It had taken effort for Harper to form words, but she had to be sure she understood. “He’s really dead?”
Her lips tightening, Baxter had rested a hand on the bed rail. “Really dead. He’s never coming back.”
The rest of the editor’s visit was a blur. At one point, she thought she heard Baxter say, “Someday, I’d love for you to write a story that doesn’t end with you in the hospital.”
By then, though, Harper was falling back into a deep sedated sleep. She dreamed that she and her mother were back in the light-filled kitchen of the little house where she’d grown up. Standing in front of an easel, her mother was painting a field of white daisies, her brow creasing with concentration as she added slender green stems to each flower.
“It’s over, Mom,” Harper had told her, eagerly. “It’s finally over.”
In her dream, her mother had looked over at her and smiled; then the light in the room had blazed like a fire.
When Harper woke up, it was day, and she felt at peace.
After DJ left, she must have slept again. She didn’t know how long she’d been out before someone knocked at her door. Her eyelids were heavy, and she lifted them slowly, expecting a nurse.
Luke stood in the doorway.
“Hey.” She tried to raise herself up, but flinched when that brought a stab of pain.
He crossed the room in three steps, bending over her to straighten the pillows. He’d showered and shaved; she could smell the sandalwood shower gel he used. But it didn’t look as if he’d slept. Shadows underlined his eyes as he lowered himself onto the edge of the chair.
“How’re you feeling?” he asked.
“About a hundred years old, but I guess I’ll live. How’s it going out there?”
“Florida State Police pulled Aaron Dowell over a couple of hours ago on Interstate 10, driving a stolen car.” He gave her a look of pure satisfaction. “He’s in custody. He’s going to be charged in the murder of Lee Howard. We found a knife in his possession that could be the murder weapon. It’s being analyzed now.”
Harper let out a long breath.
Luke squeezed her good hand. “I knew you’d want to know.”
“Thank you,” she said, holding his gaze. “And for being there last night. You and Daltrey saved my life.”
“Don’t thank me,” he said, gruffly. “I’m just sorry you had to go through that.” He looked down, his brow knitted. “Last night scared the hell out of me,” he said. “Seeing your car like that … I thought for a second…”
His voice faltered. He lifted her hand to his lips.
“Do you have any idea how Dowell found me?” she asked.
“We think maybe he staked out Xavier Rayne’s house. If he’d seen your articles, he’d have known you’d come out there at some point.”
Harper tried to imagine Dowell watching everything unfurl outside the house. Cara holding the gun in a shaking hand. Hunter sliding down the steps, color draining from his face.
“I’ll give him credit—it was a good time to go for you,” Luke said. “That storm was so bad, the highway was closed. The chief banned all nonemergency travel out of the city. We only got permission to go when Tybee Police called in about the shooting. That’s where we were headed when we saw the SUV parked on the side of the road. At first we thought someone had broken down. Then we spotted what was left of the Camaro.” He drew a breath. “We put it together pretty fast after that. We knew you were out there somewhere, and he had to be out there too. The rest you know.”
“Luke, what’s going to happen to me?” She searched his eyes. “Are you going to investigate me?”
He went quiet. “There’ll be an investigation,” he said, finally. “I won’t have anything to do with it because…” He didn’t have to finish that sentence. “It doesn’t matter. You’re going to be fine. You stopped a killer from killing all three of us. No prosecutor in Georgia will want to try that case. If some fool tries, you’ll win.”
Harper thought of all that Dowell’s vendetta had cost. This had to be the end of it.
“I hope you’re right,” she said.
He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “Look, there’s something else we need to—”
“Miss McClain, how are you?” A nurse bustled in, interrupting him.
Jumping to his feet, Luke retreated to a corner of the room as the woman checked Harper’s blood pressure and oxygen levels. After pushing various buttons on a number of machines, the nurse headed for the door, saying cheerfully, “I’ll be back shortly with your pain meds.”
When she was gone, Luke stayed by the window, staring out.
Harper looked at the side of his beautiful face—the worried crease in his brow. “Hey,” she said. “What were you going to say?”
He hesitated before turning to face her. “It’s nothing. We can talk about it when you’re better.”
The moment felt weighted with all the unspoken words and misunderstandings that had driven them apart for years, and she willed him to say something true, just this once. Anything at all.
He cleared his throat, his eyes skittering around the brightly lit room.
“This isn’t the right time, or the right place.” His face was hard, as if the words were costing him. “But, last night, seeing you, half dead. I learned something. Something I should have learned a long time ago.” He met her eyes. “I love you, Harper. And I don’t know what to do about that.”
She reached out for him. “I don’t know what to do, either,” she said. “But, I love you, too.”
He took her hand and bent down, his lips gently brushing hers.
“We can’t ever have a normal relationship,” he said, his breath warm against her skin. “Our jobs won’t let us. We can’t do this.”
“I know,” she said. “But I don’t want to live without you.”
He straightened, looking down at her with those watchful blue eyes she’d loved since she was twenty-one years old, and he was a rookie cop, and she a rookie reporter. That was seven years ago. So long to wait.
“We’ll figure something out,” he said.
Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded.
The nurse bustled back in, humming to herself.
Luke stepped back again. Glancing at the nurse, who held a tray of medicines, he said, “I better get moving.”
He crossed the room, his shoes silent against the linoleum, and paused in the doorway.
“By the way, what are you going to do about the car?”
Harper hadn’t had a chance to think about that yet. The Camaro was totaled.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I guess, get a new one? Somehow. With no money.”
“I might be able to help,” he said. “Give me a call when you’re out of here. I’ll hook you up.”
It was so Luke. I love you. Let’s get you a safe car.
When he was gone, the nurse came over with the pills and a cup of water and glanced at the empty doorway.
“Now that’s a good-looking detective,” she observed.
Harper smiled as she took the cup from her. “Yes, he is.”