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“I wish I was.” I took a deep breath, and a long exhale. “Mombo is back.”
“Who is Mombo?” she asked.
That puzzled me. “You know, the guy who killed TJ.”
Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. “Mombo. I...I never knew his name. No one ever spoke about the details. I just knew by his injuries that it wasn’t just a car accident.”
I walked over to her and took her hands in mine. She was trembling and I led her to the bed and she sat down.
“It’s okay, Meri. I'm here. I won’t let him hurt you,” I told her.
“He’s really here?” she asked, and I nodded. “Why did he come back? I had overheard that he had fled the country. Why return now?”
“There are answers we don’t have. But I know Bennett and his team are searching for him. If anyone can find him, it’s my brother.”Hopefully before he hurts anyone else.
Meri must have realized that we were still holding hands because she slowly slipped hers away from mine. Instantly, I missed the contact. Another time and I’d have let her know. But that would need to wait.
“That doesn’t answer why you’re here at the hospital pretending to be a patient.”
“I’m here to make sure nothing happens to you,” I replied with more honesty than I had wanted.
“You mean everyone at the hospital,” she stated.
“Yeah.”
“Why you? I mean, not to sound...rude, but you’re...you’re...”
“I get it. I’m not my brother,” I said, frustrated that she was even comparing us. I grew up living in his shadow. I didn’t want to do so with Meri.
This time she grabbed my hand. “That’s not what I was going to say.”
“What were you going to say?” I asked, needing to know.
“That you’re supposed to be in Tabiq to help Reesa, not...not me,” she said softly.
My stomach did flips with how she was looking up at me. “Meri, I am here at the hospital, because of you. Don’t ever doubt that. And I promise you that I’ll do whatever I can to keep you and everyone here safe.”
She nodded. “I don’t know why, but I believe you.”
Smiling, I said, “Good. Because I really hated lying to you. But if I had told you the truth, I have a feeling you’d have refused my request to stay. Am I right?”
Meri shrugged. “Maybe. But since you didn’t ask, guess we will never know. I am not happy that Brice also kept this from me. Dr. O’Connor left me in charge of nursing. They aremyresponsibility. If there is a threat or they could be in danger, one of you should’ve told me.”
Squeezing her hand, and looking her in the eye, I said, “You are right. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. But truthfully, we only know he is in Tabiq. We are not sure why.”
“And the hospital?”
“No threat that we are aware of,” I stated.
“And yet you are here.”
“Yes. Because there is a murderer around and...I don’t want you to get caught in the middle of whatever he has planned,” I said.
“Thank you, for caring. I don’t want to sound as though I don’t appreciate it, but it isn’t necessary. You have no idea what it was like growing up in Tabiq. We lived surrounded by men like Mombo daily. I was lucky and was never taken, but I have friends who suffered tremendously. Some were never seen again. Horrible is not a strong enough word. Not sure there are any words to describe it. So, you see,oneman here in Tabiq who wishes harm on women, doesn’t scare me. It infuriates me. We won’t stand for it again. We won’t ever go back to the way things were. We are stronger and will fight evil with all we have.”
My heart broke as I sat just listening to her talk about her childhood. It was nothing like what I experienced. Nothing I could say would make it any better. It was ugly. She knew it and now so did I. Slipping my arm around her shoulders, I said, “And we are here to help in any way we can.”
Meri rested her head on my chest for a moment before pulling away. She got up and asked, “Ryker, why were you walking the halls in your hospital gown?”
