And Reese just enjoyed the peace that he felt when he was near her.
Chapter Seven
By the time she got home, Chloe wanted to crash. Her body was torn between exhaustion and the mad surge of adrenaline that had been created back at the Serpent. She went home alone because Joel had ridden in the ambulance with one of the patients. They’d been on the way to Memorial Grove hospital. Joel was known there. He’d even been offered a position by the people in charge, but he’d turned it down in order to keep working with her.
After seeing him in action that night, she wondered if he thought the decision had been a mistake.
Maybe working with her was a mistake.
Maybe he was ready to go back to his old life, and if he was, she couldn’t stop him.
Chloe shut the door behind her. Put her back against it. Her hair slid forward over her face.
“My, my…” Marie said as she strolled down the stairs. “And here I thought your brother looked like shit.”
Her head lifted. “He’s back here?”
“Yes. Currently snoring loudly enough to shake the house. Surprised you didn’t hear him.” Marie reached the landing and stared at Chloe across the expanse of the foyer. “Rough night?”
“The Serpent is gone. Two explosions. One was in the security room, so the footage of Reese’s night will be long gone.”
“That would explain the singed hair on your left side. You’ll want to trim that up later.” Marie’s shoulders tensed, belying her almost mocking words, then she pushed, “You weren’t hurt in the explosions?”
“I’m fine.” Chloe made a mental note to trim that hair.
“Where’s the stray who usually trails you?”
Chloe swallowed. Her body ached, and she wanted to get into a shower and just wash the night away. “At the hospital. He’s okay. Just—”
“Falling back into old habits. Got it.”
She didn’t think being a doctor was a habit. He’d studied for years to be a surgeon. He’d wanted that life. Until a monster had tried to take it away from him. “He may not stay,” Chloe heard herself admit.
Marie took a step toward her. “Stay at the hospital…or with you?”
This wasn’t the time. If she hadn’t been so tired, Chloe would never have made that slip. “I can count on you to watch out for Reese, can’t I? I will pay whatever you need for bodyguard services with him and—”
“I’ll watch Reese, and you won’t pay me anything else.”
One problem solved. Reese would be safe. “Thank you.”
Marie nodded.
Chloe headed for the stairs. As she passed Marie, her friend reached out a hand to touch her side.
Chloe stilled. “There’s something else?”
“There are a few somethings.”
The night was never going to end.
“Morgan Fletcher.” Marie dropped the name and stared into Chloe’s eyes.
She fought the urge to tense at the mention of her ex-fiancé’s name. “I asked you to check up on him. Judging by your expression, I take it that you’ve already found something interesting.”
“Oh, it wasn’t hard to find info. If you hadn’t been out battling explosions, you probably would have heard the news, too. Not every day that a man comes back from the dead.”
Morgan hadn’t been dead. He’d faked his death some time ago and created a whole new identity for himself. Mostly because Chloe had led him to believe she had proof of crimes he’d committed. Crimes like…murder.
“Your ex is making headlines in Boston right now,” Marie revealed in a carefully neutral tone. “Seems that when his yacht went down, he made it onto a life raft. He was lost at sea for a while. Rescued by some fishermen. He was injured, quite confused. Didn’t know who he was. His memory has only recently returned.”
The entire story was bullshit. Morgan hadn’t been lost. In fact, he’d recently been in New Orleans. Watching her. Then he’d fallen off the radar again…
Only to now show back up in Boston? “This is really not something I need right now.”
“Then you should have let me kill him when I had the chance.”
Yes, true. Marie wasn’t wrong. The man needed killing. Because he isn’t going to stop.
“He thinks he’s in love with you,” Marie added.
“I’m just his latest obsession. I fit his pattern.” She looked just like the first woman her ex had killed. Chloe tried to push back the tension in her body. She hated thinking about Morgan. He reminded her of what a huge mistake she’d made.
Once upon a time, she’d thought that she had a real connection with him.
Then, of course, she’d realized the truth. Morgan Fletcher—handsome criminal defense attorney, charmer—was evil.
“It’s not your fault.”
At Marie’s low words, Chloe realized that she’d been staring at the floor. Her gaze jerked up. “It is. I made a mistake with him. I let him get close to us all. I should have realized the truth sooner.”
“The man is a world-class liar. You should see the media coverage he’s getting right now.”
Unfortunately, she would have to see it. Later.
“It’s like a conquering hero has come home. He’s feeding his tale of woe to reporters who are greedily swallowing it whole.”
“He always did have a knack for being able to capture his audience.” That was why he’d been such an effective defense attorney. He could make any jury believe his words. Could get them eating out of his hand.
He even fooled me.
“I’ll deal with him.” Chloe squared her shoulders. “At least we know where he is. If he’s in Boston, holding court with reporters, that gives me time to handle what’s happening here.” One nightmare at a time. She put her foot on the bottom step.
“What’s his plan?”
Chloe glanced back. “Mutual destruction.”
Marie’s eyebrows dipped low. “What?”
“He disappeared before because he thought I had intel I could use against him.” Because Chloe had figured out who—what—he really was. “I think he now has information that he believes he can use against me.”
“What kind of information?”
Information about her family. “I’ll deal with him,” Chloe said again.
“Oh, great. Wonderful. Don’t share. That’s the way to play it.”
“It’s…been a very trying day. As you pointed out before, my hair even caught on fire. I need to go upstairs.” Before she collapsed. “Thank you for the information on Morgan—and for watching after Reese.”
Marie pressed her lips together and looked away.
There was something else? Dread settled around her shoulders. “What is it?”
“Reese…he must still be out of his head.”
Alarm flared. Reese. He was what mattered, not Morgan. She knew that Reese had been examined by several doctors while in police custody and they’d given him the all-clear. Yes, he’d have dizziness and headaches, but he should have been fine. “What happened?” Reese could not be—