Zenith Rising (42 page)

“Because I’m going to tell you, and only you,
who did this, and you’re going to pay one of your numerous PIs to
prove it, and deal with the police. Because I can’t. But I also
doubt this will be the last of it either.”

Nick looked down at her, then up at Spencer.
“Okay, Erica, whatever you need.”

Nick turned and left. Joelle and Spencer
stayed.

“I’m not your child. I don’t need
protecting.”

“I need you though. I need you here for me.
Not protecting me. Just be here for me.”

Joelle stood close and took Erica’s hand. “I
know, Spencer. I do. What you feel. But you need to be here for
her. Your rage is for yourself, and doesn’t help her. And one thing
I do know about you, you want to do what’s best for Erica.”

Spencer glared at Joelle and turned on his
heel and walked out of her room. Erica felt fresh tears stinging
her eyes. Joelle squeezed her hand. “He’ll be back. Men can’t
handle this stuff. Remember Nick when I was beaten up? They can’t
stand just being there for us. Being like girlfriends to us. They
want to do something. Fix it. Fix us. Just to avoid feeling so
impotent.”

Erica nodded. “Just stay with me. Talk to me.
About anything else.” Erica closed her eyes and fell asleep to the
sound of Joelle’s melodious voice, and the blurry images of a
hooded man choking her in the dark.

Chapter
Twenty-Seven

Rob strode purposefully down the hospital
corridor, his face determined and his jaw clenched. He stopped in
front of Erica’s room to talk to Nick. The two stood five feet
apart, glaring at each other, speaking in clipped, terse sentences.
Nick nodded down the hallway, and Rob spotted Spencer sitting in a
chair, alone, in the waiting room. Spencer was slouched, his
shoulders hunched forward, his long legs stretched out before him.
Rob stopped and kicked a booted toe into his leg. Spencer moved his
leg, but continued staring at the floor.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

Spencer shrugged, and didn’t look up. “What
are you supposed to do? Take care of me?”

“Don’t be such a selfish bastard. Erica was
stabbed? And you think I wouldn’t want to know? I freaking care
about her too, you know. Was she raped?”

Spencer flinched. “No.”

“And you! I care about you too. Why do you
have to make it so hard for me? For Erica? For even Joelle? Why do
you have to keep making everything so fucking hard?”

“Erica wants her ex-boyfriend to find the guy
who did this to her.”

“I told you she was smart. You’d kill the guy
if you found him. Nick, much as I hate to admit, won’t; he’ll do
the right thing. Police, lawyers, the long hand of the law, justice
and all that.”

“Yeah, because he’s got the money to afford
those things and I don’t. So she obviously needs his help.”

“She’s smart, and practical. You don’t have
the money, or the connections. He does. Get over it, Spencer. This
has nothing to do with you, or what you lack. Quit making this
about you! Do whatever she needs! For once, put someone else ahead
of yourself.”

Spencer looked up at Rob. “You make me sound
like I’ve always been a selfish prick.”

“Not always. But you can be. Until you met
Erica, that is. There was no woman you cared about, wanted, thought
about, or even remotely treated decently. All those girls, totally
clueless, but united in their efforts to try and save you, were
either ignored or stomped on until they left. Until Erica. She’s
not clueless, but smart and kind, and you respect her. You want
her. And you’d be crazy not to. If you still feel unworthy of her,
then fix it. Do whatever it takes to make yourself worthy. But
start with handling this
, her stabbing
, and do it however
she
wants.”

“What hope is there if she doesn’t tell the
police what happened to her because she fears how I might take the
news? She seems more afraid of me finding out than catching the
asshole
who stabbed her. She thinks I can’t handle it.”

“Then
handle
it. Prove to her you can
handle it. Don’t go off half-cocked; and don’t let your hot temper
rule your actions. Do what Erica thinks should be done. Whether you
agree or not.”

“She waited until you got here, so you could
babysit me before she’d even tell Nick the truth.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m here now and I handled you.
Now go prove to Erica you don’t need me, but you do need her.”

Spencer stared down at the carpet. “You know
what that entails.”

“Yeah. I’d imagine it entails telling her you
love her. About time you did. Christ, Spencer, she was stabbed
tonight! She was kidnapped and almost killed. Tell me why now isn’t
the best time to fall on your knees and declare how you feel about
her to her face? What more does it take?”

“What if I say it, which is what she wants,
but it’s just because I’m reacting to this event? How bad it
was.”

Rob rolled his eyes. “Well, at least you’d
show more humanity than not reacting at all.”

Spencer stood up, his fists clenched. “How
can you say I’m not reacting? You don’t think I’m not going crazy?
My girlfriend was stabbed!
Twice
. And left for dead on the
cold, hard ground. And the only reason I don’t know who did this to
her is because she’s
afraid
to tell me!”

Rob nodded. “See? You really mean it. Now go
tell her that she’s your girlfriend. God, give her a break,
Spencer. Just fucking tell her already! Quit making her guess or
hope or wait any longer. Just fucking tell her that you love
her.”

Spencer stared at Rob, his mouth twisting,
until finally he snapped, “Fine! I’ll tell her.”

Rob smiled, nearly sagging with relief. After
thirteen long years, Spencer was finally taking a step forward.

****

Spencer walked into the hospital room to find
Nick sitting near Erica’s head. They were talking and Joelle was on
the other side. Spencer didn’t knock and Rob came in quietly behind
him. Spencer stood there, his legs apart, and his arms crossed over
his chest, glaring down at Erica.

“You’re going to tell me what happened to
you, Erica. And then we’ll decide what to do about it.”

Erica’s startled gaze met his. “Spencer—”

“What happened, Erica? You want me to trust
you? Then you’re going to have to do me the favor in return. Trust
me. I won’t make this any worse for you. Give me that much credit.
You’re lying in a hospital bed, stabbed; that isn’t lost on me. I’m
not going to make things worse for you. Tell me this: how can we
expect things to work for us, if we’re together and you think I’d
do that? I want things to improve for you, not worsen.”

Erica’s mouth fell open. He never talked so
long, or passionately, or in front of anyone else. She eyed him,
her eyes growing big as saucers. “You said
we,
as in, the
future tense.”

His eyes fastened on her, pinning her,
intense, dark, and clearly focused. “For as long as you want.”

“As long I want? I want forever, Spencer. I
thought I made that pretty clear.”

“Like I said, as long as you want.”

Erica laughed, despite the grogginess from
the medication, the stress, her aching body, and the overall
solemnity of the day. She laughed. Spencer sounded so surly, so
angry, and so annoyed, yet he still proclaimed to everyone in
attendance, in his abrasive, irritated way, that he wanted her…
forever. He had his arms crossed over his chest.

He felt vulnerable to her, which he hated.
But still, he said it, and Erica’s heart flew with joy, lifting a
huge burden off her chest and filling her with genuine
happiness.

Nick and Joelle’s eyes grew huge, as they
looked alternately between Spencer and Erica. No one, except maybe
Rob, had any notion of how serious they were, until that critical
moment.

Nick cleared his throat. “I had no idea.”

“Neither did he,” Erica said, still
smiling.

Spencer wouldn’t smile, but stood there with
his arms crossed like a commando, waiting for his next orders. “I
repeat, what happened?”

“Sit down beside me and I’ll tell you.”

Spencer did finally, taking the chair that
Nick vacated. He held Erica’s hand and looked into her eyes. She
stared right back into his.

“It was Tamira’s dad.”

Spencer jerked back. No one even considered
that avenue as a possible suspect with a motive for harassing and
injuring her.

“I didn’t see his face. Not once. He wore a
black hood, and he told me not to look at him. I don’t think that’s
enough for the police to make an arrest. He snuck up behind me at
the clinic, in the parking lot. I didn’t follow your advice, and I
was all alone out there at night, not being careful or looking out
for myself. I’m sorry I didn’t take your warnings to heart.”

“I should have been there.”

“Don’t start that again! Even if you were,
after seeing my sister with you, I wouldn’t have gone near
you.”

“Your sister? Morgan? She’s causing problems
again?” Nick’s voice interrupted them and they both glanced over at
him.

“Again?”

“Yeah.” Nick looked at Spencer and grinned.
“She give you a peek too?”

“How did you…?”

“Know? She flashed it at me too. And on more
than one occasion. I learned pretty quickly to sit beside her, and
never across from her!”

“Flashed what?” Erica asked, looking
confused.

Spencer wouldn’t look at her, but Nick did,
and laughed. “Your sister prefers not to wear any undergarments.
And she also enjoys showing strange men that she isn’t.”

“Oh,” Erica said, as her eyes got huge,
before covering her face in unanticipated horror. “Oh my God!
My
sister?
My little sister did that to both of you?”

Nick shrugged. “She’s kind of a slut, Erica.
I mean, you knew that already, right?”

“But to my boyfriends? Why didn’t either of
you ever tell me?”

Spencer shifted and Nick looked down.
Finally, Spencer answered, “It’s not something you want to tell
your girl, that her sister gave you a beaver shot for no particular
reason.”

“Where was I?”

Nick and Spencer looked at each other. “She
has no problem doing it in a room full of people.”

Erica’s eyes went huge. “Oh my God. I can’t
process this.”

“You can’t process this? Some stupid prank by
a little, bratty sister? How about processing getting attacked and
almost killed tonight?”

“But she’s my
sister
. Why then,
Spencer, was she at your house?”

“Well, you weren’t too far off the mark. She
came on to
me
. I was trying to kick her out when you showed
up and you just assumed the worst.”

“So did you! My name is not unknown to the
public and I make the newspapers and sometimes, local news
stations, even. Your mother tracked me down. She heard I was dating
someone named Spencer Mattox, and she came to my office as Lydia
Briggs. I had no idea who she was.”

Spencer looked down at the floor, then back
up at Erica. “I’m sorry I thought the worst.”

“It was enlightening. Now I know why you so
distrust women.”

“I don’t…”

“You do so. All women, but me. You’ve got to
start trusting me. I won’t go behind your back for anything. I
wouldn’t do that, even if I thought it was in your best
interests.”

“Okay.”

“Okay? Do you trust me now?”

“Yes,” he said simply. “What did she want?
My... Lydia: what did she want?”

“First, to make sure you were really her son,
and still alive. And after she got over that shock, she wanted to
see you. She loves you, Spencer.”

“She wants some kind of reunion? And you
agreed?”

“No,” Erica said, her voice softer. “No, you
should do what you want to. It’s your pain. Your mother. And your
tragedy.”

Nick, Joelle and Rob were having trouble
following the thread of conversation. They were staring at Spencer
and Erica, but remained very quiet.

“But whatever you do, I’ll be right beside
you.” Spencer’s head shot up at Erica’s words. “That’s what it’ll
be like from now on, we’ll be there for each other, no matter
what.”

“No matter what,” he repeated. “Like telling
Nick to find Tamira’s dad, not me, because that’s what you want,
isn’t it?”

“Yes. I can’t prove to the police what
happened. But I know it was him. And I don’t think he’s done. Nick
can find him, and maybe see a way to prove that he did it. Or at
the least keep him under surveillance twenty-four/seven. I can
afford it, after all.”

“Your pain, your tragedy, huh?”

“Yes.”

“All right.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Spencer glanced at Nick. “What
exactly can you do?”

“Might be able to monitor all of Tobison’s
internet accounts, his bank transactions, and movements. Pretty
much, his life in general.”

“Using your mysterious computer skills? Why
didn’t you just admit you’re a first rate hacker?”

Nick smiled. “I don’t know what you
mean.”

Joelle elbowed him. “You’re not so dark and
mysterious anymore, Nick and everyone here knows it. You can
illegally go anywhere you want in cyberspace. And whenever you
want.”

“So is that your permission to do so now?”
Nick asked Erica.

“You’d better be brilliant at it.”

Nick grinned, and grabbed his wife’s hand.
“Come on, let’s go. I’ve got some major stuff to do.”

Joelle rolled her eyes. “You know, you might
try and hide your glee at the challenge, just a little.”

“Still don’t know what you’re talking
about.”

Joelle and Nick kissed Erica goodbye, wishing
her a speedy recovery as they made their exit. Spencer walked them
out and Rob came to Erica’s side.

He smiled at her kindly.

“Thank you, Rob. For coming on short notice,”
she said quietly.