurting before we get there."

Johnny shrugged off the concern. "I know how to hurt. I just don't know how to live without her. Hurry back."

***

Wiley had been back at work for days, but he was riding a desk, which only exacerbated the funk he was in. He'd hoped for a positive response back from Linette Elgin about going on another date, but heard nothing. The going phrase for being dumped was being ghosted , and that's how he felt. He didn't blame her. Their first attempt at dating had been sabotaged by two of his ex-acquaintances, and it had hurt her. Coming out on the good side of being shot had given him a whole new aspect of life. It was short. And it mattered. People mattered. And if paperwork was part of being a cop, then he could do it with his chin up and his mouth shut, which was what he was doing, when the phone rang at his desk.

"Jubilee PD. Officer Pope speaking."

"Hi, Wiley, it's me, Cecily. I wanted you to know how sorry I was about the bank thingy. I tried to call you at home, but the calls never went through."

Wiley frowned. Bank thingy? "That's because I deleted and blocked you and the other clown you hang out with. I consider the brief acquaintances I had with both of you to be severe lapses of moral judgment on my part," he said and hung up in her ear.

He was still muttering beneath his breath when the chief walked in and paused at his desk.

"Morning, Wiley. How are you feeling?" Sonny Warren asked.

"Good, sir."

"Good enough to make a run to the hospital for me?" Sonny asked.

Hot damn! Wiley stood. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Do you know about the woman your cousin Cameron found this morning?"

"I heard," Wiley said.

"Well, it turns out she's a witness to her brother's murder, and it appears the killer chased her down to silence her. Only she's still alive. Sheriff Woodley asked us not to advertise the fact, and I'd like for you to swing by the hospital and let the nurses' station know the situation. I think it's prudent that we have someone on duty."

"Absolutely," Wiley said. "How do we know the killer was a man?" he asked.

"Because she left a message on her fiancé's phone about what had happened. What I can't figure out is how the shooter trailed her from the east side of Bowling Green all the way to Pope Mountain in the dark and in that storm."

"If the shooter had her brother's phone, there's a good chance he was using the GPS on it to track her," Wiley said.

Sonny blinked. "There are days when I think I'm aging out of this job."

"Sean keeps us all up-to-date on tech stuff," Wiley said.

"Right," Sonny said. "This isn't going to be a simple job, because the hospital isn't going to let us into the ICU to guard her bed, so you're going to be outside of the ICU, checking off the people who do go in. Get a list of patients in the ICU and then a list of people allowed to visit those patients, and if somebody's not on the list, they don't get in."

"So, since her brother's dead, who's on Carey Eggers's list?" Wiley asked.

"I checked with Woodley. There's a fiancé named Johnny Knight and Tom Wheaton, a cop from Bowling Green, who's likely bringing Johnny here."

Wiley frowned. "Knight can't bring himself?"

"He was a lineman for an electric company. He fell off a high-line pole about six weeks back and shattered his leg. It's being held together with rods and screws, so he's not driving or walking right now."

Wiley frowned. "That's tough. He probably feels like the whole damn world is falling down around him. Text me photos of both of them from the DMV. Do you want me there now?"

"Yes. I'll have someone from the hospital get the patient names and visitor list to you," Sonny said.

"Do I stay, or are you spelling me off?" Wiley asked.

"I'll send someone to relieve you in the morning."

Wiley looked up. "What if she doesn't make it?"

Sonny nodded. "It's a possibility. She was already injured from the wreck before she got shot. She must be a tough little thing to have run that far through the woods in that storm before he ran her down."

Just thinking about that happening made Wiley's gut knot.

"I'm on it, Chief. I'll pick up a cruiser from the lot. No need dragging someone in from patrol just to give me a ride."

Sonny smiled as Wiley bolted out of the room. Probably wanting to escape before Sonny changed his mind. He admired the Pope family. And Aaron and Wiley were two of his best officers. The brothers all looked alike, but Wiley was different. A bit wilder and far less likely to suffer fools.

***

Linette was on duty in the surgical wing when she saw Wiley Pope coming up the hall. The width of his shoulders was almost as broad as his stride was long. He needed a haircut and a warning label, but the wild side of her longed for the wild side of him. He was walking toward her with a fixed look at everything in front of him, which at this moment included her. Here she was, still waiting for that phone call and a second date, and like the proverbial bad penny, he'd turned up on her turf.

Then, before she knew what was happening, he stopped in the middle of the hall, slid his hands up the sides of her cheeks, and kissed her. Square on the mouth, with purpose and intent. Within seconds, she'd lost all sense of self.

She was in a state of shock and had forgotten to breathe when he ended it and started talking.

"I've been needing to do that since the moment you came running toward me at the bank. I saw all that blood on your face and thought you'd been shot, and all I could think was I'd never got the chance to say I'm sorry, or to thank you for what you did. The ICU is that way, right?" he asked, pointing up the hall.

Speechless, she nodded.

He brushed the back of his hand against her cheek again. "Sorry you weren't up for another dinner date. Gotta go. I'll catch you later."

What? I never said… I didn't.… But she never uttered the words. Instead, she turned to see where he was going and caught him standing in the hall watching her. Damn the man. He knew I would turn around. Disgusted with herself, she turned and walked away.

I knew you'd do that , Wiley thought and kept walking until he was at the entrance to the ICU. He knocked on the door, and when a nurse opened it, he flashed his badge.

"Office Pope, reporting for duty. I've been assigned to guard Carey Eggers. Chief Warren told me you would furnish me with a patient list and a visitor list. And you need to know that anyone who's not on that list will not be going into the ICU for visits as long as Carey Eggers is a patient here."

The nurse blinked. "Uh…"

Wiley kept talking. "She's a witness to a murder. Someone tried to kill her. I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen again. I need to see where she is, and if she's too close to other patients, you'll need to move her."

"I'll get my superior," the nurse said, and closed the door. A few moments later, another nurse came out. "My name's Norma. Follow me and please keep your voice down."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, and walked in behind her, quietly moving past eight other patients before they reached a bed at the far end of the room. "Doctor requested she be kept away from the others a bit. Is this okay?"

Wiley eyed the setup, then the woman in the bed. He could see the staples in her head where they'd shaved away her hair. A bandage across her shoulder, and so many cuts and contusions on her face and arms that he could only imagine what the rest of her body must look like. He turned to the nurse, nodded, and followed her out.

"I'll get that list for you and a chair," she said.

"Thank you, ma'am," Wiley said.

"Just call me, Norma," she said.

"Yes, ma'am," he said again.

She rolled her eyes and disappeared, then came back a few minutes later with both lists on a clipboard and a folding chair.

"Sorry. It's the best I could do," Norma said.

"It's fine. Thank you. Do you have visiting hours on the hour only?"

Joan nodded. "Yes. Two people per patient, and only for ten minutes, then visiting hour is over."

"When do you change shifts?" he asked.

"Midnight. All four of us here will leave then, and four more will come on. No more. No less. Hospital rule."

Wiley nodded and settled in. He could see the waiting room through the glassed-in enclosure in which he was sitting, and as time grew closer, people began to gather in the outer lobby. Some of them were silent. Some of were visiting quietly. One was crying, and at one time or another, they were all on their phones.

When the clock rolled around to the hour, the visitors found themselves face-to-face with a uniformed policeman.

"Who are you visiting, and name please?" he said.

Taken aback, one man started to argue, when Wiley held up his hand.

"I know this is new, but there's a reason for it. It has nothing to do with your loved ones, but it involves the safety of someone else."

After that, they gave up their names, and who they were visiting, without meeting his gaze. And when every patient had been marked off, Wiley went inside and straight to Carey's bed.

She didn't know him, but he felt bad thinking of her lying in here so hurt and so alone. He put a hand on her arm and then spoke softly near her ear.

"Miss Eggers, I'm a police officer. My name is Wiley Pope. You're in the hospital and you're safe. Now fight your way back, like you fought to stay alive."

He patted her arm, then stayed at her bedside until every visitor was gone before he left the unit. As soon as he exited, he resumed his seat at the door and pulled out his phone to check for messages. There was one from the chief with two photos. One of Carey Eggers's fiancé, and one of the cops who was accompanying him. He already knew their names. Now he knew what they looked like.

The routine of hourly visitors came and went two more times with Wiley giving the same speech to different people, but as the third hour approached, he saw two men entering the waiting area. One was pushing the other in a wheelchair, and he recognized their faces.

Eggers's fiancé and the cop had arrived, and Wiley knew within moments that John Knight was in misery. Pain was etched on his face, and yet he sat motionless, stoic in his suffering. Tom Wheaton went for water, handed a pill and the drink to his friend, and then gave his shoulder a squeeze before sitting down beside him. At that point, Wiley looked away. Carey Eggers was a train wreck, and he was already empathizing with Knight for their first viewing.

When the clock finally moved to the hour, the visitors stood and began filing into the outer area of the ICU. Knight and Wheaton were at the end of the line, but heard Wiley's declaration as he checked people off. When they reached where he was standing, John Knight looked up.

"You're guarding my girl."

Wiley nodded. "Yes. I told her you were coming. I thought it might help."

John grabbed the arms of his wheelchair as if he wanted to get up and run. "She's awake?"

"No. But I told her anyway. From what we know, she fought really hard to stay alive. I just wanted to encourage her to keep fighting. Nobody is to approach her bed but you two and the nurses. She's the one at the far end of the room. You both have ten minutes. Make them count."

Then he followed them inside the unit, but stayed up by the nurses' desk with his focus on Carey and her visitors.

***

Just being in a hospital again was a cold reminder of his situation, but when Johnny saw the bed at the far end of the room, and all of the machines surrounding her, and how tiny and alone Carey looked beneath the sheets, he nearly lost it. By the time Tom rolled him up to her bedside, Johnny was blind with tears.

Carey was so battered he barely recognized the woman he loved, and so still. She was never still. He touched her hand, expecting her fingers to curl around his, but they were limp.

"Carey. It's me, Johnny. I'm here, baby. I'm here. We found you. I know you've been hurt, but you're safe in a hospital now. I love you. So much. Tom's here. He brought me to you."

Tom leaned over the bed. "Hey, pretty girl. It's me, Tom. We're here and we're not leaving you. We know what happened. I've got Johnny's back, and he's got yours."

They paused, staring at her face, hoping for a miracle, that she'd just open her eyes and talk. But their only answers were machines beeping back to let them know she was still alive. When the ten minutes were up, all of the visitors filed out. Johnny and Tom were the last ones to leave, and Wiley followed them back to the waiting room.

"Do you have a place to stay yet?" he asked.

"No, I was thinking we'd just bed down here and—"

Wiley shook his head. "According to my information, she's not going to wake up anytime soon. They put her in a drug-induced coma to lessen the stress from all her injuries. I can't tell you what to do, but it's obvious you're in bad shape, and you won't do her any good if you mess yourself up. Get a room. Get some food and rest, and come back whenever you want, but you need some place to shower and sleep, too."

"I don't want to leave her," Johnny said.

Wiley understood, but he wanted to reassure them. "Just so you know, I was visiting her every hour on the hour until you two arrived, and either me or whoever replaces me in the morning will continue to do that because we're under orders to guard her. So, when visitors are in the ICU unit, even when you're not there, one of us is by her bed. Understand?"

Johnny sighed. "Yes, understood and appreciated."

Tom eyed the tall dark-haired cop and read him as sincere. "That's good to know. By the way, could you recommend a place to stay?"

"Sure thing," Wiley said. "There are two large hotels in town that cater to tourists, and Reagan Bullard's Campgrounds two miles east, outside of town. Those are little cabins, but out there you'd have to fend for yourself when it comes to food. The hotels have cafés and restaurants in them, and they're closer. There's Hotel Devon and the Serenity Inn."

"Thanks," Tom said.

Wiley nodded. "Did you leave your contact information at the nurses' desk?" he asked.

Johnny frowned. "No, I didn't think to do that."

"Both of you give it to me. I'll make sure they have it," Wiley said. He grabbed a little notebook and pen from his shirt pocket, took down their info, and went back to the ICU to leave it at the nurses' station, while Tom wheeled Johnny out of the hospital and went to find them a place to stay.

***

Linette made it her business to find out why Wiley Pope was in the hospital and was surprised to learn he was guarding a patient in the ICU.

She didn't have much willpower when it came to the man. He was aggravating and sexy, and she'd already been burned once. She didn't want to get her heart broken, but if it happened, he would be the man to break it, and she was still confused about his comment about not going to dinner because he had yet to ask.

She was getting ready to clock out for the day when she got a text from Norma, the RN in charge of the intensive care unit.

Linette, are you still in the building or have you already left?

Linette responded, Clocking out but still here. Why?

Would you mind running down to the cafeteria and picking up a food order for me? It's for the cop who's guarding one of our patients. He's not asked for a thing since he got here, and I know he's got to be hungry.

Linette sighed and returned the text. I don't mind a bit. Do I pay for it, or…?

Norma texted back, It's already charged to the police department.

So much for keeping her distance. On the way.

Linette clocked out, grabbed her things, and took the elevator down to the cafeteria, trying to ignore what she was feeling. Damn man. Damn gorgeous, aggravating man. Now I have to face him again . She exited the elevator and went into the cafeteria.

"Dolly, I'm supposed to pick up a food order for the cop on duty up in the ICU."

"Oh, sure thing," the hostess said. "Hang on a sec. I'll go get it."

Linette slung her purse strap over her shoulder, combed her fingers through her hair, and wished she'd thought to brush it and put on some lipstick, but whatever.

Dolly returned with a sack and a drink with a lid.

"Here you go. I hear he's a looker," Dolly said.

"Really?" Linette said, and went back to the elevator and rode it up to the ICU floor.

Her heart was pounding as she walked down the long hall with the food and then to where Wiley was sitting. When he saw her, he looked up and smiled.

"Hey, Linnie."

She didn't blink. "Norma asked me to bring this up for you."

He stood, took the food, and then didn't want her to leave. "That's really kind of you. I'll be on duty until morning, so I really appreciate it."

"No problem. I'm already clocked out, but don't get too excited. It's hospital cafeteria food."

"Still better than my cooking," he said.

Her eyebrows rose just enough to exhibit surprise. "You cook?"

Wiley could tell she was still pissed at him, and she hadn't replied after he'd sent that text about taking her out again, so he didn't know where they stood, but he resented the tone of her voice just enough to fire back.

"I'm not a complete ass. I also do laundry, clean house, am kind to animals, and love my family," he said.

Linette blinked. She heard hurt in his voice and was immediately sorry, but it was too late to take back what had already been said. She walked out feeling like a fool.

Wiley sat back down with his food and ate because he was hungry, but he was bothered. He didn't like people being upset with him. And at the same time, he knew she had every right to feel how she felt.

***

Linette was teary-eyed all the way to her car. As soon as she slid in behind the wheel, she laid her head down on the steering wheel and cried, then wiped her eyes, blew her nose, and drove home. She couldn't keep doing this—resenting a man she'd only had half a date with. And he'd said in his text that he'd been appalled at what had happened and blocked them from contacting him again, and she'd been happy when she read that.

And then all of a sudden, it hit her! She'd never responded. She'd just assumed he would call her again, while her silence must have given him the impression she wasn't interested.

"Oh lord. I am such a dumbass," she muttered.

But how did she correct this?

Had he given up on her?

After the snotty attitude she'd just copped, was it already too late?

Before she could talk herself out of it, she sent him a text.

I think I messed up. I read that last text from you as a heads-up to an incoming invitation after you healed, then heard nothing, and you read my idiotic mistake in not responding to your text as I wasn't interested. Nothing could be further from the truth. I'm still here. You still make me crazy. But dinner sometime would be nice.

Then she hit Send.

Wiley had just finished off his burger and was working on the last of his fries when he got a text. He wiped his hands before checking his phone.

As he read, he knew he was smiling, and when he got to the end of the message, he was smiling inside as well.

"Hot damn," he said softly, and sent her a thumbs-up emoji and a smiley face. Life was looking up.

***

Tom Wheaton was at the front desk of the Serenity Inn, requesting a handicap-accessible room on the ground floor for him and Johnny Knight.

"How long do you plan to stay?" the clerk asked as they were checking in.

Tom glanced down at Johnny and then sighed. "We're not sure. We're here because his fiancée is in the hospital in the ICU. We don't know what's going to happen because she hasn't recovered consciousness."

The clerk blinked. "Oh my. So, you're in Jubilee just because of this family emergency?"

"Yes," Tom said.

The clerk paused. "Excuse me a moment," he said, and slipped into the adjoining office.

Tom saw him pick up a phone and wondered what was going on, but when he came back a few moments later, he soon found out.

"Mr. Wheaton, your room and two meals a day have been comped for the duration of your stay. That includes the cold drinks and snacks available in your room." He handed Tom two card keys. "All you have to do is charge the meal to your room and it will be picked up by us, along with the room charge."

Both men were in shock, but it was Johnny who spoke first.

"I have no words to explain what a gift this is. You have my undying gratitude for such kindness."

The clerk nodded. "You're welcome, sir. It's our policy to accommodate families now and then in emergencies such as this. We're sorry for what's happening and wish your fiancée a speedy recovery. Follow that hallway, and take a right. Your room is about halfway down on the left."

Tom pocketed the card keys, shouldered his travel bag and put Johnny's bag in his lap, and then wheeled him away. As soon as they got to the room, he gave Johnny the bed closest to the bathroom, then helped him into bed. It was midafternoon but he felt like he'd been awake for days.

Johnny was in so much pain that he was ashen. Tom helped him undress and then got him to the bathroom, gave him two pain pills, then helped him back into bed.

"Rest easy, buddy," Tom said. "We're here, and with some luck and a few prayers, Carey will wake up and get well. But you've got some healing to do, too, so we're gonna be smart about these visits. Morning. Noon. Evening. Not every hour on the hour. Understand?"

"Yes, and I appreciate what you've done by taking off from your work like this for us."

"You would have done it for me,' Tom said. "Get some rest. I'm gonna shower. Do you want a snack or something to drink from the fridge?"

"No. I just want the pain to go away so I can sleep."

Tom patted his friend's shoulder, then stripped and walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

Johnny heard Tom turn on the shower, and then the pills kicked in.

He was asleep when Tom emerged with a towel wrapped around his waist. He glanced at Johnny, then got a cold Coke from the fridge, and stretched out on the bed to check messages. When he was finished with his drink, he crawled into bed so damn tired he couldn't think and closed his eyes.

***

Wiley was relieved of duty just after eight the next morning. He checked in at the precinct before going home to get a few hours of sleep. As soon as he got to his house, he showered, ate some breakfast, then sat down and called Linette, hoping it wasn't against hospital rules for nurses to take personal calls because he was done with texting. It was too freaking impersonal and too easy to be misunderstood.

When his call began to ring, he half expected it to go to voicemail, but instead he got her.

"Hey, you."

He grinned. "Hey, back," Wiley said. "I just got off work and am going to catch a few hours' sleep. I don't go back on duty until eight p.m. What time do you get off work today?"

"I came on at six. I get off at four today."

"Are you free for dinner this evening?" he asked.

"For you, yes."

He closed his eyes, thanking God for a second chance. "I know it's short notice and a short date, but I can pick you up at five and spend a couple of hours with you."

"I would love that," she said.

Wiley exhaled, grateful she didn't know he was grinning from ear to ear.

"Awesome. See you at five."

He set his alarm for 4:00 p.m. and crawled into bed. Thinking about Linette made it easy to go to sleep.

When he woke up hours later, he was excited by the thought of spending time with her. He already admired her dedication to her job, but there was something about her that spoke to his heart.