Rock Chick (Rock Chick #1)(54)

Then, of course, there was Kitty Sue and Ally’s hysterical arrival with Malcolm and Dad dogging their heels.

Kitty Sue wasn’t crying and carrying on, she was shouting and carrying on. Gram told me often enough growing up that in times of emotional strain, shouting was just as good a release as bawling. Both of them made you ugly but only one of them ended in red, puffy eyes and a blotchy face. Kitty Sue was the wife of a cop, she’d long since learned that teary hysterics would get her nowhere but yelling captured attention. Men as a whole didn’t know what to do with tears, but they’d do anything to make a woman stop yelling.

Mr. Kumar had come to the hospital too and he didn’t seem to know what to make of these goings-on so he remained quiet and tried to be invisible. Jimmy questioned Mr. Kumar after he questioned me.

Once Jimmy left, I finally went to the bathroom and, I kid you not, the relief was so immense I nearly cried.

Then I told everyone I was waiting for Tex to get out of surgery. I did this in a way that no one said a word in protest. I still had the cuff bracelets on my wrists and a goodly amount of blood on my body from cuts from the bushes and possibly also from Tex. I wasn’t in a state, physically or mentally, to be trifled with.

I sat down next to Mr. Kumar, grabbed his hand and held on tight. Mr. Kumar didn’t seem to mind this, but then again, he’d witnessed my hissy fit too.

Everyone else settled in for the long haul.

On Kitty Sue’s command, Dad and Malcolm went in search of refreshments and hideous machine coffees were passed around. Kitty Sue and Ally hung close to Kumar and me. Lee and Hank had disappeared.

I’d lost track of them during my hissy fit but waiting for news of Tex, moments of clarity came to me. Memories were jogged and pieces started floating together.

I was pretty pissed off I’d been kidnapped again. I was also pretty certain I was about five seconds away from losing a kneecap. I’d never paid a lot of attention to my knees, but after inspecting them closely in the waiting room, I decided I liked them just the way they were.

I’d been afraid, afraid for my life, afraid for my kneecap and although I’d been nearly blinded by tear gas, I’d seen Tex take a bullet for me.

Being afraid made me mad. It made me mad that I’d been kidnapped on the doorstep of my home. It made me mad that Kitty Sue was hysterical. It made me mad that Malcolm stood glancing at me every few seconds as if he wanted to say something but thought I was too fragile to hear it. And it made me mad that my Dad sat across the waiting room wearing his worried expression.

And as I ciphered the bits and pieces of the puzzle that had been floating around me for days… pieces of the puzzle I’d been too stupid to fit together, I became pretty f**king angry.

The thing was, I was pretty certain that Lee had played me.

Lee and Hank walked into the waiting room and everyone looked at them. Lee’s face was stony. Hank looked angrier than me and he shook his head in negative once to Malcolm and Malcolm’s face became even tighter. At the silent communication, Dad cursed loudly.

I guessed (correctly) Pepper Rick got away.

Hank walked right up to me, pulled me out of the chair and gave me a tight hug that stole my breath.

Lee stopped at Dad, Malcolm joined them and they started to have a quiet discussion that I couldn’t hear.

This made me mad too.

Hank came to hug me but Lee barely even looked at me.

Jerk.

I mean, he might still be mad at me for what I’d said at the barbeque, but I’d just been kidnapped, for God’s sake. That deserved at least a pat on the shoulder.

Hank let me go because the doctors came in and said Tex was okay. The bullet entered at the shoulder, breaking the shoulder blade and ricocheted out a second hole.

They said if we were quiet and didn’t stay long, Mr. Kumar and I could go and visit Tex together.

Tex looked out of place, too peaceful and way too big for the bed. I didn’t know what to make of him without his night vision goggles.

I barely knew this man at all, and he’d saved my kneecap.

He came to groggy, opened his eyes and they focused on me.

“You’re a fun date, what’re we gonna do tomorrow night?” he asked.

After he asked the question, he fell back to sleep hearing my stunned laughter.

* * * * *

Mr. Kumar drove to the hospital and took himself home. Ally took Kitty Sue home while Hank drove the rest of us. Malcolm sat in front with Hank and I sat sandwiched between Lee and Dad in the back. It was clear they were my honor guard.

Dad held my hand, tight, and Lee had his arm along the backseat of Hank’s 4Runner which meant it also ran along my shoulders. This was not a show of affection but so we’d have more room.

No one said anything. There was nothing to say.

Hank stopped in front of Lee’s condo building and Lee unbuckled and slid out, then unbuckled me and grabbed my arm, pulling me out with him.

I was a little surprised. I thought he was still pissed about what happened at the barbeque. I was pretty certain I was going home that night, not to Lee’s. Furthermore, I wanted to go home. Lee might be pissed about me and my stupid mouth, but I had more reason to be angry.

“Liam,” Dad called and Lee kept his hand on my arm but bent at the waist to look in the backseat.

“Yeah?”

“You take care of her,” Dad said, his voice gruff and the Guinness folks could have popped by to record the occasion, such was my world-record pissed-offedness.