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Griff didn’t share with the nurse that Lindsay, the barista, had been Rachel’s half-sister. Rachel hadn’t mentioned it. The sisters had different last names. There was no reason for anyone to think they’d been sisters other than by their looks. Rachel might be better off keeping her relationship with her sister to herself. Then again, the killer had proven himself smart enough to leave no traceable evidence. If he was following Rachel, he might have figured out the family connection.
“Hey, while you’re here…” Angela jumped up, ran to a cabinet and returned with a pillow and a blanket. “It can get really cold in here at night.
Griff thanked her and took the blanket and pillow from her arms. He returned to Rachel’s room to find her lying back against the pillow, her eyes closed.
“I’m not asleep,” she murmured.
“Yet,” he added.
“True.” She cracked open an eyelid. “I see you’re all set to camp out with me.” Her brow puckered. “You probably don’t have to stay the night here. The nurses will keep an eye on me to ensure I don’t die of a brain bleed.”
Griff dropped the blanket on the end of her bed, sat in the lounge chair beside her and tucked the pillow behind his head. “I’m staying.”
She turned on her side and tucked her hand beneath her cheek. “I could give you the key to my apartment, and you could sleep in my bed tonight. After being on the road for so long, I’m sure you need a good night’s sleep.”
“I might get a good night’s sleep if someone wouldn’t insist on talking.” He cocked an eyebrow in challenge.
She clapped her other hand over her mouth. “Sorry.” The silence lasted a couple of moments. “One more thing and I promise to be quiet.”
He gave an exaggerated sigh. “Go ahead.”
“I’m glad it was you who found me in that ditch,” she said softly. “Thank you for saving my life.”
“You’d have gotten out.”
She shook her head. “I could’ve been in that ditch a long time before anyone found me. It gets cold in the mountains at night. I could’ve died of smoke inhalation. I was struggling to breathe, the seatbelt was that tight, and the vehicle could’ve burst into flames. You saved me from all those possibilities. Not to mention, if the ATV driver was the killer, he could’ve come back to finish what he’d started.”
Griff’s heart clenched. “I’m glad I was there,” he said. “I never thought I’d run into you here in Colorado.” Or back in San Diego after he’d refused to contact her over the last six months. He’d thought he’d completely lost track of her and had secretly mourned the loss.
Rachel reached out and took his hand in hers. As promised, she didn’t say anything else. Soon, her hand grew slack, and her breathing deepened. She was asleep.
Griff studied her face, committing every curve, line and flutter of her dark lashes to memory. This was the face he’d dreamed about while in Syria. Hers was the image engraved in his mind that had gotten him through physical therapy when it had hurt so much that he'd wanted to quit. Though he hadn’t contacted her, he'd wanted to. He just couldn’t weigh her down with his baggage.
Knowing she’d endured the trauma of her sister’s murder alone made Griff sick. He’d been feeling sorry for himself while she’d had to arrange for a funeral with no other family members to support her in her grief.
Yes, she could do a lot better than a broken SEAL who had spent so much time wallowing in his own self-pity.
He looked down at her hand in his. Though smaller, it was strong and capable. Like Rachel.
Griff vowed to himself that he’d protect her with his life and help her find her sister’s killer. Then he’d get the hell out of her life and let her find someone more worthy of her affection.
He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a feather-light kiss to the backs of her knuckles.
“I missed you,” she whispered so softly he thought he’d imagined the words.
He settled back in the lounge chair, still holding her hand, reflecting on what had just occurred that evening. How had fate led them to the same place, the same day and time? And they’d both lost people they’d loved—family, if not by blood, then by what was in their hearts.
When he was sure she was sound asleep, he whispered, “I missed you, too.”
Tasked with keeping her safe, he prayed he was successful in this mission. Failure was not an option.
CHAPTER5
Rachel woketo sunlight streaming through the window, warming her face. She blinked her eyes open and closed them again.
Raising her hand to shield her face from the glare, she dared to open her eyes again.
Her first thought was of Griff. She turned toward his chair.
