Forever After (Unrestrained 5)

“I’ll stay here,” Elaine said. “Bring me back a tea and sandwich, will you? Turkey or ham. Whatever they have that looks decent.”

“We will.” We stood and walked down the hallway, taking a maze of stairs and passages to get to the cafeteria where several dozen staff and visitors sat, chatting and eating their meals.

Once we had chosen our drinks and food, we carried them on trays to a table where we sat and ate, saying little because we were both so exhausted. While we were sitting there, I noticed several of the nursing staff glancing over our way, no doubt because they knew who Drake was.

I wondered if they were merely remembering him from the time he was on staff or whether it was recent news coverage. I glanced

at one of the television screens that hung in the corner of the room and saw that the channel was turned to a news station.

Had they seen the news cast with the photo of Drake?

I felt a lump in my throat. Should I tell Drake? Or should I let him eat his meal in peace? He had enough on his plate without having to confront the nasty rumors that were going to be circulating that he’d conspired with Lisa to kill me.

How could anyone who knew Drake believe that he would do such a thing? It was impossible…

“People are looking at us,” Drake said, catching my eye over his forkful of pasta salad.

“I know,” I said with a sigh. I hated having to tell him about it, but apparently, I had no choice. “There was a news report on the case. They had a photo of you…”

He put down his fork and I heard him exhale heavily. “On television?”

I pushed food around on my plate, suddenly not hungry any more. “Yes,” I said. “On the local news.”

“What did they say?”

“Only that you were ‘embroiled’ in an attempted murder case from a hit and run earlier in the year. They said your ex-girlfriend and ‘submissive’ sex partner in a kinky relationship had driven the car and it wasn’t clear yet if you were a suspect. They showed a picture of you leaving the hospital in your scrubs and then one of Lisa in an orange jump suit. That was all I caught.”

“She isn't my ex-girlfriend so they got that wrong. I expected as much.” Drake put down his fork and looked at me intensely. “You know there’s no truth to it, right?”

“Drake,” I said, surprised that he’d even have to say it. I reached out and took his hand in mine. “Of course not. I know you despised having to continue dealing with her. You told me everything. That’s what I told the police. They should be laughing Lisa out of the interrogation room instead of keeping you on their radar. Why would you even say that? Do you think I would even suspect it for a moment?”

He shook his head and glanced around the room, as if looking to see if anyone could overhear. “The police always look at the husband first, or boyfriend or ex. They’re the most likely culprit when a woman is murdered or if there’s an attempted murder. It’s almost never a woman or disgruntled ex-girlfriend. Plus, there's those letters…”

“Those letters are fakes,” I said and squeezed his hand. “Besides, I know you. They don’t know you and they don’t know me. They don’t know our relationship. The police must follow procedure. Once they do, I know they’ll write you off as a suspect.”

He pulled my hand up to his lips and kissed my knuckles. “I love you, Kate.”

I smiled at him, the tenderness in his voice making my throat tighten. “I love you, Drake. We’ll get through this.”

“We will,” he said, “but we may have to start new lives somewhere else, if my reputation is harmed enough.”

“Don’t say that,” I said. “Anyone who knows you knows that you’re a stellar person and highly skilled neurosurgeon. A great humanitarian. Look at your foundation. Look at all the time you spent in Africa. All the money you raised and donated… How could they think you’re a murderer? Why would they treat you like one?”

He looked down at his plate and moved his food around some more. “People can turn on you in an instant. I found that out with Maureen.”

He glanced up and we locked eyes. “I’ll never turn on you nor will your true friends,” I said softly, emotion making my voice hoarse.

His eyes moved over my face. “How is it that I’m so lucky to have met and won you? How?” He kissed my knuckles once more and smiled at me.

He glanced around and I did as well, catching a few people quickly look away. They’d been watching us, and I felt glad that they saw us being affectionate with each other. That would show them what our relationship was really like.

“I hate that they’re all watching us like vultures. Let’s take our food and go back to the waiting room. I’ll take the trays out.”

I nodded and collected up the plastic containers with our sandwiches and Drake’s pasta salad. I had a cardboard carrier for our tea and coffee and Drake carried the trays to the dishwashing station and left them on the line.

“Let’s go,” he said when he came back to me, his arm around my shoulder. He leaned down and kissed me. Just then, I caught someone with their cell phone held up, taking a picture – or video – of us. When I turned and stared at the woman, she hastily put the cell away.

“What was she doing?” Drake said, his voice affronted. “Was she taking a video?”