Elijah nodded, looking only mildly surprised. “Good. It will be nice to have the fires solved and maybe get my name cleared.” He studied her an extra moment. “Why did Clarke come after you?”
“He said I was trying to take Ann away.”
“Ann’s rooted in this state. She’s not going anywhere.”
“You might be sure of that, but Clarke wasn’t.” Mention of Ann shifted her perspective. “Ann and Nate must be devastated. I should call her.” She looked around her bed. “Do you know where my cell phone is?”
Elijah pushed her hand away. “I’ll find Ann. You stay put.”
“I don’t know if you should be the one, Elijah.”
“Why not?” He watched her closely.
“She’s Gideon’s sister. He’ll take care of it.”
“Ah, right. Gideon.”
“You don’t care for him much, do you?”
“On the contrary: I respect him quite a bit. He’s the man of the hour.” He stepped back. “He saved your life, Detective.”
“I do owe him.”
He smiled, turned, and picked up his book. “We all do. Take care, and let me know if I can help,” he said as he walked into the hallway.
“You don’t appear to be surprised by Clarke. Did you know about him all along?”
He stilled. “I had no proof, and if prison taught me anything, it’s to keep my mouth shut.”
“Lana loved you, or at least she thought she did. And yet she ended up with Clarke.”
“I never had any control over Lana. She made her own choices.”
“I don’t think so.” Joan moistened her cracked, dried lips. “I think she loved you so much that she was willing to sleep with Clarke to get you the proof you wanted about the fire.”
“That’s an ambitious plan.”
“How did you come to suspect Clarke?”
“Joan, you have been severely traumatized. And it’s easy to see Clarke as the ultimate bad guy.”
“He took ten years of your life.”
“I’ve had ten years of living, just like you and everyone else. I consider my years behind bars to have been very productive. They taught me so much.”
She realized now that Elijah was a master chess player. His mind always advanced to at least five moves ahead. “That’s not an answer.”
He pushed back the curtain. “I think I hear Prince Charming right now.”
As he moved to leave, she tried to rise up. This was far from finished. But when Gideon appeared in the door, she was overcome with relief and emotion.
Gideon’s frown deepened when he looked at Elijah. “What are you doing here?”
Elijah nodded to him. “I was just visiting with Joan.”
“As soon as I get this sorted out, I want to talk to you,” Gideon said.
“I’ll be here,” Elijah said easily as he offered a small salute and left.
Gideon stood in the doorway watching until finally he pulled up a chair beside her. “That guy is everywhere. I still don’t trust him.”
She didn’t, either. In her bones, she sensed that Elijah had a plan that was far from played out. She tried to sit up as Gideon approached, but her broken ribs forced her to remain still. “You might be right.”
A ghost of a smile tipped the edges of his lips as he sat beside her bed. He brushed her bangs back, staring at her. “You take too many chances.”
She would have leaned over and kissed him if not for the cracked ribs. “I would literally be toast now if not for you.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there faster.”
“The fire ladder was a nice touch.”
He tipped his head back, his eyes darkening with the fear of what could have happened. “I’m so sorry. I should have seen this coming.”
“No one figured it out.”
“You did.”
“You can pay me back.”
His brow arched. “How?”
“Kiss me. I’d do it myself, but the ribs aren’t having it.” When he hesitated, she added, “Please tell me I haven’t misread the sexual tension.”
He cleared his throat as he rose and leaned toward her. “You haven’t.” He gently kissed her on the lips, and she raised her hand to his arm.
“I still love you,” she whispered. “I always have.”
He drew back, searching her gaze. “I thought I could get over you, but I never did.”
Her chest tightened as she thought about all the years she had tried to convince herself they were done. There were times she could almost believe she had moved on, but then something would trigger an old memory, and then she was right back to missing him.
She gripped his arm. “You don’t have to try anymore.”
He grinned. “Good. I’m tired of running away from the one person I’ve