Page 374 of A Matter of Time

“Jory,” Sam croaked out.

“I’ll be there soon,” I promised the man I loved.

“No. Now. Do not step a foot inside that house or I⁠—”

“Please don’t get worked up. Everything is fine.”

He growled at me. “Listen to me⁠—”

“Just rest,” I soothed him. “I’ll be there soon.”

I hung up then, and even though I really wanted to go into the house, I called Detective Hefron instead. I gave him the address, and he told me that he would be right there. He was very impressed with me, but playtime was over. He also ordered me not to move, but because of the whole “playtime” remark, I drove away when I heard the sirens.

An hour later, I was stopped before I could go into Sam’s room by one of two uniformed police officers. I heard Dane call my name, and I peeked around the policemen to see him.

“Officer, this is my brother, Detective Kage’s…partner.”

They moved apart, and I saw the whole room. Dane motioned for me, and as I stepped inside, I saw that it was larger than normal and he wasn’t sharing it with anyone else. Sam’s parents were there, Chloe, his partner, and Detective Moore. Detective Hefron, I was guessing, was still at the house.

“Jesus, Jory,” Dane said, reaching for my face.

I tipped my head away from him and maneuvered around Regina and Thomas as well to get to the side of the bed. I stood there, frozen, staring down at Sam.

His eyelashes fluttered a second before his eyes opened to reveal the smoky blue I knew so well. My heart felt like it was going to burst.

“Hey.” I smiled down at him.

“Oh fuck me,” he groaned, reaching for my face. “Come here.”

I leaned down but stopped before I hugged him. “I don’t wanna hurt⁠—”

“Jory.” His voice, his eyes, both full of pain. “Baby, please come here.”

I let out a deep breath and sank down against him. I gave him all my weight, and he held me easily, stroking my hair and pressing my head to his shoulder. He felt so good, so warm, so strong, his body so hard… I felt the shiver run through me.

“Jesus, you scared the hell outta me.”

“Me?” I trembled. “You, lying in the street bleeding… God, I never wanna live through anything like that ever again.”

“Baby, what’d you do to yourself?” He eased me back to look at my face. “Who hit you?” He was almost whining, and I could tell how frustrated he was—at me, at himself for being stuck in bed, at everyone and everything.

“Some guy was hitting a woman, and I just⁠—”

“Jory, goddamnit!” His voice went out on him because he didn’t have the strength to yell. “Fuck! You never get in the middle of… You call the police! You call the fuckin’ police, baby, that’s what they… He could’ve had a gun or a knife or⁠—”

“But the woman, Sam. She could’ve been hurt worse than she was.”

“Baby, you could’ve been killed! And Rego James… Shit! I swear to God, when I get outta this bed, I’m gonna chain you up! Nobody puts me through it like you—nobody!”

I smiled down at him. “Maybe because you love me the most.”

He took my face in his hands, and I closed my eyes, letting him touch my cheek, run his fingers over my eyebrow, down my throat, and across my collarbone.

“Dane, call a doctor in here to check him out. I wanna make sure he’s okay.”

“I’m okay,” I assured him, wanting to put my head down so badly. I was so tired.

“Mom, come take this coat off of him, please.”