After a minute, Murphy turned back to them. “You’re asking me to provide care beyond my training in a setting not totally suited for that care and using hospital equipment without proper accounting or payment.”
“In a nutshell,” Nick said, as Shane nodded.
Becca sighed. “Pretty much. I wouldn’t ask if my brother—”
“Shit.” He shook his head. “I’ll do it.”
Shane did a double take. Well, score one for the good guys.
“—wasn’t in such bad . . . What?” Becca asked, her eyes going wide. “You’ll do it? Really?”
He gave an uncertain smile, like he’d just crested the hill of a roller coaster and hadn’t expected the drop to be so great. “You’re not trying to talk me out of it, are you?”
“No!” she said, throwing her arms around his neck. They all chuckled. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, Becca. Agreeing to help and being able to do it are two different things,” Murphy said. And as glad as Shane was that he’d agreed to help, he was also pleased to hear him keeping his promises modest. One thing you learned doing medical work of any kind was that there were absolutely no guarantees. Murphy seemed like a straight shooter, and Shane respected that.
“I know,” she said.
Shane nailed the guy with a stare. “I’m not trying to talk you out of it, either. But I was sure you were going to decline. So, I gotta ask, what made you agree?”
Murphy didn’t seem put off by the stare or the question. “I do what I do to help people who need it. If Charlie’s in as much trouble as you say and can’t otherwise get treatment, I feel duty-bound to see what I can do. Sometimes you gotta break some rules to do what’s right.” He shrugged and shifted feet, for the first time seeming a little uncomfortable, like they might disapprove of what he’d just said.
As if. They were living the sentiment themselves.
“That’s what I’d hope you’d say,” Shane said, shaking the guy’s hand. Then he glanced at his watch. If he didn’t go now, he’d be late. And he didn’t want to chance Crystal’s getting cold feet. “You two should take him to see Charlie. He won’t know anything until he examines him for himself.”
“Agreed,” Murphy said, as Becca and Nick nodded. “I don’t work until seven, so I’ve got time.”
“All right. I’ve gotta take care of that other thing,” Shane said. “I’ll meet you all back at the place later.”
After a quick round of good-byes, Shane headed across town toward Crystal’s apartment, torn between anticipation of seeing her again and fear that she’d had second thoughts since she’d called.
This time, he parked in one of the visitors’ spaces within the apartment complex, but one building down from Crystal’s. A quick survey of the lot revealed everything was quiet. He crossed between the parked cars, jogged around the building, and trailed the edge of the woods until he found a path.
A quiet, empty path.
Did he have the wrong place? Maybe there was another trail.
He scouted farther along but didn’t see any other place that seemed to fit Crystal’s instructions.
He looked at his watch. He was three minutes late. And Crystal was nowhere to be seen.
Goddamnit. Had he missed his chance?
Chapter 10
Peeking out her bedroom window, Crystal watched as Shane darted from a black truck toward the woods. The moment she laid eyes on him, her heart flew into her throat.
Because she was getting to see him again. And because she was helping him go up against Bruno and Church. Her stomach tossed.
I can’t believe I’m doing this. She rested her forehead against the wall next to the window, the coolness of the plaster surface helping her focus. Pull it together. This is the right thing.
If she didn’t get out there, he was going to think she’d stood him up. So, right. She should go. Now. Heaving a deep breath, she forced her feet to move. Out of her room, through the apartment, and down the rear stairs.
She expected to see him standing at the entrance to the trail, but no one was there. Where had he gone? She hadn’t imagined seeing him run back here, had she?
Turning, she surveyed the stretch of green that ran behind the buildings.
“Don’t be frightened,” a male voice said from behind her.
She whirled, pulse hammering behind her ears. “Shane,” she gasped, her gaze raking over him. “I didn’t hear you there.” God, he was just as gorgeous in the light of day. Maybe more so.
His hair wasn’t gelled as it had been the night before, so the blond in the long tips of it was more apparent. It was messy in a totally sexy way, like he’d been running his fingers through it. Her own fingers twitched because she would’ve loved to bury her hands in his hair and pull him in tight. Just once. To see what it would be like. To see how he’d react.
From his hair, her gaze dropped to his mouth. Namely to the dark red scab on the side of his bottom lip that hadn’t been there before. And was she imagining it, or did he have a shadow of a bruise under his right eye? What the hell had happened to him in the fifteen hours since they’d last seen one another? Part of her was dying to ask, but one thing she’d learned early was to mind her own business.
The black jacket he had on was the same one from last night, which made her wonder if it once again shielded his gun holster. Her gaze dragged down. His blue jeans were the kind of old you just knew was worn soft, and damn did he look fine in them.
As she drank him in, he seemed to do the same in return. Like he was every bit as eager to lay eyes on her. His gaze was bright, intense, and tracked over her face and body like he wanted to soak in every detail.
For a long moment, she couldn’t breathe, then he smiled. “Hi,” he said in a low voice.
“Hi,” she said as quietly, the breathlessness he elicited from her making her feel a bit ridiculous. She was about to commit a major betrayal of her seriously dangerous boyfriend, not ask her high-school crush on a date, for God’s sake. Suddenly, she needed a break from the intensity. Even without worrying about someone seeing them, Shane made her feel too exposed. “Come on,” she said abruptly.
Stepping around Shane, Crystal started down a trail that cut through the woods. Some people ran through here to get to the running trails that surrounded the park on the far end, but Crystal never ran this path because something about the woods freaked her out. The isolation made her feel vulnerable in a way running on the street never did. But she figured because the trail wasn’t part of her usual routine, it was safer. No one would expect her there, so no one should be watching.
At least, she hoped.
Looking over her shoulder, she found Shane right behind her. She took off at a jog, needing distance between them and the too many eyes of the apartment complex.
Shane’s footsteps thumped behind her, and he easily kept pace. She hadn’t given any thought to the fact that his jeans and boots weren’t particularly suited to running, but he didn’t complain.
Crystal guided them deeper into the woods until that sense of isolation she usually disliked engulfed them. Only, this time, it was exactly what she wanted.
About midway between her place and the park, they came upon a small clearing. Logs and cinder blocks circled a makeshift fire pit. A few empty beer cans sat off to one side. The rush of the warm breeze through the trees was the only noise around them.