Before he could ask anything else, Shane’s private cell rang. He took one look at the number and excused himself, walking to a quiet corner of the Pub where he could speak in private. “Lacie?” he said, accepting the call.
Except that it was not Lacie’s voice that answered. “No, this is her sister Corinne. Is this Shane?”
“Yes. Is Lacie alright?”
“Yeah, sort of. I’m here at the hospital with her now.”
“Her hand?” he guessed.
“Yeah. It was broken, and some of the bones already started fusing incorrectly. They had to re-break it to make things right. They shot her up pretty good with pain meds.”
“Jesus.”
“Hey,” she said hesitantly. “I’m not sure if I should even be asking you this, but you seem to care for her, and I was hoping that maybe you could do something. I didn’t know who else to call.”
“Anything.” He was already reaching for his jacket, pulling out his keys.
“They’re going to let her go in a little bit, but I don’t think she should be alone tonight with the meds and all. I’m supposed to drive our parents down to Philly tonight – they’re going on an anniversary cruise. They don’t know about Lacie’s hand; she made me promise not to say anything because she thinks they’ll cancel their trip if they knew. If you could - ”
“I’m there. What time?”
“Six? I should have her all settled by then. She’ll probably sleep most of the night, but I’d feel better if she wasn’t alone.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Thanks,” Corinne said, breathing a sigh of relief. “And Shane?”
“Yes?”
Corinne spoke slowly as if choosing her next words carefully. “It might be a good idea if you came in the back way.”
He was silent for a moment as he heard what she wasn’t saying. “Got it.”
“I knew I was right about you.” She hung up before he could respond.
Chapter Eight
Corinne stared out the window, awaiting Shane’s arrival. Other than a non-descript silver sedan that disappeared around the block, there hadn’t been any other traffic on the small side street. She checked her watch again. It had only been ten minutes since she’d called him, but it felt like so much more time had passed. She hoped he remembered not to come in through the front. If Craig spotted him it would just make things more difficult –
A quiet knock on the back door startled her. She peeked through the peephole and gasped.
“How did you do that?” she asked, opening the door. He grinned at her as he slipped noiselessly inside, but didn’t answer her.
“Right,” she murmured. She’d heard the same rumors that everyone else had – that the Callaghans were a lot more than they seemed; it was impossible to live in Pine Ridge and not. They all had this quiet air of danger about them, but it was said that they were good men, fiercely loyal and incredibly protective of their family and friends. Corinne withheld a shiver from the waves of intensity rolling off of Shane, and was glad her sister was now included among that inner circle.
“Thanks for coming so quickly; I’ve got to haul ass or my parents are going to miss their flight. Lacie’s sleeping, out cold. Here.” She thrust a small bottle into his hand. “These are her pain meds. Give her one with some crackers and water or ginger ale if she wakes up. Here’s my cell number and I’ve written down the flight numbers and schedules and stuff. If everything’s on time, I should be back around three a.m. or so.”
Shane levelled those intense blue eyes at her. “Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”
Corinne glanced down at the small pack he carried with him and grinned. “Gotta love a man who’s prepared.” His eyes sparkled.
“So listen,” she dropped her voice even further and leaned toward him a little. “I don’t know how much you know about things, but you strike me as the type of guy who catches on pretty quick. Craig’s across the hall. He wasn’t here when we got back, so he doesn’t know about any of this. Let’s try to keep it that way for a bit longer, okay? If he realizes he broke her hand he’s going to freak out and make things really uncomfortable for Lace - ”
Shane’s entire body tensed, his face hardened, his eyes grew cold. “He did this? Lacie told me she caught it in a car door.”
This time Corinne couldn’t withhold her shiver at the sound of his voice, glad that it was directed at someone else, and knew that she had done the right thing in calling Shane. He would not let anything happen to Lacie, and she could already tell that he would be a valuable ally. For this reason and several more of her own, she had no trouble telling him the rest.
“That’s what she told me, too. But the doc pulled me aside later – I used to babysit for him and his wife so I know him pretty well – and he said the fractures came from compression along the sides, like someone had squeezed her hand too hard, although there was some bruising on the back that he said was consistent with catching a hand in a car door like she said.”