Lies(55)

It hurts. But I can’t help but smile. “Yes. I do.”




“This is bullshit,” says Jen, arms crossed, standing at the end of my bed on my second day in the hospital.

“I’m sorry.”

My bestie just frowns some more. Can’t really blame her. With the morphine dialed back, I’m not at my happiest either. Care of a big patch of spine that’s bruised black and blue, ribs giving me hell, and all the rest, there’s not much to smile about right now. Apart from being alive. And being gaga about Thom. And getting to see the people I love again. Those things still matter. It’s just hard to remember that even when breathing makes me wince with pain.

“I watched those two weirdos cart you off in that ambulance,” she says, voice tight with anger. “They had to push me out the door to stop me from going with you.”

“I know. I’m so sorry I couldn’t get word to you. Not even a message. They wouldn’t have allowed it, and even if they had, it would only have put you in danger.”

“So what can you say, exactly?” she asks, shoulders slumped.

“Nothing,” I admit. “I’m supposed to say nothing at all. Despite this, I’m going to tell you that someone very high up in the government told me not to say anything or bad things would happen. Litigation. Jail time. I don’t know what exactly. She used a very ominous tone. I’m not ashamed to say I was frightened.”

And it’s the truth. The woman Charles sent to debrief me kind of quietly terrified the crap out of me. With Scorpion still out there somewhere, there’s always one of the guys or Thom hanging out with me. Since Thom was busy elsewhere and Fox had been on guard-the-fiancée-duty, I had to deal with the government lady on my own. In all honesty, I’d probably rather go through another gunfight than face her again. If she’s taking Helene’s place on the committee, I wish them all the best.

“So you can’t say anything beyond telling me you’re not allowed to say anything or doom will befall us all?”

“Got it in one. We never had this conversation and we will never refer back to it again. Do you understand me?” If it hadn’t been for Thom searching the room for bugs and producing a thingy that blocked anyone else attempting to listen in, Jen and I wouldn’t have even been able to discuss even this much. “The official story is, I was in a coma and accidentally admitted to the hospital under the wrong name, meaning no one could find me.”

Jen snorts. “Like I didn’t go to every damn hospital looking for your sorry ass. I would never have believed that nonsense.”

“I know. That’s why I’m telling you what I’m telling you. Which I’m not even supposed to be telling you.”

“Which is still nothing.”

“Sorry. But it’s all I can give you. Please understand, I’m not joking when I say, these people…they’re dangerous. We have to keep their secrets. There’s no other choice.”

“And Thom is one of them?”

“No.” The more I think about his retirement, the more I like it. “Thom is safe. But like I said, we’re never going to discuss this again. And you definitely cannot discuss it with him.”

She plonks her ass on a chair, giving me tired eyes. It’s going to take some serious amounts of pedicures and ice cream to make this up to her. “Are you going to tell me about that huge rock on your finger?”

“We’re in love and getting married. For real this time.”

Jen blinks once, twice, three times. “You were just playing when you dumped him?”

“No! Absolutely not. You know me better than that,” I say, my arms now crossed too. Only it hurts my ribs and I don’t want to be defensive around my best friend. This is just seriously fucking awkward. Misleading or outright lying to her just wouldn’t work. Not only do I not want to do it, but what with having known each other for pretty much ever, the woman can read me like a book. No way would she believe their crap cover-up story. Getting Mom and Dad to swallow it had already required some acting on my part. “I was serious about breaking up with the man. Since then, however, we’ve had many and varied discussions. There was also some ass kicking delivered to him by my fine self, and now we’ve decided to give it another go.”

“Curiouser and curiouser. What then, you love him now?”

“It kind of happened within a short period of time, but yes, a stupid amount. It’s the truth.”

“And he loves you?”

“He says he does, and I, for one, believe him.”

“Okey-dokey,” she says.

“You’re letting it go that easy?”

She shrugs. “What the hell else can I say? This whole situation is beyond confusing. But on the plus side, you’re alive, happy, not blown up, and mostly in one piece. As for your return to engaged status, so long as I still get to choose my own bridesmaid’s dress, it’s fine with me. I always liked the guy, anyway. A little on the quiet side, but you can’t have everything.”

“He’s not actually as quiet and boring as we thought he was. We may have been just a tiny bit off on that count.”

“But let me guess…” Jen raises a brow. “You can’t tell me about it.”

I give her a grim smile. “Got it in one.”