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Rosalie snorted back tears. “Thanks, Mom. I needed to hear that.”
“But you know who is engaged in not just your career but you?” Lindsay waggled her slim eyebrows. “That handsome doctor with the sexy name.”
“It is pretty damn sexy.” As was the rest of him. “He’s a lot like Dad—impossibly stubborn. He wants to come with the team when we go after Julia. He’s not FBI. He’s not any law enforcement. He’s a doctor.”
“He’s a brother. And a man in love.”
“Love?” Was that what he’d meant by all in? Had he admitted last night that he loved her, or was that the drug playing tricks on her memory? “He can’t love me. We just met.”
“I may not understand why you do what you do or why your father did it, but I know love. That man looks at you like your father used to look at me. Do you feel the same way about him?”
“Yes.” The word came out of her mouth so quickly her jaw dropped. “Yes, I do, which is why he can’t help recover Julia. He needs to be here when I get back.”
“And he wants to make sure you and his sistercomeback.” She pointed to the door. “That man loves you and wants tofight with you,for you.That kind doesn’t come along often. You need to do everything you can not to lose him. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. Make him your Valentine.”
“You know I don’t celebrate the day Dad died.”
“I know, but you can still celebrate a holiday meant for love.” Her mother kissed her on the cheek. “Then I can celebrate by showering grandchildren with hearts and chocolate and give the day a good reason to exist.”
“Rosalie.” Bella slipped into the room. “About time you woke up, girl.”
Her mother rose from the bed and backed to the door. “I’ll let Bella help you get dressed so you two can catch up.”
Bella sat on the bed. “I want to hear everything about that sexy-ass doctor.”
For the first time in Rosalie’s life—and at the most inopportune moment—she wanted to talk about Bella’s favorite topic, boys. And for the first time, she pictured not a boy but a man in her future. Her mother had been right. A man like Cannon didn’t come along often. Now she had to make sure she didn’t lose him.
THIRTY-FIVE
Cannon stalked to the war room. The call he’d just received that the drug trial would remain at Red Snow should have him doing cartwheels, but he couldn’t celebrate the news until Julia was safe. He pushed the door open. All eyes locked on him.
“No.” He backed up as the impending bad news he recognized on their faces sucker punched him in the gut. “Just no. Nobody better say Julia is…”
Rosalie stood from her seat at the conference table. “We’ve heard from Malgor. Julia is alive and reportedly fine.”
He sucked in a breath and stemmed the relief he feared would be short-lived. “How do we know?”
Paul leaned against the windowsill, crutches under both arms. “He called about a minute ago on my personal line and put her on long enough so I could hear her voice.”
Cannon breathed again. He’d been praying Julia had just been drugged like Rosalie, but her feet hadn’t moved when she’d been loaded into the back of that van. How many times did he have to watch his sister come back from the dead?
Rosalie dropped into her chair, her laptop in front of her. Dressed in black pants, a white T-shirt, and the blue FBI jacketshe hung on the hook behind his door each night, she looked every inch the special agent.
God, he burned to handcuff her again until Malgor was caught, but the chances of that happening were as slim as Julia walking through the door.
Cannon rounded the table to Paul. “How did Julia sound?”
“Scared but strong.”
“Good.” Strong was good. He tried not to think about the scared part. “How do we know she’s okay?”
Rosalie looked up from her keyboard. “He’s still playing games with us. He’ll keep her alive if we cooperate.”
“He’d better. What does he want, and where the fuck is he?”
Paul shook his head. “He hasn’t made a ransom demand yet.”
The hospital’s emergency messaging system beeped with an incoming alert. Everyone in the room stilled.
