“Bored.”
The corner of his mouth twitched, and her new goal was to trigger one of his rare full smiles.Except look where that had gotten them last time.
“Where’d you go?”she asked, trying not to pout.He was now her only connection the outside world, and he’d left her on her own for hours.Honestly, given their history, he should know better.She and boredom were mortal enemies.
“You’re supposed to be discharged this afternoon.I had a lot to set up before that happens.”He pointed to the bag.“Also, I got you some clothes and toiletries.I had to guess at sizes, so I got a couple options.”
“Thanks.”She combed her fingers through the ends of her ponytail.“Are the glasses real?”
His thick brows rose.“Yes.The prescription’s for distance, but it’s not too strong.I mostly use them for driving.”
“They look good,” she said.“Kind of give you that hot professor look.”
Pink washed his cheeks and he shook his head while briefly closing his eyes.
Score one for Nat.Any reaction was better than nothing.
“Back to that, are we?”he asked, crossing his arms over his chest in a way that emphasized his sculpted biceps.
She shrugged with her good shoulder.“What else is there to do?I’m already tired of watching reruns.And I’m stuck in this box of blandness until I get my energy back.”
“The most important thing is that you’re safe here.”
And there it was.The one thing he cared about above all.“Safe is boring.”
“And God forbid you’re bored for more than one minute,” he said, his voice edging into irritation.
Yes, exactly.Boredom meant time to think.Time to think meant facing the hot mess her life had become.It gave an opening to the dark, scary shit that was always tapping at the glass of her carefully constructed mental shields.A busy mind provided a necessary diversion.
As ill advised as it might be, poking the bear named Ford was the easiest path to distraction right now.“Life’s too short to be serious all the time.I thought you might have lightened up a little by now.”
“Oh, really?”His jaw clenched.“Because last time I did that I got knifed in the back.”
Fuck.The old guilt, the fear, hit her like a bucket of tar, hot and dark and oozing.Why did she always take it one step too far?“Ford, I’m—”
He cut her off with, “I thought you might have grown up a little by now.You may not care about your own safety, but what about the people around you?Forgetme, but Dr.Amadi, the nurses, their lives are at risk because they’re helping you right now.”
His argument hit home, but how dare he accuse her of not caring about others?Her last three years had been dedicated to helping and protecting those who didn’t have the resources to do it for themselves.She took down assholes like Warner Renfro—the man she and Emma were currently investigating—so the world would be a safer place for everyone.She’d taken on the risks of being a Night Heron willingly, and in one stroke he’d thrown it all away.Her freedom, her job, her life.
“I appreciate that, but I didn’t ask for your help, or theirs,” she said, knowing she sounded like a petulant teen, but panicking as the bleak reality of her current existence threatened to overwhelm.Her complete and utter reliance on Ford and the medical staff, the total lack of ability to dictate what came next… She might as well be tied to a chair.It was almost more than she could bear.
People—especially men—had been trying to restrain her in various ways her entire life.Thinking about it made her want to punch something.“You had no right to put me in this position.”
“Youcalledme.”
Despite the breach in his impassive facade, Ford’s look of disbelief gave her no satisfaction.
The small, rational part of her brain that hadn’t short-circuited understood why her reaction made no sense to him.Still, the need to throw herself at the bars of her metaphorical cage was primal.She could no more stop raging against the injustice than she could stop her heart from beating.
He made a frustrated noise and pulled a stack of magazines from his bag.“Here.”He dropped them onto the rolling table at her side.“They’re all in German, but it’s the best I could do on short notice.Hopefully, they’re enough to keep you entertained until you’re discharged.”Then he turned and walked out the door.
CHAPTER THREE
IT WAS CLOSING in on two p.m.when Ford finally had Natalie settled into the back of a rented Peugeot hatchback where the seatbelt wouldn’t cut across her injured shoulder, and she’d have the option to lie down.One of the nurses had helped her change into a long, green sundress and don a faded blue Yankees ball cap with the iconic “NY” logo that was so popular in France—maybe everywhere?—right now.
Women didn’t wear hats as much as men, but he wanted to obscure her face from cameras, and it wasn’t odd enough to attract attention.
The car and the clothes were calculated to help them blend in.Before they even left Lucerne, though, Ford executed a convoluted series of turns meant to detect a tail.Finding none, he pointed the compact car toward the French border.Luckily, since Switzerland was part of the Schengen Area, they shouldn’t have to worry about border crossings and passports.
