“You knew that before this happened, didn’t you?” She took his hand. “The doctors said it must’ve been going on for twenty-four hours or longer.”
“I suspected.”
She frowned. “And yet you said nothing.”
“There was too much riding on what I was trying to do. You know that.”
“It doesn’t matter. Sooner would’ve been better, Virgil. Now it’s gone into your blood.”
He gave her a wry smile. “Does that mean I’m going to die?”
“Quit being so glib. You could!”
“Come on, I’m going to be fine.”
She kissed his knuckles. “You’re so reckless,” she murmured.
“You are, too,” he said. “Or you wouldn’t be hanging out with me. What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s late, for one thing.”
“So?”
“We’ve been over the rest of it before.”
She gestured for him to stop returning to that old territory. “Don’t bother giving me another list of your shortcomings. I’ve made up my mind.”
“You have?” He sobered, studied her. “And what have you decided?”
“That unless you’re secretly a selfish bastard who’s nothing like what you seem, you’re exactly what I want.”
“I’m afraid to count on us lasting,” he admitted.
“Yeah, well, getting together is a risk for both of us, right?”
“One you’re willing to take? Have you really thought about it, Peyton?”
“In the past few days, I haven’t thought of much else.”
He raised his other hand, ran a finger down her cheek. “For your sake, I wish I could talk you out of it. But for mine… See? Maybe I am a selfish bastard.”
“You have a right to be happy.” She laid her head on his chest and could hear his heart beating. He smoothed her hair. “Are you worried that I might not be able to have children?” she asked at length.
“We’re talking about children?”
She lifted her head to see his face. “If you want kids, it’s something to consider.”
“Are you prequalifying me for marriage?” he asked with a laugh.
“Just confirming a few things before we go any further.”
“You don’t think it’s a little too soon?”
“Given your projected life span? We have to keep things moving.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him.
“I want kids. But if it doesn’t work out, we’ll have each other.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.” He fell silent again but continued to stroke her hair. Then he said, “Do you know if Laurel’s okay?”
“I’m positive she’s fine, but I’ll check on her in the morning, just to be safe. She called me earlier.”
“How?” “Wallace.”
“He gave her your number?”
“She insisted on getting some word about your welfare.”
“Still, what a bastard. I told him she wasn’t supposed to have any information.”
Clearly Rick had been exasperated and hadn’t wanted to deal with her. And there was his divorce, which seemed to be making life difficult for him. But…it was almost as if Rick knew Operation Inside was coming to a close before they did. “Laurel’s missing you. She told me to tell you she loves you,” Peyton said.
“I’ll be glad when I don’t have to worry about her anymore. What happened to Buzz?”
“He’s in the SHU. So are his friends. They’ll all be charged with attempted murder.”
“He can kiss his parole goodbye.”
“At least he gets to be just like his hero.”
“Detric Whitehead?”
“Who else?”
He toyed with her fingers. “What about the C.O.?”
“John Hutchinson? He’s here in the hospital, in even worse shape than you are. Last I heard, they were still fighting to save his life.”
His eyes closed briefly, then reopened. He was too tired, too sick for this, and yet he kept talking. “He’s dirty. You know that, right?”
She’d suspected it. Shortly after she’d arrived at the hospital, she’d received a call from Rosenburg who was investigating the latest incident in the dining hall. He said the C.O.s who were there when it happened, especially one named Greg Mortenson, felt there might’ve been some deal between Hutchinson and the HF that’d facilitated the whole thing. “I’ll look into it. He certainly won’t be working at the prison anymore. But whether or not he becomes an inmate will depend on what we can prove.”
“He set me up.”
She should’ve had John fired when everything didn’t add up the last time he’d caused trouble. She’d been trying to give him the benefit of every doubt. And she’d had the warden taking his side, too. But he could’ve cost Virgil his life. “Then you’ll testify against him. If he survives.”
“I—”
“That’s enough talking for now. Get some rest, okay? I’ll be right here.”
He couldn’t seem to rest; he was too intent on making sure she heard what he had to say. “He can tell us who killed the judge, Peyton.”
She sat up. “How do you know?”
“He said something about it when he assumed I wouldn’t live long enough to share the information.”
John… The thought of what he’d done disgusted her. What a hypocrite! She’d expected so much more from him. “I’ll make the police aware of it. If I know John, he’ll be willing to cough up any information he has if it means they’ll go easier on him as a result.” She gave Virgil’s hand a squeeze. “Come on, now, get some rest.”
“Wait, there’s one more thing…”
“Nothing matters more than you taking it easy.”
“But I don’t understand how it happened. One minute, I could feel that everything was, for the most part, okay. Buzz was still trying to recruit me. The HF seemed tentatively open to the idea. And then, suddenly, it was as if a cold front had moved in.”
“It was The Crew,” she explained. “Somehow they found out where you were and paid a visit to Detric Whitehead to alert him.”
“How?”
She remembered his friend, Rex McCready, who’d called so many times, trying to warn them. But she didn’t mention him. Virgil was already too riled up. He was even trying to sit when he needed to let his body heal.