“Miss?”
Holly blinked open crusty eyes. A nurse stood over her, a square piece of white paper in her hands.
“I thought you might like to read this,” the young woman said, laying the newspaper on the edge of Holly’s gurney. “When you feel up to it, that is. I saw the man with you, and I thought...” She trailed off.
Holly frowned blearily. Her head still hurt, but she didn’t feel as lukewarm as she had after... after she had passed out. Funny. Why had she passed out again? The last thing she remembered was Hermes leaving.
Oh well.
The nurse left, and Holly pushed herself up into the pillows. She picked up the newspaper, frowned at the tremble in her fingers, and looked at the front page, skipping the smaller titles. The picture in the center drew her attention. A tall, well-built man, in his early thirties, an absurdly large traveler’s hat shading sharp blue eyes...
Holly sucked in a breath. Hermes. The jerk. What had he done to get on the front pages?
Then her gaze flitted to the bold title underneath the photo. “Legendary visitor was found in his hotel room.”
Oh, no.
Holly flipped to the thirteenth page, where the story was covered in detail. She scanned the text.
Oh, no. Hermes...! Holly tossed the newspaper to the side and glowered at the temperature meter hooked to her wrist. I’ve gotta tell Jack.
A commotion outside his door roused Jack from his catharsis. He stirred, unwilling to let go of the nightmarish images, then sighed and turned over when the shouting continued. “Can you give a guy some peace and quiet?” he shouted hoarsely.
The door crashed open, and Holly stumbled in. A wire dangled from a needle in her wrist, and two orderlies had their fingernails hooked in her hospital shift.
Holly raised her wire-less hand, waving a newspaper in the air. “It’s Hermes!” she bawled over the orderlies’ attempts to get her back to her own room. “He made the front page!”
Jack sat up, a hot grip clenching around his heart. “Going to jail, I hope.”
“No.” Holly scowled her fiercest scowl at the two young men. “Get your hands off me. I’m fine. If Jack doesn’t want me around, he’ll tell me.”
Jack flinched. Watch out, Holly, I might kill you instead.
The orderlies sighed, then backed out, leaving the door open. Holly gave it a kick. After it clapped shut, she went over to Jack’s bed. He noticed that she was limping. “Are you all right?”
“Dandy.” She shoved the front page above Jack’s head. He recognized his former mentor immediately.
“What does this have to do with me?”
“Look.” Holly flipped a few pages, then jammed a finger into the paper. “He’s in intensive care.”
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