With a grin, Diesel walked around the table and kissed Lisette on the cheek. ‘I’ll be back, Lissy. They won’t let us into ICU for a while anyway. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll come back and take the night shift so you can sleep.’
‘I don’t think I’ll sleep,’ Lisette said, sniffling. ‘I think I’ll just watch him breathe.’
‘Come on, honey.’ Cal led Lisette to the door. ‘Let’s go back and tell Gayle.’
Marcus was right behind Cal, pausing at the door when he realized Scarlett hadn’t moved from where she stood. ‘Aren’t you coming?’
She started to say yes, but realized that Stone still sat at the table, his arms folded across his broad chest, his features bent in a suspicious scowl. ‘In a minute,’ she said. ‘I want to talk to Stone first.’
Because Stone clearly wanted to talk to her. Marcus gave his brother a warning glare before turning to her, that hungry look back in his eyes. ‘I’ll meet you in the lobby, then we can start working on the list.’
The list was not what she was thinking about when he looked at her that way. But the list was what would keep him alive, so she nodded. ‘Stay away from the windows.’
Marcus gave her a quick salute. ‘Yes, ma’am.’
Twenty-four
Cincinnati, Ohio
Tuesday 4 August, 10.35 P.M.
Scarlett sat down across from Stone, and folded her hands in front of her. For a long minute neither of them spoke, Stone glaring at her . . . well, stonily.
Scarlett broke the silence. ‘I understand,’ she said.
He smiled mockingly. ‘Exactly what is it that you understand, Detective Bishop?’
‘That you protect him just like he protects you. That you don’t trust me.’ She hesitated. ‘I know what happened twenty-seven years ago.’
Fury roiled behind his eyes. ‘You don’t know jack shit.’
‘I know that you were kidnapped when you were a small child and almost died. I know your baby brother did die. I know that you lost another brother nine months ago and I understand that you nearly lost your only surviving brother three times today.’
A muscle in his cheek twitched as he ground his teeth. ‘How did you know about Matty?’ he finally asked.
Matty. Matthias’s nickname. ‘Marcus told me to Google your old last name and Lexington. I did, so I know what the papers covered. No more.’ She watched his agitation begin to fade. Marcus had told her that some of the story was Stone’s to tell, and she’d suspected that Stone had been worried about personal details Marcus might have shared with her. ‘I’m sorry you lost your brother, Stone. Both brothers. I have brothers too. I can’t imagine losing any of them, although I came awfully close a time or two. Which I know doesn’t mean anything to you, but I want you to know that I understand that you’re worried about Marcus.’ She sighed. ‘Look, I can’t promise that everything will be roses, rainbows and happily-ever-after between Marcus and me, but I can promise that I won’t hurt him.’
‘You won’t mean to,’ Stone said wearily, all his anger gone. Or at least stowed. ‘You should know that I told him to take you out for a spin and then dump your ass.’
She frowned. ‘Oh really?’
‘But he said he couldn’t. Apparently this . . . thing he has for you, whatever it is, goes deep.’ He leaned forward, looking her squarely in the eye. ‘Very deep. Do you understand that?’
Scarlett drew a steady breath, unsurprised. ‘Very deep’ was what she’d seen in Marcus’s eyes just minutes before. ‘Very deep’ was what she’d felt since she’d first heard his voice. It was a connection she’d had with no other man. ‘Yes, Stone. I understand. I also understand that you’re asking me if I feel the same way.’
Stone didn’t budge. ‘Do you?’
‘Yes.’
Stone shook his head, clearly skeptical. ‘You don’t know him.’
‘Perhaps not. But I know that I want to know more.’
Stone’s shoulders slumped. ‘My brother deserves to be happy, Detective. Can you promise to make him happy?’
The sadness in his voice, the forlorn hopelessness there, tugged at her heart, making her want to promise that his brother would never be sad or lonely again. But she wouldn’t lie.
‘I can’t,’ she said with regret, ‘but only because I learned a long time ago that you can’t be responsible for someone else’s happiness.’
He nodded thoughtfully, surprising her. ‘That’s true,’ he murmured.
‘I can promise to take care of him, and if that means protecting him from himself, that’s what I’ll do.’
Stone studied her for a very long moment, then nodded, still scowling but less so than before. ‘Maybe you do know him, after all.’ He stood up, looking exhausted and afraid. ‘Call me if he decides to go off and be a damn hero,’ he said quietly. ‘He does that way too often.’
‘I’ve figured that out myself,’ she said wryly, wringing a ghost of a smile from his lips that was gone almost before it started. ‘And yes, I’ll call you.’
A sober nod. ‘Thank you, Detective. And please don’t forget to arrange for protection for Delores.’ He swallowed hard. ‘She deserves to be safe and happy too.’
‘I’ll take care of it as soon as I get to my car. Stone, one question. That young woman back with Gayle, that’s her niece?’
His expression instantly hardened. ‘Jill.’
‘What’s her role in all of this?’
‘She makes trouble,’ he said curtly. ‘Marcus gave her a job because Gayle asked him to, but the girl has an attitude that makes me want to—’ He bit back the next words.
‘I wanted to smack her too,’ Scarlett said, and saw his fleeting smile once again. ‘She’s not part of your team?’
‘No. Marcus doesn’t trust her.’
‘Neither do I. How does the girl know about the threats?’
‘She broke into Gayle’s computer when her aunt was sick. Claims she was just trying to help, and she may have been, but she’s got her sights set on Marcus. She resents him because Gayle mothers him.’
‘And you?’
He pushed away from the table. ‘She just wants to get in my pants, which Diesel thinks is a real scream. Me, not so much. Spoiled little girls have never been my type.’
Scarlett blinked up at him. ‘Um, I meant, does Gayle mother you?’
He blushed, making him look ten years younger. ‘Oh. Right. Well, not really. I’m not exactly the type to be mothered by anyone. I need to go now. With Diesel and Cal back at the paper, I’m on Jill-sitting duty.’
‘Because she knows about the list,’ Scarlett guessed, and he nodded. ‘What are you afraid she’ll do?’
‘I don’t know, but I don’t trust her not to use it to hurt Marcus, especially after her little outburst in the waiting room. The kid needs to be taken down a notch or two.’
‘Then do it,’ Scarlett told him.
He shook his head. ‘I’m afraid I wouldn’t be gentlemanly about it. Marcus is the nice brother. I just . . . am not. Figure this out, please, and find out who’s trying to kill my brother.’
‘Are you not targeted by any of the threats, Stone?’
He shrugged. ‘Some. Most of the more dangerous investigating happened while I was out of the country covering other stories. The really vile assholes are out for Lisette, Phillip and Marcus of course.’
‘What about Diesel?’
‘Diesel hacks and lends muscle when needed. He’s not really a writer, although he pinch-hits from time to time. I wanted to bust his face for keeping this threat list a secret from me. I had no idea that so many people were out for Marcus’s blood.’
She came to her feet, fascinated by this side of Stone. ‘When did you find out?’
‘Right after we lost Mikhail. Marcus was laid up and Cal needed help.’
‘So you stepped forward.’
He shrugged uncomfortably. ‘I was here. Didn’t have anything better to do.’