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She glanced up and caught the eye of the man in question standing on the other side of the ER. The meeting of their eyes, just like the one earlier, lasted a fraction of a second before he disappeared through the stairwell exit door. She bolted after him.
JAMES CROSSED HIS ARMSover his chest and glared at his best friend. “You know why I can’t stay here. I took the painkillers.”
Cole dropped his defensive stance and walked over to stand next to James. “You got to do what the doc says, my friend. Just because it’s Lainie doesn’t mean she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
“She’s not a doc.”
“Huh?”
“She’s a PA.”
Cole rolled his eyes. “Oh, right. I knew that. You still need to do what she says.”
James shifted and winced. Cole raised a brow.
“I hate this,” James muttered.
“I know. I hate it for you.”
“Not enough to get me out of here, apparently.”
“You’re also going to have to speak to your family at some point,” Cole said, pointedly disregarding James’ irritation.
“I know that too.”
“So, you have a plan for when you’re going to make that happen?”
“Nope.” And he wasn’t going to come up with it now.
“Right.” Cole crossed his arms again, this time in a much more relaxed stance. “Want me to hang out here with you? In case ... you know.”
As much as he wanted to take Cole up on his offer, James’ pride protested. “No. I’ll be fine.”
“You’re not going to sleep a wink, are you?”
“Probably not.”
“All right, let me know when Lainie gives you the green light and I’ll come get you.”
“Thanks.” James’ phone buzzed with a text. From his sister.
I hear you’re back in town. Thanks a lot for letting me know.
A low groan slipped from him. “Great. I gotta deal with this.” Cole waved then slipped out the door while James tapped a response to Stephanie.
I’ve been laying low for a bit. Working with Cole at the police department. I guess Lainie hasn’t learned to keep her mouth shut in all these years after all.
What’s Lainie got to do with it? I saw you on the news. They’re reporting an officer down. I didn’t know you were back and working? How long have you been home? Obviously long enough to get a JOB??? With the local PD??? Thanks so much for letting me know. Really. Thanks SO MUCH.
He was a terrible brother. And son. But he just couldn’t deal with ... well, there was no helping it now. He was going to have to deal. With a silent apology to Lainie, he typed,
Do Mom and Dad know?
Not unless they watched the news and got a glimpse of you sitting on the ground holding that little girl. They’re calling you a hero, big bro.
He flushed, praying his name would be kept out of the media, but like it or not, someone was bound to let it slip. Heaving a mental sigh, he looked at the screen just as her next text popped up.
Why haven’t you gotten in touch???
