Jill Shalvis - Strong And Sexy

“This one’s different.”

He rubbed a hand over his jaw, the day-old growth there making a rasping sound that went straight to her good parts. “She’s on her way to the ER. There was some sort of accident at her work.”

“Shit.” Apparently already completely over the kiss they’d just shared, he sighed and moved ahead of her to the tarmac door. There, he hesitated, glancing back. “We’ll deal with what just happened later.”

Or never. But Maddie nodded, and when he was on the tarmac, she let out a low breath and reminded herself that the kiss had been her idea, which meant she had no one to blame for messing up the best thing that had ever happened to her.

Shayne let Brody drive him to the hospital because it was easier than arguing. “Seriously. I could have driven myself.”

“Are you kidding? Our insurance company is going to dump you if you get another speeding ticket.”

“I don’t have that many.”

Brody sent him a baleful look.

“Okay, so I have a few speeding tickets.” Shayne didn’t care. He eyed the road, jaw tight, hardly able to breathe. Maddie had taken the call, so he hadn’t heard Dani’s voice, but Maddie had admitted she hadn’t sounded so good. Dani had said only that she was at the ER, and that if it wasn’t too much trouble, she needed Shayne to come and verify her sanity, preferably before she was questioned by the police.

The police?

Shayne had called Dani’s cell, which had gone right to voice mail, then tried the hospital, but they wouldn’t release any information except directly to a family member. Patrick had been next on his list, but he’d had to leave a message.

When Brody got caught in afternoon traffic, Shayne staved off a heart attack by calling the zoo. Their main switchboard was closed, and he couldn’t get past it. “Take the 5,” he directed Brody.

“It’s bumper-to-bumper. I’m going over the pass. What happened, anyway? I thought you two had your one-night already.”

“It turned into two nights.”

“How? I thought it was just sex.”

It had been. Only then he’d gone back for seconds.

And wanted thirds. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Are you sure? Because you’re looking like this is a lot more than sex, Shayne.”

“Brody?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.” He tried Dani’s cell again, but it was still off. He slapped his phone shut. “Goddamnit.”

“No answers?”

“Maybe if I call the hospital back and tell them I’m her husband-”

Brody choked and nearly drove them off the road.

“Jesus, Brody.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve just been rendered stupid by the H-word that so easily flew from your lips.”

“Just drive.”

“Noah’s right,” he muttered, watching the road. “You are far gone.”

“Oh yeah? And how does he know?”

“He said he recognized the signs.”

“What signs?”

“The insanity, for one.”

Shayne glanced at the speedometer. “You’re driving like an old lady. Can you get it out of first fucking gear?”

“Old lady?”

“Seriously. Try second gear. Just for the hell of it, try third.”

“What’s going on, Shayne?”

“What’s going on? Dani’s in the hospital, and no one will tell me why. That’s what’s going on!”

When they finally pulled into the hospital parking lot, Shayne jumped out.

“Shayne, wait.”

“What?”

“Just sex. Remember that.”

Shayne rolled his eyes and ran through the double doors, going directly to the front desk.

A woman in scrubs stood there looking more than slightly harassed. She had a receiver to one ear, a radio to the other, and was eyeing a stack of charts in front of her, where the phone was lit up like a Christmas tree. She was barking orders at someone behind her; 211 was to get a sponge bath and 243 needed blood work. Someone in 316 needed a death certificate signed.

Which nearly gave Shayne a coronary.

“Dani Peterson?” he said. “I need-”

“Hang on.” She tried to switch the top chart to the bottom of her stack and the entire pile tumbled out of her hands to her already cluster-fucked desk. “Oh, perfect.”

“Dani Peterson?” he asked again.

“Hold on a second, I’m swamped.”

“Dani Peterson.”

When she glanced at him, he lowered his voice. “It’s an emergency.”

“You’re in a hospital. Everything is an emergency.” But whether it was the look on his face or her own humanity kicking in, she sighed in acceptance. “Okay. So you’re Danny Peterson?”

“No.” He willed himself to breathe, and also to access his patience, which he usually had in abundance, but it’d flown south for the winter. “Dani Peterson’s here. I got a call about an accident, and I need to see her. Where is she?”

The nurse leaned over the keyboard and typed something. “Looks like the fourth cubicle on the left-hey,” she called as he began running-“you can’t go in there unless you’re family!”

Shayne whipped open the curtain for the fourth cubicle on the left, but it was empty.

Except for the blood drops on the pillow.

His heart stopped. Just plain stopped.

“Ouch. Ouch.”

At the sound of Dani’s voice, Shayne’s knees nearly gave out, but he moved around the bed.

She was on her knees on the floor, holding her head.

“Jesus.” He dropped to his knees too, and reached for her.

“No,” she whispered, very carefully not moving a single inch. “Don’t touch me. Don’t even look at me.”

“Dani-”

“Oh, God. And don’t talk. Please…” With the care of the very inebriated, or from someone in bone-deep pain, she let out a careful breath. “Is my head still on? Because I think it’s falling off.”

“Where the hell is the doctor?”

“They’re inundated right now. Some big traffic accident.” She pulled a wad of towels away from her head, which came away red. “Oh, boy.”

Jesus. As gently as he could, he pushed the compress back to her head and brushed her hair from her face. Pain made her eyes glassy, and he leaned in and touched his lips to her temple. “What happened?”

“Complicated.”

Someone had hurt her, that was clear. The sheer amount of violence that was coursing through him shocked him. And told him something he already knew. Not just sex.

He’d deal with that later.

“I have to…get into this gown.” She swallowed hard. “But if I move, I’m going to throw up.”

“I’ll help you.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called you, but I was scared, and-”

“Shh.” He reached for her, scooped her up.

She managed a sound that might have been a pain-tinged laugh, but let him set her on the bed. He grabbed the hospital gown and unfolded it.

“You’ve taken my clothes off twice now. Is three times going to be the charm, I wonder?”

“Charm?”

“The last time.”

“Why?”

A sad smile twisted her lips.

“Dani? Why would it be the last?”

She’d closed her eyes and looked far too pale. “I figure you’re either beginning to panic or at least feeling the need to hightail it away from me.”

“Dani.” He pulled off her shoes. She was shaking. Shock? God.

“Don’t worry, I’ll understand either way.”

Would she? Because he wouldn’t. “Dani, stop. We can talk about us later. What happened to you?”

“Honest. You can go, I’ll be fine.”

She’d be fine? She had a dent in her head, blood pouring out of it, but she’d be fine. Who the hell could walk away from her in this condition?

And why did she think he would?

A uniformed cop stuck his head around the curtain of the cubicle. “Dani Peterson?”

Shayne looked at him. “Can I help you?”

“Who are you?”

“Dani’s husband.”

Dani twitched, then at the movement, held her head and groaned.

“We need to ask her a few questions,” the cop said, then looked at Dani. “You told one of the night keepers that you saw a dead body.”

A dead body? What the hell? Shayne looked at her, saw the wince cross her face.

“Yes,” she whispered. “That’s right.”

“She’s injured,” Shayne said, feeling extremely tense. “This can wait.”

“It’ll only take a moment.” The cop looked determined. “Ms. Peterson? Where was this dead body?”

“It was in the closet of my office,” Dani said quietly. “I don’t know if it was the same one as before.”

“As before?” The cop didn’t look happy at this news. “What does that mean?”

“Dani, don’t say anything else right now,” Shayne instructed. He turned to the cop. “You’ll need to wait until her doctor clears her before asking anything else.”

The cop’s jaw tightened but he nodded, then turned and left through the curtain, presumably to go get his clearance. Shayne let out a long breath and touched Dani’s face.

She caught his hand. “Husband?”

Yeah. And he did not want to discuss the ease with which the word had rolled off his tongue. “Focus. Dead body?”

“You’re probably wondering what the hell, right?”

“Yes. What the hell?”

“I saw the dead body again.”

“So I heard.”

“In my office closet.” Lying back, she grimaced in pain. “Me and closets…”

“Okay.”

“I know. Sounds crazy.” She drew a shaky breath. “I thought so too, believe me.”

“So what happened to you?”

“I have no idea. I’m thinking my mom and her crazy relationships warped me more than I thought.”

“I meant your head, Dani. What happened to your head?”

“Oh.” She made a sound that might have been a laugh. “After I saw the body, I staggered backward, and then I think I tripped over someone.”

“Who?”

“Or thing. Maybe I tripped over something.” She put both hands to her head as if she could hold it in place. “I don’t know.”

“Was someone in the office with you? Besides the dead body?”