Free Mallory Rush - [Outlawsand Heroes 02] by Dead or Alive Page B

was momentarily speechless. "How did you know?" she finally said.
    "I'm not really sure. I just... knew." Noble's perplexed expression gave way to one of such absolute connection that she felt as if they were linked by an indelible bond of empathy. "Tell me, Lori. When you were a little girl, did you really jump from a roof, thinking you could fly?"
    "I was six. I broke my leg." Stunned and disconcerted, she wondered how much had he absorbed in his deep-sleep state. "Do you remember anything else I told you about myself?"
    He thought for a while, then shook his head. "Bits and pieces, but very little comes together to make any sense."
    Lori sighed her relief while a part of her was somewhat disappointed. The idea of Noble knowing just about everything there was to know about her held a certain appeal.
    Still holding hands, she felt his thumb stroke hers.
    "Something does come to me now. It was about how your husband died—not naturally, some sort of tragedy. Will you tell me again?" When she hesitated, he added, "I'm almost as good a listener awake as I am asleep."
    "Okay," she slowly agreed. "Mick was a policeman and he was gunned down in a bank robbery." A soft groan came from Noble and she saw distress cloud his face. "You look upset."
    "I—" He took a deep breath and let it out on another groan. "Yes, this upsets me greatly. Had I known—remembered—I..." He grimaced. "I wouldn't have been so beastly about demanding the return of my gun."
    "That's okay. Really, it is. These are threatening surroundings for you—and besides, you come from a time when most men kept their guns as close to their hips as they would their wallets these days."
    "You're very gracious, Lori. More than I deserve," he said with a thread of humbleness she didn't understand. No matter, it plucked at her heartstrings anyway.
    Hands touching, their gazes connected, Lori deemed him an exceptionally sensitive man, even by current standards.
    "Do you wish to tell me more?" he asked her, his voice oddly strained.
    Maybe if she did, just maybe she could sleep for a change. And maybe if she did, Noble would feel free to unburden himself to her. She sensed that something was troubling him, deeply, something beyond his obvious turmoil.
    No doubt it was rooted in his past, perhaps sprang from those secrets he had mentioned in the tub. But any man who thought being afraid made him a sissy wouldn't easily part with his secrets or his darker demons within.
    Whatever they were, she couldn't imagine them being any darker than her own.

 
     
     
    Chapter 8

     
    "I was on duty at the hospital when it happened. Mick was rushed into the emergency room and he was so—so covered with blood that I didn't know who it was at first. But he was still alive and I heard him call my name while all these other people tried to drag me away from this—this man I loved who was calling for me."
    Lori... sweet... heart. I'm sorry... so... sorry. She heard his voice again, so clear she could remember the shallow wheeze of his breath, the gurgling sound in his throat as he began to asphyxiate on... blood. So much blood.
    Struggling for breath herself, she whispered, "I could hear him only because I was clinging to the stretcher, kissing him—I was kissing Mick and telling him that I loved him and everything would be all right. I told him that I wouldn't let him die, that I'd never forgive him if he did. And then—and then... He died." Tears welling in her eyes, she stared hard at Noble. "Know what? I still haven't forgiven him. It's too much to forgive."
    "God," Noble breathed out. "Dear God."
    "I haven't forgiven Him either." Knuckling tears from her cheeks, she said too brightly, "so, there you have it. My very own passion play, filled with murder and angst, a high drama worthy of the stage. Hey, even Shakespeare couldn't have done better if he'd written the script himself."
    Her mirthless laughter fell like brittle chips of ice in the too still room. But then she felt his