Free Chasing Adonis by Gina Ardito Page B

promised
Tyler would always come first in your life.”
    “And that still goes. But there’s something I need to work
on here tonight. I know Cassia would understand. A woman’s life might hang in
the balance. Besides, Tyler’s in the best hands when he’s with you. Please?
It’s important.”
    Her heavy sigh precipitated her surrender. “O-kay. But just
for tonight. Tyler needs structure right now.”
    “I know. And I promise I’ll make it up to him. And to you.
Thanks, Mom, you’re the best.”
    “Don’t you forget it,” she said with a laugh.
    “I love you.” Since Cassia’s death, he never missed an
opportunity to tell his family how important they were to him.
    “I love you, too, Shane,” she replied then hung up.
    After placing the phone back on the cradle, he raced out of
the precinct.
     
    ~~~~
     
    When Adara awoke this time, she sensed a presence standing
by her bed before she opened her eyes.
    Oh, no. Not again.
    She couldn’t take anymore of Ted’s simpering adoration. So
much sweetness might send her into a diabetic coma.
    “Come on, dearie,” a female voice called to her. “Wake up. I
know you can do it.”
    Her lashes fluttered, and through their filters, she spotted
a white uniform top splashed with pink and blue butterflies. Thank God, she
thought as she forced her eyelids open, a nurse.
    “Welcome back,” the woman said with a wide grin. “It’s just
about dinnertime here, and I figured I’d check your vitals before you taste the
food. How are you feeling?”
    She smacked her dry lips and tried to sit up, but a wave of
lightheadedness overwhelmed her, and she sank into the pillow. “Woozy,” she
croaked. “And my tongue feels like sandpaper.”
    The nurse nodded in understanding. “That’s the effects of
the painkillers. I’ll fill your water pitcher. And you’ll get apple juice with
your meal.”
    “Yum.”
    “Don’t knock it.” She slipped a blood pressure cuff over
Adara’s bare arm and a plastic coated thermometer under her tongue. “That juice
might turn out to be the best part of the meal today. You never know what
you’re gonna get…” Her voice trailed off as she tended to the waist-high
apparatus of blinking lights and assorted wires at her side.
    With the punch of a button, the cuff on Adara’s upper arm
exerted so much pressure, she thought her eyes would pop out of their sockets.
Then a low-pitched buzz pierced the quiet, and the cuff’s python-like squeeze
relaxed.
    “One-ten over sixty,” the nurse announced, removing the
thermometer and sliding off the cuff. “And no fever. That’s good.” She picked
up the pink plastic pitcher from the table near the bed. “I’ll get you some
water now.”
    “Thank you,” Adara managed.
    “You’re welcome, dearie.” The pretty RN winked and headed
for the door, dragging the machine behind her. “That’s why I’m here. To make
your recovery easier.”
    While she walked, her neck was turned toward Adara in the
bed, and she collided with the visitor coming in.
    “Oh, I’m sorry,” a familiar male voice said.
    Adara sat up and looked into the doorway in delighted
surprise. “Detective Griffin? Is that you?”
    “‘Fraid so,” he said with a grin.
    Good thing she already reclined. A smile like that could
send her reeling if she happened to be on her feet. The expression never left
his face as he approached her bedside, but his eyes didn’t look directly at
her. His gaze seemed to study the sheets covering her feet. Adara had the eerie
feeling she knew what that meant: either the detective had bad news, or he had really bad news.
    Forcing a light tone, she asked, “Do you have information
for me already?”
    Those blue eyes snapped up to her face as if jolted with a
thousand volts. “Not exactly. I took a chance, based on your last name, that
you were a fan of Greek cuisine.” He held up a white paper bag. “Gyros,
souvlaki, and something called ‘kookaburras’, sugar cookies, for