Harlequin Romantic Suspense April 2021 Karen Whiddon (best fiction books to read TXT) 📖

might be Jones, calling to check on things. When she saw Heath’s number on the caller ID, she shook her head. She might as well go ahead and answer, since Heath wouldn’t give up until she did.

“Hi, Heath.” She let every bit of her exhaustion show in her voice. “What’s up?”

“I just talked to Jones,” Heath said. “And as soon as he told me what had happened, I went by your house, but no one was there. Are you okay? Where are you?”

“At the hospital, but wait,” she interrupted him before he could speak. “Micha was injured. He has a skull fracture, but luckily it’s not anything requiring surgery. The doctor was just here and said Micha will be discharged soon.”

“Do you want me to come up, anyway?” Heath asked, as she’d known he would. “I can be there in thirty minutes.”

“No need.” Carly didn’t bother to suppress her yawn. “We’re all exhausted. January and Sean are with me, but as soon as we get to take Micha home, all I want to do is sleep.”

“That’s understandable.” Heath’s tone softened. “Are you all right, Carly? Is there anything I can do to help you?”

Carly had never loved her oldest brother more. “Thanks, Heath. Nothing right now, but if I need anything, I know I can count on you.”

“Promise me you’ll call me.”

“I will.”

Ending the call, Carly raised her head to find Micha had opened his eyes and was watching her.

“Hey, there,” she said, leaning in closer. “How are you feeling?”

Slowly he reached up and felt the bandage on his head. He winced. “What the heck happened?”

“You took a dive on the front porch,” she said, leaning in to take his hand in hers. “Turns out when Andy hit you, he fractured your skull.”

His eyes went wide. “What?”

“It’s okay.” Squeezing his hand, she carefully kissed his cheek. “They expect it to heal on its own. The doctor was just in and he’s discharging you today. You’ll have to take it easy for a while.”

“Andy’s still in custody, right?”

She nodded. “It’s over, Micha. It’s finally over.”

“At least that part of it is,” Micha agreed. “Now they just need to find your father’s and uncle’s killer.”

Touched that he’d thought of her family in the middle of his own crisis, she started to tell him not to worry about that right now but Sean pushed forward.

“We’ve got multiple people and agencies working on that,” Sean said. “Sooner or later, the murderer will make a mistake. They always do. And then we’ll have them. Right now it’s a matter of trying to make sure no one else gets killed. There’s always a fine line in cases like this.”

“Thanks,” Micha replied, his eyes drifting closed.

Carly turned to her cousin and her fiancé. “I’m a little concerned about Simone,” she said, keeping her voice low. “She seems obsessed with finding our fathers’ killer. I’m worried she might get herself in trouble.”

“I agree.” January grimaced, her expression troubled. “When Simone fixates on something, she doesn’t give up until she’s resolved whatever it is.”

“I’ll talk to her,” Sean promised. “I’ll try to make her understand there are numerous professionals working around the clock to solve this case. Hopefully, once she gets that reassurance, she’ll stand down.”

Privately, Carly doubted that. January caught her gaze and gave a tiny shake of her head, letting Carly know she felt the same way. After all, she knew her sister.

“Thanks for coming,” Carly told them, motioning toward the door. “Since we’re just waiting to be discharged, why don’t you two go on home and get some rest.”

“Are you sure?” January asked, appearing unconvinced.

“I am.” Carly shooed them away. “I’ll be fine. I really appreciate you both coming.”

Exchanging glances, January and Sean quietly said their goodbyes and left.

Alone in the room, Carly sat by Micha’s side and watched him sleep. She couldn’t believe how close she’d come to actually losing him a second time.

He was her person. The one who understood her, loved her and had her back. Despite two years apart, they still got each other’s jokes, understood when certain occasions called for what kind of food.

And the chemistry... One glance from his brown eyes was enough to send her pulse into overtime.

Once, she’d thought they needed to take things slow, to get to know one another again. Now she understood all too well how fleeting and fickle time could be. And she and Micha had always been on the same wavelength. None of that had changed. Neither time nor distance had been able to take that from them.

Micha had opened his eyes again by the time a nurse appeared with his discharge papers. Carly hunted down his clothes, which had been placed in a plastic bag under the bed, and helped him get dressed. The nurse brought a wheelchair, waving off Micha’s protests that he could walk. “Standard procedure,” she and Carly said at the same time.

“I’ll go get the car.” Carly took off, almost running.

She pulled around and opened the front passenger door, watching as Micha stood and gingerly got in.

All the way home, Carly drove slowly and carefully, not wanting to jostle him in any way. Once they reached the house, she parked and went around to help him get out. “You can lean on me,” she offered.

“I can walk,” he insisted, though he let her slip her arm around him with her shoulder under his arm.

Inside the house, Bridget wiggled and wagged, clearly glad to see them. “Just a minute, girl,” Carly told the dog. “Let me get Micha settled and then I’ll take you out.”

In the bedroom, Micha sat gratefully on the edge of her bed and allowed Carly to help undress him. Clad only in his boxers, he climbed in between the sheets. Carly brought him a glass of water and went to take care of her pet.

Once she’d returned, Carly allowed exhaustion to claim her. She downed a glass of water, double-checked all the door locks, turned out the lights and went back to her bedroom with