in one, he found half the article he was reading had been torn out because of a coupon for Jell-O on the back. He was going crazy.
He just wanted to see Yamane. How long were they going to keep him out here like this? He felt tears burn his eyes and put his head down.
“Mr. Delaplaines? Mr. Yamane wants you in the ER. He’s quite agitated and is being…uncooperative. Are you his registered domestic partner?”
“Yeah,” he lied, following her. “Sure I am. Registered. Domestic. Whatever. We live in Japan.” Yamane heard the last of this as Rory came around the corner and gave him a surprised look. “Now, cher, I hear you have your knickers in a twist again.” He took Yamane’s uninjured hand in his.
“Rory,” Yamane warned.
“What can I do for you?”
“You can start by getting the hell away from me.” 36 Z. A. Maxfield
Rory looked back to the shocked nurse. “Could you give us a minute, please?
Apparently Yamane getting stabbed has disturbed our connubial bliss.”
“Um, well, I…” She hardly knew what to say.
“It’s all right.” Yamane sighed. “I need to talk to him.”
“Oh, well, okay.” She turned and left the room. Rory called after her. “If Detective Jenks looks for me, will you tell him where I am?”
“I will,” she said.
Yamane turned a tearstained face to him. “My hand hurts; you have no idea. Listen to me. Amelia is dangerous; we have to get you back to Louisiana. She probably already knows everything about you.”
“So, we’re on a first-name basis with our stalker, are we?”
“This is not the time for humor! That woman would think nothing of killing you. She killed my damned dog!”
“Now, that is the third time you have compared me to your dog, Yamane, and I am starting to lose my patience.”
“Don’t try your deep-fried, southern boy, lullaby voice with me. You aren’t safe. You have no clue how close we came to getting killed today.” Rory continued stroking Yamane’s uninjured hand. “My lullaby voice. So you like the way I talk…”
“This isn’t funny.” Yamane squeezed Rory’s hand. Tears sprang to his eyes. “Damn, I’m fine, but I just can’t seem to stop…”
“That’s natural when something like this happens. People’s emotions come to the surface. It’ll pass,” Rory said gently.
Detective Jenks came in. “We just heard from the hotel,” he said grimly. “The waiter who was originally scheduled to deliver your breakfast was found tied up in a linen closet with a serious head injury. I understand the woman who stabbed you is someone you know?”
“Yes,” Yamane answered. “Her family brought her to the States and placed her in a private institution in Seattle when she attacked me before. When I get my things back, I can give you the number of my agent, who has all the information you need, along with the names of police officers involved in the stalking case in Japan. I never thought they’d let her out this soon. My agent speaks limited English, but this is all in a file she can fax to you.”
“Stalkers can be very determined and organized. What can you tell me about this woman?” he asked.
Rory lowered the guardrail on the hospital bed and sat down.
“I can tell you that she’s extremely intelligent and has excellent resources. I’ve known her since childhood,” he murmured. “Someday I believe she’ll kill me.”
“Yamane.”
Drawn Together
37
“You’re going to have to cooperate with us,” Jenks said. “Since you are just visiting our city, our job is to see if we can keep you safe while you’re here. I wish we’d been apprised of the situation beforehand.”
“My agent just called me this morning. She told me Amelia had been released and that she’d made it as far as LAX and that’s all they knew. There was no way to know where she went after that. As I said, she has resources.”
“That’s true, but this time, she openly attacked you. It’s a sad fact of life that stalkers rarely
He just wanted to see Yamane. How long were they going to keep him out here like this? He felt tears burn his eyes and put his head down.
“Mr. Delaplaines? Mr. Yamane wants you in the ER. He’s quite agitated and is being…uncooperative. Are you his registered domestic partner?”
“Yeah,” he lied, following her. “Sure I am. Registered. Domestic. Whatever. We live in Japan.” Yamane heard the last of this as Rory came around the corner and gave him a surprised look. “Now, cher, I hear you have your knickers in a twist again.” He took Yamane’s uninjured hand in his.
“Rory,” Yamane warned.
“What can I do for you?”
“You can start by getting the hell away from me.” 36 Z. A. Maxfield
Rory looked back to the shocked nurse. “Could you give us a minute, please?
Apparently Yamane getting stabbed has disturbed our connubial bliss.”
“Um, well, I…” She hardly knew what to say.
“It’s all right.” Yamane sighed. “I need to talk to him.”
“Oh, well, okay.” She turned and left the room. Rory called after her. “If Detective Jenks looks for me, will you tell him where I am?”
“I will,” she said.
Yamane turned a tearstained face to him. “My hand hurts; you have no idea. Listen to me. Amelia is dangerous; we have to get you back to Louisiana. She probably already knows everything about you.”
“So, we’re on a first-name basis with our stalker, are we?”
“This is not the time for humor! That woman would think nothing of killing you. She killed my damned dog!”
“Now, that is the third time you have compared me to your dog, Yamane, and I am starting to lose my patience.”
“Don’t try your deep-fried, southern boy, lullaby voice with me. You aren’t safe. You have no clue how close we came to getting killed today.” Rory continued stroking Yamane’s uninjured hand. “My lullaby voice. So you like the way I talk…”
“This isn’t funny.” Yamane squeezed Rory’s hand. Tears sprang to his eyes. “Damn, I’m fine, but I just can’t seem to stop…”
“That’s natural when something like this happens. People’s emotions come to the surface. It’ll pass,” Rory said gently.
Detective Jenks came in. “We just heard from the hotel,” he said grimly. “The waiter who was originally scheduled to deliver your breakfast was found tied up in a linen closet with a serious head injury. I understand the woman who stabbed you is someone you know?”
“Yes,” Yamane answered. “Her family brought her to the States and placed her in a private institution in Seattle when she attacked me before. When I get my things back, I can give you the number of my agent, who has all the information you need, along with the names of police officers involved in the stalking case in Japan. I never thought they’d let her out this soon. My agent speaks limited English, but this is all in a file she can fax to you.”
“Stalkers can be very determined and organized. What can you tell me about this woman?” he asked.
Rory lowered the guardrail on the hospital bed and sat down.
“I can tell you that she’s extremely intelligent and has excellent resources. I’ve known her since childhood,” he murmured. “Someday I believe she’ll kill me.”
“Yamane.”
Drawn Together
37
“You’re going to have to cooperate with us,” Jenks said. “Since you are just visiting our city, our job is to see if we can keep you safe while you’re here. I wish we’d been apprised of the situation beforehand.”
“My agent just called me this morning. She told me Amelia had been released and that she’d made it as far as LAX and that’s all they knew. There was no way to know where she went after that. As I said, she has resources.”
“That’s true, but this time, she openly attacked you. It’s a sad fact of life that stalkers rarely
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