Even the Score(93)

The pain meds were still making her sleepy on and off, but she was getting stronger every hour. She even tried to yell at me once to bring her her laptop, but that didn’t go over so well. I called all of her clients to let them know what was going on, but most of them had already heard.

Detective Larson and I were also in constant contact. He called a couple of times a day to check on Dani, and although there wasn’t always a lot to tell due to the snail’s pace of the criminal justice system, he kept me posted on all developments regarding Javier. He’d been arraigned on charges of felony assault and attempted murder, and hopefully, if they could connect him to the messages, the vandalizing, and Roxy, there would be many more charges coming. According to Larson, when they asked him a question, Javier just stared down at the table in front of him the whole time, saying nothing. The good news was that due to the brutality of the attack, his bond was set at half a million dollars, but the bad news . . . still no obvious motive, and he was still refusing to answer any questions. Larson had already spent two afternoons with Dani going over pictures of Javier and trying to connect the dots as to where she might have seen him, but nothing rang a bell. Nothing at all.

By day three, the fake leather chair in the corner of the room had my ass print permanently embedded in it. My back ached as I closed my laptop and relaxed against the back of the chair, cringing when it made a loud crinkling noise. Dani’s eyes fluttered open.

“Sorry,” I whispered loudly as her eyes stopped on mine a second later.

“That’s okay.” She smiled, sitting up gingerly. She straightened her back up tall and pushed her arms high above her head. Four days ago, I would’ve never thought it was possible to look sexy in a hospital gown, but Dani pulled it off flawlessly. The fact that I got to give her a sponge bath yesterday didn’t hurt, either. She sat on a stool in the shower as I stood behind her, gently scrubbing her back with a soapy washcloth. She held her new hot pink cast out to the side, trying not to get it wet. As I watched the trail of bubbles flow over her breasts, down her tummy, and pool where I liked to rest my fingers and tongue, my dick got more than a little chubby. When she noticed the bulge in my pants, she rolled her eyes and snatched the washcloth with her noncasted hand.

I stared at her with my head tilted to the side. “How do you do it?”

She frowned at me. “Do what?”

“Look so damn sexy all the time?”

Arching one eyebrow, she eyed me skeptically. “Have you been helping yourself to my pain meds?”

“I’m not high, Dani.” I let out a hard laugh. “I mean it.”

“Well, I could actually use the ego boost today, so I’ll save the argument and take the compliment. Thank you.”

“You need a bigger boost?”

She let out a heavy sigh. “I already told you. I am not having sex in the hospital.”

“Not that kind of a boost,” I shot back playfully. “I mean an actual mood boost? It’s been three days, and I’ve been getting tons of texts. People want to come see you.”

“Really?” Her voice peaked with excitement.

I nodded. “Yeah, Sadie texted, Ellie texted, Brody and Kacie asked to come by, then Ellie texted again, Ethan checked in, and then the nurses threatened to have Ellie arrested.”

She pressed her lips together and smiled as her eyes softened. “Awww, I miss Ellie . . . a lot.”

“Good, because she’s coming by at lunchtime and basically said nothing short of a tranquilizer dart will stop her.” I chuckled, only half kidding.

She giggled, but her smile faded as quickly as it came. “I’m nervous to see people,” she said hesitantly, her eyes darting around the room.

“Why?”

“Andy, look at me. I’m a bruised, swollen mess.” She sounded defeated. “I’m gonna brush my hair and put on a little makeup, maybe that’ll help.” She stood, moving slowly and carefully. As tempted as I was to rush over and help her, I knew if I did, she would just get pissed and tell me to back off.

“Maybe another sponge bath would help?” I asked nonchalantly. Her head snapped my way, and I wiggled my eyebrows up and down.

She wrapped her good arm around her ribs and tried not to laugh. “I think that helps you more than it helps me.”



She decided that she did want another sponge bath after all, and difficult as it was, I behaved myself completely. She carefully slipped on a loose-fitting T-shirt and yoga pants instead of her hospital gown to feel a little more like herself. I leaned against the door frame with my arms crossed over my chest, watching as she dragged a brush through her long, dark hair and stared at herself in the mirror. Her bruises were healing, but that meant turning some wicked colors, and at the moment the right side of her face was a crazy shade of light purple.