Betraying Innocence (36 page)

Her father shook his head. “Heather, that isn’t necessary—”

Mrs. Ramirez stopped them both with a sharp shake of her head. “I won’t let either of you take the fall for this.”

“But I’m the one—”

“No, you’re not!” she said sharply, her blue eyes
glittered like gems in the semi darkness. “You were never here.” She snatched the bat from Richard’s hand. “Now go!”

Her father touched Ana’s arm, nudging her out of her stupor and propelling her towards the stairs. His gaze remained fixed on Mrs. Ramirez.

“There’ll be questions…”

She nodded. “I’ll handle it. Go!”

“Rafe…” Ana turned to look at his still form.

“I’ll take care of him, as I should have been
doing all these years.”

After getting her mother from the twin’s room, her father led them back through the yards to their house just as
the spinning blue and red lights shattered the night.

Ana

“The doctors say he’ll be fine,” Mrs. Ramirez said when Ana and her parents met her at the hospital later that night. “Both of them,” she added with a sad little smile. “But Dan will need a few more days before he’s taken into custody.”

Ana
broke into a wide grin. “So he’s getting arrested?”

The other woman
shrugged. “The sheriff wants to question him once he wakes up, but Rafe’s wounds and my story are enough to collaborate what I told the sheriff. He assures me that Dan won’t be released for a while. I still have to testify, but … I know he won’t be coming back.” A small grin curled her lips. “Those were some really good swings.”

Ana laughed, although she didn’t feel very happy about it. “Five years of little league.”

“It shows.” Mrs. Ramirez’s smile faded. “Thank you, Ana. I … you saved his life. I can’t even think of what might have happened if you hadn’t shown up. He would have killed Rafe this time. I’m sure of it and I…” She broke off, rolling her eyes heavenward as they glistened with unshed tears. “It would have been my fault. I knew what Dan was like. I should have left him the first time he raised a hand to me. I should have left when Rafe started throwing himself between us and him. If anything had happened to him tonight…”

“Hey.” Ana’s mom stepped forward and enveloped the blonde in a fierce embrace. “
Everything is okay now.”

Mrs. Ramirez shook her head, tears streaking down her cheeks. “I should have been the one protecting him.”

“It’s over now,” Ana’s mom said soothingly. “You and the kids are safe.”

“And I owe it to you guys.” She smiled wetly at each of them. “Thank you.”

Choked by the lump in her throat, Ana just nodded. She bit her lip until the burn of tears had been subdued before attempting to speak.

“Can I see him?”

Mrs. Ramirez nodded, stepping aside to let her pass. “He was awake when I was in there.”

He was still awake when Ana slipped through the door and into the dimly lit room. He lay propped against
several pillows, a knitted blanket thrown over his legs. There was an IV hooked into his arm and a heart monitor beeping above his head, but he looked okay despite the thick, purple ring circling his neck.

His brown eyes dropped from the ceiling and fixed on her.
When he spoke, his voice was cracked and hoarse like he’d spent the night screaming at a
KISS
concert.

“Hey.”

She padded over to the bed and took the hand closest to her. “Hey, how are you?”

“Throat’s sore,” he rasped. “Mom told me what you did
…”

“I’m sorry.”

His eyebrow lifted. “For saving my life?”

“
For not getting there sooner,” she replied seriously.

He snorted, raising his free hand to her cheek. “
Wish I could have seen it. Mom said you were amazing.”

She captured his other hand and dropped her gaze. “I was crazy. I wanted to kill him.”

“A broken arm, two shattered ribs, a broken nose and a fractured knee … you came close. Oh, let’s not forget getting his ass handed to him by a hundred pound girl. I like that part best of all.”

She laughed. “
I’m just glad you’re okay. I was so scared when…” She sobered. “How’re the twins?”

His smile faded as well. “
Shaken up, but I think now that Dan’s out of our lives, they’ll be fine.”

“So your mom’s pressing charges?”

“And filing for a divorce.” He squeezed her fingers. “You saved more than my life tonight, Rosa.”

“You would have done the same for me,” she murmured.
“Lord knows you’ve thrown yourself into more than one of my fights. Hell, you took on a ghost for me.”

He laughed and broke off in a
fit of coughs. The heart monitor beeped erratically while he tried to calm the fits. Ana reached for the glass of water next to the bed and pressed it into his hand. He took several sips before it settled. She took the cup from him and replaced it on the nightstand.

“When will they discharge you?”

He shrugged. “They want to keep me overnight for observation.” He rolled his eyes. “Hate hospitals.”

“I can stay with you
… if you want,” she volunteered.

He turned his head on the pillow to peer at her with those heart-melting eyes of his. He squeezed her fingers. “I want.”

It was late afternoon when Ana stirred from her curled up position against Rafe’s chest. She squinted against the hot-white light spilling through the giant windows, inflaming the blindingly white room with its harsh glow. She pushed upright, jerking down the sheets tangled around her legs. Rafe was still sleeping soundly, his head turned away from her on the pillow. She slipped off the hospital bed and stretched her stiff muscles, wondering why they called it a bed when it felt like sleeping on a slab of cardboard on concrete.

She checked her watch, groaning at how late it
was. Not that she had anywhere to be, but she’d never in her life slept past one in the afternoon, not even when she was sick. It felt strange knowing half the day was already gone and she was just waking up.

Achy and moody, she shuffled out of the room
in search of food. The hospital was bustling with activity at that hour. Nurses and doctors rushed all over the place. People went in and out of rooms, visiting loved ones with baskets of flowers and balloons. She wondered if she should get something for Rafe. It was what couples did, right?

Mulling it over, she made her way to the first floor and the cafeteria. She grabbed two sandwiches, two bags of chips and two sodas before making her way to the elevators once more.
Her gaze landed on the sign pointing the way to the gift shop and she rerouted her direction and followed.

A whole lot of pink and blue greeted her from the shelves. Stuffed animals leered down at her, congratulating her on her new bundle of joy. T-shirts with the hospital name and logo hung from racks. Snow globes with storks carrying bundles of pink and blue lined the front counter. Ana exhaled.

“Can I help you with something?”

Ana
turned to face the tiny man sitting on an equally tiny stool behind the counter. He was so short, it was a surprise he could see over the counter.

“I’m kind of looking for something for my…” She faltered as she realized the word she was about to use, a word she’d never really used in the past. The three hour long relationship she’d had with Thomas Maywood back in the third grade when they’d sworn to love each other forever didn’t count.
“Boyfriend.”

A grin tugged on her lips as it finally clicked that yes, Rafe was her boyfriend.
Her grin deepened and her blush blossomed when the man chuckled.

“We have some balloons…” He pointed to a carousal filled with colorful balloons waiting to be filled by the helium tank behind it.

Ana shook her head, wrinkling her nose. “He’s not really the balloons sort.”

“A bear then?”

Ana started to laugh and decline when raised voices from the hospital foyer drew her attention. She turned to watch as four orderlies scrambled into the room carting a fifth person between them. They were having a hell of a time as the man yelled and fought against them.

“Get your filthy hands off me!”

Ana gasped as she recognized the figure. All thoughts of gift buying vanished as she dropped her things and sprinted after the group.

“Wait!” she called.

They stopped, even the man in the middle ceased his struggling to face her.

“
Sweetheart, this isn’t the time—”

She ignored the man. “Do you remember me?” she asked the man in the middle. “We met—”

“I know who you are!” the man snapped. “You’re the girl in the house …
his
house.”

A slow trickle of ice formed in her veins. “Yes,
please, I need to talk to you—”

“Then book a time in the
psych ward!” one of the orderlies said. “Because that’s where he’s headed.”

The thrashing and ruckus started all over again as they fought to drag the man down the hall.

“What’s your name? Wait!” She ran after them. “Tell me your name!”

“Randy
Dicen!”

“No!” Rafe said when Ana told him what happened. “You’re not going to see him alone.”

“I’ll be fine!” she argued. “He’s in a psych ward for crying out loud.”

His eyebrows went up in shocked disbelief. “
Only
in a psych ward? Really? Well, all right then. It’s not like that’s where the crazy people go!” His voice rose until he was shouting. He broke off in a fit of coughing.

Ana rolled her eyes at his
exaggeration as she passed him a cup of water. “We’ll be surrounded by orderlies and doctors. Nothing can happen.”

“Except him stabbing you with the prison shank he’s no doubt carving right now out of a toothbrush.”

She stared at him in frustration. “No more crime novels for you.”

“I’m serious, Ana. Wait for me.
I’ll be discharged in a few hours.”

“But by then visiting hours will be over and we’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

“Fine. I’ll drive you in the morning. Just don’t go by yourself.”

Exasperated, Ana hopped off the bed and paced.
“We’re running out of time!” she cried.

“
Whose time?” he shot back. “Yours or Johnny’s?”

“What difference does it make?”

“A lot!” He yanked back the covers and threw his legs over the edge of the bed. “You’ve become obsessed with the guy. It’s not safe!”

“I’m the only one who can help him!”

“Or get killed because of him.” He got to his feet. “Have you stopped to think just what you’re up against, Ana? These guys have gotten away with murder once. What is stopping them from doing it again to you?”

“All the more reason why I have to do this. I have to stop them!”

“No you don’t!” He pitched the water glass. It shattered into a million pieces of shiny shards of glass across the floor. Water rained down the wall in streaks to form a puddle for the splinters to float in. “You’re going to get killed, Ana.” He was breathing hard. Sweat glistened across his brow, plastering his hair to his temples. “He’s going to get you killed.”