Lance hated the winding curves here. He was not in the mood to take it slow, even though he knew how dangerous the weaving road could be. Lance wanted nothing more than to get home and let loose with a few beers. Maybe they would help him fall asleep. With his luck, though, he would find his way into another nightmare that would scar his waking hours too. It was a chance he would have to take.

  He continued down the road, taking a sharp turn. As he did, something started to slither up his pant leg.

  “What the fuck?!”

  Lance jerked the steering wheel in reflex. The tires squealed as he tried to gain control of the car. Lance was caught between trying to get the snake away from him and keeping his car from smashing into smithereens.

  “Oh, shit!”

  The car went off the road and down a small embankment. As it did, the trees rolled by so fast it felt like he was traveling at warp speed. Loud bumps and clanks could be heard with every jolting foot the car traveled.

  Seeing that the snake had slid beneath the brake pedal, Lance knew that trying to use the brakes could be just as dangerous as not using them. He took the only course of action he could. When he found his target, Lance yanked the wheel to the right. The last thing he saw was the tree the car was headed for. The car crashed into the tree at breakneck speed, coming to a stop that rendered him unconscious. Steam rose from the engine in a hiss that reveled the creature perched at his feet.

  When Fire and Rescue arrived a short time later, they found him slumped over the steering wheel. The airbag had deployed and was already deflated. His head was bleeding against the steering wheel.

  “We’re here to help you.”

  Lance groaned when he heard the voice near his window. His eyes were barely open as their bright lights shone into his car. It took a moment for him to remember where he was and what had just happened. His first instinct was to protect the rescue workers who were trying to help him.

  “Careful,” he groaned.

  The rescue worker standing next to the car on the driver’s side was the first to hear him. “It’s going to be all right. We’ll get you out of there.”

  Lance tried to push away from the airbag and steering wheel, but all movement seemed impossible right now, for every time he moved, a shooting pain erupted in his head. He felt the need to slip into the dark void that would make the pain disappear, but his duty to protect and serve reared its head once more. “There’s a snake.”

  “What kind of snake?” The worker was instantly on guard.

  “I’m not sure. It all happened so fast.” He tried to find the words that would drive it home. “Probably venomous.”

  The rescue worker’s eyes met his, and understanding passed between them. “Careful. There may be a snake.”

  A female first responder shone her light into the back seat and spotted the snake. “I see it. It’s harmless. Just a black rat snake. Want me to get him?”

  “Nah. He’ll climb out of the car when we get this one out. What’s your name?”

  Lance looked up at the man next to the car. “Lance Knight, Sergeant.”

  “Nice to meet you, Sergeant. We’re going to get you out of here.”

  Now that he knew the snake was not a threat, Lance felt the adrenaline drain from his body. His head drooped back to the wheel, and his eyes closed, despite the man’s attempts to keep him awake.

  As Lance was being pushed up the hill, his eyes opened again. It was a blur of shadows and light as they brought him to the ambulance to buckle him in. As the doors were being closed behind him, Lance could have sworn he saw something that caught his eye, but he lost consciousness before his brain could connect the thoughts.

  Chapter 22

  When he next awoke, Lance blinked away the bright morning light that filtered through the window and fell against the floor of the hospital room they had transported him to the night before. The blip of the monitor next to the bed seemed to duel the cuffs that were randomly taking his blood pressure. His head pounded something awful, and he groaned against the pain as the door opened.

  “Mr. Knight, you’re awake. That’s a good sign.” A nurse in her late twenties entered the room. The pastel scrubs indicated that he was at the St. Bernard Parish Hospital, one of his least favorite places. Hospitals were usually something he avoided like the plague. Finding himself inside one didn’t sit well with him at all.

  “Says you,” he grumbled. His eyes roamed the room, and he saw the white dry-erase board with the Progressive Care Unit emblazoned on the top. At least it was not the ICU. That meant his prognosis was promising. At least, he hoped so. By the way his head was pounding, he was sure his brain would bust out of his head at any point. All he wanted to do was fall back to sleep, which was exactly what he did just before the woman walked out of the room.

  Over the next few hours, the same nurse checked in on him. Each time his eyes opened at the intrusion, the door scraping across the floor sounded like the click of a clip being pushed into a revolver. The nurse, Brandi, leaned over him to check his vitals, which she quickly entered on the tablet she was carrying in her hands.

  “How are we doing, Mr. Knight?”

  Lance squinted and put a hand to his head. “The same as the last time you checked.”

  “I know. You’re getting tired of seeing this face.” Nurse Brandi gave him a pitying glance as she fluffed his pillow under his head.

  “When are you going to let me sleep?” His grumbling voice grated on his own nerves.

  The nurse took no offense at his tone, probably having dealt with enough disgruntled patients to last her a lifetime. She favored him with a pitying smile. “Standard protocol, Mr. Knight. We can’t let you sleep until we’re sure there are no brain bleeds.”

  He fought the urge to act like a petulant child. Lance had never been the best patient when he was sick or injured. His mother had always tolerated the bear he became but had playfully told him that no other woman would put up with it. She was probably right about that. “Can I at least get something for this headache?”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Lance picked up the remote, turned on the TV, and flipped through the channels. He needed something to keep his mind occupied besides the slowly ticking time. Lance finally settled on a college basketball game just to have something else drown out the blipping machines they insisted he be hooked up to. As much as he tried to keep his mind sharp, he was drifting away, despite his nurse’s orders to stay awake. Sometimes, a man just had to sleep.

  The next time he woke, the room was dark. The sun no longer filtered in through the windows. Only the glow of light from the machines beside him and the television on the wall lit the room. As his eyes adjusted, Lance felt a wariness settle over him as if someone were watching him. He tried to sit up in the bed, but his head started to spin in crazy circles that made him feel like he was riding a merry-go-round.

  “Relax, Mr. Knight.” A new charge nurse was leaving the bathroom attached to his room.

  “Where is the other one?”

  “Brandi? She works the day shift. I’m Lydia.” This nurse was older than the last one, by ten years at least. Maybe in her late thirties. “Are you hungry?”

  “Hungry?” Lance blinked at her in confusion, but even though his mind was a little fuddled, his stomach clearly knew exactly what she was asking as it loudly announced its answer.

  “I have your food here.” She slid the wooden table closer to his bed.

  Lance was surprised he had not noticed it earlier. It smelled palatable, which was saying a lot for hospital food in general. He had always found hospital food to be bland and unexciting. “Did you bring an extra Jell-O?”

  “Extra Jell-O?” She gave him a half-smile. “Brandi may have left a note about that. Don’t worry. I managed to smuggle an extra one out for you, Mr. Knight.”

  “I bet you do that for all your patients.” He gave her his most charming smile, not because he wanted to flirt with her, but because he was trying to figure out how he could get her to move along his release papers. Lance didn’t want to be chained to a hospital bed, especially not when someone was planting snakes everywhere in his life. The idea that one could be hidden beneath the covers of his bed here and now made his skin crawl.

  At that moment, Gina stepped into the room. She saw him flirting with the nurse and shook her head. “I see you’re no worse for the wear.”

  The nurse unwrapped his straw and placed it in his cup for him before moving away from the bed. Her lips pursed in amusement as she finished preparing his food for him. “You seem to be situated now. I’ll be back to check on you soon.”

  “Did you talk her into a sponge bath yet?” Gina teased him.

  “No. I don’t plan on being here that long.” He would already be out of this joint if he had any choice. His head was pounding a little less as the hours ticked by, which meant the brain bleed had been downgraded to a concussion.

  “How long you in for?” Gina pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down.

  “Tomorrow morning. And it can’t come soon enough.”

  Gina cut right to the chase. “So, it was another snake? That seems rather suspect.”

  “Like we’re getting too close to finding the answers?”

  “Exactly. Do you think Sasha planted it?”

  Her questions were sound. He had thought the same thing himself, but it was hard to tell from a hospital bed. Lance needed to be out there searching through the weeds, so to speak. “I don’t know, but that’s something I’m going to find out as soon as I can get out of here.”

  Gina put her hand on his arm. “If there’s anything I can do.”

  A small knock interrupted them as Lexie stood in the open doorway. Her eyes were taking in the two of them with a false smile on her face. “Well, aren’t you cozy?”

  Lance looked at her in surprise. When did she get here? And how did she know he was in the hospital? Captain Donovan had made sure to keep his admittance under a tight lid. Even the press had been kept out of the loop on this one. She must have been keeping tabs on him, which would have been an attractive feature had she not kept him in the dark. He saw Gina checking Lexie out curiously and realized he would have to do the awkward introduction just to keep both of them off his back later. “Lexie. Have you met our coroner, Gina Goodwin?”

  Her eyes told him that she was more than irritated. Lexie was jealous, and it was not an attractive look on her in the least. “Can’t say that I have. Am I interrupting something?”

  Gina retracted her hand, then clasped the other one in front of her. A nervous hint of something rippled beneath the surface as she answered Lexie. “Not at all. I was just checking in on Lance.”

  Lance glanced at Gina and, for the first time, thought he saw something more than concern written on her face. The crack in the wall she put up around her told him she was more fond of him than he’d first thought. In another life, he might have been attracted to her, but in his current circumstances, the only headspace he had available was for solving the case in front of him. Nothing existed past that moment.

  He gave her a slight nod before he dismissed her from the room. “I’ll check in with you later, Gina.”

  Her eyes shuttered, and the emotions revealed seconds before disappeared. Instead, the resolved face of a polished professional reappeared. She smiled politely as she turned to address Lexie. “Sure. He’s all yours.”

  Lexie didn’t return the smile. Her lips stayed in a cold thin line as she responded, “Yes, he is.”

  Lance didn’t miss Gina’s frown as she turned to leave the room. He narrowed his eyes at Lexie. “Was that necessary?”

  Lexie shrugged as she crossed her arms over her chest. A flirtatious smile spread across her face. “I have to mark my territory.”

  Mark her territory? Since when was he a designated frontier? He was not a possession. “I don’t belong to you, Lexie.”

  “No? I’m pretty sure I’ve marked you before.” She stepped closer and let her hand touch his face. The humor she had tried to reflect earlier was now replaced with concern. “Does it hurt?”

  “A little.” Lance pulled his face away from her touch and saw the way she retracted her fingers.

  “You didn’t get bit, did you?”

  “Bit?” Lance felt a warning bell go off in his head. Why it rang, he was not quite sure.

  “I heard there was another snake.”

  Exactly how had she heard that? Lance was pretty sure all of the details were being withheld at this point. She was acting a little suspicious. Then again, maybe he was just imagining that. His head was still pounding furiously, making his thoughts a little fuzzy. He struggled to maintain his focus. “Non-venomous. It was the crash that did the damage. How did you know I was in an accident?”

  Lexie sidestepped his question like a pro. “I called the office. Your captain told me you were in an accident. I came as soon as I found out.”

  “I see.”

  Lexie reached down to stroke his face with her fingers. “I was worried about you.”

  Worried? That was feasible but less than likely. Lance was convinced something else was going on here. He pulled his face away from her hand. “You do realize we’re on a break, right?”

  “Does that mean I shouldn’t worry about you? I love you, Lance.” Tears lined the bottom of her eyelids, but they felt like crocodile tears, forced and unwelcome.

  Every inch of Lance felt wary of her right now. Maybe it was the fact that he was still trying to clear his head. Right now, everyone seemed like a suspect to him. Anyone could be working for the Queen of Diamonds, even Gina. Although seeing Gina as a killer was something he didn’t want to imagine. With her medical knowledge, she could kill someone without ever leaving a trace.

  Lance ignored the emotion on Lexie’s face and continued with his resolve. “I need time, Lexie. I made that clear.”

  Her face hardened at his words. “How much time?”

  As long as it took, maybe even forever, he wanted to say, but those words would have fallen flat on Lexie’s ears. She didn’t appear to be in the mood to hear what he was saying to her. Something about her eyes made him question everything he had known about her, for there was a dark light that he had never noticed before. Had it been there all along? Was this just the jealous monster that lay beneath the surface? Or was there something else there that he should be aware of?

  “I’m not sure, Lexie.” At this point, letting her think there was a chance might be a mistake that would bite him in the ass later, but something told him that completely cutting ties would keep him from figuring out the piece to the puzzle before him.

  Lexie stepped away from him and put her hands on her hips. “I’m not a patient woman, Lance. Don’t wait too long.”

  “If you don’t mind, I’d like to get some rest.” Lance put his left hand to his head and feigned extra pain. If she wanted to play games, he could too.

  Lexie pouted as she stepped closer. She patted his right hand in a consoling manner. “Of course, baby. I’ll check on you later.”

  Lance watched her leave the room. “Baby?”

  She had never called him that before, nor had her voice seemed so sickly sweet, and it was not an attractive tone for her. If she thought he would be here waiting for her, she had another thing coming. He thoroughly planned to be out of here before she could. Every inch of him warned that she was hiding something from him. He was not going to rest until he figured it out.

  Lance reached for his cell phone, sitting on the small tray beside his bed. He checked for any messages before he pressed the number that would connect him to the one person who might have the answers he needed. He was relieved when the captain answered on the first ring. “Captain?”

  “Sergeant. What can I do for you?”

  “Lexie just came to see me. Did she contact you by any chance?”

  “Lexie? The special agent?”

  Shit. That’s right. No one knew that he and Lexie were seeing each other. Lance had always kept his personal life private. He fought the need to backpedal, knowing whatever questions would come next, he would deal with later. Right now, he needed answers. “Yes.”

  “I haven’t talked to her since we first spoke to her.”

  “She just told me she called you. She also knew about the snake; that was the one detail we kept out of all the reports.”

  “Then how did she know?” Captain Donovan seemed to trail off at the end of that question as if he were coming to the same conclusion that Lance was trying to avoid.

  “Either she’s really good at her job, or—”

  Captain Donovan cursed under his breath. “She’s hiding something. But what?”

  “I’m about to find out.” Lance was determined to get to the bottom of it, even if it meant leaving the hospital before his body was ready.

  “Like hell you are. Stay put, Sergeant. You’re there for a reason.”

  That may be so, but Lance was not about to follow that directive right now. Every nerve ending was tingling suspiciously. Lexie was up to something. He was sure of it. “I’ll check in with you later, Captain.”

  “Damn it, Sergeant. If you leave the hospital, so help me—”

  Lance hung up the phone before Captain Donovan could finish that statement. He was going to find his answers, no matter the outcome. “Sorry, Captain. Time to catch a snake.”

  Chapter 23

  Pulling the IV from his arm, Lance winced as a slight burning rippled through his arm. He held his hand on it to make sure no blood came out. Yanking the hospital gown from his body, he then started to remove the leads that were connected to him. He ignored the beeping machines as they alerted the nursing staff to his room.

  Nurse Lydia made her way into the room with a nervous smile mixed with relief. One look at the leads that dangled on the floor, and she was ready to tear him a new one. “What are you doing?”

 

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