Watch Me (Last Stand #3)(12)
Author: Brenda Novak

He seemed to weigh each word. “I don’t want to frighten you, but whoever did this to you is still out there.”

“You think he might come after me again?”

“He might not be happy to hear you survived.”

Although it hurt to do so, she couldn’t help lifting her head to get a better look at him. She hadn’t considered the possibility he suggested; she’d been too busy worrying that she might not fully recover. Until now, she hadn’t been coherent enough to consider much of anything. But what he said was certainly possible, since she had no idea why she’d been singled out in the first place.

“So…are you a cop or a security guard or something?” she asked. She couldn’t imagine him working with Ned, but there had to be some reason Cain was the one still here, protecting her.

“No.”

“Then how’d you get the job of keeping an eye on me?” She wasn’t his problem. Until she opened her eyes to find him staring down at her after the attack, she hadn’t been in touch with him since Jason’s death. She’d sent him that note, telling him how sorry she was. He’d never responded, and she’d moved with her family. That was it.

“I guess I’ve appointed myself.”

“Where’s Ned?”

“He said he was too tired to drive. I think he got a motel.”

“And?” She could tell he was holding something back.

“And probably a prostitute. Ned’s not one to waste a hall pass from his wife.”

“It’s nice to know he’s so concerned about my welfare.”

“He doesn’t worry about anything until it happens. And then he looks for someone to blame.”

Ned had told her he thought Cain was the man who’d attacked her. But if he truly believed that, why had he left her alone with him? “He doesn’t like you, either.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“I broke his nose a few years back.”

“Were you drunk?”

“I wasn’t, but I’m pretty sure he was.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t paying attention until he took a swing at me.”

Considering Cain’s reputation, Ned would’ve had to be blind drunk to start a fight with him. “I hope you weren’t his brother-in-law at the time.”

“I was only his brother-in-law for three months. As far as I’m concerned, that isn’t long enough to count.”

Sheridan couldn’t imagine Cain married to Amy. She wanted to ask him what’d changed after she’d left, what’d brought them together, but she knew it was too personal a question. “Has Amy remarried?”

“Not yet. She’s seeing Tiger Chandler, though.”

Sheridan remembered Tiger. They’d gone steady when they were sophomores and part of the following summer, until she started taking her little sister to swimming lessons at the public pool, where Cain worked as a lifeguard. Pretty soon, Cain was all she could think about, so she broke up with Tiger, after which he refused to talk to her. They hadn’t had a single conversation since. He wouldn’t even say goodbye when she’d moved. “Tiger’s still single, huh?”

“He’s been engaged a few times but never married.”

“What about Ned?”

“He hooked up with Jackie Mendosa right out of high school. Adopted the kid she already had. They have two others.”

There was so much more she wanted to know. After her family relocated, her parents had taken her to a trauma counselor who’d recommended she sever all connections with Whiterock and anyone who’d remind her of the attack. Her parents had agreed and insisted she put the whole thing behind her.

That gave Sheridan time to heal. But she’d never been able to forget the people she’d left behind.

“What’s Owen doing now?”

Cain’s feet moved as he shifted in the chair. “He’s a doctor.”

Picturing the knobby-kneed, geeky boy who was so smart he’d been put two grades ahead made Sheridan smile. “I’m not surprised. He sat in the front row in three of my classes and could answer any question—at fourteen.”

“I could admire that if he had any common sense. He’s a good doctor, but—” Cain chuckled “—he can’t scramble eggs. If it wasn’t for Lucy—”

“Lucy?”

“His wife. He met her in college. Now they live in town with their three boys.”

“You like her?”

“She’s perfect for him.”

That sounded happy. Sheridan had always liked Owen. But the pain in her head was growing worse, and with it the fear that she’d never be the same. Do you think she’ll ever be able to recall what really happened to her?… It’ll depend on how well she’s able to cope with the trauma….

Could she cope? It’d been difficult enough to regain her sense of well-being the first time around. But these doubts terrified her, so she struggled to shut them out, to keep talking. “Ned’s disappointed that I can’t tell him more,” she said.

“Like I said, Ned’s lazy. He doesn’t want to have to figure it out for himself.”

“My memory will come back. I know it will….” Realizing that she’d begun to slur her words, she worked harder to enunciate. “I’m going to see…whoever did this…is put…behind bars.”

“Are you okay?” He sounded a little alarmed.

The whole room seemed to be spinning, but she refused to throw up in front of Cain Granger. “I’m…fine. Just…tired.”

She let her eyelids close but when he got up, they flew open almost of their own accord. “Cain?”

He hesitated. “What?”

“Are you leaving?”

“I’m getting a nurse.”

“No, I—I don’t…need…more medicine. I think that’s what’s making me sick.”

He slid his chair up to her bed and sat on the edge of it, this time in the moonlight where she could see him. “What do you want me to do?”

“Nothing. Just stay…with me…for a while, okay?” She had no right to ask him for anything. Jason would never have been at Rocky Point if she hadn’t invited him up there to make Cain jealous. She’d cost Cain his stepbrother. But she couldn’t handle the guilt. Not right now. All that mattered was this moment. She had to keep it simple just to survive.