Page 19 of Fracture
“Good. Keep in touch.”
“You, too. Please.”
“Yes. I will. Be careful. Take care of her, Adam.”
Adam nodded. “I will. We all will.”
Anabelle hugged Adam, then gushed over Raina for a minute before they all filed out of the apartment and left Anabelle to her work.
They made it down to the parking lot before Lorelei realized each of the men was carrying one of her bags. “I’m sorry you’re all taking care of me.”
“That’s why we brought them,” Karli teased. “But we do need to figure out how you’re getting back. Vinnie said he has a vehicle and some of us could maybe ride back with you in that.”
Lorelei’s gaze snapped to his.
He nodded once, not giving anything away.
She wanted to talk to him about what he confessed before they left the hospital, but they hadn’t had a moment alone. “I?—”
“If you’d feel more comfortable with Karli and Cade, I understand,” Vinnie said.
Lorelei shook her head. “No, but I need to keep my leg propped up on the seat. Do you have a backseat?”
“Ooh, I forgot about that,” Karli said. “Maybe I should go with you two, and Cade, you drive home with Adam and Raina.”
“I really don’t want to be stuck with the newlyweds,” Cade teased.
Adam kissed Raina soundly, dipping her back before bringing her upright and smirking at Cade.
“Exactly,” Cade said. “You don’t think you can sit in the back with Lorelei?”
“Let’s go see. Vinnie, where did you park?”
Twenty minutes later, they had a plan. Adam and Raina were going to take a few days for a mini-honeymoon on Cape Cod. Karli, Cade, Vinnie, and Lorelei were going to drive Vinnie’s SUV back to Niagara Falls.
Together.
Yay.
5
Lorelei’s scent filled Vinnie’s SUV. She was in the seat behind him, next to Karli. Cade sat up front. And talked. Cade carried the entire conversation. Vinnie just tried to keep the vehicle between the lines on the road.
“Do you mind stopping sometime soon?” Lorelei asked, her voice small, anxious.
“Are you in pain?” Vinnie asked, not letting anyone else get a word in. He moved to the right lane. An exit was coming up.
“A little.”
Vinnie checked the clock on the dash. “You can have another pain pill in about five minutes. I’ll stop now and we can get you something to eat so you’re not taking it on an empty stomach.”
“Thank you.”
Cade went back to talking. He was trying to tell Lorelei all about their group of friends. The people they all spent time with in Niagara Falls.
Vinnie knew some of the names, and some of the situations, but he didn’t know most of the people. He was a little surprised when Cade mentioned Marcus Patrick. He was Vinnie’s mentor, a man he considered it an honor to know, and an even greater honor to have on his side.
Vinnie kept his mouth shut about knowing Marcus, not wanting to put the police captain in a situation where he wasn’t comfortable. If Cade and the others didn’t know Marcus and Vinnie knew each other, Vinnie wasn’t going to out the relationship.