The general nodded. “She’ll be coming with you.”
He spun on his heel and left, pulling the door behind him. Brody never showed back up at his door like Rick expected. He had a hell of a time getting Jaime and Briggs to leave for the night. Briggs offered to sleep on Rick’s couch and for a minute Rick contemplated his answer. He ended up telling the giant to go back to his own room. As promised, the general had sent two men to stand guard outside. Each had weapons strapped to their bodies. Rick closed and locked the door behind Briggs. He picked Lydia up and carried her to his bed. He replaced her jeans and shirt with one of his large T-shirts and laid the covers over her. He walked out into the kitchen and picked up the revolver. Back in his room, he changed and climbed into the bed, shoving Lydia’s revolver in the bedside table and his Glock beneath his pillow. It didn’t matter that there were men stationed outside his door. He would be prepared just the same.
Chapter 22
Lydia raised her hands above her head and arched her back. Then she rolled onto her side, into a large frame lying next to her. Her eyes jolted open. Rick.
She threw one of her arms over his chest, snuggled into his side, and closed her eyes. She hadn’t recalled him coming back last night. She opened her eyes once again and looked around the unfamiliar room. Not her room but his. She blinked, her mind trying to figure out how she had come to be in bed with Rick.
She shot up into a seated position, and her hand flew to cover her mouth. Marlaina. The memories came flooding back. Lydia whispered, “Oh god, I shot her.”
Rick’s palm caressed her back. “Nice to have you back. How do you feel?”
Lydia jumped from the bed and ran to the bathroom with her hand still covering her mouth. She slammed the door and locked it behind her, trying as she might to get the toilet seat up in time to dry heave.
Rick’s knuckles tapped lightly from the other side of the door. “Lydia, let me in. Are you all right?
Lydia laid her head on her arms. “Just give me a minute and I’ll be fine.”
Rick was silent as if contemplating his reply. “I’ll just make you some coffee and toast. That should make you feel better.”
Lydia pushed herself up and moved in front of the sink. She turned it on and cupped a handful of water and drank. She glanced up at her reflection. Her bloodshot eyes stared back at her. “Why me?” she asked her reflection. “Why is everyone trying to kill me? What did I ever do to deserve this?”
She pulled open the medicine cabinet and searched for mouthwash. “I’ve been a good person.” She glanced up at the ceiling. “Haven’t I?”
She poured some of Rick’s mouthwash into her mouth and gurgled.
He tapped on the door again. “Lydia , who are you talking to? Are you sure you’re okay.”
Lydia spit the mouthwash into the sink and turned the knobs, letting the water wash it away. She unlocked and pulled the door open. “I’ll be fine. I just need some caffeine and some answers.”
She walked past Rick and out of the room.
“Do you remember what happened?”
Lydia chewed the inside of her lip. The toaster popped, and she grabbed a napkin and pulled out a piece of warm toast and took a bite. She chewed and swallowed the only substance she’d had since yesterday afternoon. “She attacked me.”
Rick ran his gaze down Lydia’s body and lingered on her legs. “Are you bruised or hurt anywhere?” Rick reached for her with concern in his eyes.
Lydia laid her toast on the counter and grabbed the coffee pot, filling both mugs. “Only my head hurts a little. It was a mental attack.”
He took the mug she offered. Jamie had told him as much, but that didn’t mean that it made any sense. “I don’t understand.”
She shouldn’t have expected that he would understand. Hell, she wouldn’t have had she not felt it herself. She grabbed her toast, and with coffee in hand, she moved to the little wood table that served as a dining room table. Lydia pulled out the chair and sat. “If felt like tiny needles stabbing my brain. I used every bit of strength I could muster against her and lifted the coffee pot. I was on the floor unable to stand and remembered the gun and what you said. While she was focused on the coffee pot I had hovering in front of her, I shot her and then passed out.”
Rick took a sip of his coffee “Did she say anything? Did she give you any clue what she could have been thinking?”
Lydia shoved the last piece of toast into her mouth and rubbed her hands together, dropping the crumbs over her napkin “She said that I deserved what I had coming because of Brody. She planned on handing me over to Floyd.”