He turned and waved over the first medic who entered the deep, rectangular room, “Over here. Hurry up. She’s lost a lot of blood.”
A paramedic ran over, another close on his heels, and bent to examine Sunny. Another team of medics positioned Judson onto a gurney and rolled him out of the way. As his hand was dragged from Sunny’s face, she frowned, but didn’t open her eyes.
With a heavy sigh, he went limp and let the medics attending him do what they needed. Time ticked by slowly and his gaze kept straying to where Sunny was being taken care of, even though he couldn’t see her through the throng of people surrounding her.
Craig glanced at him over his shoulder. With long strides he came up beside Judson. “You all right, man?”
“Yeah…yeah, I’m fine. What’s the word on Sunny?” Judson tried to sit up to see what was happening, but a bulky medic, with the physique of a weightlifter, pushed him back, telling him to lay still.
“Nothing yet. They’re still assessing her. Hooking her up to equipment.”
Judson grabbed Craig’s upper arm as he turned to his sister’s side. “Hey, Sunny did a helluva job. You should all be proud.”
Exhausted, he thumped back onto the thin pad of the stretcher as if a weight were lifted from his chest. All along he tried to get Sunny to admit she couldn’t handle this type of work and her family knew better, that this was no job for a woman.
Her family was wrong. Hell, he’d been wrong. She could do this job as well as any investigator he’d seen, better than some. With her will and determination alone, Sunny would go far. Working with women in law enforcement had never bothered him before. He’d let what happened to Rox control his mindset, and it’d been a mistake.
Several more paramedics filled the cramped quarters and from the corner of his eye he watched Slater being dragged to his feet, cuffed. Two paramedics made eye contact, one shaking her head, as they tried to find a pulse on Vivian. Judson squeezed his eyes shut. Sorry he’d taken a life, but convinced he’d do it again if it meant saving Sunny.
As he was wheeled from the room he glanced over to where Sunny lay. The blood stained sweater was cut away from her body and thrown off to the side so the medics could get her bleeding under control. An oxygen mask covered her nose and mouth. Her pasty white complexion knotted his gut. Before he could see anymore another medic blocked his view.
Derek glared over his shoulder, the message in his eyes warned Judson to expect to see him later.
When he closed his eyes Sunny’s face filled his vision. He winced against the pain of being bounced down the three flights of steps.
Honest, compassionate, caring and giving…but at the same time stubborn, combative, willful and sassy. The knowledge slugged him between the eyes before he lifted his hand to rub his temples. He’d handcuffed Sunny downstairs not to get his own way, but to keep her safe so she’d be in his life. Not just today, tomorrow or next week, but forever.
All this time his body tried to relay the message his mind wouldn’t listen too. He loved this stubborn woman.
Sunny challenged him. Almost from the beginning there’d been more than simple attraction between them.
As soon as they started working together he questioned his decision to move back to Montana. The day Sunny kicked Derek and him out of her apartment, he confessed to her brother he actually considered taking Sunny up on her offer to work together. Now he realized he wanted to stay for Sunny, not the job.
Although he couldn’t control how the person he loved acted or what she wanted to do, he accepted it. It was part of what made her unique, and one of the reasons he loved her.
Love
. Judson never experienced anything like this. Not even close. All of his thoughts and emotions centered on Sunny. She’d become his main concern. And she always would be. They would be equals. He needed to be there to support her choices like she’d support his.
The evening breeze flowed across Judson’s body as the ambulance doors snapped shut. He covered his eyes with the length of his forearm. Sunny’s words before she’d passed out made it clear she wanted him to go, to leave, so she’d be happy. A bullet to the heart would be less painful, and normally he would give her what she wanted, but he needed to speak with her first. He couldn’t leave until she knew everything.
****
Judson eased his way off of the elevator. His thigh wrapped in a stiff bandage, reinforced by a metal splint. A woman stepped in front of him and pressed her arm against the lift door so it wouldn’t close. He smiled, nodding as he wobbled past. The clunk of his heel hit the linoleum floor with every other heavy step and drew the attention of several nurses, doctors and patients in the hospital corridor. Determined, Judson shuffled down the hallway, the weight of his injured leg making the journey twice as long.
As he approached, the door opened. Derek and Brent emerged. Deep in conversation, their brows creased and their tones hushed. Brent looked up noticing Judson, and then elbowed his brother in the ribs.
“Hey, how’s the leg?” Brent asked. They all stopped in the center of the hallway.
“I was lucky. The bullet missed the bone and made a clean exit, so no surgery. Another four to six weeks and I should have this piece of baggage removed.” Judson slapped his thigh, grinning.
“Looks like the final statements from Slater and Sunny will clear you of any blame in Vivian’s death.” The lines on Derek’s face relaxed. “I know you just came off leave after Roxanne’s death, so this can’t be easy. You doing okay?”
“I’m dealing with it. None of us want to use our weapons, but it was necessary.” Judson’s insides froze, his fingers twitched with the imaginary pressure of pulling the trigger, the sound of the bullet whizzing through the air. He closed his eyes, reliving the stunned expression on Vivian’s face when she realized she’d been shot, then the wild panic in Slater’s eyes as she hit the floor.
“Thanks again for taking care of Sunny.” Derek placed his hands on his hip, drawing back the jacket of his suit to reveal the badge clipped on his waistband.
Judson sighed, running his hand over the slight growth of hair on his head. “We all know she doesn’t want or need anyone to look out for her, but I’d do anything for her.”
Brent and Derek glanced at each other before Brent tapped Judson on the shoulder in a brotherly fashion. “Man, we know. I knew the Kennedy genes were potent, but I didn’t realize Sunny could make a guy fall for her so quick.”
Derek laughed. “Of course we never gave her much of a chance before.”
“That’s an understatement. I’ve never seen so many over protective males in one room before.” Judson grinned.
“On a more serious note, Jud, we tried to get her to agree to see you, but she refused.”
“Did she give you a reason?” As he waited for some type of answer that would give him something to work with, some reason he could fight, his heart held in his chest ready to burst.
Brent shook his head.
“I tried. As soon as she hears your name she either changes the subject or clams up.” Derek grumbled. “You know how stubborn she is.”
“If she’d only hear me out, then if she decides to never lay eyes on me again, I’ll respect her decision. Tell her that for me, will you?”
After their phone argument on the night they’d both been shot, he’d been floored when she told him to go back to Montana to heal his heart. He had no idea she guessed his feelings for her, but it didn’t explain why she refused to see him, or talk to him.
“Her second surgery was yesterday afternoon, so she’s still in some pain. The doc said this should do the trick and keep her shoulder socket in place. Give it a few more days then try again,” Derek said, steadying Judson’s bulk as he shuffled his position to hobble back down the hallway in the direction he’d just come.
Judson sighed. “That’s all I can ask for I guess.”
****
“You look happy, Benny. Tasha’s good for you.” Sunny sat propped up in her hospital bed, her shoulder immobile in a sling attached to several contraptions which hung from the ceiling, several pillows piled around her.
“That she is, sweetheart. She’s been a real powerhouse of strength. I don’t know what she sees in me, I’m too old, but she keeps telling me age is just a number.” Light danced in his eyes. “She’s sorry she can’t make it up to visit, but hospitals scare her. Everyone sends hugs, and Kelly said she’d be stopping by later.”
“Thank all of them for the card and flowers. They’re beautiful.” Sunny glanced toward the huge bouquet of wild flowers adorning the table alongside her bed. Several vases and planters were scattered around the room, and although beautiful, none as special as the single red rose delivered every morning in a slender crystal vase from Judson.
Not that she let on, but when this morning’s delivery didn’t arrive at its normal time, she’d found it difficult to concentrate. She even snapped at the aide when she came to check on her.
It helped Sunny to know Judson thought about her, but she still couldn’t see him. It would hurt too much. She had to move on, get past her feelings for him. He’d never be able to give her the type of love and commitment she wanted. Not as long as he hung onto Roxanne’s memory.
“I’m glad you found someone to make you happy. You deserve it.”
“None of this would’ve happened if it hadn’t been for all the work you and Jud did.” Benny reached across the bed to squeeze her hand. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
Sunny’s lips curved into her first real smile since before she’d been shot.
“Hell, you took a couple of slugs over all of this. It means a lot to finally know the whole truth of what happened to my Karina.”
“And now everyone knows you’re innocent.”
“It never bothered me to take the heat, because I knew I didn’t have anything to do with her murder. What I couldn’t stand was not knowing who, or why.” He shook his head and leaned back, dispelling a breath of air. “After all the years I wondered…”
“I know, Benny.”
“To now know for sure it was Vivian.” He shook his head. “And my best friend helped cover it up.” Benny’s voice shook.
“Derek said Slater confessed everything, and agreed to let him tape it not only for evidence, but so Mr. DeVito could hear it all first hand.”
“How’s DeVito doing?”
“Like everyone else, he’s glad to finally know the truth. We talked on the phone this morning. He’s at peace.”
Benny stood, walked to the large, single window overlooking the river and revealed in hushed tones, “He sent me a letter you know?”
“Mr. DeVito?” Sunny’s eyes widened, her body tensed as she leaned forward to make sure she’d heard him right. Her broken ribs screamed for her to lie still.
“Yep, he apologized for everything. He said he knows it’s coming late, but if I want to ever stop by, he’d be glad to see me.”
Sunny slumped back in her bed, exhausted from the slight amount of effort it took to prop herself forward. “I’m glad for both of you. It takes a big heart to forgive.”
“He’s got his answer, that’s what he wanted all along.” Benny turned toward her, smiling.
“What about Slater, have you talked to him?”
“No. He sent word from jail, but I’m not ready yet.”
“And Maggie?” Through the brotherly grapevine, she learned Maggie moved to a senior center to be near people her own age.
“She loves her new apartment, has made lots of friends, and even plays bingo and shops at the stores nearby.”
“Good. She’s had it rough and deserves some happiness too.” Sunny sighed, leaning forward to grab the Styrofoam cup with the bendy straw inside. She took a long sip, sucking the last of the iced water from the bottom.
Benny stepped to her bedside, took the empty cup and maneuvered around the chairs to refill her drink at the sink by the door.
“When I get out of here I’m going to pay Slater a visit. I’d like to talk to him before he’s transferred upstate.”
Silent for several minutes, Benny furrowed his brow in thought. “Sweetheart, I’ll go with you to visit Slater if you want.”
“No need, you go when
you’re
ready.”
“Since there won’t be a trial, do you know how long he’ll be locked up?”
“I’m not sure of the exact terms of the deal they made, but his cooperation reduced his sentence.”
Benny placed her water on the table by the bed, grinning. “After all the years he suffered with Vivian, I think it should be reduced to time served.”
Sunny giggled. Seeing Benny’s humor in regards to Slater filled her with hope that their friendship would heal and survive.
****
When Sunny entered the long, narrow room it was empty except for the first booth. Slater sat behind a clear, heavy see through panel, a phone receiver already pressed to his ear.
Their gazes didn’t break contact even after she took her seat. Hard to believe six weeks had passed since she’d been shot, Judson had left, Vivian died and Slater was taken to jail.
Sunny picked up the receiver. Unbelievably calm she leaned forward to rest her elbows on the shelf before her.
“How you doing, Slater?”
“Bout as good as ya can spect, I guess.” He smiled. A timid grin, and his eyes darted around the room as if he expected someone to jump out at him. “You?”
“I just finished up physical therapy.” She rotated her shoulder. “But I’m fixed, good as new.”
Slater nodded. “Good.”
“Thanks for seeing me.” Sunny titled her head to the side. He looked exactly the same, a touch thinner, but his attitude held an air of lightness. It seemed the weight of having the truth out freed him, even though he was behind bars.
“I’m surprised ya wanted ta talk ta me.”
“I know you’ve answered a lot of questions already, but I wanted to hear the story from you, in person. Do you mind?”
“Shoot no, little lady. If ya got questions, ask. I’ll do my best ta answer em.”
“I’m sorry about Vivian. I know how you felt about her.”
Slater stared at her for several long moments. His eyes softened. He blinked away the moisture then swiped at his eyes with his palms.
“I did love that woman. But we were what ya’d call star-crossed I think.” He attempted a small laugh, but it came out like a groan. “I should’ve never forced her into marrying me. It was no good for either of us.”