Tell Me What Is Priceless (Siren Publishing Classic) (16 page)

“Yeah, I did. I’m in love with her, so we are even. Emotions are a strange thing sometimes. They are not always clear until life presses the point. Why did I let her walk away from me?”

“I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t there.”

“Yeah, but I was, and I should never have let her leave. I suppose it’s too late to worry about it now. Isn’t it?”

Nan nodded slowly. “Yeah. Call me in the morning or if she wakes up.”

“I will.” Zar turned his attention back to Blaze.

When Kale wheeled himself quietly into Blaze’s room, he found Zar with his head down on the bed. His fingers were entwined in Blaze’s hair, and the overall impression was of a man lost. Kale shut the door quietly and took up a place by the wall. His eyes were on his brother, but his thoughts were on Jenny. She was his dream girl, and he wanted to be with her. She had been angry with him for not calling sooner. When he had told her what happened, her anger had dissolved into tears.

Kale turned to the light swish of the door but said nothing as a figure stepped in. Jake didn’t notice him as his eyes locked on Zar. His expression soured for a moment, but when Zar glanced up, Jake smiled. “What a surprise this is, Zar. I’m glad to see you here. I feel terrible about the mistake with the test. I just don’t know what happened. How is Blaze? I haven’t looked at her chart yet.”

“She is fine,” he said quietly. “I don’t want to wake her, though. She has had a rough day.”

Jake’s smile wavered. “Have you spoken to her?”

“What’s the matter, Jake? Are you nervous about what she told me? I’ve already filed charges against you with the police. They should have a warrant out for your arrest about now. You have a lot of nerve coming back in here, or were you just checking to make sure she was dead?”

Kale wheeled the chair up between Jake and the door, instantly knowing what Zar was leading up to. “We know everything, Jake. You gave me painkillers that you knew were way too strong for me. You told Blaze that she was positive, hoping that she would bolt. You were really quite convincing with the things you said to her. You made sure that she was too afraid to risk a relationship with Zar. It almost worked. You almost killed both of us and got away with it.”

Jake turned to Kale and realized that he was trapped between the two brothers. “Kale, please move away from the door. I don’t appreciate what you are implying. I would never do anything to hurt anyone. I’m a healer, remember?”

“You’re a man who is in hock up to his ears,” said Zar. “I keep track of the people in my life, and you have quite a gambling problem, don’t you, Jake? How far in debt are you that you would try to kill Blaze and frame my brother for the Queen’s Dragon? It blew your mind when I told you that I had given the knife to Blaze, didn’t it?”

Jake spun on him, his composure failing. “What do you know about it? You step in shit and come out with money stuck to your shoes. You know nothing about me. You are too busy whining because your hip hurts. Without me you would be spending your life lying in bed in pain. You owe me, Zar. Who do you think will be willing to get you those ampoules of painkiller? They are not exactly legal. You will live in agony without me around to help you.”

“Maybe so,” replied Zar. “I don’t really care, because without Blaze to share my life, it doesn’t seem to matter so much anymore. Do you really think I would have anything to do with you after knowing that you tried to kill her?”

“I did what was best for both of us. Do you really think you could keep her happy? Have you ever read her books? They are filled with warped sexual delusions. You are incapable of doing the things she dreams of. She would have you in a wheelchair in no time, and then she would dump you flat. She doesn’t deserve a place in life. I want the Queen’s Dragon. It’s mine. I earned it with years of service to you, and you were supposed to give it to me, not her.”

Zar chuckled sarcastically. “I don’t believe you, Jake. You have been overbilling my insurance for years. I’ve never said anything, because I knew you needed the money. I’ve paid you a king’s ransom for house calls, and I never intended to give you the queen. Why did you think that killing Blaze would change my mind?”

Jake’s eyes narrowed. “You would give it to that slut, but not to me? You are more of a fool than I took you for. That blade is a priceless gem, and I would have done anything to possess it. I should have just killed you and gotten it over with. Instead I chose to rid the world of that insane bitch. I should have remained in here to make sure I permanently shut her up. So you have her back, but rest assured, if you hurt me, your life will be misery. You need me, Zar. So, what did she tell you?”

Zar smiled and replied, “Not much. You, however, have told me everything. Get out, Jake. You have about ten seconds to get out of my sight before I wring your fucking neck. I do owe you for all you have done for me, actually for all of us. Blaze’s life is too high a price to pay for painkillers. Instead I return the option you gave me once. I have not actually had time to call the police yet. I’ll give you twenty-four hours to choose your future. Now get out!”

Kale glared at Zar as he continued to block the entrance. Zar spoke in an eerily dark voice. “Let him leave. He knows his options. Choose wisely for your family, Jake. If you don’t, I will spare no expense to hunt you down. Do we understand each other?”

“Perfectly, Zar.”

“Good! Kale, please let him pass so he can go make his choice.”

Kale reluctantly wheeled back the chair, watching in disdain as Jake walked out. He turned the chair to Zar. “You are just going to let him leave? How could you do that to Blaze?”

“I’m thinking about Blaze. Do you think she wants to be involved in a long, drawn-out trial when she comes around? The press would have a field day with her. I can see the headlines now: Renowned Author Caught in Sex Scandal. Can you imagine if it goes public that we had only known each other twenty-four hours, and we were having an HIV test? That strongly suggests that we were sleeping together. I’m sure that Jake’s lawyers would tear her to shreds in court. Let’s add in the fact that we were alone up in a cabin in the woods. Then add in that my twin brother was there, and he was also being tested at the same time. It will be her word against Jake’s. The shots I use for my hip are not legal, and I’m sure that will come out. I’ll be made to look like a drug addict with a brother who is a known boozer. I’m also thinking about Jake’s family and what this would do to them. I just gave him the option to end it for everyone’s good. Even if the courts don’t convict him, his practice will be ruined, and he knows it.”

“He is going to run, Zar. You gave him plenty of time to leave the country.”

“Yes, I did. I also told him that I would hunt him down. He knows that I’m good for my word. Kale, when I was lying in the hospital with my hip crushed, he told me that I needed to choose my future. I could live with the pain and the injury for the rest of my life, or I could die and let my family collect my life insurance. I just gave him the same option. Will you do me a favor and sit with Blaze for a little while? I’ve some calls to make.”

“Of course,” he replied with a thoughtful nod. “Zar? Do you really think he will kill himself?”

“I don’t think it will look like suicide, but it will be. We’ll see when the morning news comes out. I will be back in a little while.” Zar pushed himself stiffly out of the chair, taking the cell phone from Kale as he walked toward the door. “How’s Jenny?”

“She will be here in the morning. I will have my own private nurse to take care of me.”

“I thought she was only seventeen?”

“She is, but she has been helping her mother for years. Her mother is a private home nurse. She graduated high school early. Then she took a home study course and passed with awards. She is too young to take a position, but she has a certificate for home nursing. If you talk to her, her accent makes her sound slow and stupid. She is really smart, Zar. I have no idea why she got involved with the likes of me.”

“I don’t know either, but it looks like the magic is happening. I’ll be back in a little while.”

Kale watched the door as Zar let it close, wondering what the comment had been for. He made a mental note to ask Zar about it and then sat back, flipping on the television.

A week passed, but the magic had slipped away and Blaze didn’t improve. The cast was removed and replaced with a smaller one just in case she woke up. The patch came off her eye, and although the doctor said it looked good, they couldn’t guarantee that she would have sight in it. Peter had Kale cleared of all charges when an investigation determined that a severed power-steering hose had caused the accident.

Jake’s death was the theme of headlines for that first week. His practice was widespread and his name renowned. His wife told police that she didn’t even know he had come home until she found him dead in the morning. She said that he had been meaning to fix the leaking gutter forever. Why he had chosen to do so in the middle of the night or how he had fallen was a mystery. There was no sign of foul play, and no one had any reason to suspect him of suicide. His wake and funeral were headlined as a dramatic farewell in an unjust world. Kale read the article, shaking his head. “They say that close to a thousand people showed up to pay their respects to his family. I wonder if Marsha noticed that we weren’t among them?”

“I don’t know. I don’t really care. I only care that Blaze comes out of this coma. We are bringing her home this afternoon, and although everything is ready for her, I wish it wasn’t happening. I wanted her to leave on her own. I wanted her to wake up. Each day that goes by is a day that her chances of waking up fade a little.”

“I know, Zar, but there is nothing else we can do. You have been here every possible moment when you weren’t with Nan getting the house ready. Hopefully you’re right, and the stimuli of being home will pull her back to us. What are you going to do if it doesn’t?”

“I don’t know, Kale. I’m not willing to think about that just yet. I can’t bear the idea of having her spend her life in one of those facilities. Mother was so badly neglected. I can’t do that to Blaze.”

“Zar, have you ever forgiven me for taking off and leaving you? I know you needed my help, but I couldn’t bear to watch her die.”

“I know that, Kale. There is nothing to forgive you for. You came back in the end and made your peace to her. She missed you so much in those last days. You were her little angel.”

“I was more like her little devil. You were always the good one. You wasted so much of your life trying to keep me out of trouble. You still do. I can never repay for all you have done for me.”

“Yes, you can. You can stay and help me with Blaze. Remember when we were little and you told me about the man saying that Mother made the angels sing? Blaze is my angel. Everything about her sings to my heart. Making love to her is incredible. Stay and help me with her. I want all the input around her that she can possibly get.”

“In all honesty, I can’t go anywhere with this leg anyway. The doctor says that I’m better off staying in the wheelchair. I can get around on crutches, but they are tiring. If I can do anything to help you with Blaze, I will.” A smile touched his lips.
“Oh, I didn’t tell you. Jenny got a part-time position on trial here at the hospital. She’s going to be in training for a while, but they hired her. I guess once I’m back on my feet I should think about getting a real job. Do you have any openings for a construction worker?”

“I’m sure I could arrange something,” Zar replied with a smile. “Maybe you can play foreman to Blaze’s dream while you are keeping an eye on her. I’ve got to get back to work sooner or later. I hired two nurses to split Blaze’s daytime shift, so you don’t have to worry about that. Dr. Gillette has shown me how to feed her if I have to. It’s pretty gross injecting that food into her stomach tube. It’s also a necessity, along with keeping her clean and exercising her. I had a unit installed that will lift her with a harness. It will make it easier to get her into a wheelchair and get her out of bed. It runs into the bathroom so she can be given a bath. I want to get her outside every day so she can feel the sun. The porch is almost finished, and the work on the yard has begun. Nancy told me what Blaze had hoped to do to the house someday, and it’s being done. I just hope she wakes up to see it.”

* * * *

It was a hope that seemed to fade with each passing day. Nancy returned to school, and Zar was forced to return to his company. It didn’t keep him out all that long, but the trips he had to make became an agony. He spent his time on the plane working on computer games to occupy his mind. He kept his phone turned on every moment and always had an extra battery charged for it. To hear the phone beep and hear Kale or Nan’s voice always left his heart thumping.

The house was finished, and what had been Blaze’s dream was becoming Zar’s agony. He would sit with her for hours out in the newly constructed sunroom and work with her hands or legs. She didn’t know he was there, and if she did, her mind wouldn’t acknowledge him. To look out into the beautifully growing yard only made him more depressed.

The dogs stayed by her side endlessly, and even when they weren’t lying with her, they would hop up on their back legs to check on her. Zar got in the habit of taking one dog for a long walk each day. It gave each dog a break from their vigil and also helped Zar find some inner peace.