Read Online Pierced: Pierced Trilogy Boxed Set by Lashell Collins - Free Book Online

out of the station unnoticed. I may grab something for lunch. But as soon as I ease behind the wheel of the cruiser I know that my intended destination is the hospital. I have fought the urge all morning long and now I can’t fight it anymore. I have to see her and I don’t even know why. I don’t have an excuse this time; I have no idea what I’m going to say to her, what reason I’m going to give her for my being there. But I don’t give a shit. Right now, I couldn’t care less about saving face. Right now, all that matters is seeing her.
    I pull into the hospital parking lot and run my hands through my hair in agitation. Or maybe it’s nervousness, I don’t know. What the hell am I doing here? What the hell am I doing here? I take a deep breath and exit the car. As I walk through the hospital corridors, I suddenly have the strangest sense of … something, in my stomach. Like a fluttering sensation. Fuck. Butterflies? Really? Is this what I’ve been reduced to? Like some fucking love-struck teenager? Whoa, slow down, cowboy! Who the fuck said anything about love? The thought halts me in my tracks.
    Okay. This is seriously beginning to freak me out. I stand in the middle of a hospital corridor and run my hands through my hair once more. What the fuck am I doing here? Why have I come? What do I expect to happen? What do you want to happen, Pierce? Hell of a question to ask when I’m standing just a few yards away from her room. And I still can’t even begin to form an articulate response. I feel so out of my depth right now. “Fuck it,” I sigh, and continue on to her room.
    I nod to the security guy, who waves me on through, and knock lightly on the door. I slowly push open the door and step in, only she’s not in the bed. If she wasn’t in the room the security guy surely would have known that. The covers on the bed are messed up and I hear music. Glancing around, I notice that the television is tuned to a video station and John Rzeznik is singing about how he’d give up forever to touch her. I think I know exactly how he feels right now. I turn to head back out of the room but I hear what sounds like splashing water coming from the bathroom. “Miss Colby,” I call out.
    Just then, the water stops and the door opens abruptly and she walks out pushing her IV stand with her. Wow, she looks great. She’s wearing a white tank top and a pair of thin, light blue sweat pants. The kind that hugs a woman low around the hips and ties in the front, showing off a flat stomach and whatever she’s packing in the rear – which in Miss Colby’s case appears to be a sweet little piece. But the real revelation is her face. The swelling over her left eye has improved greatly. It’s still slightly puffy around her eyebrow and still a bit discolored but, now I can clearly see her amazing green eyes. Both of them, since the bandage over her right eye has been removed. Her chestnut brown hair is no longer confined to a braid and it’s flowing over shoulders in soft waves. Wow! That photo I found of her online did not do her justice. Miss Colby is not merely pretty, she is a full-fledged knock out.
    “Detective!” Her voice registers her surprise at seeing me.
    “Hello, Miss Colby. You look … really well,” I say distractedly.
    “Thank you,” she says softly. She pushes a strand of her long, silky looking hair behind her ear and blushes slightly. “The doctor removed the bandage and examined my eye just this morning. She said it looks great. There’s talk of releasing me as early as this evening.”
    “That is wonderful news,” I say, smiling at her. And I really am happy for her. Even though I know it means once she leaves the hospital I won’t have an excuse to see her anymore. Unless maybe I lure her to the station under the pretense of talking about her case. My smile fades as that realization sets in.
    “Did you have news on my case?” she asks as she moves over to the bed and slowly climbs up on top of