Chapter 48

"You didn't believe me." She tried to sound angry but it came out in a hitching breath. She could tell that both of them knew she was near tears.

"We wanted to, love," Zeke said as he tried to take her hand.

"Wanting to and doing so are two different things. I can't deal with men who can't tell the difference."

The doctor glided into the room. "It looks like you can be released today. After a talk with your brother on the phone and the fact that your trip to Hawaii will be restful since you have your own jet, I'm going to allow it. But, I called a colleague at Queen's Medical. You are to check in with her while you are there."

She nodded.

When the doctor left them alone, Rory stood up. "What's this crap about going to Hawaii?"

"Conner wants me there, and Jillian does too. He wants me to take a rest."

It wasn't what she wanted, not really, but maybe it was what she needed.

"You can't think that you need to be there, away from us," Zeke said. His voice was low, and his accent deepened.

Looking at him hurt. It hurt more than the three cracked ribs that bastard gave her. She wanted to think that they wanted her on some other level, but when push came to shove, they didn't. She couldn't stay with men who couldn't at least believe in her a little.

"I think it would be best for me. For…all of us."

Zeke glanced at Rory and she could feel his need to argue rise. Zeke would argue just because he felt guilty. Thankfully, someone knocked at the door. It swung open and her brother strode in. His face was stern and there were bags under his eyes.

He didn't stop until he was by her side. She could tell he couldn't decide what to do.

"Maura," he whispered. She wasn't sure he even knew he said her name. She took his hand in hers.

"It looks much worse than it is."

He swallowed and she knew that he was barely holding it together. Conner had a world-class temper when he let it loose and she was waiting for him to explode. He had probably been holding onto it the entire ride over. She didn't have a long wait.

He looked at Zeke and Rory. "How the fuck could you let this happen?"

Zeke winced but Rory crossed his arms over his chest.

After a long moment of silence, Zeke answered. "We were looking at the wrong person."

"You two are trained in the field of security and you let this happen? What the hell else can I think but you are incompetent."

She knew her brother was upset, even scared. But she would not lay the blame of the entire episode at their feet. "You are the one who would not listen to me when I said it had nothing to do with Petersen. The cartel wasn't going to care about Petersen and if they were going to go after someone it would be the federal prosecutor."

By the time she stopped talking, she was exhausted. Apparently, once again, the cooler head in the room was Jillian.

"Guys, why don't you take it outside?"

Conner opened his mouth but apparently after seeing Jillian's expression, he thought better.

"Okay. Come on," he ordered without waiting to see if they would follow. Typical Conner. She would have smiled but her split lip was still throbbing.

Rory gave her a glance, and said nothing else before walking out. Zeke hesitated, leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Get some rest, love."

Then he walked out.

Jillian waited until the door shut to approach her bed.

"So, you really know how to throw a party," she said.

Maura laughed then groaned. "Don't make me smile. It hurts."

"Oh, baby." Jillian sat in the chair next to the bed. She slipped her hand into Maura's. "How bad does it hurt?"

Maura squeezed her hand. "Pretty bad. Although, they keep me drugged up."

"Let me guess, you don't want to be drugged so you are making sure you only take in so much. You will take some drugs for the trip back. It will be too hard on you, honey."

She nodded knowing that was true.

"Plus, they didn't want me sleeping last night because of the concussion."

Jillian sighed. "Now, you want to tell me how much the rest of it hurts?"

She glanced at Jillian and wondered not for the first time how strange fate was. The two of them had been thrown together in college. She was pretty sure that no one in their right mind would have paired the two of them up. The tattooed bohemian and the nerd. But, they had become good friends and now they were sisters.

The bad thing about that was that Jillian knew her all too well.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Listen, be straight with me. Your brother would get upset if I slapped you around considering the condition you're in."

She smiled, just a little so it didn't hurt.

"They didn't believe me. Even while they were all checking out the Petersen connection, they ignored what I said, and they doubted what I claimed. They didn't really believe someone was stalking me."

Jillian leaned forward and brushed some of Maura's hair from her forehead. "And that hurt more than being dumped."

It was so good to finally have someone understand. Tears filled her eyes and her vision wavered. Jillian said nothing. She picked up a tissue and handed it to Maura.

"To have someone doubt me like that...I am not sure I can deal with that. No one has ever doubted my intelligence."

"They called you stupid?" Jillian asked, outrage sparking through her voice. "Isn't that just like men? If it were someone else, then yes, but you...you never overreact. Zeke knows that."

"So, it has been a rough couple of weeks."

"Yeah, I can tell. Basically because you look like shit." Maura laughed through the tears.

"I've missed you."

"You just saw me ten days ago and if all of this was going on, you should have called."

Maura sighed. "Promise me you won't get mad?" Jillian nodded. "I was afraid you would tell Conner. He wasn't happy with the situation of me being with two guys to begin with. I know he has serious doubts about Rory. This just made it worse."

"Tell you what. As long as I think you are not in imminent danger, I promise not to tell Conner."

"The two women in my life plotting against me?" Conner asked from the doorway. He was alone.

Jillian smiled when she saw him. For once in a really long time, Maura felt the sharp sting of jealousy. She was happy for her brother and her best friend, but their happiness saddened her even more.

"Not plotting, but we have to establish rules for friendship again. Where are the guys?" Jillian asked.

"They had to go talk to the police again. They want all the information they can get on O"Connell. Interpol is very interested in him. He is suspected in doing some very bad things overseas."

"In Ireland?" she asked trying her best not to let anyone see just how much it upset her that they left her. They just left the hospital knowing she was leaving soon. It sealed the end of the relationship she had with the two of them.

"There and then he became a gun for hire. He's suspected of teaching some terrorists in the Middle East, and then some in Somalia. He's a very bad man."

"And Maura beat the shit out of him," Jillian said with more than a little pride in her voice. Maura fought the smile because it would hurt again.

"I did. So, I guess, I am better than the FBI and Interpol. They can suck it."

Conner smiled then it faded. "You're coming with us."

She nodded. "I think it will do me some good to just hang out on the beach, rest."

Conner and Jillian shared a look of worry.

"Don't freak. I'm in a lot of pain and I'm smart enough to know rest is the best medicine."

Conner nodded. "I'm going to call Brett and tell him we are going to be leaving soon."

He left them alone and Jillian sat back down.

"You can do it now."

"What?"

"Cry."

"You think I am going to cry over those jackasses?" The last of it came out on a sob.

"Yes, and then we can plot revenge." She took Maura into her arms. And for the first time in days, Maura broke down and cried.