Shattered (LOST #3)(71)

“I know it’s you, Detective West.”

A ripple of surprise ran though him.

“I can smell your cologne.” Her head turned and she glanced over at him. He saw that Molly was very much awake.

He blinked at her response. “I . . . ah, my mom gave me that.” Hell, that was a stupid damn thing to say. He knew it was. Especially considering that it just reminded Molly that her own mother—

“Your mom has good taste.”

He found himself taking a step closer to her. She looked better. Not that stark white pallor to match the sheets. She almost seemed to have a touch of color in her cheeks. The shadows were still heavy under her eyes, but . . .

“Were you there, when my brother died?”

He should have never walked into her room that night. “Yes.”

“Will you tell me what happened to him?”

Brent shook his head. “You should rest tonight. You need to get your strength back.”

“Please . . . tell me.”

That one word pierced through him. Please. He knew this girl . . . no, this woman, hadn’t begged her captor. But she was right there, begging him. “Don’t,” he said as he took another step toward her. “Don’t you ever beg anyone for anything.”

She licked her lips. Nodded.

Oh, hell. “He was shot. A guard . . .” A stupid, overzealous guard. “Your brother had been given some bad drugs, Molly. They messed with his mind. We didn’t realize how much, not until it was too late. He grabbed a scalpel. A nurse was there and the guard . . . he . . . fired.” The words seemed so cold.

Molly’s hands had fisted on the covers.

He reached over and his fingers curled around hers. “He said something, there at the end.”

“What?” Her voice was so hoarse.

“He said that he loved you. He knew you’d been found. I told him you were safe, and the last thing he said was that he loved you.”

Her head turned away from him. He could see her shoulders shaking. The machines were starting to get louder. He expected the nurses to rush in at any time and demand that he leave.

But he didn’t want to leave Molly.

His hand curled around her shoulder. She turned back toward him, moving fast, and she reached out to him.

Hugged him.

He didn’t move. The last thing he wanted was to push her away and hurt Molly. She’d been hurt enough. But . . .

“Thank you,” Molly said.

She had nothing to thank him for. If he’d just gotten to the med ward two minutes faster, she wouldn’t be grieving then. Her brother would be alive. Brent had been too slow.

“I loved him, too,” she told him. He could hear the tears in her voice.

His hand brushed over her hair. Molly looked up at him. “Will you stay, just until I sleep?”

He nodded.

“I feel better,” Molly said, “when you’re here.”

He pulled a chair closer to the bed. “Then I’ll stay as long as you need.”

She smiled at him, and Brent knew he wasn’t going anyplace.

SARAH’S EYES OPENED. The room was dark around her. A nightmare hadn’t woken her, not this time. She reached out, but the bed next to her was empty.

That was why she’d woken. Because Jax wasn’t there.

She sat up in bed, pulling the covers to her chest. “Jax?”

“I’m here.”

Her head turned toward his voice. After a moment, her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she saw him standing near the window. He appeared to be staring out at the night.

“Is something wrong?”

“I don’t always sleep so well.” He dropped the curtain and walked toward her. She could hear the sound of the floor squeaking beneath his feet. “I didn’t want to keep you up.”

“You didn’t.” She reached out for his hand. Wound her fingers through his. Then she remembered when she’d been with him before. She’d woken from her nightmare at his house, and he hadn’t been in bed. “Do you want to talk about it?”

He tried to pull away. She just held his hand tighter. “I’m not asking as a shrink,” she told him quickly. “I’m just asking because if you want to talk, I want to listen.” He’d heard all about her darkest moments. She wanted to hear his.

“There are some things you shouldn’t know.”

There were some things that Sarah wished she didn’t know, but those things . . . they weren’t about Jax. When it came to him, she wanted to know everything.

“I’m not going to judge you.” She wished that she could see his face, but it was too dark.

“No, but you just might run hell fast away from me. And that’s not an option for me. I can’t lose you.”

“You won’t.” She didn’t want to lose him. They had something together. Something between them that she didn’t fully understand, but she wanted nonetheless. She’d never had someone who made her feel so comfortable. Someone who seemed willing to risk so much, for her.

“Don’t be so sure of that, pretty Sarah.”

Pretty Sarah. He’d called her that from the beginning. And she liked the way his voice roughened when he said her name.

“I’ve done things that might scare even you.”