would get us both kicked out of the hospital if we were caught.
He rested his forehead against mine the way I loved and stared intently at me while we caught our breath. Then he kissed both my eyes, both cheeks, and brushed my lips again before he admitted on exchanged breaths, “Love’s not a big enough word for what I feel. You own my heart. My body. My soul. If love covers all those things—then I love you—to the very depths of my being.”
I hadn’t cried since I’d woken up after surgery. I was so happy to be alive I’d fought against happy tears. I lost that battle on a shuddered breath and buried my face in his neck while I sobbed. We stayed like that until we both fell asleep, wrapped up in each other and the love we shared.
_______________
It was dark out when Logan jerked awake. He scanned the room for what woke him and noticed the door closing slowly behind Ty as he left. Skylar had shifted her head to his chest, so he scooted out from underneath her until she snuggled into her pillow, then crawled from her bed. The clock said it was after seven in the evening. Somehow, he and Skylar had gotten three hours of uninterrupted sleep in a hospital that prided itself on waking you every hour, on the hour, to ask you if you needed anything for pain or to take vitals. He couldn’t wait to get Skylar home where he could hole up in their bedroom and shoot anyone who breathed near her.
On silent feet he exited her room, searching to see if Ty was still around and found him writing a note at the nurses’ station. Ty turned to leave just as Logan closed the door to Skylar’s room. He jerked his chin at Logan then pointed to a corridor just off the floor where a family waiting room was located. Logan hesitated to leave the vicinity of Skylar’s room, but shook it off and followed. If he stood in the doorway to the waiting room, he could keep an eye on anyone who approached her hallway.
“How’s she doing?”
“Better. She’s moving around now. Walking in the hall. They’re discharging her tomorrow.”
“And her hand?”
“Swelling’s going down. She’s moving a few fingers now.”
Ty glanced around the room then moved closer to Logan. “I caught up with Mac Macey since you were here. Showed him the picture of the two dead women.”
Logan’s heart tripped a beat. Would they finally have evidence that would put Chance Bear away? “Did he know them?”
Ty nodded. “Eleanor worked as the housekeeper for Bear Claw for more than twenty years. From the time Chance was born until she retired ten years ago. Her daughter was Chance’s tutor. He knew both, Logan. Well.”
“Jesus. What the hell happened to the man that he’s on a killing spree?”
“I’ve been wracking my brain about that as well, so I called my mother in Florida. She said there were rumors around town when Chance was young that Justice was heavy-handed.”
“He beat his son?”
“That’s the rumor. She also said Old Rip was a snake who would hit a man just for looking at him.”
Logan’s head swam with the implications. “Beat by both maybe?”
“That’s what I’m thinking.”
“The housekeeper would have known . . . her daughter too, if she tutored him for a significant amount of time.”
“Revenge killing?” Ty speculated.
Logan chewed on that. The murders were quick but clean. Chance was smart but seemed out of control with the number of people dying at his hand. “Maybe he didn’t kill his father, but his death triggered something. Something he can’t control.”
“Like a psychotic break?”
“Yeah. Years of abuse would fuck with your head. His father’s death could have triggered him. He’s free finally, but something sick grew after all those years of being a punching bag.”
“He’s a grown man, why now?”
“Suppressed, maybe. But if we’re right, he’s not gonna stop until everyone who knew or wronged him is dead.”
Ty paled. “Like siblings who had everything he never had. Skylar’s safe here, but what about the boys?”
Logan glanced at his watch and drew in a sharp breath. It was now dark, and they hadn’t arrived at the hospital for their daily visit. “Call Jake,” Logan ordered, as he ran for his own phone. “They should have been here by now.”
When he reached Skylar’s room, he slipped inside quickly and grabbed his phone and keys from the table where he’d left them, then snuck back out without