Page 82 of Chasing Honor

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I was happy Honor had spent most of the day resting. She woke up when my mom and Carson came for a visit and stayed awake for the fifteen minutes the nurse was away and Carson could be in her room. Within minutes of their departure she fell back to sleep.

Dr. Levine had come in and checked the incision from her splenectomy and assured us it looked great and was healing. He was also happy with the progress her lung had made. She’d have another x-ray tomorrow, and he’d make the decision then about when he’d release her. Honor drifted in and out of sleep the whole time the doctor was examining her and she hadn’t woken up until dinner time. After complaining the food tasted like shit, I ignored her protests and called my dad. He dropped off a bowl of chicken soup and bread, along with some pre-approved snacks.

A knock on the door drew my attention from the conversation my dad and Honor were having, and I found Lorenz standing in the doorway with a huge bouquet of flowers.

“Hope this isn’t a bad time” He entered the small room, walking towards me.

“Not at all.” I stood and shook my partner’s hand.

“I was gonna call but I wanted to bring these by.” He set the vase down on a side table and turned to Honor. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I slammed into a pole.” She smiled and laughed when Lorenz’s scowl matched mine. I hadn’t meant to allow the growl to slip past my lips, but I didn’t see anything funny about her almost dying. “Jeez. Lighten up. I feel fine. A little tired and sore. But I think I’ll live. Thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful.”

“You’re welcome. Mind if I steal Ethan away for a minute?”

“Wait. Is this about the accident?” Honor asked.

Lorenz shifted his gaze to me, confirming he indeed had news. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place, I didn’t want to discuss the case in front of Honor. Yet, I knew I had too. I couldn’t continue to keep things from her, even if I knew they were going to stress her out or scare her.

“It’s okay. Whatever it is, Honor needs to know.”

“All right, brother. But brace, this shit is whacked. We made an arrest this afternoon—Samuel Harris.”

“What? Why did you arrest Sam?” Honor asked.

“I knew there was something off about that motherfucker,” I spit out. “Did you get a confession?”

“No and we won’t need it. We ran the partial plate, and when Sam’s name came up, we went to interview him at the Gold Suites, where he and his father are staying. We found his car in the parking lot. Left front bumper is torn to hell and white paint from Honor’s Honda was clearly visible.”

“What?” Honor repeated horrified. “Sam ran me off the road?”

“I’m afraid it looks that way,” Lorenz told her.

Fuck. This was my fault, I should’ve done something to keep Sam and Frank away from Honor. I didn’t like the way Sam was eyeing her the night at the restaurant, and the congressman had out and out threatened her.

“What about Frank?”

“He has an alibi. His aide swears they were in his room all day going over budget cuts.”

“Shit. You know he’s involved.”

“You’ll never prove it,” Honor spoke up. “Jessica, his aide, will lie through her teeth for him. She’s one of his many mistresses. It’s been going on for years. She’ll swear to anything he tells her too. I can see Frank wanting me dead. But Sam? He’s too weak. He’s a puppet. But I guess if Frank ordered him to kill me, he obviously would. Or try at least.”

“Frank is distancing himself from his son. He sent a lawyer but has yet to go to central booking and see him.”

“Thank you for catching who did this to me.” Her tone was hushed. “I’m sorry, Ethan. Carson could’ve been injured, and it would’ve been my fault. He was trying to hurt me.”

“No, smalls. It would’ve been Sam’s fault. I should’ve taken their threats seriously.”

“He threatened Honor?” My dad had his hands tightly clinched, and the vein on the side of his neck pulsed. “Why didn’t you come to me?”

“I asked him not to.” Honor turned her head towards him, a pained look on her face. “I was embarrassed about my association with them. And then there was Frank’s plan. I didn’t want you and Lily to know.”

“Don’t make excuses for me, Honor. I should’ve known better. I told you, you don’t have anything to be embarrassed about. This is on me. I didn’t take him seriously.”

I spent the next thirty minutes explaining Frank’s desire to force Honor to marry Greg, the threats he’d made, however I did leave out the contract. That was something I’d tell my dad in private. Honor answered the questions my dad and Lorenz had, albeit with hesitation and rosy cheeks.