Hello My Angel - Sue Brown Page 0,61

got down beside him and gave the rescue breaths when he was done. Still nothing.

“No, no, no, you are not going to die,” he yelled at Weatherly’s pale face. There’d been too many fucking deaths so far.

Lillian patted his shoulder. “You’re doing fine, Josh. Keep going.”

He nodded grimly, starting the compressions once more. He’d almost finished this round when Weatherly coughed.

“Thank you, Farrah,” Josh murmured.

“Quick, turn her over,” Lillian ordered.

They rolled Weatherly into the recovery position as she coughed and heaved up water. Lillian rubbed her back, speaking soothingly to her. Josh moved back to give them room. Eventually she stopped retching, although she shook with cold as Josh eased her back onto the ground. He started to take off his jacket to cover her when Lillian stopped him.

“The paramedics are here.”

Rick guided the paramedics over and vanished with a nod to Josh. One of the paramedics asked questions as the other examined Weatherly. Josh answered as well as he could, although how long Weatherly had been not breathing defeated him. It had seemed like an eternity. Their eyes grew wide as he explained about her hands. He went to stand up and Weatherly grabbed his wrist, her clasp barely there, but he stopped and smiled at her.

“Hey, good to see you back with us.”

“Moles,” she rasped.

Weatherly looked half the woman she’d been the day she was kidnapped. She was nothing more than skin and bone, the suit she’d worn at the funeral was filthy and hanging off her in rags, and the smell…Josh nearly gagged. She’d aged a decade or more. Both her hands were bandaged in an amateurish fashion and Josh hated the thought of what lay underneath.

“Cal’s gone after her.”

“Josh, I need you to look after my ring.”

He looked at the thin gold band in her palm of her remaining hand.

Weatherly licked her lips. “She took my other rings with my fingers. I don’t want to lose this one.”

He took the band and slipped it into his pocket. “I’ll take care of it. You just let me know when you want it back.”

She lay back on the pillow and closed her eyes. He patted her arm and watched the paramedics load her on the gurney and wheel her away, Lillian following them. He didn’t have time to breathe, to process Weatherly was alive, before Cal hauled him to his feet and against his broad chest. Not that he minded being hugged but warning would have been helpful. He waited for Cal to say something but he just breathed heavily in Josh’s ear.

Josh laid his hands against Cal’s chest, feeling the fast heartbeat under his fingertips. “Charlie? Are you okay?”

He didn’t get a reply for long moments until Cal sighed, kissed Josh on the forehead, and said, “I don’t care what happens after this but I’m going to marry you as soon as we put this bitch down.”

“Is that meant to be a marriage proposal, ‘cause I tell you it fucking sucks.”

“I don’t care. I’m sick of waiting for the right time. You and me are made for each other. We’re getting married.”

“Yes, Charlie.”

Cal eyed him suspiciously. “Is that it?”

“I said yes. What more do you want? You want a flowery acceptance you’d better give me a better proposal than that.”

Cal shrugged. “It works for me.”

Josh opened his mouth to object, but what the hell, it worked for him too. He could make Cal do the down on one knee proposal later. Besides, they’d been dancing around the marriage thing for a while. He laid his head on Cal’s chest and listened to his heartbeat gently slow.

Gil and Rick arrived, looking ready for action.

“Is Weatherly okay?” Gil demanded.

Cal nodded. “Thanks to Josh.”

Josh smacked his mouth a few times. He really needed a strong coffee to get the stale taste out of his mouth.

“Where’s Chyna?” Gil looked around as if he expected to see her standing there.

Cal huffed in annoyance. “She ran as soon as she saw us coming. I don’t know where she went. I ran around the garden, but she’s vanished. We’ll check the garden and the house again. She’s got to have left some trail, and you’re better at hunting than I am, Gil.”

“I’ll get Max to check the cameras in the grounds.” Rick pulled out his phone. He walked away, talking rapidly to Max.

Josh grimaced in pain. “I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I really need to get the taste of Weatherly out of my mouth.”

Cal chuckled and put a hand under Josh’s