“Forget about it.” She picked up her pace. The reality of what she’d found out earlier slammed back at her. She still couldn’t believe it. As if she’d ever given him any reason to not trust her. Even if she had, that still gave him no right. She’d always known Alex to be over the top and temperamental. She’d felt someone following her all along. The whole time she thought it’d been Bruce.
Alex’s main concern when he showed up at the hospital was Luke. He had far too many details about her and Luke. Like hell he was just looking out for her. How dare he.
“I will for now, Valerie, but we really have to talk.”
She stopped just before they reached the elevator and faced him. “Talk about what, Alex? Don’t you already know everything? Didn’t you get them to dig up everything you just had to know about my private life?”
A nurse walked by, and Alex glanced at her then back at Valerie but said nothing. She didn’t want to make another scene so she pressed the button for the elevator. “Go home, Alex. I’m gonna be here all night.”
“I wanna be here for you, Valerie.”
“They only allow family in the ICU. I can’t be around you right now anyway.” The elevator door opened and she stepped in. Alex stared at her. “Go home.”
“I love you, baby. I’m sorry.”
The doors closed and Valerie felt her emotions switch gears again. She still couldn’t believe he’d do such a thing. How much did he know about her night with Luke? Did he honestly expect her to talk about it? The tears rolled down her cheeks as she walked slowly down the empty hallway. Still stinging from the betrayal, she took a deep breath, wiped away the tears, and entered her fathers’ room again.
***
Alarmed and not completely sure where he was, Alex sat up. The muffled ringing continued. It took him a moment to realize he’d knocked out on the sofa. Bright sunlight streamed in from the window. He stood still and waited for the phone to ring again. It came from under him. He reached in between the sofa cushion and pulled it out. It was Romero. He also noticed he had other missed calls.
“What happened?”
“Where’ve you been? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you.”
Alex stood up and ran his fingers through his hair. He started toward the bedroom. “Asleep. I was up most the night. What’s going on? Is Valerie okay?”
“She’s fine, but Mr. X may have picked up a lead on Bruce’s next move.”
Alex stopped. “When?”
“Soon. He hasn’t mentioned an exact date in the journal yet, but he keeps making reference to D-day fast approaching. So, he’s checking every few hours for updates.”
D-day? Alex started walking again. He had to take a shower and go talk to Valerie again. He needed to explain the whole thing to her. “Is Valerie still at the hospital?”
Romero was silent for a moment. “No… that’s why I called you earlier. She left about an hour ago. Luke picked her up.”
Alex stopped again, the drumming in his ear starting up. What was she doing? She knew he was watching her now. He gripped the phone. “Where’d they go?”
“To her office, then she jumped in her own car and went back to her apartment.”
“Her apartment?” For some reason hearing that felt worse than hearing she’d asked Luke to pick her up instead of calling him.
“Yeah, she’s been there for a while now. My guess is she’s getting ready and then going back to the hospital.”
Alex thought about her wanting to bail before when she’d been upset. He knew she was mad but… “Let me know where she goes next. I’ll be in the shower, so if it’s anytime in the next few minutes, just leave a message or a text.”
It really had begun to feel like he was watching now for other reasons than just her protection. He tossed his phone on his bed trying to get the visual of her and Luke out of his head, and then it hit him. He picked up his phone again. Maybe she did try to call him before calling Luke. Last night when he got home, he tried calling her, and again she hadn’t picked up.
He scrolled through his missed calls. Two were from Romero and one from Sal, none from Valerie.
Since she was back at her apartment, maybe she could talk now. Alex tried her cell phone. After the second ring he thought of the way things had been the entire time they’d been apart, her never answering or returning his calls. To hell if they were going back to that.
Never again.
To his relief she answered on the third ring. “Hey.” She sounded down.
“Hey, baby. You Okay?”
“Yeah, just tired.”
So, was he, but at the moment he didn’t think she’d sympathize so instead he asked, “Where are you?”
“I’m sure you already know, Alex. Or did they not check in with you yet?”
Well, this certainly wasn’t the best time to ask her why she had Luke pick her up instead of anyone else. He was quiet for a moment. “About that, Val. We really need to talk. I know you’re upset but—”
“Alex, I don’t want to talk about this. Not now. I have too much to deal with right now.”
Alex sighed sitting down on his bed. He wouldn’t press. Not yet. “Okay… how’s your dad?”
“Better. When I left, they were running some tests. If all goes well, he may be released today.”
He smiled, finally some good news. With everything going on the last thing Valerie needed was the added stress of her dad in the hospital. “That’s good, sweetheart. I’m glad to hear it.” Almost afraid to ask but needing to, he took a deep breath. “So, you’ll be home tonight?”