Torin (Hope City #9) - Maryann Jordan Page 0,85

relatives in Hope City that he thought were planning something, and agents were in North Carolina right now talking to him. But he kept this information to himself.

“That seems so fast,” Maeve said.

“Praise God,” Hannah said, throwing her hands up into the air.

“You can say that again,” Sharon added.

“With some of the nation’s best working on this, things will go fast. And time is of the essence. Believe me, this is a priority not just in this state but in the nation.”

Sharon walked over and placed her hand on her husband’s arm. “Since the picture was found on Erin’s camera, do you think she’s in danger?”

Colm shook his head and said, “The FBI has been combing the pictures from hundreds of cameras. There’s no way that anybody outside the investigation would know she had that. Plus it’s not like she could be a witness.”

“Well, I for one am thankful that so much work is being done,” Anne said, her hand pressing against her chest. She looked over at Torin, and her voice shook with anger. “When I think of what could have happened, and this family has suffered enough—”

Fergus wrapped his arm around Anne and hugged her. “It’s okay, Annie girl. Torin’s going to be fine. Erin’s going to see to that, and the rest of us are going to see that you’re both okay.”

Soon, everybody said their goodbyes. Maeve went back to the pub. Fergus and Anne were checking on the pub before they went home, too. Colm said he was going to head over to headquarters. Sharon and Hannah decided that retail therapy might help.

As the moms walked out, Erin could’ve sworn she heard her mom whisper to Hannah, “Torin definitely needs some new towels and bathmats.” Rolling her eyes, she shut the door. Walking over to him still sitting on the sofa with his legs raised, their eyes met. “I hope you know that my mom plans on getting you towels and a bathmat. And if that’s all she gets for your apartment, you’ll be lucky.”

He grinned and lifted his arm in silent invitation. She immediately acquiesced, sliding onto the sofa next to him. Wrapping their arms around each other, he kissed the top of her head. “Babe, I’ve got no objection to anything your mom wants to bring to feed me or put in my house. Believe me, I know I’m a lucky man. And that’s mostly with you just being here in my arms.”

26

Erin breathed a sigh of relief as Torin made it out of her car with little assistance. Now, if they could just get up the stairs and into the apartment, she’d count the day as a win. Having physical therapy the day after he got out of the hospital made sense but she’d assumed the PT would come to his home until he was more mobile instead of having to go to the therapist’s office.

Swiping the hair from her face that had come loose from her braid, she lifted her arms but stayed back slightly as he walked with the aid of his crutches past the pub and toward the door leading to his stairs.

“When we get up there, I’ll need a beer,” he grumbled.

“When we get up there, you’ll need another pain pill, not a beer,” she retorted.

He stopped and pinned her with a glare. “You’re a nurse. You know I need to get off the pain medication.”

Her eyes widened then narrowed. “Seriously? And when does a nurse recommend alcohol in the place of pain medication?”

He leaned forward, and she grabbed onto his shoulders. He landed a kiss on her lips, surprising her. “Okay, I’ll be good. Anyway, I’ve got the best at-home nurse in the city.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere!” she laughed, sliding her hand into her purse to pull out her keys. He’d given her a set the previous day, something that made it easier for them to get into his apartment instead of him trying to juggle the keys while using the crutches. Plus he said he wanted her to feel at home. Something she already did but didn’t want to think about too much at that time.

“Miss?”

She turned and looked over her shoulder, seeing a man standing several feet away. He shifted back and forth on his feet, his hands shoved into his front pockets. He didn’t appear intimidating, but instead gave off an air of nervousness. He was a big man, slightly taller than her, with messy brown hair and ruddy cheeks. She searched his face