not the only one I need to talk to. I need to have a word with Ramsey, Cain, and Hardaway, too. Especially Hardaway.” What the hell was he talking about?
Leah frowned. “What do you mean, ‘especially Hardaway?’ Why do you want to talk to the four of us? What do you think we’ve done?” Butch rang for the elevator himself and smiled. “I thought I was the one who asked too many questions. What floor?”
“Five,” Leah said. Why on earth were they sending I.A. down on them? Shit, they’d risked their lives to bring Draco down. What kind of bullshit was this?
Butch smiled serenely as the doors slid closed. “It always happens this way. Now you’re not so pleased to see me.”
“If it bothers you, maybe you should change departments.” Butch raised an eyebrow at the barb, then he chuckled. “I would, Leah, but it gives me indescribable pleasure to witness a truly bad cop come to the end of the road.”
Leah dropped her head. Nick had been her partner for eight years.
She didn’t believe it was Nick. It damned sure wasn’t her. Noah? Lucas?
That just couldn’t be. Noah and Lucas were highly decorated First Grade Detectives. They didn’t do bullshit detail. They were reserved for the most dangerous jobs, because they got the job done. Rookies aspired to be like them. Everybody wanted to work with them. They were the goddamn Rock Stars, for Christ’s sake! Leah’s stomach lurched in her singular moment of doubt that one, or both of them might be dirty.
They stepped out of the elevator and she shook it off. No way that shit was true.
“I gotta tell you, Leah, I’m gonna do my best to get the hell outta your hair as soon as possible. I’m gonna talk to you guys all at once. I’ve already requested a wheelchair for Detective Hardaway. We’ll meet in Ramsey’s room, since he can’t be moved. I got Cain on his cell phone.
He was en route. I asked if he’d meet us there.” So Lucas had gone home. Leah was quietly relieved. Butch didn’t necessarily need to know Nick was his woman.
“Yeah, okay.”
He smiled at her. “Relax, Wheeler. This isn’t really about what maybe you think it is.”
She frowned. “I’m not into cryptic messages, Butch. What’s it about, then?”
Butch took his cell phone off his belt and made a ‘be patient' gesture at her with his hand. “I got a couple of calls to make, then I’ll meet you in Ramsey’s room. Relax.” He handed her bag back to her and started off toward Nick’s room with the phone to his ear.
“Relax. Right.” Leah mumbled to herself. She turned the corner and walked down the hall to Noah’s room.
It had been a week since their shoot ‘em up with the Trinidad brothers. It had taken six days for Dr. Garrett to let Noah out of the twi-light he’d kept him in. Leah hadn’t seen him since he woke up. She’d left early when that screwball, Nadine, started tripping and Noah’s father told them both to get the hell out of Noah’s room with that mess.
Leah hadn’t done anything, just watched peaceably, as Nadine ranted and raved about her presence and made a gigantic fool of herself.
Leah had deferred to Big John and done what she was told, without argument. She didn’t mind. She liked him and it had only made Nadine’s ass look crazier. Besides, she was pretty sure John was used to having his way.
Leah paused when she got to Noah’s room. The door was unexpectedly open and she heard a woman laughing. Leah walked in as the nurse was pulling the privacy curtain. “Good morning!” she said brightly. She was a full-figured, cocoa colored woman, somewhere in her thirties. She had sparkly brown eyes and pearly white teeth. Her hair was swept up into a swingy ponytail.
“Good morning.” Leah smiled at her.
“Just give us a second. I’m trying to get a pair of shorts on Mr.
Ramsey. We’re almost there.”
“Sure thing.” Leah set her bag on the little table that swung across the bed, and put her purse down.
Leah listened to Noah’s banter with the nurse. His voice sounded low and raspy, but he sounded like himself — he was flirting outrageously. Leah smiled, not even mad at him. She was ecstatic that he was okay. She felt more for that man than she’d ever admit to anybody, herself included.
The nurse threw back the curtain and raised Noah into a sitting position with the remote. Leah stepped around the curtain as the nurse was fussing with a pillow behind his head. When Noah saw her, his eyes twinkled and he smiled at her. “Hey, Leah.” She smiled, too. “Welcome back.”
They’d taken the big bandage off his face, leaving a smaller one on his cheek. Though his face was still bruised, it was no longer swollen, and that scary bluish tinge was gone from beneath his eyes. Noah had his color back. He looked like himself again, despite all the remaining broken bones and bruises.
The nurse disappeared discreetly and Leah heard the door snick closed behind her. Noah’s left arm was still in a sling, but he reached for her with his right. Leah took his hand and sat on the bed next to him.
Noah brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.
He smiled at her warmly. “Did you miss me?” Leah tried to smile back, but she choked up. “Oh man, Noah. I was so scared for you.” Tears bubbled up from nowhere and spilled over.
Noah pulled her to him with his good arm. He kissed her lips and rubbed her back. “It’s okay. It takes a lot more than that to break me.” Noah held her until she pulled herself together.
Leah sat up and wiped her tears away, finally smiling. “I met Nadine.”
Noah’s eyebrows went up. “Yeah? What was that like?”
“It was an experience. She didn’t seem to care for me too much.” Noah rubbed his hand along her thigh and her heartbeat picked up.
He smirked. “Yeah? Imagine that.”
Leah touched his curly hair. Ran her fingers through it. “She seems to think you’re still her husband.”
Noah didn’t look at her. He seemed absorbed in watching his hand rub her thigh. “I’m not. What else did she say?”
“She said you wanted to come home.”
“She did, huh? What else did she say?” Noah kept rubbing her thigh but he raised his eyes to meet hers.
“She says she’s pregnant. Is that true, Noah?” He sighed and his hand stopped moving. “I’m pretty sure she is. What did you have to say about that?” Noah stared at her and she stared back. Leah took her hand out of his hair and kissed him hard on the mouth. Noah’s hand moved to hold her face as he returned the kiss, sweet and slow, like he kissed her the day they removed Tamiko.
“What did you say, Leah?” He didn’t really break the kiss, just spoke around her lips.
Leah giggled, kissed him indulgently, and sat back. “I said … well, what I said doesn’t
