Betrayals (Cainsville 4)

"Better start with this," he said.

"Tease."

"Drink all the water. Slowly. Then you can have the mocha. But if the nurses come by?" He jerked his thumb at Gabriel. "He brought you coffee."

I propped up the pillows on the bed, shifted over, and patted a spot for him to take.

He perched on the edge, giving me plenty of room. "So where in the story are we?"

"The rescue," Gabriel said.

"Ah, good. Keep going, then. This is your part."

"I mean the part where you rescued us."

"Found you. The rescue was the bring-Liv-back-from-the-dead part. Which is totally yours."

"Back from the dead?" I said, rising.

"He's being dramatic," Gabriel said. "It was CPR."

"I stopped breathing?"

"Oh, he skipped that part, did he?" Ricky said. "The doc will tell her everything, Gabriel, so you might as well fess up. The whole story. Leave nothing out."

Gabriel went still. An odd look crossed his face, and he shifted, his gaze escaping to my pillows, which he fussed with, grumbling that I needed to keep my head supported.

"He saved your life," Ricky continued. "He just doesn't want to admit that, because it totally blows his tough-guy rep. Fine, then. He brought you back to life. Meanwhile, I..."

Ricky finished telling the story. Then he detailed my injuries. When he got to the stab wound, Gabriel said, "That is my fault."

"Uh, no," I said. "Pretty sure you didn't stab me."

"He means he's taking responsibility for the fact he didn't realize you'd been stabbed and therefore didn't tend to it right away. Which, as the doctors have pointed out, wouldn't have made a difference." Ricky mock-lowered his voice. "He's not quite himself yet. I'd take full advantage and ask for a raise."

When Gabriel gave him a look, Ricky said to me, "It's the hypothermia. The paramedics said it causes mental confusion and poor decision making. Luckily for both of you, he only had the confusion."

Gabriel shifted back and sipped his coffee. I opened my mouth and then paused. A thought had slipped through the periphery of my mind. Something important.

Speaking of mental confusion...

"Aunika!" I said. "The last we saw..."

"I'd love to tell you she's all right," Ricky said. "But honestly, I don't know. I went by the center yesterday, and I managed to get a girl who works there to talk to me."

"Was she about twenty? Dark hair? Sleeve tattoos?"

"That's her. She finally admitted she hasn't seen Aunika since Monday. Aunika did text her, though, saying she was fine and needed a couple of days off."

"That text could have been sent by her captors."

"Yeah. I'm still working on getting her home address. That girl sure as hell wasn't giving it to me."

I fell silent, chasing another thought, and then said, "Over the drop-in center. She said her apartment is on the second floor."

"Good," he said. "We'll check that as soon as you're up to it. In the meantime, just tell me what legwork you need done. I can do the online stuff, too, but I did bring your laptop. It's over there with a bag of clothing."

"Laptop. I left that in...Shit! My car!"