Ryker’s Justice (10 page)

A
stubborn expression changed her face,
then
she sighed.
“I know, I should.”

“Then
do. I can come back to get you later, if you want.”

“Or
I can get Rick to give me a ride.”

“I
imagine he would.”

****

At
the hospital, brilliant morning sunshine flooded the corridors with light. A
rush of the expected smells, medicinal and otherwise, hit his nose as Jude
stalked into the waiting room. Tania sat slumped into a chair, eyes closed,
with one hand clutching her stomach.

“Hey,”
he said.

His
soft voice roused her and she sat up, blinking. “Oh, Jude, it’s you.”

Before
he could answer, she sprang up and threw her arms around him. He hugged her
back. “Where’s ‘
Lijah
?”

“He’s
with David. They allow a visitor every hour for a few minutes. I wanted to go
back but they know I was sick earlier and they want me to go home. I don’t want
to leave, though.”

“I’ll
be here,” he promised. “You need to settle down and rest. You can’t help David
if you’re not well, can you?”

Tania
sniffed. “I guess not.”

“Then
let Elijah take you home for a while.”

“Okay.”

“I’m
glad she’ll listen to you,” his brother said from the doorway. “Come with me,
Jude. I’ll show you the procedure for entering ICU and let the nurses know
you’re family so you won’t have any trouble going back. If David should come
around, I’d like someone to be close.”

Thirty
minutes later, Jude stood at the window in his nephew’s pod and stared at the
clear blue sky. The infinity was easier to look upon than David’s damaged body.
With a breathing tube down his throat, his leg in traction, bruises dark
against his otherwise pale face, and his eyes closed, Jude couldn’t deny that the
kid remained in critical condition.
No
wonder Tania’s having such a hard time. I
can’t hardly
hack it myself and I’ve been where he’s at.

A
nurse entered to check vitals and when Jude whirled, then offered to leave, she
shook her head. “You can stay if you want,” she told him. “You’re calm and
quiet.”

The
smile she flashed him indicated interest but although he registered it, he
didn’t share it. “Thanks,” he said. “I’ll sit here with him for a while then.”

In
the quiet atmosphere, the sole sounds were the soft hisses and beeps of the
equipment. As the nurses and staff passed the open doorway, their feet made
little sound against the floor. Since the ICU area stood separate from the main
hospital floor, few people entered. Jude sat ramrod straight in the chair with
his arms crossed. He considered tilting it back on two legs to lean against the
windowsill but decided against it. It wouldn’t take much for him to fall asleep
and if he did, he’d probably end up on the floor with a crash. And they’d kick
him out if he did so he remained upright.

He
swore he could still smell a lingering hint of Nicole’s fragrance. Images of
their intimacy filled his mind, so vivid his cock twitched within his jeans. It
wasn’t just the sex, though.
I love her,
I really do.
Love hadn’t been in the picture when he came back, but Jude
could no longer imagine life without it or the woman who’d inspired him. Still,
he had to stay focused on the investigation, all the more now that he’d found a
lead. With Junior involved in David’s accident, it had also become personal to
put an end to the moonshiners.

Instead
of worrying about his nephew, rather than daydream about his woman, Jude
schooled his brain to think about the case. Junior Wetzel had been drinking
‘shine at the football game. If he wasn’t manufacturing it himself—which Jude
doubted—then he knew who was and where to find it. The trail had to begin with
him and he needed to follow it soon.

Jude
reviewed what he knew about Junior. He visualized Wetzel’s land and tried to
remember if there were any old outbuildings or a cave on the property.
I’ll just have to go tromping over it,
pretending I’m hunting or something.

Deep
in thought, he almost missed the sound David made, somewhere between a moan and
a cry. Jude came to his feet and approached the bed. He eyed the monitors but
as far as he could tell, the kid’s heart, pulse, and respiration appeared to be
in normal range. When he glanced down at the bed, David stared back at him,
eyes wild above the tube.

“Hey,”
he said. “So you’re awake. That’s good. Do you know where you are?”

That
had always been the first thing he needed to know when he woke after injury or
illness. David moved his head from one side to the other with effort. “You’re
in the hospital, kid. You were in a wreck, a bad one. I know you hurt like hell
but you’re
gonna
be fine.”

David’s
lips moved despite the tube, but Jude could guess what he asked. “Your mom and
dad went home for a while to rest. They’re okay and the other kids are good. The
accident happened last night, after the game.”

With
effort, David grabbed hold of Jude’s hand and clawed at it. Jude opened his
palm and David traced one letter, an ‘
S
’. Jude’s heart cracked.
Oh, shit. He’s asking about Sierra and what
the hell am I supposed to tell him? The truth will hurt but I don’t want to
lie, either. Why did I have to be the one here when he had to ask?

“Buddy,”
he said,
then
stopped. He had no idea if anyone ever
called David by the old nickname but it’d been his, once. His dad had called
all the boys by it when the mood struck him, usually in times of powerful
emotion. “David, kid, there’s no easy way to say this and I’m not good at this
shit, but Sierra didn’t make it. And I’m sorry, so sorry.”

Tears
welled up in the teen’s eyes and dripped down his cheeks. His heart rate
increased and so did his pulse. As Jude watched the multi-colored monitor,
David’s blood pressure rose, too. Shit. Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything. Two
nurses hurried into the pod and he glanced up. “He woke up.”

“That’s
good,” the one who’d smiled at him earlier said. “You need to leave for a while
so we can check the patient and make sure he’s stable.”

“Is
he okay?”

Both
women glared at him and he retreated. If he’d had a tail, he would’ve drug it
low to the ground. Jude headed down to the waiting room and crossed the room to
the window. He gazed outside and shook his head. The same old view of the local
funeral parlor confronted him and he snorted. It sat to the left and to the
right,
two little kids and a dog cavorted. Life and death,
he thought, life and death balanced.

He
remained there, unwilling to sit down should anyone else need a seat. Jude
didn’t want the aged coffee resting in the pot on the table, and when the
television blared he switched it off. The rest of the
Rykers
were at work or resting so he’d be on his own for hours. When he could, he
planned to return to ICU to check on David but for now, nothing loomed. Although
tired, he doubted he could sleep and wasn’t sure he wanted to anyway.

So
Jude manned his position at the window. He watched without interest as a
funeral procession exited the parking lot and counted the number of cars following
the hearse. Time drifted slower than the few clouds moving across the otherwise
clear sky. He tried not to think, to stop the ceaseless effort to figure out
where to begin his investigation, and wait. No matter how he tried, Nicole
remained on his mind and in his consciousness. Jude missed her, more than he
had thought possible.

His
cell phone rang twice. Adam phoned on his break to ask after David and Noah
called on his lunch break. More than one familiar face paused in the corridor
to offer encouragement or a prayer. Near
noon
,
when the aroma of food wafted down the hallways and from the small cafeteria
downstairs, Jude’s belly rumbled. He needed more fuel than a couple of leftover
biscuits but he hated to leave the waiting room until he knew more about
David’s current condition. His three efforts to check had been rebuffed by the
staff and he’d been told to try again after the lunch hour ended.

“Jude?”

At
the sound of her voice, he turned, certain he must have conjured it out of his
desire to see Nicole. She stood framed in the doorway, her hands filled with a
huge basket. Gladness leaped through him and he crossed the floor with two
strides. “Hi, honey,” he said. He wanted to pull her into his arms but couldn’t
because of her burden. “
Whatcha
got?”

“I
brought food,” she said. “Mary insisted and I thought you might be hungry. She
made blueberry and chocolate chip muffins for everyone but she sent some fried
chicken just for you. There’s even a little bowl of mashed potatoes with cream gravy.”

He
inhaled and sighed with pleasure. “It smells good, reminds me of my mama’s
chicken. I was just thinking I probably should eat something.” Then he shifted
the basket from her hands and placed it on a table. “I’m glad you’re here,
Nicole.”

She
cupped her hand against his cheek. “You look worn out. How are you, Jude?”

Everyone
else asked about David. “I’m tired but I’m okay.”

“Sit
down and I’ll fix you a plate,” Nicole said.

“First,
come here.” He kissed her and let his lips linger. She tasted sweet and the
short kiss made his head whirl. God, he was tired and hungry too. If he didn’t
sit soon, he’d probably fall down.

Jude
settled into one of the recliners, the leather soft against his tired ass. Nicole
put together a plate with a thigh, a breast, and a leg, each fried to a golden
brown perfection. She added the still-warm bowl of ‘taters and gravy. He dug
into it with gusto and ate it all. Once sated, his fatigue increased until he
struggled to keep his eyes open.

“Now
I’m sleepy,” he said with a yawn.

“So
catch a nap.”

“Can’t,”
he said. “I need to go check on David before long. I had to tell him about his
girlfriend, Nicole, and he took it hard.”

“I’m
sure he did but he’ll be all right. Get a little rest. I’ll be here if anyone
comes with news and I’ll wake you.”

Aware
he couldn’t win this battle, he conceded. “All right, but wake me up in twenty
minutes, you hear? No more than that.”

“I
hear you, Jude Ryker,” she said with a funny little smile.

His
eyes drooped shut and he slid into the quiet blackness of sleep without further
protest.

Chapter Ten

Before
he fully roused, Jude savored a sense of comfort. His head rested easy on
something soft and a rose fragrance nearby soothed him. He rested easy in the
chair surrounding him. The soft conversations around him didn’t disturb him but
put him at ease. Something brushed his hand, light and silken. It tickled so he
opened his eyes to see what it might be and found Nicole propped against his
right knee. Her slow, even breathing indicated she slept before he saw her
closed eyes and slack expression. He blinked and glanced around the room, now
filled with
Rykers
and their kin.

Jude
stroked Nicole’s hair and met Adam’s gaze. “How’s the kid?” he asked.

“Better,”
his oldest brother said. “They took him off the ventilator tube and will move
him out of ICU in the morning. He’s healing, thank God.”

He
shut his eyes with grateful relief. “Good. I’m glad. How long did I sleep?”

Adam
shrugged. “Ever since I’ve been here, so a couple of hours at least, probably
more,” he said. “She was awake when I came, though.”

“Neither
one of us got much sleep last night.” Jude had no idea why he felt compelled to
explain but his older brother smiled.

“None
of us did, I imagine, but we will tonight, I hope. I’m out of here before
long.”

Until
he spoke, Jude hadn’t noticed Noah sitting on the floor, back against the wall.
“I am, too. My day starts early at the plant.”

“You
ought to take your woman and go home,” Adam said. “She is, isn’t she?”

Without
hesitation, he replied, “Yeah, she’s mine. And I will, soon as I’ve had a
chance to see Elijah.”

He
wanted to tell his brother that he’d broken the tragic news about Sierra to
David, although he had an idea ‘
Lijah
might already
be aware. When he shifted position so he could stand up, Nicole woke. She
yawned and stretched. “Hi,” she said.

With
a feigned frown, he replied, “I told you to wake me after twenty minutes.”

His
efforts failed to fool her. Nicole smiled. “You needed the sleep more.”

When
he offered, she took his hand and he helped her to her feet. “As soon as I talk
to Elijah, I’m out of here. Want to come with me?”

Six
Rykers
paused in conversation with avid interest.
“Yes,” Nicole said. “I do.”

With
a nod, he walked out into the hallway and met Elijah. They talked for a few
minutes and as he’d expected, his brother knew he’d told David about his
girlfriend’s death.