She pulled herself up so she was leaning against the wall and got tangled in the drip. “They took her.”
She took them through what had happened slowly. She was good, and remembered little details, but nothing she said made sense. Why Tara? It had to be a mistake. When she came to the point where she’d been shot, her brows drew together.
“What is it?” he asked. “Have you remembered something?”
But she shook her head. “I sort of saw the window wind down but I was concentrating on the men with Tara.”
There was a commotion at the door and Ash turned as a staggering wave of emotion rolled into the room.
All hell had arrived.
…
“Holy shit,” Faith muttered.
Two of the scariest badasses she had ever seen stepped into the room. Even the air around her seemed to shimmer with attitude. Both well over six feet tall and broad at the shoulder, both dressed in black leather pants and black leather duster coats. The one in front had blond hair pulled back into a ponytail and the dissipated good looks of a rock star. His expression was grim, but he broke into a smile as he caught sight of Roz. She ran straight to him and leaped into his arms. Piers perhaps. The boyfriend. Faith could see now why the word had made Roz smile—anything less like a “boy” Faith had never seen. Piers Lamont radiated masculinity. She caught sight of what was beneath his coat—a whole arsenal of weapons.
She turned her attention to the second man. He had short black hair, silver-gray eyes and was utterly stunning. He also seemed vaguely familiar, but it took her a second to recognize this was Christian Roth, the reclusive businessman. He didn’t look like any businessman she’d ever met. He looked bad to the bone. He was also Tara’s husband. Oh God, no wonder he appeared on the edge of exploding.
Ash had risen to his feet, now he hurried over. He stood with his back to Faith and spoke quietly with Roth who cast her a brief glance. A shudder ran through her at the intensity of his stare. His fists clenched at his side, and Ash rested a hand on his shoulder and spoke again. Faith strained to hear but the words eluded her.
She glanced away to find Ryan standing beside her bed. “What have you got yourself involved in?” she muttered.
“You really don’t want to know.” He gave her a quick glance. “Christian is going to want to talk to you. Tell him whatever he wants to know. If he thinks you’re holding back, he’ll…”
“He’ll what, Ryan?”
“Nothing. Probably nothing. But he loves Tara, and he’s going to be seriously pissed.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I wouldn’t like to be Saul right now.”
“Saul?”
“Tara’s bodyguard.”
She remembered the two men following them. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah, they both are. They were knocked out, and they’re still unconscious last I checked.”
“You reckon he’ll lose his job over this.”
“Hell, he’ll be lucky if he doesn’t lose his head.”
Faith sat up straighter. It seemed like they’d finished talking and were glancing her way. But it was Piers who moved first. He put Roz down but kept her clamped to his side as he came across to stand over Faith’s bed. He had the wickedest blue eyes, she had ever seen.
“I’m Piers Lamont,” he said. “I wanted to say thank you.”
“For what?”
“Roz says you tried to save her. You got in front of her and that maybe that bullet was meant for her.”
“Maybe.” But Faith didn’t think so. As far as she could remember—and it was coming back to her more clearly—Roz had gone down before the shooter had appeared in the window. Roz had been shot from behind by someone in the second van, presumably the same person who had taken out the guards.
But she kept quiet, because she needed to think this through. Ryan had said not to try and hide anything, but surely it would be understandable if she were a little vague on some of the details. She had just been shot, after all. She rubbed a hand over the bandage.
“How do you feel?” Ryan asked. “Do you need something for the pain?”
Strangely, she felt fine. She expected it to hurt much more, though she’d never been shot before. Except for a dull ache, she felt nothing. She rolled her shoulder and waited for the stab of pain. It never came. “I feel fine.”
“Good.”
“Yeah, but a little unexpected. I—” She broke off as Ash and Christian Roth came toward the bed. She gave a quick glance at Christian’s face, shuddered, and looked away from the fury radiating from those pale silver eyes. Ash appeared little better. Considering the two didn’t seem to be friends, Ash was taking Tara Roth’s abduction hard.
A doctor appeared in the doorway. His eyes widened as he saw Faith sitting up in the bed and all the people in the room. “I have to see to the patient. I’m afraid you’ll all have to leave for now.”