For some reason, Hank Stinson reacted with more than the expected amount of surprise and anger at King’s words. King yanked his torso free from Hank and the deputy, charged for the door, and swung his fist at Clay’s face.
Clay deflected him and, using moves learned years before from jujitsu training, had King plastered face-first against the wall with his arms gripped behind his back so that he struggled fruitlessly.
Hank slapped handcuffs onto King’s wrists and said, “You’re done here, King. Anything you need to say to your ex-wife can be said through an attorney. And you don’t know jack-shit about dominance and submission if you think what you did to her was safe, sane, or consensual. Now you get to sit your ass in the Divine City jail.”
Clay wondered why Hank had reacted with such ferocity to King’s pronouncement that he was dominant and Lily was submissive. He watched them escort King from the surgical floor, as he struggled every step of the way.
Spittle flew from King’s lips as he growled, “This ain’t near over, you bastards. I’m calling a lawyer and you ain’t seen the last of me.”
Hank glanced back at Clay and said, “Tell Mrs. King I apologize for the error and any upset this might’ve caused her.” Clay nodded as they moved toward the elevator. “Jerrald King, you’re under arrest. Anything you say…”
Clay tapped on the door and was immediately admitted by the nurses.
“I’ll get her pain meds,” the first one out the door stated when he told them it was all clear. “She looks like she needs it. I could use a stiff drink, myself.”
The other nurse rose from the chair beside Lily’s bed and offered to take the roses and place them in a vase for her. Lily smiled faintly and nodded, seeming surprised by the nurse’s kindness. The nurse kept her eyes averted, but Clay could clearly see the indignation she felt on Lily’s behalf. She patted Lily’s hand, and nodded to him as she passed him.
“Looks like you’ve made some more friends here, Lily.”
Lily made soulful eye contact with him. “I’m so sorry, Clay. I never intended for him to follow me here or ever even know where I was. I heard a scuffle. Did he hit you?”
“He tried and failed. Hank’s hauling him down to the jail for disturbing the peace and…generally being an asshole.”
“I heard what he said to you. I’m so sorry he thinks we’re involved.”
“Well, I am, in a sense, involved with you. I’m your friend. And I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
Lily gazed at him, words apparently failing her. Was it so surprising to her that someone would champion her? If she had twelve years of marriage to that son of a bitch behind her, he supposed she had a right to be surprised.
Carefully sitting on the edge of the bed, he took her hands in his as the nurses returned, one with pain medication and the other with her peach-colored roses in a vase. They both smiled at him as though he’d slayed a dragon or something and then told Lily to call them if she needed anything else.
“What did your ex-husband mean when he said he’d marked you?”
Lily averted her eyes, and her breath left her in a quiet rush. “He was crazy and abusive. I have lots of marks from him. Take your pick.”
She avoided looking him in the eye, but her pained expression kept him from questioning her any further about it. There was more to it than what she shared. Hopefully they would get back to the point where they could tell each other anything.
Clay looked at her hand clasped in his, and reality struck him. That time in their lives had been twenty-six years in the past. Why did he expect that they would ever get back to that place? A lot of time and a lot of memories filled the distance between them and he might never have “his Lily” back.
Scanning her beautiful, tired face, he decided it didn’t matter. She was back in his life, even if all she would ever let him do was help her through this bad patch in the road. Given time, she might heal emotionally as well as physically. In the meantime, they could start over again.
He grinned at her and began, “About your car…”
Chapter Four
Lily gazed at Clay, relieved by the playful tilt of his lips. She felt guilty for withholding the truth about JT’s mark but grateful that he didn’t press the subject so she didn’t have to outright lie to him. She fully intended that no one else ever see that mark. That meant no relationships unless she was somehow able to have the tattoo removed.
While at the public library in Durst, she’d learned how to use the Internet and had done some research on tattoo removal, but her sessions on the library computers were rare and all too brief. Now that she was free she could do a little more in-depth research. She might start that quest with a visit to the family practitioner Doctor Burns had mentioned the day before.