Heated

Chapter Twenty

Tyler caught the attention of the first nurse we came across as he, Cole, and I barreled into the ER at Cook County Medical. “Elizabeth Rodriguez,” he said. “Car accident. Where?”

“Just one moment and I’ll find out for you.” Her words were calm and her manner efficient, and it was clear that she was used to handling crises. She crossed to a work station and typed something into the computer. “Exam room A. Down the corridor and then to the left.”

Neither man ran, but I still had to in order to keep up with their long strides. I’d changed in a hurry, and when I couldn’t find my shoes, I’d snatched a pair of flip-flops that someone had left in the break room. The flip-flops were a size too big, and slapped at the polished tile floor as I ran.

I still didn’t know exactly what had happened other than that their former employee, Lizzy, had been in a nasty car accident that afternoon. She’d been unconscious for over an hour, which had worried the doctors, but had otherwise gotten away with only severe bruises and lacerations.

The car, apparently, had been completely totaled.

When she’d regained consciousness, she’d asked that the nurse contact the owners of Destiny.

She was asleep when we came in, and in the dim light of the various machines, the mottled purple and red bruises and welts on her face stood out gruesomely.

I hung back as Cole and Tyler approached the bed, and I saw the way their shoulders straightened, saw their posture go rigid with anger over this offense to the human body.

And then—though I hadn’t seen it coming—I saw Cole lash out and smash his fist through the thin, pressboard wall.

I jumped in surprise, but beside him, Tyler didn’t even blink. “Calm down or take it outside, man. She doesn’t need to see you breaking shit.”

“Fuck.” Cole rubbed his hands over his shaved head, and as he turned back toward Lizzy, I caught a glimpse of a dragon tattoo on the back of his neck, the bulk hidden beneath his conservative suit jacket. “Jesus, fuck, just look at her.”

He took a step closer to the hospital bed, then took Lizzy’s hand. I edged farther into the room, then moved down toward the foot so that I could see everyone, but still be out of the way.

Even with two black eyes and a nasty bruise rising on her cheek, I could tell she was pretty. Her blond hair was matted now, but I could tell she wore it in the same style as Amy, shoulder-length with bangs. Her arm was in a cast, and I had no idea about the state of her legs.

At the bedside, Cole gently stroked the fingers of her healthy hand while Tyler ran a gentle hand over her hair.

“Hey, Lizzy girl,” Tyler said. “You in there?”

When there was no answer, he glanced toward Cole. Their eyes met, and I saw so much pity and concern between the two of them that I wanted to cry.

“She worked for you?”

“Used to dance at Destiny,” Tyler said. “Earned her GED a few months ago, and just got her first office job. She’s one of ours,” he added, with a quick glance to me.

I nodded, understanding that she’d been pulled out of the trafficking ring. Poor girl had been through more than anyone should have to endure.

At her bedside, Tyler shook his head as if to clear it. “I’ll need to call Franklin. Get a temp to fill her slot.”

Her chart hung at the foot of the bed, and I flipped through it. I’m no expert, but when you work homicide, vice, or sex crimes long enough, you see the inside of a lot of hospitals and have the occasion to look at more than a few charts. As far as I could tell, Lizzy looked like a woman who had gotten supremely lucky. She’d be in some serious pain for a while, but in the end, bruises would fade and broken bones would heal.

I told them so, not sure if my words would give any comfort or not. To my surprise, it was Cole who turned to look at me. He nodded, one quick motion. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

I’m not sure what compelled me, but I moved from the end of the bed to Tyler’s side. “Do you want me to get you guys anything? Some coffee, maybe, while we wait.”

“No,” Cole said. “I’m good. Appreciate it.”

“Stay,” Tyler said, and as he spoke, he reached for my hand.

I took it without thinking, and as Lizzy stirred, Tyler’s fingers tightened around mine.

“Lizzy. It’s Cole. Wake up, sweetheart.”

At first, she didn’t react, and I feared that she’d fallen back into a deep sleep. Then her eyes fluttered. The left one blinked open, the swollen right one remained glued shut.

“Hey there, kid,” Tyler said, softly. “You’re going to be just fine.”

“Tyler?” I could barely hear her thin, fragile voice.

“Cole’s here, too. Evan’s on his way.”

Cole clutched her hand. “What happened?”

She licked her lips. “Water?”

While Tyler found the water for her, Cole fiddled with the bed. “Do you want to sit up?” he asked, then raised the bed in response to her affirmative nod.

She scanned the room, her eyes stopping on me.

“I’m Sloane,” I said. “I’m a friend of Amy’s.”

“Sloane’s with me,” Tyler said. “Go on. Do you feel up to telling us what happened?”

“My fault—ran a red light.” A tear trickled down her cheek. “The guy I hit?”

“Fine,” Cole assured her. “I asked when I got the first call. Treated at the scene. You didn’t hurt him.”

She nodded, then winced, as she reached again for the water.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have—” Her eyes drooped. “Medicine. I’m sorry. So sleepy.”

“Go back to sleep. You don’t have anything to be sorry about,” Tyler said. “It was an accident. And I’ll get a temp to cover for you. Just take your time, and you can go back to work when you’re well.”

“No.” Her eyes fluttered open. “Franklin … please … shoulda taken … pop job … I don’t …” Her eyes drifted closed, and sleep took her.

Cole tilted his head up to meet Tyler’s eyes.

“Poor kid,” Tyler said.

Cole glanced at me. “You two take my car. You go on to the benefit. I’m going to stay with Lizzy for a while.”

“You sure?”

“Hell, yes.”

Tyler hesitated, then pressed a kiss to Lizzy’s forehead before leading me out.

“It’s horrible,” I said. “She’s lucky, though. It could have been worse.”

Tyler nodded, his expression pensive.

“Did you arrange that job for her?”

“Got her in with Eli Franklin. Solid job for her. Second assistant to Franklin himself. He’s into real estate, and damned successful, too. We were lucky to add him to our client list. Lizzy’s the first placement with him.”

“You mentioned helping the girls at the house find jobs, too,” I said.

He nodded. “I own a placement agency. Knight & Day staffing. I bought the company for a song, and still probably paid too much.”

“I think I remember reading that you owned an agency.” I grinned wryly. “You own so many things it got lost in the list.”

“You could say it’s a pet project. The entire organization was a mess, but I changed the name and put in a hell of a lot of man-hours. In the end it was worth my time, and my investment. It’s turned out to be profitable. And worthwhile.”

“Doesn’t really seem sexy enough for one of Chicago’s leading businessmen,” I teased as we exited the hospital and headed for the emergency parking area where Cole had parked his Range Rover.

“The press is interested in sexy. All I care about is profit and functionality. In this case, I was looking at function. But because I’m a goddamn miracle worker, we’re also turning a tidy profit now.”

“What kind of function? I mean, job placement, obviously, but …”

“The girls,” he said. “The ones you met, of course, but the other staff at Destiny. Waitresses, dancers. A lot of women turn to exotic dancing because they don’t have the money for school. Because they ended up with a kid but no husband. They don’t have the education to make more than minimum wage. K&D helps them out. Placement, tuition assistance, job training.” He lifted a shoulder. “It’s working.”

“K&D helps them out,” I repeated. “You mean you help them out.”

“I do what I can.” We’d arrived at the car.

“Why?”

“Because they deserve better,” Tyler said, opening the door for me. “And if they’re willing to work for it, then I’m willing to help.”

Good pay, good benefits, good policy regarding customer interaction with the girls. A semi-charitable boarding house. And a protective attitude toward those women that melted my heart. It wasn’t the kind of thing I expected a criminal mastermind with a swindler’s heart to say. It wasn’t what I’d expected when I’d made the drive into Chicago.

But I was looking at Tyler with my own eyes. And not the eyes of a woman who’d been soundly and thoroughly seduced. I was seeing the man with eyes trained to see evidence and nuance. And I had to admit that I liked what I was uncovering.

This Tyler was a man who’d raced to the bedside of a girl he employed. A man who had not only rescued women, but had built up an entire support system for them.

Maybe he did have some seedy side businesses, but at his heart, the Tyler I’d seen and touched and fucked was a different breed of man than the one Kevin sought.

Assuming, of course, that I was really seeing the man. Nobody is what they seem.

The possibility that he was showing me only what I wanted to see gnawed at me, but I pushed it away. Both my instincts and the evidence said that I’d seen the real Tyler.

And when you got right down to it, what else was there to look at?

“You’re a good man, Tyler Sharp,” I said softly, once he was seated in the car beside me.

“No, I’m not.” He drew in a long, tired breath. “But I have my moments.”