Something about her words felt like she didn’t mean them. Perhaps she had feelings for the man who’d repeatedly beat her after all. I could, unfortunately, understand that.
The bed shifted as Joe sat down behind me. I could feel his frustration before he spoke. “Amber, I’m sorry if this is uncomfortable for you to talk about, but I need some more concrete information.”
Amber folded her arms over her chest and winced, the gesture probably pulling uncomfortably against her ribs. “You got me back safe. Is there something else you’re after? I’m not going to press charges against Micha, if that’s where you’re going. That’s suicide, you know.”
Joe wouldn’t give up. “Can you tell me anything about the sex slave ring he’s involved with then? Were you at all part of that?”
“So that’s what this is about. You have grand aspirations if you plan to get involved with that, Joe. It’s very noble of you. I had no idea there were still noble men left. Leave it to Emily to find the last.”
This time I opened my mouth to correct her.
Joe beat me to speaking. “Do you have any information at —”
“No.” Her sharp response said she was frustrated now as well. “I don’t know anything about it. Well, nothing concrete. I heard rumors, but that’s all. I wasn’t involved in it.”
“And Sallis?”
Her expression bordered between skeptical and appalled. “Was Reeve involved in slave trade with Michelis Vilanakis? You’re kidding me, right?” Her eyes flicked from Joe’s to mine and back to Joe’s. “Oh, I guess you don’t know.”
“Don’t know what?” Joe and I asked in unison.
“Reeve would never do business with Micha. He loathes him.” She looked to me, as though she thought I was the only one who might understand what she was about to say. “It was the reason I was with him. I knew it would make Reeve unhappy.”
My stomach dropped. She wanted to make Reeve unhappy. She wouldn’t have cared unless she still loved him.
“Amber.” His voice behind me caused the ball to sink lower in my gut. In a flash, Reeve was at her side, opposite me in the bed. She reached her arms up to him, and he enfolded his around her.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” she blubbered against his shirt.
“Shh, Angel. You know how I hate it when you cry.” He stroked her hair while she sobbed into his chest, and I sat frozen in a hell I’d never known. Whoever had decided that damnation was fire and brimstone was wrong. Hell was cold and ice and emptiness. Hell was watching the one I’d grasped so tightly slip through my fingers. Hell was realizing the one I’d come to love would never choose to love me.
I stood, but couldn’t take my eyes off the scene.
“I was stupid,” Amber said, and they could have been my own words. “I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve for you to let me back here.”
“You’re always welcome here. You know that.” Reeve pulled away from her. With his hands on each side of her face, he issued his own demand for the truth. “Tell me what he did to you. Tell me what he did and then just say the word and I’ll fucking kill him.”
Grasping at his forearms, she shook her head. “No, Reeve. You don’t want to start that. This was all my fault.”
“I don’t care what you did. He laid his hands on you, and he deserves to pay for that. Just say the word.”
I’d asked Reeve once if he was still close to his former lovers. He’d dodged the question. Now I saw the answer firsthand, and whether he was like this with all of them or just Amber didn’t matter. That he was like this with her was bad enough. In fact, it was the worst.
“Before you get ahead on your revenge scheming, Sallis, let’s get the girl well.” Jeb’s arrival was like a token sent from heaven. It broke the trance that Reeve and Amber had me in.
I stepped backward, into the shadows, barely aware of the conversation that continued.
“Please tell me it’s time for more painkillers,” Amber said, almost begging.
“We’ll talk about that.” Jeb scanned his audience. “Can we maybe have the room cleared so the patient and I can have some privacy?”
Thank God. Because I couldn’t be there a moment longer.
Unfortunately, Reeve was escorted out with us, and in the hallway he stopped me before I could escape into my own room. “Jeb got ahold of some methadone. He’s going to start a treatment plan that will help her with the pain, and then he can slowly wean her off dependence.”
“Awesome. I’m glad you employ ranch staff with such diverse skills for occasions such as this.” I couldn’t keep the bitterness from my tone. Actually, I didn’t even try.
Before he could say anything else, I plowed on. “Meanwhile, I’m hungry, and I believe I’ve missed lunch. Joe, would you mind taking me into town for something to eat?” I sent a pleading glance to my private investigator.
He darted his eyes from me to Reeve. “It’s my shift with Amber. I don’t know if I should.”
I practically jumped on the end of his statement. “I’m sure Reeve won’t mind covering it. I’ll take the next shift. Tell her I’ll be back in a couple of hours, will you, Reeve?” I didn’t look at him. Addressing him was hard enough.
“Emily,” my name on Reeve’s tongue was like poisoned honey, “perhaps Joe should stay. I can take you into town instead.”
I shook my head. “Now that she’s awake, I’m sure that Amber would much rather catch up with you. Take the opportunity to spend time with your ‘angel.’” Finally, I lifted my eyes to Reeve’s. I knew what he’d see there – pain and anger and acid.