Margo ignored the intimidation and braced herself against the headboard. She didnt want to reveal the degree of pain she was inher pride stung enough, having given in to Blus suggestion to show up on Rys doorstep had taken every ounce of courage she owned.
Somehow shed made it to the Nightwing after she and Blu had jumped off the pier, but what had happened after that was pretty much a blur. All she remembered was Brodie hauling her into the boat, then swearing crudely the minute he laid eyes on her arm. Seconds later they were on the move, the Nightwing flying across the river to New Orleans as if it had grown wings.
Margos gaze drifted over Rys handsome face. She had always loved looking at himappreciated the mix of both hard and soft features sculpted over leather-tough Texas skin. He had the bluest eyes of anyone she knew, and the intensity of those magnetic eyes and his rich smoky drawl were a deadly combination. Never mind that his drawl wasnt as smoky just now, or his eyes as gentle as they could be.
She flinched as he sat down beside her. The blood in the bathroom suggests this is more than a scratch, Margo. I need to see what were dealing with.
Sorry about the mess in your bathroom. I thought I could doctor myself. When I almost passed out, I gave up and went looking for a bed.
You were never any good at dealing with blood, especially your own. How did you get here?
Margo hesitated, not sure what to say.
He looked up. Margo? Who brought you here?
No one, she lied. II took a cab. She broke eye contact, feeling uncomfortable under his intense gaze. Absently she studied the generous bedroom decorated in navy and yellow. Shed heard he had moved into a house of his own, but it hadnt registered just how nice a place until Brodie had delivered her to the two-story Creole cottage in the Garden District. The rumor shed heard of him selling his share of the family ranch back in Texas must have been true. It would certainly explain the influx of money that would allow him such a beautiful home.
Im going to remove the towel now, he told her.
His tone had softened, reminding Margo of the old days. His touch, too, brought back memories she had worked hard to forget. To someone who knew the history she and Ry shared, it would seem unlikely that she would seek refuge in his home. But Blus idea had been ingenious. Well, she hadnt thought so at first, but later, when shed had time to consider the few options left open to her, shed had to agree with her brother. Who would ever think to look for her in the home of one of the most respected homicide detectives in the city of New Orleans?
And they were looking for her. Brodie had pointed to several spotlights combing the river as they fled Algiers.
It had been more than four hours since shed slipped into Rys house like a thief, squeezing through a hole in the hedge Brodie had stumbled on. Once she was standing at the door, supported against the iron railing that wrapped a wide veranda on all sides of his home, shed urged Brodie to go back to the Nightwing and search for Blu. Of course he hadnt wanted to leave her, but they both knew Blu needed him at that moment more than she did.
Left alone Margo had taken a deep breath and knocked on Rys back door. When he didnt answer, desperation
had forced her to try the door. Relief had rushed through her veins on finding it unlocked, and shed crept inside like Goldilocks, all wide-eyed and cautious. And then surprised and impressed shortly thereafterRys home was any womans dream come true.
Why the hell didnt you say youd been shot?
Margo expected a reaction of some kind. She hadnt been so foolish as to think she could pass a gunshot wound off for anything else but what it was. Thats very good detective work, Ry. You certainly know your job.
Her sarcasm wasnt appreciated. He swore, offered her a black look, then turned his attention back to her arm. She felt him probe the wound, and she sucked in her breath and held it. She wouldnt moan, she promised herself, and she wouldnt cry out, either.
Youre lucky, he sighed a moment later. The bullet missed the bone. The excessive bleeding is caused by a flap of skin that needs to be stitched.
Margo had already gotten a damage report from Brodie. She would have let him patch her up before she got to Rys, only, for a big, tough fisherman, Brodie had as weak a stomach as she did when it came to blood.
Ry leaned closer, eyeing the scratch on her cheek. To Margos surprise she realized he still used the same unpretentious cologne she had associated with him years ago. Everything was familiar. He still wore his hair short and carefree for eases sake. Even his day-old scruffy jaw was typical. She remembered how he used to complain about how much time it took to scrape off his healthy growth of whiskers.
She should hate him, and most days thats what kept her goingthe outrage and the humiliation and the determination to rise above it. Ry had not only crushed her spirit and scarred her heart, but hed done it in such a manner that she had looked like a naive little fool. Of course he hadnt wanted a permanent relationship. What had she expected two years ago, marriage? He was older than her by twelve years. What man at age thirty-one would want to marry a nineteen-year-old, starry-eyed girl?