"Fuck you, Stone."
Caleb sighed and stood, his massive body towering over Noelle's bed. "Don't be dumber than God made you, David. You love her and if you're smart, you'll let her know before it's too late. Don't walk away. You'll be sorry."
That last part sounded too much like the voice of experience, making David wonder just what had happened to Caleb over the past two years.
David stood and left the room, passing Grant on his way out. It was time to get moving. Noelle was going to be fine and he needed to be gone before she woke up. The least he could do for her was to be gone by the TSme she opened her eyes so she wouldn't have to see him again.
And he wouldn't have to say good-bye.
Noelle opened her eyes to find Grant and Caleb standing over her bed. "Where's David?"
Grant's jaw clenched in anger and Caleb regarded her with an even, black stare. "He's leaving. For good. I don't know whether or not you want to stop him, but you need to decide quick. He's got a three-minute head start, and once he's gone, none of us will ever be able to find him."
Noelle fought down a sense of panic. "Leaving? Why?"
"He doesn't want you to end up like Mary did," said Grant.
Noelle was still groggy, but she forced her mind to clear and take stock of what she'd heard. She knew David felt guilty over his wife's death and likely over what had happened to her as well. She also knew that he was a total bonehead to think it was his fault. "I can't let him go. I love him."
"You sure about this?" asked Caleb. "You need to think about what you're saying and be completely sure. Don't toy with him, Noelle." That last part was a warning, as clear and menacing as they got.
"Shut up! Which one of you is fastest?"
Grant smiled, vaulted over the bed in a casual, graceful leap and was out the door in a heartbeat.
"Help me up, Caleb." She used her best authoritative professorial voice.
"You're in no shape to be getting out of bed. Let Grant bring David back here."
"You really think Grant will be able to drag him back if he doesn't want to come?" She was frantic now, throwing back the covers, trying not to rip the IV out of her hand. "Caleb, I swear that if you don't help me up this instant, Fll use every single one of my massive brain cells to make you suffer for the rest of your life."
An admiring grin curved Caleb's mouth, and he started to obey. He helped her stand on unsteady legs. Noelle wasn't sure how she would walk, but she was going to figure out something.
Caleb stripped a blanket off the bed and wrapped it around her. "As much as David would enjoy seeing your naked backside, I doubt he'd enjoy sharing it with others. He's a little jealous when it comes to you, in case you hadn't noticed."
"Jealous enough that he's willing to leave me without even a good-bye kiss?"
Noelle started to unhook the tube from the IV, but Caleb stopped her. "You need that." He took the bag from the metal stand and handed it to her. "Here, you hold.this, and I'll carry you out. Seeing you in the arms of another man isn't going to make David happy." The grin on his face told Noelle just how much the idea of upsetting David appealed to him.
He lifted her, blanket and all, and headed outside.
David had almost made it to his car when he saw Grant barreling toward him.
He guessed that Grant was coming to try to stop him from leaving, but a small, terrified part of him worried that something had happened to Noelle. He hesitated, and it was that hesitation that ended him flat on his back in the grass in front of the hospital parking lot.
Adrenaline flooded his system and he shoved Grant off in a rush of strength. His elbow hit Grant's nose in the process and blood dripped down onto his buddy's gray T-shirt.
If Grant noticed the injury, he didn't react. He just came toward David, his eyes glittering with joy. He slammed his body into David's, making air rush out of his lungs as he absorbed the force of the blow.
Grant and David had grappled often enough during their training for David to know that they were evenly matched.
Grant was a few inches taller but had nothing on David in the weight department. In a normal fight, David would have a fifty-fifty chance of winning. This was no normal fight.
Grant's hand found the bullet wound in David's injured arm and squeezed. Pain speared through David's body and he ground his teeth to keep from crying out. "That's for busting my nose. Again," said Grant.
"Stop that!" ordered Noelle imperiously.
David froze at the sound of her voice and looked toward her. She was cradled in Caleb's arms, swathed in a white cotton blanket, carrying her IV bag against her chest. Her face was bruised, and he could see it was an effort for her to keep her head upright.
"Get off me," shouted David.
Immediately, Grant let go and stood offering David a hand up. David glared at Grant and refused his hand. Grant just grinned. The bastard had always enjoyed fighting too much for his own good.
David's first instinct was to rush to Noelle's side, but he bit back the urge and planted his feet a good two yards away from her.
"I didn't tell you to hurt him, Grant," Noelle scolded. "Just to stop him."
Grant gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry, ma'am. I guess I just got carried away."
Her green gaze fastened on David and it was like taking a punch in the gut. Betrayal shone in her eyes. "You were just going to leave?" she asked.
David wanted to murder Caleb, knowing he was the one who had told her that. It would have been so much better if he'd just kept his mouth shut. "I have to, Noelle. It's for your own good."
Her mouth tightened into an angry circle. "Don't you tell me what's for my own good! I'm a grown woman and fully capable of deciding what I want and don't want. If you're leaving because you don't give a shit about me, then go, but don't try to tell me that it's for my own good."
The effort of shouting at him sapped her strength visibly. She leaned her head against Caleb's chest and the surge of jealousy that ripped through David had him clenching his fists against the urge to slam them into Caleb's face.
"Put my woman down," growled David.
Caleb lifted a black brow. "She's too weak to stand. You want me to put her down, come take her from me. Otherwise, suffer."
David debated leaving her with Caleb, but he was so damn jealous he couldn't think straight, seeing her in another man's arms. It was stupid to think of her as his. After all, he was leaving as soon as he straightened things out with Noelle. He knew that eventually, some other man would find out what a treasure she was and marry her. He wouldn't be anywhere around to stop it from happening, either. It was best if he just got used to the idea of her belonging to another man.
Maybe even Caleb.
That was the thought that sent him over the edge, and he knew that Caleb had seen it in his face. David stalked over the grass and took Noelle from Caleb. He was careful of her battered body, but the glare he gave Caleb was a clear dismissal.
Noelle held herself stiff and uncertain, but David couldn't blame her. He'd hurt her feelings and probably a lot more than that.
"I think you owe me an explanation as to why you were leaving without saying good-bye," she said.
David refused to look down at her. He knew that look of betrayal was still twisting her face, making him ache deep in his gut for what he had to do to her. "Let's get you back in bed. We'll talk there."
"I'll stand guard at the door," offered Grant in a cheerful tone, wiping blood from his face. "Just in case he decides to sneak away again."
David growled, but made no comment. It was too cold outside for Noelle to be out here in just a flimsy hospital gown and a blanket.
He said nothing as he tucked her back in bed and hung the IV bag back on the metal stand. Once he was done, he put some distance between them, pacing at the end of her bed.
"Well?" she asked. Her voice was strained. Tired. Hurt.
David wanted to slam his fist into something— preferably his friends' faces. He felt trapped. Caged by guilt and responsibility. He knew what he had to do, it was just so damn hard to walk away from her now that she was awake, he wasn't sure he would be strong enough.
He didn't dare look at her, but focused on the square vinyl tiles at his feet. "We can't be together. It's too dangerous for you. You nearly ended up dead. There's no guarantee it won't happen again. Only next time, you might not make it."
"But I did make it. You saved me."
The image of Mary's body flashed through his thoughts. "It doesn't always work like that. It's safest if we're not together."
"Don't you think that should be my decision? I'm pretty smart. I have been known to make an informed decision on my own upon occasion."
"Not this one."
"Why not? Don't you trust my judgment?"
"It has nothing to do with judgment."
"Is this just your way of telling me that you're not interested in seeing me anymore? You fucked me and now you're done?"
Anger seethed inside him at her crude, completely mistaken words, eating at his control. "Hell, no'."
'Then if you're not just trying to blow me off, why were you running?"
"I can't let you get hurt again."
He finally looked at her, seeing every ounce of weariness outnumbered by two of determination. She wasn't going to make this easy on him, not that walking away from her ever could have been easy.
She regarded him with a hard stare. "And who's to say that if you leave I'll be safe? You yourself said that my life would always be at risk from those who want to use what I know. I'll always be in danger. It's something I'm going to need to learn to live with so I can protect myself."
"You'll be safer without me." His voice was sharp with resolve.
"So, what you're saying is that even though I'll still be in danger, if you're not around, at least you won't be the one responsible if I get killed. Your hands will be clean. You won't have to worry about feeling all that guilt that you've felt over Mary's death."
Something primal and frightening rose up inside him and he could feel his eyes burning with anger. "You're not going to get killed! Ever."
"You can't guarantee that. No one can. In fact, I could get into a car to drive home and be smashed flat on the highway and there would be nothing you could do to stop it. Nothing! Just like there was nothing you could have done to keep Mary alive."
Mary. And now Noelle. Oh, God. He was never going to be able to stay sane under the weight of his crushing guilt.
He had to get away. Shut down his emotions. It was the only way he was going to survive. "It's not the same thing."
Her green eyes flared with rage. "Bullshit! It's exactly the same thing. You weren't there and Mary was taken. What if she'd been killed in a car wreck because you weren't there to go to the store for her? What if she'd slipped on some ice and died from head trauma because you weren't there to walk her to work every day. You can't be everywhere, David! You can't be responsible for everyone. It's not your job to keep everyone alive."
Part of what she was saying hit home, but he refused to dwell on it He bad to make her understand. "I never wanted to keep everyone alive. Just the people I love. There aren't many of them. It shouldn't have been too much to ask."
