“Lydia-”
“I need you to get the hell out of here. Now.”
“Wait a minute.” He was frowning at her.
“I mean it Archer.” If there was any food in her body, she would throw up. As it was she had to force herself not to gag. “I’m going into the witness protection program. My father is a criminal.”
“Your father isn’t a criminal. He made some bad mistakes which he’s correcting.”
“You don’t know everything.”
“I don’t give a shit.”
“Get out of here. I appreciate the visits. You’ve been a great guy. I can’t thank you enough for having saved me. For having saved my family. But that’s all it was. That’s all it can be. I’ve been living in a dream, building little happy endings.”
“Exactly, there’s more here, you mean more to me than-”
“Shut up and leave.”
“No. You mean so much to–”
“Well nothing can come of this. I’m sick. My life is in ruins. I don’t need one more thing to feel bad about. I’m begging you. Leave.”
“Oh Baby, this isn’t going to work you know. I’m not going to leave here being mad at you. I care too much.” He stood and bent over the bedrail, his hands framed her face. He stared deep into her eyes.
“You’re one of the best things that has ever happened to me Lydia Hidalgo.”
“Ahhh Clint.” What could she say to that? To him?
“You need to leave now.” He looked at his watch. “I’ll never forget you Clint.”
“There is no way this is over, Baby.”
“Yes it is. You need to forget me like I need to forget you.”
He came around to the other side of the bed, furthest from the door. He pushed down the bedrail and eased his hands under her back and legs.
“What are you doing?”
He lifted her, got into the bed, and arranged it so she was lying, over him. Oh God, it felt so good.
“In the little time we have left tell me the truth.” She looked into his eyes and found she couldn’t lie anymore.
“I don’t want you to disappear again.”
He cradled her head under his chin, and his hand rested against her forehead. He kissed her hair.
“Tell me about your nightmares. Tell me about your dreams. I want to know everything there is about Lydia Hidalgo.”
“Clint, this is so wrong. Nothing can come of it.”
“Give me this. Give me this time. This is my dream.”
“I’ll give you this if you’ll then give me my dream.”
“Anything.”
“First, you tell me everything there is about Clint Archer, then you promise to forget me.” He clutched her close, she felt his warm breath on her neck.
“Ahhh, Lydia. You hold your dreams close, and I’ll hold my dreams close.”
Chapter Four
Lydia woke up in a cold sweat. Her father and mother were standing over her bed, her mother had tears tracing down her face, and her father looked anguished.
“Where am I?”
“You’re in the hospital again,” her mom whispered. Everything hurt. Lydia felt like she was under water. Even asking the one question had taken an enormous amount of energy.
“Why?”
Her mother’s eyes darted over to her father, and Lydia remembered. She remembered being strong once. This wasn’t her.
“I relapsed didn’t I?”
“It’s all my fault.” Now tears dripped down her father’s face.
She couldn’t deny it, so she didn’t say anything.
He turned away from Lydia’s hospital bed, her mother tried to grab him, but he fled the room.
Lydia struggled to lift herself up, but fell back on the bed.
“You must rest daughter.”
Lydia watched her mother twist the straps of her purse.
“I’m so sorry. I should have made him stop. I was pretty sure what he was doing. I should have stopped him, but I wanted a better life for you and Beth.”
Lydia’s tears started in earnest. She had always suspected that her mother knew about her father’s illegal activities, but to have it confirmed devastated her.
“Where is Beth?” It took all of Lydia’s concentration to ask the question, she was dizzy and it hurt to talk. The pneumonia had sapped all of her strength. She hated the toll this illness took on her body. It seemed like this third bout was the worst.
“She has to be close by, you know our keepers won’t let her get far.”
Lydia grimaced. She realized her mother was bitter. They had been cooped up in the safe house now for four months. But they were safe. And, hadn’t both of her parents brought it on themselves?