“Yes, sir. We’ll have him call the hospital for now.”
‘Thanks.”
“It’s good to hear your voice, Sheriff.”
“Same to you, Delores.”
“Take care.” I end the call and wait impatiently for it to ring.
A male nurse brings in a tray about ten minutes later, so I sit back in my bed with his assistance. It’s much easier to have a man help me into bed. “Thank you,” I say.
“You’re welcome, Sheriff. Press the call button if you need anything else.”
I nod, and he departs, leaving the door open and pushing a large cart of meals to the next room. I dig in, eating my food so I can get out of here sooner. This meal isn’t as bad as the last one, but it’s still fairly bland.
As soon as I set my fork down, the phone rings. Quickly bending, I grab the receiver and bite back the stabbing pain in my leg. “Marlowe.”
“It’s Bennett. You wanted me to call you?” he says. There’s a tone of indifference.
“Took you long enough. What the fuck were you busy doing?” I snarl, hating that he didn’t see my call as important enough to have some damn urgency.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I was in the shower. What’s it that you need?”
“Lydia. I know she hates me, but I wish she’d just come and tell me. Fuck, if she said it over the phone I could start mourning the loss of our relationship.”
“Wait, you want to see her?”
“Of course I fucking do. I’ve been waiting a whole day without a word.”
“So you don’t hate her for killing your mother?”
Is he freaking serious? “Fuck, I would have put a bullet in my mother’s head if she hadn’t ambushed me. Why would she believe I hated her?”
“Besides the fact that she killed your mother, the deputy told us you’d gone into shock after learning of it, so she figured you hated her. You said it was over between you two. Nothing we could say has stopped her from being upset.”
“So she doesn’t hate me?”
“Not one bit. It seems the wires got crossed. Let me get that shit fixed. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”
“Please just put her on the phone. I need to hear her voice, Rocky.”
“Of course.”
“Hello,” Lydia answers with a hiccup.
“My sweet Lydia. I’ve missed you so much.”
“Whit?”
“Yes, of course it’s me. God, I’m so damn sorry. Will you ever forgive me for all of this?”
“Forgive? There’s nothing to forgive you for. I’m the one who…”
“Don’t—don’t even apologize for killing that demon. What she did was unforgivable, and I’m so grateful that you’re alive. Please tell me you’re not hurt.”
“I’m not. I managed to avoid any real injury. I don’t know what happened, but when can I see you?”
“Well, I’m sure the visiting hours are closed.”
“Fuck visiting hours. I don’t care.”
“Well, get some sleep, my feisty woman, and then you can have Bennett bring you down in the morning. Then you’re staying until we can bust me out of here.”
“Sounds good to me. Do we have to hang up now?”
“No, babe. Talk to me. Tell me what’s going on. How are you feeling right now?”
“I can’t tell. I’m happy and confused at the same time. I want you here with me, Whit. I’m sorry for what I did, even though you don’t want me to be sorry about it. I’m sorry that I had to do it at all.”
“I’m sorry that you had to do it too, love. I just don’t want you to feel like you ever owe me an apology for it. I’m lying here because I wanted to see you again and I’m too damn stubborn to die, but it wasn’t for a lack of her trying.”
“How bad is it? Are you in a lot of pain?”
“Only missing you. They have me pretty doped up right now. I have to do some physical therapy and then I can go home once I behave, but overall I think some of my previous injuries caught the major damage, so it was like hitting scar tissue, slowing down the bullets.”
“I wish I could stab her again,” she mutters under her breath. She gasps when she hears me laugh.
“Babe, relax. I get it. The thought of her being near you is what sent me back into the bed. I swear I wasn’t upset with you or wanting to leave you for one second. I want our relationship to last until my dying days. Fuck, even after we’re gone from this world.”
“I miss you.”
“I miss you more, feisty little Lydia. Please don’t cry. I can’t handle that shit.”
“Okay, but maybe you need to stop telling me what to do.”
“Not going to happen. So go get your pretty ass ready for bed so that you’re well rested. I don’t want you getting sleepy while you’re getting your pussy eaten out. I’m a hungry man, and the food here is bland as hell.”