Watch Me by Brenda Novak Read Free Book Online Page B

wouldn’t just go on her way, hoping the police would take care of it. That had been her parents’ approach and it hadn’t worked, had it?
    Nausea roiled in her stomach. Closing her eyes, she focused on Cain’s cologne because it seemed like the only raft in this undulating sea of uncertainty, fear and pain. “Hang on. Just hang on,” she breathed.
    “Sheridan?”
    The voice that came out of the dark made her heart jump into her throat—until she realized it was Cain’s. Evidently, she hadn’t imagined the smell of his cologne. He was there, cloaked in shadow, sitting in the chair in the corner. And she got the impression he’d been with her for some time. Judging from his lack of movement and the scratchiness of his voice, she’d awakened him. “Cain?”
    She heard a rasp as he dragged a hand over the beard-growth on his chin. “Yeah, it’s me.”
    “It’s late, isn’t it?” she asked in confusion.
    “Two or three in the morning.”
    His presence bolstered her spirits even more than she would’ve expected. He wasn’t part of her family or her circle of friends, but he was company. “I didn’t know I had a visitor.”
    “I tried to wake you earlier, but you didn’t stir.”
    “It’s the drugs. I’m still groggy.” Careful not to move her throbbing head, she eased herself onto her side. She couldn’t see his face, but now that she knew where to look, she recognized his feet beneath a hospital-issue blanket. “What are you doing here?”
    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 herhead 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