Something Wilder(83)

“I was sitting at Archie’s,” she said, her voice muffled by the constant low ringing in his ears, “and I thought, ‘Why did he keep asking me how much money I thought there would be and how we’d split it up?’ He’d been all about the adventure, but then suddenly it was, ‘How are we gonna split it up?’ and ‘Are we gonna have to give some of it to the government?’ Why was he so obsessed with it one minute, but flying to New York the very next? It didn’t add up.”

When Bradley had left, she thought maybe he just wanted to weasel out of questions about what happened to Terry, but then Lily called and told her the Lost Boys had held them at gunpoint. That’s when Nicole had put it all together.

“But how did you find us here?”

“They traced your call from the satellite phone,” Nicole said. “But honestly, we knew to look for a trail, and these assholes are just really fucking sloppy.”

The rangers’ voices faded, footsteps approached, and he felt two arms come around him.

“Hey, you.” Lily coaxed him to lean against her. “Come here.”

Her lips pressed to his neck, his cheek. She ran a careful hand over his hair. “You’re a mess, honey, look at you.”

“I still can’t believe it,” he told her. “Bradley.”

“I know.” She set her mouth against his temple. “I hate him for this. God, I hope someone beats his ass in county.” Scooting around so she was kneeling in front of him, Lily caught his eye. “You okay?”

He nodded, but the motion made him wince.

“I’m worried he has a concussion,” she said to someone over the top of his head. “Leo?” She kissed his cheek. “Honey, do you think you can walk?”

“Yeah.” But when he tried, his legs didn’t want to cooperate. Nothing felt solid. Everything hurt.

Nicole came to his other side, and the two helped him stand. A head rush hit him like a hurricane, and he weaved in place, so queasy that his vision dotted black.

“Easy,” Lily murmured. “Take your time. They’re just getting the shitheads situated in there. They’ll wait for us.”

He closed his eyes, bending to rest his forehead on Lily’s shoulder while he got his bearings. Leo felt like he was falling forward into her, but she was steady and strong against him.

“How did you manage to get a helicopter?” Lily’s voice was a gentle vibration against his skull. He didn’t know how she was so calm right then. Maybe because it was her turn to be steady, and Leo’s turn to be lost.

“I slept with that guy Joe, remember?” Nicole said. “He flies that thing.”

“Oh my God, that Joe?” Lily laughed. “Why did you kick that hot man out of bed? I thought—”

“Hey,” Leo growled. “I’m standing right here.”

“You’re making jokes!” Lily sang. “That has to be a good sign. Let’s try to walk, okay?”

She put her arm around his waist. He took one step, then one more, and slowly, supported by two women who were stronger than any man he knew, he hiked the distance to the chopper. He was glad Lily was okay. He was glad Nicole had slept with a helicopter pilot, that she got the rangers there in time. He was glad he’d grabbed the one important thing from the cave. He was glad they were alive, but it was hard to celebrate: his temples throbbed, his ribs were screaming. But just thinking about what happened… it felt like his heart had cracked in half.

He made it inside the chopper and was situated in a seat near a window. The last thing he remembered before passing out was asking Lily whether he had anything in his pocket.





Chapter Thirty-One


LEO MISSED EVERYTHING that followed because he was essentially comatose for six hours.

Well, not really comatose; the doctors said he didn’t have a concussion but was in shock. Lily was glad he got to miss the odd bedfellows of tedium and stress over this reentry into society. While he was taken to the county hospital about thirty miles west of Hester, Nicole, Lily, and a subdued Walter gave their statements at the police station. Given that they’d already told the police they were out looking for Terry, they stuck to that story. Luckily, Bradley wanted to avoid outright murder charges and gave the same version of events.

It turned out to be a good thing Terry had signed the liability waivers for everyone. Less lucky for Bradley, though, was that he couldn’t avoid criminal charges altogether.

Walter, emerging from his final conversation with his handcuffed former friend, used his crutches for balance as he sat down heavily in one of the plastic chairs beside Lily and Nicole. He told them what Bradley was up against: two charges of kidnapping, two charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, two charges of threat of violence, and one charge of aggravated robbery. “He’s looking at, at minimum, three to five years.”

With a quiet “Thanks,” Walter took his backpack from Nicole. “I declined to cover his bail but told him he was allowed to write us letters of apology from jail.” He cleared his throat. “I also told him he looks terrible in orange.”

Nic barked out a shocked laugh, gazing at him with fondness. “That’s right, sugar. Let him rot.”

“I don’t want him to rot,” Walter corrected, “but I wouldn’t mind knowing he has time to really think about what he did to Leo. I’m not sure I can ever forgive him. He didn’t uphold the Outlaw Code.”