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“Where’s Katrina?” he asked the nurse who brought him water. “I need her.”
“Is that your girlfriend? She went to make some calls.”
Spencer lay back on the pillows, just the effort in conducting that brief conversation draining all his energy.
Is that your girlfriend?
His brain wasn’t working at full capacity, but he knew how he wanted to answer that question. After everything they’d endured, he wanted to keep Katrina in his life. He wanted her to be more than his girlfriend. He wanted her forever.
When she entered the room a few minutes later, there was a doctor with her.
“The CAT scan showed no major damage.” Spencer found he was too weary to react to the good news. Even his smile muscles refused to respond. “You have a concussion, which means you’ll need to rest and avoid stimulants. But you can go home as soon as we have your medication ready.”
“That’s wonderful news.” He saw a glimmer of tears in Katrina’s eyes. When the doctor had gone, she gripped his hand tightly. “I can’t believe this nightmare is finally over.”
“Not for you.” He returned the clasp of her fingers. “Eliza is dead.”
She hung her head. “I’ve spent my whole adult life waiting for something bad to happen to her, knowing she was likely to fall for the wrong man or get into bad company. This is a sad day and I guess I’ll always wonder if I could have done more to help her. But I’m also relieved that she did turn her life around and that she was strong enough to resist Latimer when he tried to get her back on to drugs. Because of that, I feel I’ll eventually be able to make my peace about what happened to her once I’ve laid her to rest in a more suitable place.”
“You’re so strong. I can’t believe how lucky I am that you came into my life when you did.”
“When I nearly knocked you over, you mean?” Her voice was teasing.
“I’ve never enjoyed being almost slammed to the ground more.” He studied her face. “If I could change the way I reacted—”
She pressed a finger to his lips. “You can’t. And what happened tonight has taught me that life is too short for regrets.”
“In that case...” He took a breath. “I love you, Katrina.”
“Oh.”
“That’s it? Just ‘oh’?”
She smiled, a hint of her usual mischief peeping through. “I’m just not sure you should be allowed to tell someone you love them when you have a concussion.”
He laughed. “You don’t have a head injury.”
“True.” She leaned closer. “Which leaves me free to say that I love you more than words can say.”
He hooked a hand behind her neck, pulling her down for a kiss. “That’s good enough for me. For now.”
“For now?”
“We’ll continue this conversation when I’m of sound mind.” He gestured to his clothes, which were folded on a chair. “Let’s go home.”
“Whose home? Yours or mine?” she asked.
“Ours. The one where our canine family will be waiting for us.”
* * *
A few days later, Kerry called to say that Eliza’s body had been moved from the shallow grave in Mustang Park to the coroner’s office. Spencer put her on speakerphone so Katrina could listen to the conversation.
“Latimer has confessed that he killed her right there by the willow tree when she took him to show him the place that was so special to her in her childhood,” Kerry said. “He’s refusing to say any more about whether he involved anyone other than Hannant in the threats to Katrina.”
“Keep pushing him on that,” Spencer told her. “Ask him about drugging the dogs, about hiring Aidan Hannant, about the break-ins at Katrina’s place. Most importantly, ask him if he had any help with those things, particularly from anyone inside the AAG.
“Latimer is facing a murder charge. Revealing the names of any helpers in the intimidation against you isn’t going to help him,” Spencer said when he ended the call. “If he did have support, I guess he’ll continue to protect his friends.”
