Protecting His Heart (A James Family Novel Book 1) Page 14

"Come on, baby, stay with me. I can't live this life without you now that I have found you."

  Logan thought he saw her lips move but he couldn't be sure. All he knew was his shirt was soaked in blood, and she was losing it way too quickly.

  The helicopter lifted over the tops of the trees. Logan sucked in a breath. Thank God, help was there.

  Keegan, with his twin tossed over his shoulder fireman style, was dismounting the last rung of the windmill's ladder. Setting his injured brother on his feet, he assisted him across the courtyard, stopping only to check the two bodies of the intruders for signs of life.

  "That Sully flying in, Ma?" Kaiden called out.

  "Quickest way I knew to get you and our guest to a proper hospital!"

  "I'm fine, Ma. Really. Bullet didn't hit anything that won't heal."

  "Come on, boy, let's get you to the hospital." Clara gathered up her weapons and set them inside the still open front door. "Keegan, get Kaiden up to the helipad!"

  The helicopter settled on top of the bunker as she spoke. Keegan helped his brother while Logan scooped up Angelina and ran to the bird.

  21

  Angelina

  The pungent smell of antiseptic burned her nose making Angelina want to hold her breath. Doing so hurt way too much though. The first thing she noticed was how sore her body was. Every muscle ached leaving her feeling like she had tussled with a bobcat and lost. She opened first one eye and then the other.

  "Well, hello there, sleeping beauty."

  Turning her head slowly to one side, Angelina bit down hard on her lip against the dizzying sense of vertigo that stirred up the nausea and made her want to vomit. Logan, looking more handsome than she remembered, stood beside the bed smiling down at her. She was absolutely sure she looked like that bobcat had had a good old time but Logan didn't seem to notice.

  "Hi," she managed in a dry rasp between her parched lips. "What happened?"

  "One of Salvatore's goons got you when you made that crazy dash across the yard after I told you to stay put." His gentle smile softened the reprimand.

  "He was going to kill you," Angelina managed before a coughing fit seized her aching chest. Every cough felt like a knife searing through her lungs.

  "Careful there. You are going to tear your stitches." Logan held a plastic cup of water to her lips. "Here, try drinking some water."

  Angelina accepted a drop or two but the water felt like acid going down her throat. "Why does my throat hurt so much?" she croaked.

  Logan pulled up a chair and took her cool hand in his larger, warmer one. "The bullet hit you in the lung. There was surgery and you have been on a ventilator for a couple of days."

  "Oh." Her eyes closed as she absorbed the news. "A couple of days?"

  She felt the warmth of his lips as Logan leaned over the bed and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Yes, nearly three actually. The doctors felt you would heal better if you were asleep so they placed you in a drug induced coma."

  "Hmmm… it was that bad?" She didn't open her eyes yet, as much as she wanted to see Logan's face again. The bright lights of the hospital gave her a headache. His hand holding hers was soothing, it was enough for the time being.

  "I'm so sorry. It was pretty bad." He reached up with his free hand and brushed her tangled hair back from her forehead. "I was… well, I was pretty worried. I don't know why you didn't stay in the house, you crazy girl. If anything had happened to you…"

  "They were going to kill you. I couldn't sit back and watch those goons kill you in front of your aunt and cousins… not when you wouldn't have been in that position if it weren't for me. Everyone I care about already thinks I'm dead. What did I have to lose?"

  "Everyone you care about?" Logan whispered. Angelina didn't answer. She wasn't sure what to say. With all the craziness of the past few days, how could she be sure that what she and Logan had shared wasn't more than the stress of being, well, under extreme stress? She just lay there, eyes closed, remembering the feel of his lips, the things his touch did to her body. It had all felt so right, how could it not be meant to be?

  The room was quiet for so long, Angelina was almost afraid to be the one to break the silence. And then Logan released his hold on her hand and stood up.

  Her eyes flew open as his hand released hers. "Where are you going?" she whispered hoarsely.

  Logan sat back down and picked her hand up again. The simple touch felt so right it almost brought tears to her eyes. "I thought you'd fallen asleep. I didn't want to disturb you."

  "It will disturb me more if you leave." She tried to squeeze his hand but her strength was less than that of a newborn, it seemed.

  "Then I'll stay."

  "Good," she rasped. "Does Salvatore think I'm dead?"

  "My lieutenant called in a few contacts in New York. Word on the street is you are deader than a doornail and the last assassin is bragging it up all over town."

  "Good. Maybe I can just get back to living my life then."

  Logan looked away. Something was wrong. Angelina could feel it. Something was very wrong. "What else did I miss, Logan?"

  "L.T. also put out some feelers with the Witness Protection regional office."

  "Where Jack works."

  "Turns out Jack Mulholland is under investigation. He received a large sum of money in his bank account not long ago. And it wasn't the first."

  "What does that mean?"

  "It means that he's dirty. Most likely he sells out his charges to the highest bidder. At least three of his other witnesses have gone missing or wound up dead in the last five years."

  "That son of a bitch!" Angelina croaked out, struggling to sit up. Agonizing pain in her left lung dropped her like yesterday's mail against the stiff hospital bed.

  "Relax, Angelina. If he got paid, then everyone thinks you are dead. This is a good thing."

  She did relax a little. What Logan said made sense. "Let them think I'm gone. I'll disappear for real this time. I'm a pro at undercover."

  "I was thinking about that. If the Riccis think you are dead, and Jack's celebrating with fifty thousand dollars, then couldn't you just stay on here? It's the last place anyone would look for a dead woman. We could do it up big, a real fancy funeral and everything." There was a glimmer of hope in Logan's eyes that brought a tear to her eye. In the short time before the shootout, she had felt such a strong attraction to Logan. The warmth traveling through her veins originating from his touch said she still did. But danger and fear can do that—make people feel things they wouldn't normally feel under everyday circumstances.

  This would be her one and only opportunity to disappear again. Maybe she would head to Mexico. Make sure no one ever heard the name Lucy Taylor—or Angelia Ferrara—ever again.

  "I'm not sure I can, Logan. This is Jack's territory. He will shoot me point blank if he finds out I am alive. If he doesn't, the Riccis will kill him."

  "Don't worry about Mulholland," Logan replied gruffly, his grip on her hand tightening some. "That bastard won't stand a chance against my boss. Lieutenant George is a wild pit bull when it comes to dirty cops."

  What surprised her most is how much she suddenly wanted to stay. From the day Jack Mulholland dropped her off at her rented home, Angelina had despised Virginia, the Blue Ridge Mountains, her job, and everything and everyone around her. She had missed the city, being on the job, and her family terribly over the past months, there was no doubt about that. Maybe she hadn't given her circumstances a fair shake.

  Near death by an assassin didn't even seem enough reason not to re-examine her current life, give things another try. As long as that included getting to know handsome lawman Logan James a whole lot better, she could put up with the country life.

  She needed some time to work things through in her mind. To Logan, she said, "I'm really tired. Can we talk a little bit more later?"

  Logan nodded. "Of course." He stood and headed to the door.

  Well, damn, she hadn't meant for him to leave, just let h
er think a while. Angelina called after him, her voice was still hoarse but improving greatly with use. "Where are you going?"

  Flashing her one of his irresistible grins that seemed to make her very insides melt, Logan winked. "Just need to get me a supersized cup of java. I haven't slept much the last couple of days."

  "It's true." Kaiden poked his head in the door. "He hasn't left your side except to visit me for a minute or two and that I suspect was purely out of familial guilt!"

  "If you weren't already injured," Logan indicated Kaiden's bandaged shoulder and sling on his arm, "I would knock you in the jaw."

  "I am so sorry you got hurt, Kaiden," Angelina croaked through parched lips. "I never should have gotten all of you involved but I am very grateful to your entire family."

  "This wasn't the first time I've been hurt in a firefight and it won't be the last. We James boys are like cowboys. A good gunfight is food for the soul!"

  Angelina grinned for the first time in days. "If you say so, cowboy, but thank you anyway. I don't think I would be here if it weren't for you all."

  "You wouldn't be here if you had stayed in the safe room like I told you too," Logan responded gruffly. His clear blue eyes darkened like a thundercloud moving into the bright Virginia sky.

  Kaiden looked from one to the other, a knowing expression on his face. "I'm heading back to my room to bed down for the night. Got me a cute nurse named Katie. Think I'll ask for a sponge bath. A good nurse can't resist a man in pain, now can she?"

  The other man disappeared, but Angelina hardly noticed, despite the echo of his laughter from the hallway. Logan was studying her with such intensity she didn't know what to do. His eyes were dark with emotion. Angelina marveled at the way his eyes always seemed to reflect the intensity of what he was feeling. Finally, his expression softened into a small smile. "I'm going for that cup of coffee now. You get a little rest. I promise I will be back soon."

  She smiled sleepily and nodded. "Okay. I am a little tired."

  "Getting shot will do that to a person." Logan slipped back over to the side of the bed and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I'll be back soon. I promise!"

  Angelina nodded even as she felt herself spinning away in a deep, medicine-aided sleep. She had no idea how much time had passed when she heard the door open again.

  "Hmmm… Logan? Is that you?" she whispered, not really ready to wake up yet. The door clicked shut. The room fell into complete darkness save for the lights on her monitors. Footsteps moved deliberately across the waxed linoleum. The little hairs at the base of her neck prickled. Instinctively, she knew it wasn't Logan. Angelina was suddenly very awake.

  "Logan? Is that you?" she asked more forcefully.

  "Who is Logan?" The familiar voice should have brought comfort. Instead it accompanied a wave of fear riding on the back of panic. "Oh, right, he's that pansy-assed cop you got hanging around night and day. Don't know why he bothers, old Sal tells me you are a cold fish, Angelina."

  "J-Jack… what are you doing here?"

  "I'm your witsec agent. It's my job to be here. You are hurt and I'm supposed to protect you." There was pure evil in his words. Angelina suppressed a shiver, desperate not to call attention to her useless state.

  "How'd you know where to find me?" She tried to sound calm and confident but failed miserably.

  "It's my job."

  "Was it your job to put a tracking device in my necklace and then sell me out the Ricci family?"

  Jack stepped into the dim green glow of the monitors then. His eyes looked hard, dark. The eyes of a man possessed. He smiled, the action just making him look more evil. "Come on, Angelina, would I do that to you?"

  "You did do that and you know it!"

  Jack threw his hands in the air in surrender, chuckling as he did so. "Okay, fine, you got me. That was entertainment. And a whole lot of cash. We federal agents don't make as much money as everyone thinks."

  "Selling me out to an assassin is entertaining for you?" She tried to yell but her voice gave out. The accusation was nothing more than a weak croak.

  "An assassin? That's funny, little girl." Jack chuckled again as though he found real humor in their conversation. "You act like you are someone important, someone that will be missed. Everyone who ever cared about you already thinks you are dead. If you had died when you went off the road, the papers would have done a little write up about the odd woman who never got to know anyone in town. There would be some speculation about alcohol or drugs but beyond that you would have been forgotten in a day."

  "And you would have been fifty thousand dollars richer."

  Jack chuckled. "I am fifty thousand dollars richer. They think you died on that mountain. I'm just here to make sure they still think that." He picked up an extra pillow off the chair Logan had been sitting in earlier and held it in both his hands, stepping right up to the side of the bed.

  Angelina panicked. It was obvious what Jack intended to do with that pillow. She had to think fast. Her options were limited. She wasn't even sure her legs would hold her up if she tried to get away. Jack stepped closer, the evil of his grin reflected in his eyes.

  In a last ditch moment of desperation, she ripped the I.V. from her arm. Angelina rolled her screaming body to the side, falling to the floor. At the last minute she righted herself, landing on her feet. The wound to her chest fought back in agonizing, searing pain. Gripping her side with one hand, Angelina reached for something she could use to defend herself. Jack, moving deliberately, whistled a little tune as he made his way around the hospital bed. She was backed into a corner with nowhere to go.

  "Why do you always have to do things the hard way, Angelina? If you had just stayed out of Sal's business, none of this would have happened to you. You'd still be back in New York City, walking the beat, and living the life I know you miss."

  Angelina's back was against the wall. She could feel warm liquid on her fingertips where she held her chest. The wound was bleeding steadily.

  Before she could say anything, Jack lunged at her. Acting out of instinct, she brought her knee up as hard as she could, making contact with Jack's groin at the same time that his foot hit the pool of blood, sending him up into the air and down onto the linoleum flat on his back with a thud. Angelina fell against the I.V. pole sending it crashing to the floor with her limp, bleeding body following it.

  22

  Logan

  Logan paced the tiles of the waiting room, the half-finished cup of coffee sloshing around in his hand.

  "You are going to wear a path in that floor, boy." Aunt Clara had come to visit Kaiden and found him pacing and grumbling in the lounge on her way to her son's room.

  "I'm sorry." He stopped where he was and strode over to the window. It was dark outside but the parking lot was well lit below. His reflection in the window took him by surprise. Wild eyes, hair in disarray from the hundreds of times he had run his fingers through it, dirty T-shirt.

  "For what?" Aunt Clara cocked her head to the side and studied him, not noticing—or pretending not to notice—the way he looked.

  "I don't know. For getting you and the boys involved in this whole mess, I guess."

  "There's nothing to apologize for, Logan. That girl was in a load of trouble. You have always been the protective type. It's in your nature."

  He dropped down onto one of the cold vinyl chairs and sighed, his shoulders drooping heavily. "If that's true then I should have been more protective over you. Not brought killers to your home. That bunker is your safe haven."

  "I don't need protecting. I'm a tough old bird. Who do you think got that first guy who came up the path? He never even knew what hit him!" Aunt Clara glowed with pride as she reached out and patted her nephew's hand. "I have been worried about you for a long time, Logan."

  He sat up a little and eyed his aunt warily. "Me? Why?"

  "Actually, I worry about all three of you. Kaiden and Keegan too. You are grown men and you are all alone, every last one of you. I blam
e myself for that. I was so busy proving to the world that I could be mother and father that I never considered that the three of you might actually need a real father in your lives. Not a one of you knows how to have a relationship and that's because I did my damnedest to raise you strong willed and independent—a little too strong willed and independent, I fear. I'm not getting any younger. I wouldn't mind a few grandchildren before I go and at the rate my two boys are going, that responsibility is about to settle on you."

  "On me? I'm not even your son."

  Clara tsked, dismissing him with a wave of her hand. "I've always thought of you as my boy. I hope you know that. Ever since that no good brother in law of mine… well, ever since you came to me I have only ever looked at you as my child. I love you and I worry about you."

  "I love you too, Aunt Clara, but it's not your fault that I am alone. It's his." Logan spit out the simple word with such venom that his aunt looked at him with a mixture of pity and sadness that angered him even more. He started pacing the small waiting area again. Aunt Clara stood in front of him blocking his path, her eyes kind.

  "Your father was an evil soul, but that doesn't mean you will be like him. Evil is not genetic. You are a kind, caring man who has dedicated his life to protecting and serving others. Don't you think it's also time you had a little happiness in your life?"

  "I'm afraid, Aunt Clara. I am afraid of doing what he did. I couldn't live with myself if I turned out like him."

  "You don't have an evil bone in your body, Logan James. Stop punishing yourself for crimes you didn't commit. The sins of the father are not automatically the sins of the son."

  "I don't know. I didn't do such a great job protecting Angelina. She almost died. And Kaiden got hurt."

  "Kaiden will be fine. He's seen worse than any of us will ever know. A little bullet won't keep him down for long. As for Angelina, did it occur to you that she almost died trying to protect you? That man behind the Jeep was just about to take you out when she ran out of the house. She took that bullet for you."