Wholehearted Read Online Free Page B

character, and what I’m getting from you is good. I know you don’t want to hurt him, but someone did, and trust probably isn’t at the top of his list right now.”
    Declan sighed again. “I’m just going to have to be a bit patient. It just… I can’t tell you how angry it makes me when something like this happens. It’s one of the reasons I love living in Hope Cove. You don’t get too many assault calls in a small town like that. People take care of their own there, but where I used to work, they were a nightly occurrence. I just couldn’t get away from the blood and the violence. It takes a toll on a person after a while, you know?”
    Kathy nodded.
    “I guess you do know. You probably see a lot of it, working in this department, yeah?”
    “My fair share. More than I would ever want to see, anyway. I will say this, though, most cops I meet aren’t as compassionate as you are. Most of them would be in, get the statement, and be back out before the patient was even fully awake. They go through the motions, but you’re the first one I’ve ever met that actually seemed to care about the victim.”
    Declan felt himself pink a little at the praise.
    “This one is different, isn’t he?”
    Declan tried to shrug off the question and change the subject. He didn’t feel comfortable examining his reasoning for still being at the hospital at three in the morning, to sit next to a man he had known for less than twenty-four hours. He wasn’t sure he would like the answer very much.
    “So you said that it’ll be a different nurse on in the morning?” he asked.
    Kathy just rolled her eyes. “So, that’s how you want to play this? Yes. Kim will be here in the morning. I’m off in”—she glanced at her watch—“three more hours, and then the day shift starts.”
    “Can you leave a note for her to give me a call when Lucas wakes up? I want to see if I can get him to tell me anything else about the attack.”
    “Sure, hon, no problem. Are you going to head back to Hope Cove?”
    Declan thought about it. He didn’t want to wake Mack and Oliver by calling in the middle of the night just for a ride. “Actually, do you know of a hotel close by that I could stay at for the night?”
    Kathy thought about it for a moment. “I think there are a few hotels on this block that I’m sure would have rooms, but if you’re planning to be here again first thing in the morning, it seems a waste to rent a room. It’s been a slow night. I’m sure we could set you up in one of the rooms for a few hours. I know it’s not the most comfortable bed, but it would save you having to track down a hotel room at three in the morning.”
    “That would be great, if it’s not too much trouble,” Declan replied. He was tired. He’d slept a little in Lucas’s room, waiting for him to wake up, but it had been a long day and it was starting to catch up with him.
    “No trouble at all.” Kathy checked the computer. “There is only one doctor on tonight, and he’s not working a double. Both beds in the resident’s room should be empty if you want to sleep there.” She stood and motioned for him to follow her. The room next to the nurses’s lounge had two sets of bunk beds in it, reserved for hospital staff.
    “Here we are, home sweet lumpy bed, and it’s all yours for the next three to four hours.”
    Declan shot her a grateful look. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. You don’t even know me.”
    “I know enough to know you’re a good person who probably works too hard and deserves a break.”
    “I’m not so sure, but I appreciate it anyway.”
    “Well, just keep me in mind when you’re naming your firstborn.” She winked at him. “Good night, Declan.”
    “Good night, Kathy.”
    She flicked off the light and shut the door. The room was disturbingly quiet. Hospitals were never this quiet. He’d been around enough to know that there were always machines, always someone awake.