Karen Rose - I Can See You

Noah let the medic roll him to his side to tend to his head. “Do me a favor.”

“The ER docs’ll give you a local when they give you the stitches,” the medic said.

“No.” Noah pointed to Pierce’s barely breathing body. “His bus? Drive it real slow.”

Thursday, February 25, 6:15 p.m.

“Oh, Eve.”

From her hospital bed, Eve turned to see Callie standing in the doorway, distress on her face. “You should see the other guy,” she said, trying for light, but her voice still too hoarse.

“We tried,” Callie said, utterly serious. “But they wouldn’t let us in the morgue. Sal wanted to be sure he was really dead, but the ME said we’d have to take his word for it. Good for you, girl.”

Carleton Pierce had bled out as the helicopter transporting him had touched down on the hospital’s roof. “I don’t feel bad,” Eve murmured. “I suppose I should, but I don’t. I feel pretty damn good.”

Callie carefully sat on the edge of her bed. “As you should. Where’s Noah?”

“On the phone.” She smiled, gingerly. Her face still hurt from Pierce’s fists. And his knife. She fought back the shudder and thought of good things. “Jack woke up. The first person he asked for was Noah. They’re talking now.”

Callie squeezed her hand gently. “That’s good. Maybe Jack will pull it together. Listen, you’ve got a crowd waiting to see you. Are you up for visitors?”

Eve raised her hand to her throat, knowing what it looked like. Pierce had cut away her choker, exposing what was still a nasty scar. Then she shrugged. “It is what it is,” she said. “Let the visitation begin.”

“I went by your place, grabbed you some clean clothes, a robe, and this.” Callie reached into her pocket and pulled out another choker.

Eve’s eyes stung. “Thank you. For knowing it would be important.”

“Don’t start crying or you’ll have me crying again.” She busied herself helping Eve into the robe and fastening the leather choker around her neck. “Sal will be chomping at the bit. He closed the bar so he could be the first one here. He only let me in first to get you presentable. He was the pillar of strength, keeping everyone’s spirits up, taking care of your Chicago friends.” She dropped her voice. “Then when he got the word that you were okay, alive, he broke down. Cried like a baby. So did Jeff Betz.”

Eve sniffled. “That’s so sweet.”

“And your friends from Chicago? They wanted to be here when you woke up, so Jeff gave them a ride in his cruiser, lights flashing.”

“David’s was the first face I saw when I woke up from the surgery to sew up my leg.” Eve made a face. “It was like a bad rerun. His face is always the first one I see when I wake up from an attack by a homicidal lunatic.” But it had been such a relief. Max and Tom had been on the other side of the bed. Her family had rallied.

“You could certainly wake up to a lot worse,” Callie said. “As wakeup-to faces go, David’s would be the one I’d choose, every time. So, you ready?”

Eve drew a breath. “Let ’em in.” No sooner had she uttered the words than Sal was there, his arms around her, hard and safe. He was trembling, she realized. No, he was crying. The tears she’d blinked back burst free. “I’m okay,” she said, patting his back. “Totally okay.”

He nodded, his face pressed against the curve of her neck. “Don’t ever do that to me again,” he grunted. He pulled back and wiped at his eyes, unashamed.

Callie handed her a tissue. “Or he’ll fire you. He said that on the way over, about six times.”

Sal shot her a dirty look. “I was emotional.”

Eve patted his cheek. “I think you’re sweet,” she said. “But fiscally irresponsible. I can’t believe you closed the bar. There’s a game tonight.”

“Nobody was there anyway,” Noah said from the door, and as always, he took her breath away. It didn’t seem to matter what kind of doorway he stood in, the result was the same. “It appears they’re all downstairs, waiting to see you.”

Sal twisted around to stare at Noah, then looked back at Eve with a satisfied smirk. “So I suppose you’ll be taking that bottle to Trina’s on Sunday after all?”

She met Noah’s eyes and in them saw everything she’d ever wanted. “I suppose I will.” She struggled to sit up. “Now, how about those visitors? I hope they brought flowers. I haven’t had flowers since the last time I got kidnapped.”

Thursday, February 25, 8:30 p.m.

Olivia gratefully wrapped her hands around the cup of coffee Kane had coaxed from the vending machine in the hospital’s waiting room. “Thanks, I needed this.”

“You need to go home, Liv,” he said gently.

“I will. I just want to check on Liza and Eve first.”

“Is Micki still at the scene?”

Pierce’s basement had been a hellacious discovery, branded into her memory. “Yeah. Probably will be for days. If you don’t mind, I don’t want to talk about that now.”

“Okay.” In true Kane fashion, he was quiet until she was ready to talk again.

“I called Social Services,” she finally said. “Got a nice place for Liza.”

“That’s good.”

She looked away, too close to tears. “Kane. The bodies in that pit… it was horrible.”

He brushed his big hand down her hair. “See the ladies, and I’ll take you home.”

“You’re a fine chauffeur. You got your lights smacked out today, too. I’ll be okay. But thank you.” She drew a breath. “Let’s go.”

They went into Liza Barkley’s hospital room where the girl lay, grimly coherent. She remembered everything, Olivia knew. Liza had her arms crossed and stared straight ahead. She was alive, but her sister was not, and that put the girl on a long, lonely road.

Tom sat at her side, quietly, not touching her. He stood when Olivia and Kane entered. “I was with Eve, but she had a crowd.”

And Liza was all alone. Olivia stood by her bed, touched her shoulder. “I found a really nice place for you to go when they let you out tomorrow. The woman that runs the home is a personal friend of mine. She’ll take good care of you.”

Liza looked up, her eyes dead. “Thank you,” she murmured. “For everything.”

Olivia met Tom’s eyes, saw the helplessness there and knew how he felt. “You both have my number. Call me day or night if you need me. I’ll let you rest now. I’ll be back tomorrow when they release you.”

Olivia was at the door when Liza spoke again. “Detective. Did he live?”

It was, perhaps, the one bright spot. “No.”

Liza’s eyes flickered wildly, but her voice was calm. “My sister. Did you find her?”

“Yes.” And she could see it in her mind. Probably always would.

Liza nodded. “I understand.”

“You two did good. We might not have found him in time without that license plate. Try to sleep now. Tom, I’ll see you later.”

Outside, she slumped against the wall and shuddered.

“There wasn’t anything left of her sister, was there?” Kane asked.

“No,” Olivia said hoarsely. “Just bones.”

“Jennie’s downstairs, waiting for me.” Jennie was Kane’s wife. “You’re coming home with us. You’re not going to be alone tonight, Liv,” he added sharply, when she tried to argue, then he smiled to soften his words. “I’ll carry you out of here if I have to.”

Olivia nodded wearily. “Okay. Just for tonight.” She didn’t think she could be alone tonight. “Let’s go by Eve’s room. I’ll make it quick.”

Thursday, February 25, 8:45 p.m.

They’d all come, Eve thought, still a little stunned. Fifteen minutes before she and Noah had been sitting in her hospital room, Noah sporting a thick bandage on his head and she with her leg elevated, the bullet hole wrapped and treated.