If You Know Her: A Novel of Romantic Suspense

glaze. She’d done some pottery herself in college and she was in awe—apparently he did something really, really special.”
    He stopped, let his mind adjust to the horror. It was going to come out, all of it. “You know what he told her? He was using a special blend of ashes in some of his glazes. Ashes, Hope. He said it gave the glazes a special luster, a life of their own.”
    She went white. “Oh, God. Remy.”
    She went to slip her arms around him, but he came off the bench, shaking his head.
    “No. For God’s sake, how can you stand to touch me now, Hope?”
    Silence. It was a heavy, awkward silence, broken only when he turned to look at her, making himself ask, “I guess maybe you don’t want to, now that you’ve thought about it, huh?”
    “Don’t be an idiot,” she snapped. She stood and jabbed him in the chest with a finger, hard. “Why shouldn’t I want to touch you?
You
had nothing to do with what
he
did. Did
you
know what he was doing? Did you help him? Did you cover for him?”
    “God, no!” He stared at her, horrified.
    “Then why should my feelings for you change?”
    He shook his head, still so full of the horror, the shock. He couldn’t think. She shouldn’t be near him now, shouldn’t touch him.
    Her hands, small, but so strong, closed around his shirt. “Damn it, you bastard.” Hope shook him. “I
love
you. I’ve spent my entire life waiting for somebody like you and if you think I’m going to let somebody like Carter interfere with that, then you better get that out of your head
now
.”
    “Hope—”
    “No.” She cut him off, shaking her head. She let go of his shirt, reached up to cup his face. “I just need to know
one
thing, and only
one
thing. Do you love me?”
    Staring into her soft green eyes, Remy sighed. Something was trying to work past the horror inside—something
true
, something
clean
and
real
. It was
her
. Hope. Pressing his brow to hers, he said softly, “More than my own life.”
    “Then nothing else matters.
Nothing
.”
    Lena lay on the hospital bed, stroking a hand down Puck’s side. She hadn’t been hurt, but her boy had. Poor Puck. And Ezra wasn’t about to let her go off to the vet to tend him, either. Thankfully, though, they could, and would, unofficially, check on broken ribs and stuff here.
    “You did good, boy,” she whispered, staring off into the darkness. Achingly alone. Puck was asleep, although unconscious would have been a better word. Apparently Carter had shown up loaded for bear, or close to it. He’d shot Puck with one of the tranquilizer darts and since he was still breathing …
    Tears leaked out of her eyes. Squeezing them closed, she pressed her face against soft golden fur. “Hang in there, boy. You have to.”
    A hand caressed her hair.
    “Ezra.”
    Shooting upright, she turned and clamped her arms around him. The sobs that had threatened her for the past few hours were perilously close, but she fought them back. Not here. Not while they were in this cold, sterile hospital.
    “You okay?” he murmured, pressing his lips to her brow. “The nurses said you don’t want anybody in here with you.”
    “The only people I’d want are all too busy,” she said, trying not to let her voice break. “I guess you mighthave a few pieces of paper to fill out. And I guess one of the others is getting patched up—but hell, Law’s leg can’t be that bad, right?”
    “Nah. Bet it’s nothing worse than a paper cut,” he murmured, humoring her.
    “Yeah. So why is he being a baby and not in here with me? Or Hope and …” She almost said Remy, but then she stopped, ashamed. “Man, Remy must be reeling.”
    Sick at heart, she leaned against Ezra. “And Roz—damn it!” She stiffened and sat up. “Ezra … is Roz here?”
    He stroked her hair. “Yeah, sweetheart. She’s here. I’ll take you to her in a minute. I just needed some time with you first.” His arms came around her, tight and strong. “Damn it, Lena. I was so scared …”
    “Yeah.” Breathing him in, she relaxed against him. “Me, too.”
    “Roz?”
    There was no sound. Turning her face to Ezra, she whispered, “Is she awake?”
    “Yeah.” Ezra blew out a breath and then glanced down at his wife for a moment before looking back at Roz. She lay on her side, knees drawn up to her chest, staring dully at the wall.
    She’d been like that for hours. He’d hoped she’d respond to Lena, but … “I guess I’ll walk you back to your