The Lies That Save Us (The Broken Heart Series) by JL Redington Read Free Book Online Page B

shoot like that and why were you carrying a gun in the first place?”
    Cayman closed his eyes for a moment, heaved a sigh and opened them again.
    His voice was still dry and hoarse, but sounded a little stronger. 
    “I usually always carry a gun, and one of the few times I wasn’t carrying was the night that guy pushed you down the stairs.  We did a lot of hunting and target shooting as a kid and when we got older my dad told us to always keep a concealed weapons permit.  So, I always have.  I’m a good shot because my dad taught me how to shoot.”
    He looked at her face, hopeful.  At that moment, she felt the same old feelings returning.  She was comfortable with him, she could trust him to always protect her, that he was being honest with her.  She bent over and kissed him gently.
    “I believe you,” she whispered.  “Now go to sleep and get better so we can get back on the road.”
    He smiled as he shut his eyes and fell quickly under the control of the pain pills.  He was out in seconds.
    The next couple days, Alexa spent watching over Cayman, shopping for a new shirt (which made Cayman smile again) and getting supplies for the trip to Arizona.  She thought a bit comical they were actually only two and a half hours from home.  She’d called Tahleah, but didn’t give her any details of the shooting.  She just said they liked the area and decided to spend a couple of days.  She knew it would upset Keith if he knew what had happened and he’d probably have been in his car, on his way down before she even hung up the phone.
    Cayman’s surgery went well, as expected.  It wasn’t really a surgery at all, but a local anesthetic to remove the bullet and then a couple of stitches to close the wound. 
    There were more visits from the State Police once Cayman was available for interviews, although there really wasn’t much to tell.  He said he saw the gun come out the window of the other vehicle and immediately drew his gun and started firing.  The car didn’t return to see if they had killed him, they just disappeared. Neither Alexa nor Cayman got a good look at the people in the car, as he was looking at the gun barrel and she had her head on her lap.
    Alexa kept quiet, though she knew this wasn’t the right version of the story.  Why would he lie about who fired first?  Was he lying?  Was he just not remembering it right?  Cayman didn’t strike her as the type to ‘forget’ something as important as who fired first.  Something was just not right.  Alexa decided to wait, she didn’t know why, but now didn’t seem like the time to argue with him.  She needed to keep an eye on him, and she would do just that.
    They finally released Cayman and as they wheeled him to the car, he started to direct them to the driver’s side.
    “Uh, no.” said Alexa flatly.
    “Hey, it’s my car and I’m fine.  You’re not going to mother me the whole way, are you?” he said sounding a bit defeated.
    “Yes I am, and I’ll bet if I called your mother she would agree with me.  Don’t’ ask me how I know that, I just do.”
    “No doubt she’d agree with you.”  He said dismally.
    The nurse pushing the wheel chair agreed it was probably not the best idea for a patient full of pain killers to be doing a lot of driving.
    They pulled away from the hospital with a list of things to watch for, medications to give and warnings about over-doing.  But both of them were happy to be on the road again and heading to Arizona.
    “You still packin’ heat?” Alexa said with a laugh she couldn’t stifle.  “I’ve always wanted to say that.”   She was talking through her laughter.
    Cayman just shook his head.  “Movies make that oh so much more glamorous than it really is.  And I’m finding when you get shot in real life, it hurts way more than they show on film.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Five
     
    “Well,” said Cayman, teasing, “you’re not as bad a driver as everyone says