When he didn’t see her, he rushed to the door. Cam grabbed his arm and told him to calm down, but Joel was desperate. Filled with panic, he kicked and the door slammed open then the alarm went off.
The gun. The knife. The blood. It was all so much to take in.
The sound of her voice as she’d told him she loved him was playing in his head now. Even as he sat by her bedside at the hospital and the loudspeaker squawked, he remembered her final vow of love.
The smell of disinfectant slammed into him. At least the dragging numbness had worn off. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand and stared at the crisp white sheet pulled up to her chest.
He’d come so close to losing her. If any one thing had gone wrong he would have lost her. The traffic had worked for them thanks to some stoplight maneuvering by Davis. Cam drove fast enough. The door gave on the first kick.
Knowing about Charlie’s wound, Joel also knew she’d saved herself. That was his woman. Strong, confident and fierce. The only bad news was the guy would live.
Tony wasn’t so lucky. Charlie had unleashed on his former partner, leaving him no chance for survival. Remembering the state he was in, Joel thought it was probably a miracle he had made it until they had found him.
Cam stuck his head in the doorway. “Is she awake?”
“Not yet.” Joel took in Cam’s ripped and bloody clothing and wondered why someone hadn’t taken one look at him and called the police.
Of course, they were crawling around but Connor handled them, as always. Cam looked as if he’d been dragged by a truck. Joel guessed he looked even worse himself.
“Where’s Connor,” he asked.
“Still talking with Hope’s dad.”
Talk about taking one for the team. The older man had yelled at Joel via cell phone during the entire ambulance ride to the hospital. He promised revenge if Joel didn’t get his act together and treat his baby girl better.
Joel didn’t blame the guy. He’d done a pretty lousy job of protecting her. The one thing he excelled at was leaving, and tonight doing so had almost cost her life.
He didn’t know what kind of husband he would be. Hell, he wasn’t sure he even ranked that high on the boyfriend scale, but he wasn’t letting her go. Not again. He’d had a glimpse of life without her and he’d rather be selfish and hold her tight.
“At least he’s back in town,” Joel said, remembering the worry in her dad’s voice.
“He’s not happy about any of this.”
Joel looked at her still form and a new wave of anger crashed over him. “That makes two of us.”
The nurse came in wearing an official badge and dragging a tray behind her. The only way for her to get by Connor just outside the door was to be pre-approved by Corcoran.
More than one doctor commented on the overabundance of caution. It was nothing compared to the contingent of police assigned to watch over Charlie one floor down.
The nurse nudged him away from Hope’s side. “I need to check her bandages.”
He held his ground. “I’ll stay.”
“You should step outside.” The woman was five-feet-nothing and she stared him down like she would take him out.
He thought about arguing until he saw the smile on Cam’s face and conceded. “Fine.”
Joel waited until they stepped into the hallway to tell Cam what he should have said hours ago. “Thank you.”
He brushed a square of what looked like part of a curtain off his upper arm. It could have come from anywhere since they’d been fighting all night. “For what?”
“Everything.” Joel didn’t even know how to put his gratitude into words. “I know you were supposed to be on vacation.”
“Fighting fires is more interesting.” Cam clapped Joel on the shoulder and nodded. From Cam, that was a huge show of emotion. “Besides, I was going to fly anyway.”
It was the way he said it that had Joel questioning. “Where?”
Cam glanced at their boss where he passed back and forth a few feet away in front of the nurse’s station. “That was up to Connor. He asked me to take him to Jana.”
Now, there was news. “What?”
“He stayed to help you instead.”
“Because I recognize a man in love.” Connor stepped up and stared Joel down. “Do you?”
The conversation left Joel speechless. Connor back together with Jana, or trying to be. Davis and Lara. They gave him hope.
Cam groaned. “Don’t do it, man.”
Lost in his thoughts, Joel lost track of the conversation. “What?”
“Don’t give a list of excuses why it won’t work with Hope.”
Before Joel could answer, Connor launched into a speech. “One thing you might want to remember is that not being with her in this case made her vulnerable.”