Ryker’s Justice (8 page)

“Junior?”
Jude parroted.
“Junior Wetzel?”

“Yeah,
and he caused the whole thing. Another bunch of kids were behind David’s car
and said Junior swerved into the other lane. He hit David’s Trans Am and then
both vehicles went through the guardrail all the way down.”

Jude’s
headache intensified as rage shot through him. Heat washed over him and he shut
his eyes to avoid bursting into flame. He wanted to shout or beat the hell out
of Junior but he held tight to control. “I hope they arrested him.”

“They
did but I imagine they’ll let him walk after spending the night in the
drunk
tank. He’ll post bail, as he has before.”

“I’ll
make damn sure justice is served,” Jude said, without thinking. The words shot
from his mouth with more bitter force than he intended. Elijah’s eyes widened
and beside him, Nicole took his arm as if he needed restraint. Hell, maybe he
did.

Adam
leaned over from three chairs down. “Jude, take it easy, son. We all want to
see
Junior
pay but you don’t have a damn bit more
authority than anyone else.”

He
did, though, and parted his lips to tell them. Then he remembered where they
were and why, so he shut his mouth. “All right, all right, but remind me to
tell y’all something later.”

Noah
came to his feet and stalked the room with restless energy. “We’re all on edge
so cool it. Let’s just wait and see what happens. David’s most important right
now,
then
we’ll figure the rest out as we go.”

Tension
reigned as none of them talked for a while. The second hand swept around the
face of the large clock on one wall. Twice, a nurse emerged from the Emergency Room
and called a patient back, but time crawled and no one came to talk to Elijah
about his son. Jude’s tall frame didn’t fit into the cheap chairs with any
comfort and he shifted position often. His head pounded relentlessly. Fresh air
might help but he was loath to leave in case a doctor updated the family on
David’s condition. Almost an hour after the ambulance delivered the teen, a
doctor stepped out.
“Ryker?
Who’s with David Ryker?”

Twenty
people raised their heads, and two of them stood. Elijah and Tania linked
hands. “We’re his parents. How is he?”

“He’s
in critical condition. We’re taking him upstairs for emergency surgery to stop
some internal bleeding. He also has a concussion, broken ribs, and a broken
leg. If you want to step in to see him before we move him, please come through
this door.”

Half
a dozen family members stood as Elijah led his wife into the Emergency Room. Jude
joined them and stretched. Adam tapped him. “I think we’ll head upstairs to
wait. Are you coming?”

“Yeah,
I am. I want to see if the kid’s all right,” Jude said. “But I’m going to stick
my head outside for some fresh air first and grab a soda from one of the
machines.”

His
oldest brother nodded. “I’ll see you up there then.”

Nicole
linked her arm through Jude’s. “I’ll go outside with you.”

The
moon filled the night sky with silver light and any other time Jude could have
appreciated the beauty. With no destination in mind, he ambled out to his truck
with Nicole. Once there, he leaned his head against the driver’s side window. The
cool glass against his throbbing headache eased it a little and he groaned.

“Does
your head hurt?” Nicole asked. She put her hand on his back and rubbed. “I’ve
got some aspirin in my purse if you’d like some.”

“Yeah,
and sure, I would.”

She
shivered and he noticed how chilly it’d become. “Are you cold, honey?”

“Yes.
So are you. Your arm’s like ice.”

Jude
hadn’t realized. “Let’s go inside, grab a pop, then we’ll go upstairs.”

After
downing four tablets and washing them down with soda, he made a pit stop. The
empty halls at the late hour had an eerie feeling, he thought. Although he
hadn’t set foot in the facility for years, not since his football injuries were
treated, little had changed. Jude rode the elevator up to the tiny waiting room
and joined his family. Less furniture remained than he remembered and the
collected
Rykers
overflowed the space. Noah and Adam
sat on the floor outside and within the waiting area the others shared the few
chairs and single sofa. Jude paused in the hallway.
“Anything?”

Both
brothers shook their heads. “It’s too soon.”

“I’ll
wait,” Jude replied. But he didn’t want to face the crowd in the small, close
room, or sit in the hallway. “Is there still an old waiting room down the
hall?”

Noah
snorted. “As far as I know, in the original part, yeah, I think there is.
You going
down there?”

Jude
nodded. “We are for a while. I’ve got a bitchin’ headache and it’s too hot in
there. But I’ll be close and I won’t be gone very long.”

“If
we hear anything, I’ll come fetch you,” Adam said.

Their
footfalls echoed behind them as Jude and Nicole walked down a short flight of
stairs into the original hospital. Dimmer lights made the corridors seem narrow
and with a little imagination, Jude thought he could easily believe in ghosts. They
passed rooms still equipped with beds in the event of patient overflow and
turned a corner. The same waiting room he recalled from childhood remained,
untouched. A coffee table held outdated issues of
Reader’s Digest
and
Ladies
Home Journal.
Jude sank down with relief onto a rump sprung couch and
Nicole joined him. He shut his eyes and willed the headache to abate but it
hadn’t slackened at all.

“Head
still bad?” Nicole sounded sympathetic.

“Oh, yeah.”
He’d have to suffer through it,
he decided. It’d help if they would receive good news about David.

Nicole
pointed to the floor. “Come sit here,” she told him.

“Why?”

“Just
sit there and I’ll show you.”

After
a brief hesitation, Jude lowered his body to the floor. Nicole sat behind him
on the couch and straddled him, one leg on either side of Jude. Her small hands
rested on his shoulders and without a word, she began to massage his tired
flesh. “You’re all in knots,” she said. “No wonder you have a headache, Jude.”

“
Lot
going on right now,” he mumbled.

“I
know but it won’t help your nephew or anyone else to be so tense.” Her voice
lowered as her hands intensified their kneading action. “Try to relax.”

He
shut his eyes and yielded to the pleasant sensations. Under her ministrations,
his rock-solid muscles eased, a little at a time. Jude lost track of how long
Nicole’s hands wrought their magic but as the tension faded, his focus shifted.
The more she touched him, the drowsier he became. “Oh God, honey, you’re
gonna
put me out,” he told her.

“I
bet your headache’s gone.”

Damned
if it wasn’t. He opened his eyes and nodded. “Yeah, it is. Thanks.”

She
replied with a smile. Nicole let her fingers trail through his hair, slow and
gentle. Then she cupped one cheek, her hand soft against his stubble. “Good,”
she told him. “Maybe you should grab some sleep, if you can. I’ll stay awake so
if anyone comes with word about your nephew, I can wake you.”

Loggerheaded,
he’d love a nap, but Jude shook his head. “I probably better head back down to
check with the rest of the family. I wish I could, though.”

Her
expression sobered. “Jude, can I ask you something?”

Jude
ached to deliver a tender kiss. “You can ask anything, honey.”

“Are
you a law enforcement officer or something?”

The
question stunned him. It put him in an awkward position. If he loved her—and he
thought he probably did—he didn’t want to lie. Somewhere between falling in
love, finding a link to the moonshiners, and his nephew’s accident, Jude had
figured he would need to tell her. If he didn’t, such a secret would fester
between them like an infection. Now, however, wasn’t the moment he’d imagined
or expected. “Before I answer, can I ask why you wondered?”

Nicole’s
steady gaze never wavered. “I thought you might be, even before you said
downstairs that you’d see justice was served. You sounded like a cop. Are you?”

Telling
the wrong person the truth could mean life or death. It might compromise his
investigation and if his superiors knew, he’d be out of a job. But Nicole had
to know. He nodded one time. “Yeah, I’m an ATF special agent, but you can’t
tell a soul. No one knows, Nicole, not even my family.”

“I
won’t. I won’t even ask why you’re here but I’m guessing you didn’t just come
home for the memories.”

Sharp-minded,
he thought, intelligent, and beautiful.
Jesus,
she’s one hell of a woman.
“No, but I like being back. I belong here,
something I’d almost forgotten. I came to do my duty and I will.”

“And afterward?
Will you go back to your world
far away?”

If
he knew the answer, he’d be wise but he wasn’t. “I don’t know, Nicole. I’m not
sure I want to go.”

She
put her arms around his broad shoulders and snuggled against his back, her head
resting against his cheek. “You’ll figure it out,” she said. “You will. I hope
you can stay awhile, though. I am.”

“I
know.”

They
sat still, cheek to cheek, silent but in accord, until Adam walked into the
room. He halted in front of Jude and despite the heavy fatigue shadowing his
face,
Jude knew he brought good news, not bad, because
Adam’s dimples were visible.

“The
kid made it through the surgery,” he said. “They think he’ll recover. He’s
going to ICU now for a few days and they’re going to keep him sedated for a while.
Elijah and Tania plan to stay but the rest of us can go get some sleep. They’ll
need us later so we can relieve them and such.”

Relief
washed over Jude’s weary soul with the consuming power of floodwaters. “Thank God,”
he said and meant it. “Then we’ll go home for a while. I’ll come back after
I’ve gotten some rest.”

Adam
nodded. He offered Jude his hand and Jude took it. His brother pulled him up
from the floor and hugged him. “Glad you’re here,” Adam said. “And I’m glad
you’re back. I’ll see you tomorrow, probably. Take care, Jude.”

“I
will, brother.” He forced the words out around the knot in his throat.

Then
he put his arm around Nicole and they walked out, pausing long enough to say
good-bye to the others. Once in the truck, he pointed it toward home and he
knew what would happen next. Jude figured that she did too.

Chapter Eight

Although
they left the hospital holding hands and sat pressed together in the truck on
the way home over the dark, lonely roads, they didn’t speak. Jude’s need
intensified with each mile he drove, the tension rising with the same heavy
anticipation of an approaching storm front. The space between them narrowed to
nothing and their breath drew in tandem. Nicole touched him often, her hands
stroking the length of his arm or caressing his belly. Sometimes she placed her
hand between his thighs but when he let out a strangled half moan, she
retrieved it.

Good choice,
he thought,
if she hadn’t pulled back, I’d probably have nailed her right here in
the truck.

At
the house, she climbed out at the same time as Jude. He circled to meet her and
caught her face in one hand, fingers cupped under her chin. “I need you,” he
said. “I know I should’ve asked before I brought you here but…”

Her
eyes meet his. “It’s okay,” she told him. “Jude, I want this as much as you do.
Please love me.”

She
meant physical intimacy and he knew it, but her words resonated deep within. Jude
almost said, “I do,” but stopped himself. Nicole might not be ready to hear it
and he wasn’t sure he was ready to say it. Before things progressed on an
emotional level, he hoped she would share her past, including her former
husband’s violence and cruelty. She’d pegged him, but he suspected if he told
her what he’d learned, she would be angry. She might resent his intrusion. He had
to wait.

In
response to her request, he kissed her. His mouth pressed rough against hers,
his hunger too extreme to be gentle. Desire roared within, potent and powerful.
When Nicole kissed him back, he lost any chance at moderation and rammed his
tongue into her mouth. She shuddered and grasped his shoulders to pull him
closer. Her fervor matched his and heat radiated between them. Jude forgot the
October chill as an erotic fire swept through his veins, burning away all
restraint, everything but the woman in his arms.

Desire
consumed him, but for the first time he could recall, his lust was tempered
with a deep caring and infinite tenderness. Jude kissed until his breath caught
short and his lungs burned in his chest. He came up for air with a gulp. Nicole
inhaled,
then
laughed with unbridled joy.