Grace Cries Uncle (26 page)

I was standing next to Bennett's bed when his eyes fluttered open the next morning.

“So I'm still here, am I?” he asked.

I reached down to lay my hand atop his. “You're expected to make a full recovery.”

“Guess it wasn't my time.”

“If it were up to me, it will never be your time.”

Though his hand was tethered to an IV, he twisted it, palm up, to wrap his fingers around mine. “Ah, Gracie.” He tried to sit, but pain made him wince.

“Take it easy.”

He shot me an impatient glare. “The harder I push myself, the quicker I get out of here.”

“Take it easy,” I repeated. “For today at least. Push tomorrow.”

“Yes, ma'am.” He settled back. “Everything all right?”

“Now it is, yes. We weren't sure for a while there.”

“You're a tough cookie,” Bennett said with admiration. “All that chaos and you stayed calm. You kept your head.”

“I could say the same about you.”

“I don't know.” He pantomimed swinging a club even though it hurt him to do so. “I'm a championship softball player,” he said, falsetto. “Watch out.”

It felt good to laugh. The unexpected recap of my on-the-spot fib reminded me just how desperate I'd felt in that moment, how high the stakes, and how lucky we were to have survived. With Bennett lying here, safe, making jokes, I could finally relax again.

“That Mere club felt like a bat in my hands. It was the first thing I could think of.”

“Did you really play softball in school?”

“Hardly.” I tamped down a giggle. “I stunk at sports as a kid.”

“I want to know more about that. I want to learn everything about your childhood, your family, your life before you came to Marshfield.”

“You already know a lot of it.”

“I want to be like a real uncle, who's known you from birth,” he said. “And I want us to plan for the future.”

“Not today.”

“Fair enough. But soon.” He reached for my hand again. “Tell me what else has happened.”

“McClowery's keeping the Tuens' arrest out of the papers.” I held a finger in front of my lips. “He plans to take control of their organization and use it to discover the extent of their reach. I predict more black-market bad-guy arrests in his future.”

“Makes sense. And the jeweled key?”

“The Tuens had it in their hotel room safe, believe it or not.” I shook my head. “And although the three pieces Liza tried to sell are a little scratched, they're still in good shape.”

“Where is Liza?”

“Still in custody.” I held back from spewing the contempt I felt for my sister right now. Always looking out for her own best interests, always oblivious to how her actions might
impact others, her deviousness had put my life and Bennett's at risk.

Because of Liza, Krol was dead and the person dearest to me in this world, Bennett, had come close to joining him. “She's been assigned an attorney. They're hoping for leniency.”

“She could be out soon?” Bennett asked.

“It's possible.”

“Where will she go?”

I looked away. “I don't know.” It had taken all my self-control to resist dumping my sister's meager possessions at the police department this morning. I would never forgive her for what she'd put us through.

Bennett waited for me to make eye contact. “She has to be told.”

“Bennett, no. You've seen for yourself how toxic Liza is. I don't know how, but she'll ruin everything.”

“Gracie, listen to me. For most of my adult life, I've faced adversaries. Most were far more cunning than your sister. The secret to winning is not hiding the truth, but shining a bright light on it, making it transparent to all. Angry, spiteful people like your sister are afraid of truth. They don't know how to behave when light hits them. In order to live our lives the way we want to, she will have to be told. Not now, but when the time is right.” He squeezed my fingers again. “Are you with me on this?”

I swallowed my frustration. “I trust you, Bennett. I suppose that's all that really matters.”

“Good. Now, next topic.” He let go of my hand to wag a finger at me. “You and I need to work harder to stay out of trouble.”

“Exactly my point,” I said. “If my sister hadn't been part of it—”

“This one wasn't your fault. If I hadn't agreed to work with McClowery, neither of us would have encountered the Tuens nor Malcolm Krol.”

I thought about that. “I don't know, Bennett. Something tells me we still would have gotten into the middle of this one.”

A corner of his mouth curled up. “I suppose it was inevitable.”

“Let's agree to keep things quiet from now on. What do you say? No more fighting bad guys. No more battles to the death.”

Bennett chuckled. “I'm afraid quiet isn't our lot in life. You and I are not content to sit and wait, we are people of action.” He cupped his mouth and whispered, “Speaking of which, how soon can you break me out of
here?”

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