Ripper(41)

“I’ll take care of her,” Gray said.

The doctor shook her head and gave me a sisterly smile. “I thought he’d say that. The lieutenant has been throwing some serious weight around tonight. The whole hospital has been jumping trying to handle your case. There’s something about a Texas Ranger flashing his badge and barking orders that commands respect. It didn’t hurt that he threatened to call the governor.”

The Ranger in question shrugged as though it wasn’t a big deal. “I did some work at the governor’s mansion a few months back. He owes me. Big time.”

The doctor promised to get a nurse started on my discharge paperwork. The minute the doctor left the room, my brother rounded on Gray.

“I’ll take her home with me.” Jamie stared down at Gray. It was the only time he could look down on the taller man. While Gray was big and had a powerful build, Jamie was lanky with a much smaller but deceptively strong frame. “You’re obviously more involved in your father’s business than I thought you were. Kelsey, get dressed. I’ll have Nathan pick up your car.”

“They weren’t coming after Gray,” I insisted, rolling my eyes at Jamie’s father act. He didn’t do it often, but there were times he used the six years between us as a blunt object with which to beat me about the head and shoulders.

Jamie crossed his arms over his chest as Gray chose to smartly withdraw. The Ranger moved from behind me and started gathering everything I would need to get out of here.

“And how would you know that, Kelsey Jean Atwood?” Jamie asked. “You were hit by some asshole with three, count them, three veterinary doses of Ketamine. Did you note I said veterinary doses? There was so much of that shit in your system you should be dead. There was no mistake in the tox reports. He shot you with enough of that stuff to kill a horse, much less a hundred and twenty pound woman. What the hell have you done that would constitute someone wanting revenge like that?”

“I’m annoying.” A thought occurred to me. “Maybe I ran out on a bar tab.”

Jamie wasn’t in the mood. “Damn it, Kelsey. Don’t you joke about this.”

“Fine,” I said with a sigh. “But it wasn’t about Gray. It was about me. Someone was testing me. There was this voice in my head. He was telling me to relax and let my instincts take over. He seemed to think I could do all these fighting things. I’m not explaining this well.”

“I don’t know about the voice in your head, sweetheart.” Gray brought over my jeans, T-shirt, and bra. God, I wondered who had taken off my bra. Gray set the clothes down on the bed. “But you could fight. She was amazing, Jamie. She moved like I’ve never seen a human move before. You said she was a badass, but I didn’t believe you until I saw her fight.”

“Maybe you got hit with that shit, too, Gray,” Jamie said, disbelief evident in his posture. “My sister doesn’t fight.”

“She sure as hell does,” Gray replied with admiration. “If tonight was any indication, she’s had a lot of training. You said it yourself. She has excellent instincts. They were on full display.”

Jamie’s green eyes lit with frustration. “I meant she’s a badass investigator. She has great instincts when it comes to sizing people up and finding things. My sister isn’t some street fighter. She has absolutely no training. Our father didn’t train Kelsey the way he did me and Nate. He mostly ignored her except when he needed bait.” Jamie’s face was savage and I heard Gray’s startled hiss behind me. His hand came up on my shoulders as Jamie continued his tirade. “I swear to god, if I find out you’re using my sister that way I’ll send you to the Hell plane myself, do you understand?”

I sat up straight and was surprised to find I was very steady. Any weakness was gone. “Back off, Jamie. He isn’t using me. He tried to protect me. He tried to get me to run and leave him alone with a pack of hungry wolves. He was ready to do whatever it took so I got out of there. I don’t know exactly what happened in that alley, but I know it was about me and I trust Gray to watch my back. I’m going home with him and you have to deal with it.”

Gray’s satisfaction was practically tactile as he put a protective arm around my shoulders. “I’ll take care of her, Jamie. I promised you that. I mean to keep that promise.”

“You know what he is?” Jamie asked shortly. He obviously didn’t want to go into it. I could tell it was a hard subject for him but he needed to make sure I was up to date.

“He told me,” I replied.