“Russell had already warned me that the lawyers on both sides had been banned from mentioning why I was giving my testimony via video.You see, the murders and the attempt on my life are all just allegations at the moment, and until they prove the gunmen who killed Tammy and Antoine were hired by Diàoyú, then it’s inadmissible in court.But the judge seemed to know something dodgy was going on, he asked a few pointed questions why I had suddenly replaced Tammy as the specialist, and when the lawyer told him that Tammy had died in tragic circumstances and there was now an ongoing criminal investigation, the judge looked most interested.”
“Hmm.That’s a good thing,” Jacob replied, smothering a large yawn.At least the judge suspects Diàoyú of foul play, even if he can’t take it into account when he makes his ruling.
“I guess so.”Nikki bit her bottom lip, her gaze drifting to the window where the lights of Seattle flickered outside.“Russell and I waited until the end of the court session, just in case they wanted to recall me, which was mid-morning, our time.But Russell wouldn’t let me come and see you until he’d contacted the FBI and had assurances there would not be any repercussions for me.That I was a free woman.”
“Great.”Now that the first hit of dopamine from having Nikki back in his arms was fading, he could feel the drugs taking effect.His body was becoming heavy and lethargic, his mind sluggish, and he was finding it hard to focus on her words.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered, rubbing his eyes.“They doped me up with meds for the pain, and now I’m feeling a little woozy.”He tried to fight it, shaking his head and squeezing his eyes shut before popping them open again, but the fog continued to creep in around the edges.
“I should leave you to get some sleep.”
“No, stay.I’ll sleep better with you in my arms.”
“What about your leg?”
“With you by my side, I’m feeling no pain.”He looked up imploringly at her.His eyelids felt so heavy they could’ve been weighed down with concrete.But he would not succumb, not until she said she’d stay in his arms.The drugs might be numbing the pain, but they were also numbing his ability to think and even speak.He wondered vaguely if the nurse had slipped a sedative in among the other medications.
“Okay,” she agreed, then she sat gingerly on the bed and swung her legs up so that she was lying above the covers on his uninjured side.“Are you sure this isn’t hurting you?”
“Babe, I’m in heaven right now,” he sighed, tucking her shoulder underneath his arm so she could lay her head on his chest.“This is exactly where I’m meant to be.I couldn’t ask for any place better.”At last, he gave in to the cotton wool crowding his brain and the lethargy that caused his body to feel like it was made of lead and let his eyes close.He knew he could sleep soundly tonight, as long as he had Nikki safe and warm in his arms.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
NIKKI AWOKE WITH a start.It took her a few seconds to orient herself, but at last she remembered she was lying in a hospital bed next to Jacob, and relaxed.She had no idea what time it was, but it must be in the wee hours of the morning, as the building was quiet and dim.Jacob slept on, oblivious, alongside her, for which she was grateful.He needed to heal, and rest was the best antidote to his pain.
She could still scarcely breathe when she thought about watching him prostrate in the middle of the road as Russell drove her away, powerless to help him.She hadn’t been lying when she’d told him she could barely form a coherent word during the first part of her testimony; her brain had been focused on only one thing.Him.
There were so many things she wanted to say to Jacob about the stupidity of his act.And about the bravery of his act.Earlier, she’d seen in his eyes that it hadn’t been the right time to berate him, to let all her mixed emotions out in one confusing stream.So she’d thanked him for his courage.Because he was a hero.Even if he was a stupid hero.And she knew it meant a lot to him; that he’d kept his promise to protect her at all costs.She could see it in his eyes; it was as if he’d gained back a small part of his honor, a part that’d been misplaced until that moment.
Nikki tilted her head back so she could look up at his face.A small night-light was set above the bed, touching the hospital room with its pale luminescence.In the dim glow, his features in repose had a softer edge, the intensity and toughness he kept up as a façade when he was working as a cop no longer in evidence.Something in her chest constricted at the sight of him.A terribly sweet, but also desolate feeling washed over her.
Her stupid heart wanted things it just couldn’t have.But as she traced the ridge of his dark eyebrows with her fingertips, ran it down his aquiline nose and over his firm lips, her need for him became overwhelming.How could she ever let this feeling go?She did not know how or why it’d happened, but over the past week and a half—such a short time—she’d fallen hard for Inspector Jáhkot Utsi.
This man had raced into the face of danger to protect her.He’d taken a bullet for her.He hadn’t actually said the words, but his actions screamed that he at the very least cared for her deeply; perhaps he even loved her.
Just as she loved him.
She knew that now.She loved him, without a doubt.
But could she tell him that to his face?
She lifted her head from his shoulder so she could stare more deeply at his profile.If he were awake right now, would she be able to form the words?What if he rejected her, said that he was heading back to Sweden, and while it’d been fun knowing her, he was going to continue with the rest of his life?What if he’d played her for a fool?What if he didn’t love her like she thought?
She uttered a small sound of frustration.Not wanting to wake him, she wriggled a little higher on the bed, unable to lie quietly any more.She needed to get up, to move, to pace the floor and work out these unsettling feelings.
Jacob smiled in his sleep and murmured something incomprehensible, wrapping his arm tighter around her waist, and she froze.
Gosh darn it.Now she was trapped.A very nice place to be trapped, she admitted, but her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest, and she needed action to release these emotions, or she might just detonate.Trying to calm her racing pulse, she lay still for a few more moments.But it was no good; she had to get out of this bed.Moving as carefully as she could, she eased first one leg off the bed, and then moved her other one, hoping the drugs would keep him asleep even as she lifted his fingers to unclasp them from her hip.
“Hey, watcha doing?”His sleepy voice surprised her, and she nearly banged her head on his chin as she sat up with a start.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.I was just…a little uncomfortable.”
“Are you trying to tell me that sleeping in my arms all night isn’t the nicest thing you’ve ever done?”His brow furrowed in concern as he looked up at her.
“No, no…it’s not that at all.”
A deep laugh reverberated through his chest as his lips twitched up.
