“Better,” she said without elaborating. She hadn’t been hungry, but the visit to Max had lifted her spirits, and she settled back into the lounge chair to eat.
There wasn’t much sense of night and day in the hospital, although maybe there were fewer staffers on the night shift. But finally she looked at her watch and saw that it was early in the morning. She’d been at the hospital all night, wearing the same clothes she’d had on the day before.
She glanced over at Jack, who was dozing with his long legs stretched out in front of him. Trying not to wake him, she got up quietly, but he was instantly alert. The way Max would be, she thought, her heart squeezing as she thought about him lying in the hospital room down the hall. She needed to see him, but she felt pretty grungy after her night in the chair.
“You need something?” Jack asked.
“I have to freshen up.”
“Okay.” He cleared his throat and said, “Before you go, we should talk.”
“About what?”
“When we were down in Max’s room right after they brought him in, he said he’d like to know you’re in a safe place.”
“I will be—when he can come with me.”
“He can’t stay with you,” Jack answered. “You know he’s getting back on the case as soon as he can, because that’s the best way to protect you.”
“I don’t want him doing anything… foolish,” she answered.
“He thinks the same about you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I can’t leave here until he does.”
“You’d ease his mind if he knew you were safe.”
“Let me think about it,” she conceded. “I’ll be back in a few minutes—and I’ll give you an answer.”
“Okay.”
She stopped at the nurses’ station and asked if there were any toiletry articles for relatives who had come to the hospital on short notice to be with a patient.
One of the nurses brought a plastic bag with some soap, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a disposable washcloth. She went down the hall to the ladies room, which she was glad to find was empty. After using the facilities, she brushed her teeth, then washed her face. While she was making herself presentable, she thought about what Jack had said and also about her conversation with Max while she’d lain in bed with him. Maybe she’d communicated with him more honestly than she ever had with anyone else in her life.
Then something else struck her. Earlier, when she’d talked to Jerry, she’d remembered how she’d felt after she’d first met him—like Superman had taken her hand and was flying her over New York City. Oh Lord, and now…
She hadn’t felt that warm glow in years—until she’d made love with Max. Once again Superman had grabbed her hand and taken her flying with the wind streaking through her hair and the ground rushing past below them. Only this was different. It had nothing to do with making it as a model. It had everything to do with her and Max—and the joy they brought each other. He’d said he wanted a relationship, and she wanted that too. More than anything else. And she knew that they could make it happen because they were both as determined as a conquering army.
Or Max would be when he got better. Her heart squeezed as she pictured him lying in that hospital bed. She didn’t want to leave him now, but she knew that if she stayed here, she’d give him something to worry about. And the less stressed he was, the faster he’d heal.
It was a heart-wrenching choice to make, but she felt better both emotionally and physically after she’d made her decision and cleaned up. Turning to leave, she saw the door swing open, and a man dressed like a hospital staffer in a green uniform walked in. At first she thought he had come to clean up the bathroom. Then she saw his face and gasped.
Chapter 25
Olivia went rigid as she took in the sight of Troy Masters. “What…what are you doing here?”
“Guess.” His voice sounded nasty. And the look on his face conveyed the same impression. Nasty or angry? Probably a combination of both.
The expression and his mere presence here gave her a terrible jolt. The last time she’d seen him, he’d been wearing a gas mask to hide his identity and keep the smoke from choking him and burning his eyes.
He was blocking half the doorway. She thought about pushing past him. She thought about screaming. But he was a step ahead of her.
“Don’t do anything foolish,” he said, raising his arm to show her the gun he was holding. Probably the same gun he’d brought to the farm. Then she’d been armed too. Not now. She didn’t even have a canister of Mace in her purse, and that was a mistake. But she’d felt safe with Max. Then with Shane or Jack, and she’d honestly thought she was protected. Unfortunately, she’d stepped out of their protective zone when she’d gone to the ladies’ room.