Chapter Three

      The sound of fear in Lisa’s voice when she called had shocked Ryan out of a deep sleep.

      All she’d said was “I need you.”

      Those three words had kicked Ryan into action faster than buckshot. Her voice had blasted a different kind of heat through his chest, sent it spiraling through him. He’d dismissed it quickly as an inappropriate reaction and focused on the terror coming through the line. He’d hopped out of bed, ignoring the aftershocks of sexual awareness, thrown on clothes and raced toward the hospital. He’d made the drive in record time, parked and still hadn’t come up with a plan to get past security.

      Something had happened to Lisa. He intended to find out what was going on. She’d convinced him she’d been too tired to talk earlier that day and he hadn’t wanted to put undue pressure on her, given all that she’d been through. This was different. No way could he go back to sleep without answers. And no one could stop him from getting them, not even her.

      “Sir, visiting hours are over,” the nurse warned as he stalked toward Lisa’s wing.

      “I received a call from a patient of yours. She’s expecting me.” Like hell he wasn’t going into her room.

      “I can’t allow it. Hospital policy.” The nurse sprang from her seat and moved around the desk too late to block him from entering Lisa’s hallway.

      “Call your supervisor if you have to, but I’m not leaving until I know my wife is okay.” Ryan used the earlier lie he’d given in order for her to receive treatment. He’d had to think quickly then. Surely they wouldn’t refuse a husband access to his spouse now. He figured he had at least a few minutes before hospital security could catch up in order to toss him out of the building.

      “Sir.” Her voice trailed off, which meant she wasn’t following him. She’d most likely doubled back so she could call the security desk.

      Ryan pushed Lisa’s door open and rushed to her side. Desperation was a net, casting a wild animal look over her normally soft, feminine features.

      “I don’t have long. The nurse will have me evicted in a few minutes. Tell me what happened,” he said.

      “Someone was here, Ryan.” The urgency in her words nearly knocked him back a step.

      “Who?”

      “I’m not sure.” An emotion he couldn’t quite put his finger on flickered behind her eyes. It was more than fear.

      “Was it the guy who attacked you?”

      “Yes. No. I don’t know.” Her bluish-green eyes were wide and scared.

      “I need you to tell me what’s really going on.” When he sat on the edge of the bed, he realized she was shaking. It took every bit of strength not to pull her into his chest and comfort her.

      “I would if I could.” She looked away.

      What the hell did that mean? He’d been exposed, firsthand, to people in trouble. Make no mistake about it, Lisa was drowning. He couldn’t do anything to help her unless she gave him something to hang on to.

      If he’d learned one thing from trying to save his brother, it was that people helped themselves. Sure, sometimes they needed an extra pair of hands. Ryan never hesitated to be there for a relative or friend in need to offer support. But drowning people were notorious for pulling others down with them. Ryan had learned to keep a healthy distance until they took those first few strokes on their own.

      “Why can’t you?” Seeing her looking so small in that damn oversize gown overrode rational thought. He fisted his hands to keep them at his sides.

      Didn’t work. He brushed the hair from her face, ignoring the urge building inside him to hold her until she stopped shaking.

      “Believe me, Ryan, you’re the only one I would tell if I could, but this is...complicated and innocent people will be hurt if I don’t play this right.” Her words broke at the end and sobs racked her shoulders.

      Ryan didn’t debate his next action. He just hauled her into his arms, where she buried her face. “I’m here. It’s okay.”

      He half expected her to push him away and tell him she was fine. She didn’t. Instead, she pressed deeper against his cotton T-shirt while he whispered reassurances in her ear he couldn’t guarantee.

      There was no worse feeling than watching someone he cared about in pain and not being able to help.

      Against his better judgment, he told Lisa he would do whatever she needed.

      She broke away and stared him directly in the eyes. “If you really want everything to be all right, take me home with you.”

      Hold on a minute. She couldn’t leave the hospital. The determination in her bluish-green eyes said otherwise. Maybe he could talk her off the ledge.

      “Is that wise?” He glanced at the bruises on her arms.

      “I’d walk out of here on my own if I could,” she said, and he had no doubt she meant it.

      Could he convince her otherwise?

      “The doctor wants to keep an eye on your head injury.” Was it safe for her to leave the hospital against medical advice?

      “I can’t stay here. He’ll come back, or send someone. I’m in danger here. You’re the only one I trust.”

      “Did you tell the nurse?”

      “Yes, I did. She didn’t believe me. She’s most likely calling in a psychiatrist. I won’t make it that long. He’ll slip right back in and...” She bit her bottom lip as if to stop if from forming the next words.

      “Tell me exactly what happened.” They were running out of time. Security would burst through that door any second now. Ryan believed something had happened and he needed to know more. Whatever it was had scared the bejesus out of her. But how could it be the same guy who’d attacked her earlier? That was supposed to be a random occurrence. Ryan had been sitting in this very room when she’d given the deputy her statement.

      “Maybe he works here.” Her shoulders sagged and she looked to be in considerable pain every time she moved. “That’s impossible, isn’t it?”

      “Security will be here any second. What if we explain what happened to them? Maybe we can get them involved.”

      “It’s no good. The nurse will tell them not to believe me.” She held her arms up as though she wanted him to inspect them. “She thinks I’m crazy and she’s sending me for a psych evaluation. End of story. It’s the middle of the night and my doctor isn’t here, but what would she do, anyway?”

      She gestured toward her arms again.

      Ryan didn’t want to say the bruises could’ve been from the earlier attack. She needed to hear that someone believed her. Otherwise she’d jump out of her own skin if someone sneezed. “I see what happened and I believe you. I won’t let him get to you again. I promise.”

      He didn’t say that might not be an option if he was booted out. He’d figure something out. Lisa had been afraid before, but there was a grasping-at-her-last-straw quality to her voice now that didn’t sit well with him.

      Touching her was a bad idea because his emotions started taking over his logical thought. Nothing good could come of that.

      There was more than her reaction that bugged the hell out of him. The persistence of this guy was unsettling. It took guts to attack at a well-staffed hospital even in the middle of the night. Then again, dress in scrubs or a maintenance uniform and he might blend right in. Ryan needed to get into contact with their friend Dylan, who owned a personal security