Until Cobi (Until Him 3)

I take a seat in the chair next to the bed and stare at her face—like the stalker I’ve suddenly become. Even with dark circles under her closed eyelids, a bruise, and stitches marring her forehead, her features are elegant. She’s beautiful, with dark, wavy, red hair that is fanned out around her head, and a peaches-and-cream complexion that is a stark difference to the white pillow she’s lying on and the blanket she has pulled up under her chin.

I frown, wondering who she is and why she seems to have such a profound effect on me. I rub my hands down my face and lean back in the chair, too tired to think about that right now. I’ve been up since 5:30 a.m., and it’s already after three the next morning. I tell myself I’ll just rest my eyes for a minute then I’ll leave and go home, but instead, I end up passing out.

“I cannot believe I had to find out from the news that you were in the hospital!” a woman shouts, jolting me from sleep. I sit forward, rubbing the back of my sore neck, and watch a very pretty woman with dark skin and long, wavy hair stomp across the room in heels toward Hadley’s bed, where she stops to plant her hands on her hips.

“Brie, keep your voice down.”

“Don’t tell me to keep my voice down, Hadley. You’re all over the news and in the fricking hospital.”

“Yes, but as you can see, I’m fine.”

“You were shot at!” the woman shrieks, and I wince at the sound then watch both women turn to look at me. “Who is he?” she asks Hadley then looks back at me, repeating her question with narrowed eyes. “Who are you?”

“Detective Cobi Mayson,” I respond, and her eyes widen while her mouth forms a soft O.

“Do I need to make a statement?” Hadley asks before her friend can say anything, and I focus my attention on her, really seeing her for the first time in the light of day. Her small white teeth are nibbling nervously on her plump, pink bottom lip. Her wavy, shoulder-length hair is not dark red like I thought last night, but deep brown with a hint of red. She has a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose, and her eyes are blue, not a deep blue but a misty sea blue with flecks of gold that shoot out from the irises. “Do I?”

I clear my throat and play back her previous question in my mind. “Yes,” I answer, figuring it would seem strange for her to wake up with me in her room for any other reason.

“He’s dead, right?” she prompts, and I watch every muscle in her small frame tighten. “The guy who kidnapped that woman, Harmony—he’s dead, isn’t he?”

“He’s dead,” I confirm softly.

Her shoulders relax, and she whispers, “Good.” Even though she says it like she means it, I can tell that her being relieved someone is dead doesn’t sit well with her. Harlen told me that both Harmony and Hadley witnessed him killing Hofstadter with a bullet to the back of the head while he was standing over the two with his gun aimed at them and his finger on the trigger. I have no doubt that if Harlen hadn’t taken Hofstadter out when he did, neither my cousin nor Hadley would be here right now.

Looking into Hadley’s eyes, I can see that what she witnessed last night is still messing with her. Most civilians will never be the victim of a violent crime, but those who are carry that weight around with them every fucking day, never able to put what they experienced behind them without a lot of time and some major help.

“Is… is… Harmony okay?” Her fingers wrap around the edge of the blanket so tightly that her knuckles go white.

“Harmony’s good, out of surgery and resting. The doctors expect her to make a full recovery.”

“Thank goodness,” she whispers, releasing the blanket as her friend reaches over to rub her shoulder.

“Thank God you’re okay too,” Brie says, and Hadley looks up at her.

“I know,” she agrees, and an uncomfortable feeling fills the pit of my stomach, one that has everything to do with the fact that I could have lost her before I even knew who she was to me.

“You shouldn’t have followed them,” I say. Her head turns toward me and her back instantly goes ramrod straight.

“Damn straight she shouldn’t have followed them,” Brie adds, but Hadley’s eyes stay locked on mine.

I think I like Brie.

“I had to.”

“I told you I was right behind you. I told you to keep fucking driving,” I growl, unable to keep control of the rush of emotions filling my stomach and chest.

“And I told you I couldn’t do that.”

“You should have listened to me.”