Suspicious Activities (14 page)

Chapter Twenty-One

People. Jackson heard people.

“You punched a cop?” a man asked, voice so low he almost didn’t hear him. “Pretty sure that’s illegal.”

“It’s not a big deal,” a woman answered. At the sound of her voice, also low, Jackson found his lips pull up of their own accord.

“I don’t think you know what a big deal is,” said the man, though there was a bit of laughter in the statement.

“Like I said, it’s fine,” she responded. “And it’s not like I’m going to make it a habit.”

“Man, I can’t wait to tell Darling.”

The man snorted and the woman shushed him. They lapsed into a small silence. Jackson wondered what they were doing but couldn’t seem to open his eyes.

Though he tried.

“Nik, I think he’s waking up,” the man said, louder than before. There was movement and then Jackson heard her again.

“Jackson?” she whispered.

As if her voice was enough encouragement, Jackson opened his eyes. They felt heavy but not heavy enough to keep him from wanting to see her.

“Nikki,” he whispered back.

Nikki Waters was smiling at him. How he loved the sight.

“How do you feel?” she asked, moving closer to the side of the hospital bed.

Jackson thought about that.

“Medicated,” he decided. Nikki and the man she’d been talking to laughed. Jackson turned his head slightly to get a better view.

“Bullet buddy,” Oliver Quinn greeted with an equally wide smile. “Good to see you awake.”

Jackson felt his eyebrows draw together in confusion. Bullet buddies? Had he been shot?

“I’m tired,” he said when he couldn’t figure out what he was trying to remember. Nikki laughed.

“The doctor said you might be in and out of it for a while,” she said. “You’re on some strong medication. It’s okay for you to go back to sleep.”

Jackson nodded. That made sense. He started to close his eyes again before opening them wide. He looked at Nikki.

“Will you be here when I wake up?” he asked, suddenly worried.

Nikki’s expression softened.

“I haven’t left you yet,” she said.

Jackson smiled again and closed his eyes. “Good.”

* * *

N
IKKI
WAS
TRUE
to her word.

The next time Jackson opened his eyes, she was sitting in a chair next to his hospital bed, her head bent over a book. From where he sat he could see the cover and its shirtless cowboy.

“Well, howdy,” he greeted. Nikki gave a little jump and turned, cheeks instantly red. She put her book down a little too quickly. “Don’t stop on my account,” he teased.

Nikki rolled her eyes, lips pulling up at the corners.

“Jillian brought me something to read from the hospital store,” she explained. “Apparently she’s a big fan of the cowboys.”

Jackson cracked a smile. Instead of seeing just how much he could get her to blush, he focused on the part of what she said that was real news to him.

“So the hospital, huh?” he asked, looking around for the first time. It was a small room but a private one. A window in the corner let him know it was day. “Which means I didn’t succumb to my injuries.”

“No, you didn’t,” she said. “But you did give us a scare.” She pointed to his shoulder where Michael had shot him. The hospital gown he had on was opened enough at the neck that he could see a large bandage over the wound. “That one was a through-and-through.” Nikki motioned to the bandage on the side of his biceps.

It took him a second to realize that the burn and pain he’d felt just before shooting the man next to the ambulance had been a bullet.

“That one was luckily just a graze.” She moved her finger to point at the left side of his stomach. Her face darkened. “But that last one was almost too much.”

Jackson moved ever so slightly to test the wound. He sucked in a breath as pain spider-webbed at the movement. It caused Nikki to stand. “Take it easy,” she warned. “There’s no permanent damage, but it will take some time before you’re back on your feet.”

“Understood,” he replied, resigning himself to try to stay still. Nikki fixed him with a look he couldn’t quite decipher. Then her eyes began to glaze over. He raised his eyebrow, alarmed. “What’s wrong?”

“You took a bullet for me, Jackson,” she said. There was a hardness to her tone, like she was trying really hard not to scold him. “And it almost killed you.”

Jackson moved his hand over and took hers in it, but she didn’t stop.

“You saw Andrew point his gun and you just threw yourself in front of me. You didn’t even hesitate.” She stopped herself, seemed to reconsider her words and then said, “Why?”

“It’s what you pay me for,” he said, grinning. He squeezed her hand. He wanted to defuse the sadness she’d fallen into. The worry about what could’ve happened. “At least I think that’s what I get paid for. Truth be told, I haven’t been with the company all that long.”

Nikki finally laughed, the lines between her eyebrows smoothing. The glaze vanished from her eyes. She kept his hand.

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? This was all just one big test,” she joked. “Normally people don’t overachieve as much as you do.” She motioned again to his wounds. “Taking two bullets? Oliver only took one, though he’s very excited that now someone else in Orion knows what it’s like to be not only shot but shot specifically in the stomach.”

“Bullet buddies,” Jackson repeated. She nodded. “I should point out that, technically, I took two bullet wounds and a graze. Unless those don’t count.”

“We’ll count them.”

They quieted. Jackson realized that even the silence with Nikki was enjoyable. Still holding her hand, he looked her up and down for the first time since he’d woken up. She was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a blue tee. He could see the angry red mark from the burn of her seat belt peeking out of the top of her shirt. Though the cuts along her scalp from the windshield and then the car crash were gone. The fact that she was standing on both of her feet confirmed whatever she’d been injected with hadn’t had a lasting effect.

“Are you okay?” he asked, knowing the question would lead them away from jokes and right to the heart of what had happened. Nikki seemed to feel the shift, too. She cleared her throat. Yet she never dropped his hand.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she started. “Just some marks and bruises, but they’re healing fine.” Picking up on his unasked question, she used her free hand to touch the spot where Charles had stuck the needle into her skin. There wasn’t a mark anymore.

Jackson wondered how long he’d been in the hospital.

“The drug I was partially injected with was a paralytic, meant to keep me from struggling. Though with less than half of a full dose, all it did was numb the left side of my body before turning to angry pins and needles. It also made me really tired, which the doctor thinks is another reason I passed out for such a long time after the crash. I feel absolutely normal now, though. It was the sprained ankle that was most annoying.” She moved her right leg as if to prove the point. “I can put weight on it now but still have a bit of a limp. It’s not a bullet wound, though.” The whisper of a smile crossed her lips. It didn’t last long, and Jackson asked another question he knew wasn’t the happiest of topics.

“What happened to Andrew?”

Nikki let out a small exhale. “After he shot you, Oliver and Mark were able to get his gun away from him, though it really didn’t matter.” She shifted on her feet. “He lost consciousness because of the hit against the asphalt. The doctor was surprised he was even able to shoot at me at all, but I told them Andrew is a very determined man.”

“Is? Not was?” he asked.

“He’s alive, if that’s what you mean,” she answered. “It’ll be a while before he can leave the hospital, though. He’s got a fractured skull or something of the nature. To be honest, I didn’t really ask. All I know for certain is that he has enough policemen on him that I doubt he’ll be able to use the restroom without bumping shoulders with one.”

She sobered. “They found the two officers from the patrol car that was dispatched near the coffee shop...”

Jackson gritted his teeth in anger. He didn’t need to ask if they were okay. They weren’t.

“They also found that man you’d shot outside Orion. His name is Cam and when I say he rolled over on everything he knew about what Andrew had been up to in the last few years, know that I mean he spilled every little secret Andrew had trying to cut a deal. Since, as he pointed out, he didn’t kill anyone.”

Jackson’s eyebrows rose.

“What about Heather?” he asked, picturing her body crumpled on the asphalt. Nikki shook her head.

“She had to be rushed into surgery, but she’s alive and expected to make a full recovery,” Nikki said. “She’s also expected to fully pay for her part in everything.”

Jackson
had
warned her that was exactly what would happen. That reminded him of something.

“What happened to Michael?” he asked.

“Apparently he asked for more money and Andrew didn’t want to pay.” She made a disgusted face. “So Andrew killed him in my office.” Nikki’s body sagged. She finally sat down on his bed. Still, she held his hand.

“What about the fire?” he asked, knowing she was already thinking about it.

“Do you want the good news or bad news first?” she asked.

“Dealer’s choice.”

Nikki let out another exhale. It shook a little at the end. “The good news is right after you lost consciousness, Calvin showed up with his backup. He was able to get the fire station five minutes away to respond quickly.” Nikki held up her head a fraction, like she was trying to show she wasn’t about to break despite the news. “The bad news is by the time they did get there and put the fire out, most of the building was unsalvageable or gone.”

Her chin started to shake. Jackson squeezed her hand. The pressure seemed to calm her. She smiled after a moment. “But more good news is we’re all okay. Buildings can be rebuilt, but people... Well, I’ll take a burned office any day as long as it means the people I care about are okay.”

“Amen to that.”

The nurse came in after that and the doctor soon followed. Nikki left his side and dropped his hand. She told him she wanted to let the others know he was up and excused herself. As soon as she was outside the room, the nurse grinned.

“Just so you know, she didn’t leave your side once,” she said. “I should know—I tried to make her go home a few times.”

Jackson responded with only a smile.

* * *

A
WEEK
LATER
,
the same nurse told Jackson he was one of the most popular patients she’d ever had. After he’d had his moments alone with Nikki, Calvin had come in with the police chief and gotten his side of the story while Nikki added in the bits that Jackson hadn’t known about, either, including Andrew’s two lackeys who had killed two more unfortunate passersby. They were going away for a long time, and that was at least a silver lining he could get behind.

Once Calvin and the chief were satisfied, Jackson started to feel tired again. Nikki began to settle into her chair, firm on staying with him.

“You don’t have to stay,” he assured her. Though he couldn’t deny her decision made him happy. Since before his father had made headlines, Jackson hadn’t been on the receiving end of such devotion.

Nikki waved him off, already picking up her book. “It’s my job as your emergency contact to be at your side during times like these,” she said.

That caught Jackson off guard. She turned to his questioning expression and suddenly looked bashful. “The nurse said that you didn’t have an emergency contact, so I got her to put me down as one. I hope that’s okay. I can have her change it.”

Jackson didn’t have to think about that long.

“That’s fine by me,” he said. She looked relieved.

“Good,” she said, already back to her book. “Guess you’re stuck with me now.”

“I guess I am.” Jackson didn’t miss her smile.

In the week that followed, Nikki finally did leave every once in a while. However, Jackson was never alone. Oliver, Mark and Jonathan stopped by and stayed awhile. They thanked him for everything he’d done for Nikki and he, in turn, thanked them for saving the day. Twice.

“Actually, how did you even know where we had crashed?” Jackson asked, realizing he didn’t know how they’d managed to find them outside the construction site.

“You don’t know about Orion’s guardian angel?” Jonathan asked. Mark and Oliver laughed. Jackson raised his eyebrow.

“He’s talking about my wife, Darling,” Oliver explained. “When we landed and got together, we got the call from Calvin that you two had disappeared from your apartment. Since your car and Nikki’s were both in the shop, we thought you might have gotten creative to get out of there. An SUV was reported stolen soon after the cops had been dispatched to your place. Darling took a shot and tracked the GPS and
bam
we got lucky.”

“We would have asked Calvin to do it, but he had his hands full,” Mark mentioned.

“She worked her magic again after we lost you two in the ambulance,” Oliver continued. “Though we had a good idea where you two were heading.”

They each took a moment of silence for everything that had happened. Then they were joking around. Though Jackson didn’t know how much of a joke it was when the three went from laughter to straight, stern faces.

“And, Jackson,” Mark said, voice low. “Nikki is basically like our sister, so understand this threat as a truth. If you ever hurt Nikki, we’ll do much worse than three bullets. You got that?”

Jackson’s eyes widened. He nodded. “Yes, sir.”

All three men loosened.

Mark smiled wide. “Well, then, I guess it’s time to officially welcome you to Orion!”

* * *

N
IKKI
’
S
GRIP
TIGHTENED
around the steering wheel. Her stomach was nothing but nerves.

“It’s going to be okay,” Jackson said from the passenger seat. She looked over at him, needing more. With his arm not up in a sling, he reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezed it and then let go. “Remember, you aren’t alone in this.”