Flynn took the stairs up to Blue Halo two at a time. It was mid-afternoon. He’d gotten back a day later than planned, only returning this morning. He’d gone home for an hour of sleep before coming to work, even though he was beyond ready to check on his mother. And Carina.
He pushed inside the reception area, not surprised to see no one at the desk. They’d had a receptionist for a short period of time, but that hadn’t ended well, so now they just alternated admin duties. And with both their advanced hearing and the cameras they’d had installed, having someone at the desk wasn’t really a priority, though they’d probably hire someone again at some point.
As he moved down the hallway toward his office, Callum called his name.
He stopped and turned back.
Callum sat behind his desk. “Welcome back. How’d it go?”
“No sighting of anyone. If Aidan hadn’t spotted a guy in the backyard last week, I’d almost think they were making up their stalker.”
Callum nodded. “We’re continuing protective detail though, right?”
“Yeah. The guy’s still desperate to keep us, so we’ll stay.” Logan and Jason were there right now. They’d keep alternating until the time came when they either found someone or Paul let their team go. “Everything smooth sailing here?”
Callum lifted a shoulder. He was the biggest of the team, but he was also the biggest softie. “No issues.”
“Great. I’m just gonna check emails, then I’m off again to see Mom.”
Flynn was moments from stepping away when Callum spoke again. “Almost forgot. Carina called for you this morning. Didn’t leave a message though or tell me what she wanted.”
Flynn frowned. “What did she say?”
“Just asked if you were back. When I said no, she sounded disappointed. Said she’d call back. I asked about your mom, and she said she was fine.”
Flynn nodded. He hadn’t told his team what had transpired between him and Carina the night before he left, but they knew something had. It would be hard not to, considering how well they all knew each other. “Thanks. If she’s not at Mom’s, I’ll stop by her place after.”
“Really?” Callum said it with that just-tell-me-you’re-dating-already voice.
Flynn shook his head with a grin. “Bye.”
He checked his emails and messages quickly, relieved to find there was nothing that couldn’t wait. On his way out, he checked the time—after three in the afternoon. Maybe he could surprise Carina with some dinner.
In all honesty, he had no idea how the woman would react to food or a date or any of that. All they’d done was kiss. There had been no words spoken about moving the relationship forward, but God, he wanted to. Just a few days away from her had already confirmed that. Even though he’d been in the middle of a job, he’d thought about her every damn day.
When he pulled up to his mother’s house, he noticed Carina’s car wasn’t there, but she often walked, so it didn’t necessarily mean she wasn’t.
He entered the house and found his mother sitting at the table doing a puzzle. She looked up. “Hello, honey.”
Flynn swallowed his disappointment at Carina’s absence. He moved over to his mother and pressed a kiss to her head. “How are you?”
“I feel really good today.”
He lowered into a seat beside her. She did look good. Like the mother who’d raised him. Her smile was wide, and her hands looked steady.
He pressed a hand over hers. “I’m glad.”
“How was the job?”
He smiled. His mother knew all about his work. Not the specifics of the jobs. But she understood what they involved…mainly protecting people. “It went well. Didn’t catch any bad guys but the couple I was watching remained safe.”
Patricia gave a sharp nod. “Good. I worry about you while you’re away.”
“No need to worry.” His fingers tightened around hers. “Everything been okay while I’ve been gone?”
Her gaze lifted, her eyes warming. “Oh, yes. Carina has been an absolute angel.” She frowned. “She should have stayed home today though. I told her to go, but she refused to leave until she’d prepared some food.”
“Why should she have stayed home?”
“The poor thing hurt her knee and had a bandage over her head. She was limping all over the place and grimacing in pain at every step. I think she was trying to make it seem like it wasn’t as bad as it was. I finally made her leave. She said something about a fall.”
Unease slammed into his gut. “She was hurt?”
“Oh, yes. You should go check on her. I was quite worried when I saw her. I think she even called Clemence to take her home.”
Clemence ran the only car service available in Cradle Mountain.
His heart rate tripled, every part of him wanting to go to her. He scanned the kitchen. “I’ll get your dinner—”
She shook her head. “Flynn, it’s almost four o’clock. I don’t need dinner right now. But when I do, I’m perfectly capable of heating the stew Carina made for me.”
“Sure?”
“Yes. Go.”
Rising to his feet, he pressed a kiss to his mother’s head before walking out to his car. Anxiety swirled through him. And questions. So many questions. Was she okay? Why had she gone to work while injured? And what the hell had happened?
Carina massaged her temple. She lay on the couch, ice on her knee. The ice was doing nothing to numb the pain, and the Tylenol felt just as useless for her headache as it did for her knee. She was so damn tired. But she couldn’t sleep through the pain. It was impossible.
Maybe she shouldn’t have visited Patricia today. It definitely hadn’t helped. Even though she’d called Clemence to get her there and back, the time on her feet had been agony. And the headache was now ten times worse.
But it was her job. And with Flynn away, she’d needed to make sure his mom was okay.
The ringing of her phone had Carina’s eyes squeezing shut. Blindly, she reached for the cell from the coffee table and brought it to her ear. “Hello?”
“Hi, Carina. It’s me.”
Me, as in Greg.
“Hi, Greg,” she said softly with her eyes still closed.
There was a small pause. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I just had a little fall yesterday.” Was it yesterday? The last twenty-four hours felt like one big jumbled mess.
“What kind of fall?”
She breathed through the ache pounding from her knee. “I slipped and fell down the porch steps. Dislocated my knee.”
“Christ. Are you okay?”
No. She felt far from okay. “Just resting.”
“I’ll take some leave from work and come help you.”
“No, Greg, you don’t—”
Knocking at the door cut her off. Carina almost groaned, not only because the sound was loud on her already aching head but because she would have to walk over there to answer it.
Lord, give her strength.
“Someone’s at the door. I’ll call you back, okay?”
She hung up before he could respond. Sucking in a sharp breath, she stood. Every step was slow and had her leaning heavily against any surface she could get her hands on. She really needed to get that knee brace.
The second she tugged open the door, her eyes widened. Flynn—looking tall and handsome and angry.
He frowned at the way she leaned on the door. Then he scanned her face. Her body. When he took a large step forward, his gaze stopped on her forehead. She’d taken the bandage off, so she was sure it looked bruised and ugly.
His finger grazed the area around the cut. The touch was oddly soothing.
“What happened?” His tone was low. It reminded her of the calm before a storm.
“I slipped,” she said quietly, still in shock that the man was here. “Fell down the steps.”
He turned back, scanning the porch. “Here?”
She nodded. When she got home, she’d actually studied the wood where she’d slipped, just to make sure there was nothing there. That the teenagers hadn’t coated it with some slippery substance. It had been completely dry. “It was raining.”
His eyes darkened as he looked back at her. “When?”
“Yesterday evening.”
Another stroke of his thumb. “Are you okay?”
No. “Yes.” Another lie, just like the one she’d given Greg.
The corners of his eyes creased. “Where did you spend the night?”
“The hospital.”
A small growl released from his chest as he closed the door behind him. She limped a step away, but that was as far as she got before he stopped her with hands on her hips. He slipped around her. “What happened to your knee?”
“It dislocated when I hit the ground.”
His jaw clenched before he gently lifted her, cradling her against his chest. Even though he’d done it carefully, she still cringed at the sudden pain that radiated up her leg.
He cursed under his breath. “Sorry.” Slowly, he laid her on the couch before crouching beside her. “What can I do?”
She swallowed. “You don’t have to—”
“Carina. You need help, and I want to be that help. What can I do?”
She could have cried. She did need help, and the fact this man was offering it to her was almost too much for her fragile heart to bear.
“Right now, I just need some rest,” she whispered. “But maybe you could order some dinner a bit later.”
She’d never made it to the grocery store, so her kitchen was still empty. Not that she was very hungry. And even if she had groceries, she doubted she’d have the energy to prepare any food. Just making dinner for Patricia earlier had sapped her.
He gently pushed some hair from her face. “Done.”
The man remained where he was for a second, his blue gaze bleeding into her. The fingers at her head trailed along the side of the cut again. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here. Did you get home from the hospital okay?”
She nodded. “Once Victoria—I mean, Dr. Astor—discharged me, a nurse gave me Clemence’s number.”
Flynn frowned. “Victoria was your doctor?”
She gave a small nod, regretting it immediately.
The muscles in his arms bunched. “Where’s your pain medication?”
“On the table.” Fat lot of help they were doing.
Flynn turned, grabbing the small container. “This is only Tylenol.”
“That’s all Dr. Astor would prescribe.”
If she’d thought he looked angry before, that was nothing compared to now. He looked murderous. “She would only prescribe you Tylenol?”
She swallowed. “Yes. And it’s done nothing. I can’t sleep. I can barely move.”
His eyes closed as he took a deep breath, like he was trying to control his emotions. When he opened them again, he gave her cheek a final graze before rising and pulling his phone from his pocket.
“Hi, is Dr. Victoria Astor on?” There was a short pause. Carina cringed when the veins in his hand popped as his fingers tightened around the phone. “Okay, thanks.”
A second later, he hung up. Then he was bending down beside her. This time when he lifted her, he did it so carefully that there was no added pain.
She grabbed at his shoulders. “What are you doing?”
“She’s not on, but it doesn’t matter. We’re going back to the hospital, and we’re not leaving until you receive the medication you need.”
She opened her mouth to say no but then snapped it shut. She was exhausted. And her knee was throbbing so badly she felt it in every part of her body. There was no way for her to get the rest she so desperately needed like this.
Carina kept her eyes closed the entire drive there as she breathed through the ache in her leg. Flynn was silent, but the anger was just about bouncing off him, simmering in the air.
He parked, then was around to her side in a second, carefully lifting her out. She leaned her head against his hard chest and took a moment to appreciate the warmth and strength that surrounded her. The comfort that strength brought could almost make her forget the pain.
When he stopped at the reception desk, the nurse’s eyes widened. Whether that was because he was so big, or she recognized who he was, or because he was carrying Carina, she had no idea.
“We need to speak to a doctor.” Flynn’s tone wasn’t raised, but that deadly quiet was almost worse, and Carina didn’t miss the way other nurses near the station stopped in their tracks.
“Oh, okay, um…sure.” For a moment, the woman seemed flustered, but then she quickly organized for a nurse to usher them into a patient room.
Once Flynn had set her on the bed, he stood by her side, his jaw unbelievably hard, like he was preparing to fight a battle.
Usually, Carina preferred to fight her own battles. Lord knew she’d done it enough. But right now, being injured…it felt good to have someone else’s help.
She was just lying back when Victoria walked past the room and glanced inside. She stopped, her eyes on Flynn, and a frown formed between her brows. Then she stepped inside. When her gaze touched Carina, her lips thinned. But they spread into a smile when her attention returned to Flynn.
“Flynn. I’m just starting my shift. What are you doing here?”
“What the hell, Victoria? You prescribe her Tylenol when she dislocated her fucking knee?”
“Flynn—”
“She needs stronger pain medication.”
Victoria paused, and the smile slipped from her lips. “We can’t do that, unfortunately. Not with her history.”
A chill swept through Carina’s insides, a gasp slipping from her lips. How did she—
“I know she stole drugs from her patient. I will not contribute to the woman’s addiction.”
Flynn stepped closer, and Victoria’s eyes widened. She looked like she was about to step back, away from the clear threat.
“She was cleared of that accusation. She doesn’t have an ‘addiction’, as you put it. Now do your job and prescribe her the damn meds she needs before I get you fired.”
