She rested her cheek against his forehead. “There are some things you shouldn’t joke about.”
Despite the pain and tiredness, her touch brought perfect serenity. Rylan let the happiness soak right through to his bones. This was everything he’d never allowed himself to want. He closed his eyes and savored the moment. For the first time in forever, his mind was at peace with himself. There were no unrealistic expectations being forced on him. He was accepted for who he was.
He opened his eyes. “I love you, you know.”
Bree lifted her head and smiled at him. “I know.”
“Well, look who’s finally awake.” Trey’s hearty tones from the doorway made them both jump. “The doctor did that whole don’t-tire-him-out thing when I asked if I could visit with you.”
“One of these days, we’re going to have to speak to your brother about his timing,” Rylan muttered.
“What are you two laughing about?” Trey asked, as Bree resumed her seat.
“Just happy to be alive,” Rylan said.
“Lucky to be alive, you mean. You nearly didn’t make it.” Trey made a move as if to grip his hand, then decided against it. “Thank you for saving my sister’s life.”
Rylan smiled at Bree. “I had an ulterior motive.”
Trey raised his brows in a question, but Bree shook her head. Clearly, she wasn’t ready to share something they’d barely discussed. Instead, she deflected her brother’s attention. “How’s Jekyll?”
“I didn’t know dogs could sulk, but that’s one moody mutt,” Trey said. “I took him back to Rylan’s ranch. Dinah said to let you know she’ll take good care of him along with all the others. She sends her love to both of you.” He pulled up a chair and sat down, viewing the bank of machines behind Rylan warily. “Can your blood pressure stand the strain if we talk about the case?”
“Ahem.” Bree moved her chair even closer to the bed. “David Swanson has done enough damage. If I think the discussion is too tiring for Rylan, we stop. Okay?”
Deciding he liked this new bossy side to her personality, Rylan moved his hand toward hers. “Agreed.” She entwined her fingers with his.
“Okay.” Trey nodded. “A few hours after I left Bree at her apartment, I got a call from the police in Winnipeg to say the man they’d detained had started behaving irrationally. As soon as they presented him with a list of the charges he was wanted for here in Colorado—assault, abduction, vandalism, etc., etc.—he asked to talk some more. That was when he dropped the bombshell that he wasn’t David Swanson.”
“I don’t understand.” Although Rylan’s voice was still weak, it was growing stronger. “You said David paid someone to do this. The other guy impersonated him, drove erratically and resisted arrest. He’ll face jail time. Who’d take that deal?”
“Apparently, David found himself a homeless guy who looked enough like him not to raise any eyebrows when he used his passport. The down-and-out won’t spend long behind bars. Totally worth it if he gets a big payout at the end.”
“If David is also in prison, how will he pay him?” Bree asked.
“The money could already have changed hands,” Trey said. “Or someone else may be responsible for making the payment.”
“So we’re back to Lone Wolf? What does David have to say about him?” Rylan was getting tired of his horizontal position, but he suspected he would regret any attempt to change it.
“Nothing.” Trey rubbed his knuckles along his stubbled jaw. “He’s not saying anything much at all from his hospital bed under police guard. Although the syringe you stabbed him with only contained painkiller—”
“Whoa.” Rylan looked from Bree to Trey and back again. “Back up a bit here. Who stabbed David? When? What?”
Bree gave Trey a reproachful glance. “I was going to lead up to that in easy stages.”
“I’d like to hear you break it gently when you tell him that David turned up at the hospital, stole a set of scrubs and cornered you in a treatment room,” Trey said.