I smiled. Dr. Roberts was a no-nonsense kind of guy and I liked that about him. He was also a straight shooter. If he said I had another week to go, then I wasn’t about to argue. At least, I wasn’t until a little while later when James received a call from his club president that required his presence back home to deal with Simone once and for all.
“Why now?” he asked as I listened in.
“We have the Morelli Outfit from Chicago at our doorstep, along with the fucking major players from the fucking Rivera Cartel. They’re having a whole fucking showdown in the middle of town like it’s the 1800s Wild West out there.”
“Okay?” James asked.
“Okay nothing, the one thing they have in common is shouting over a missing girl. A very specific missing woman, to be exact.”
“Simone?” James questioned. “What the fuck has she got to do with the mafia in Chicago?”
“That’s where she moved from in middle school,” I said.
James’s head snapped around. “Are you for fucking real?”
“That’s what she told me anyway.” We had already established the woman lied more than she told the truth. I don’tthink she was lying back then. “Her father was never around but he kept Simone and her mom flush with money,” I added.
“Fuck,” James groaned.
“That about sums it up. Need you back here. Will send Smooth to hang with Cassidy until she can be released or you can get back.”
“Smooth was shot not long ago himself.”
“That means he’ll be able to anticipate everything your woman needs.”
“I don’t like it.”
“We need answers without having to ask the fucking mafia and cartel to fill in the blanks for us,” Bigfoot said.
“And you think that bitch will tell the truth?”
“If she thinks it will save her miserable ass life, and you promise to hide her away somewhere, I think she’ll crack. Pretty sure she went to find you to do just that before. She was thrown by seeing Cassidy there, and shot first instead.”
While James ironed out some details with Bigfoot, I slipped out of the hospital room and slowly marched my ass to the nurses station.
“What can I do for you, hon?” Honey asked me as she glanced around, probably wondering why my shadow wasn’t with me. James usually walked the halls with me during exercise time.
“I know Dr. Roberts told me another week, but I have to get home now.”
“Oh, sweetie, I don’t think that’s wise.”
“My dad is dying. He was in a car accident and I’m not going to miss out on a goodbye to him. I promise to go straight to a doctor if I feel bad and to see one as soon as I need to for another check, but I’m going home today with or without Dr. Roberts’ blessing, so get the paperwork ready.”
“I will let him know.” She leaned over and squeezed my arm reassuringly. “Do you need us to speak with your dad’s doctor and…” I shook my head.
“No, my friend just called. She was there with him and I don’t think you could find out anything she didn’t just tell me. I feel so numb right now, but I think it’s just because I have to hold it together until I can get there and see him.”
“Our bodies and minds work for us as best they can. You keep holding it together and I’ll get everything ready to go. We’ll have you out of here in under an hour.” When I got ready to argue, she shook her head. “That’s the best we can do while making sure you’ll be taken care of after you leave here.”
“Thank you,” I told her as I made my way back to the room.
As soon as I got inside I took one look at James and knew how frustrated he was at having to leave me. “Where did you go?”
“I had to go talk to Honey about something. What was that about?”
“I need to go back and deal with Simone. The situation is… Well, you heard.”
“I did, and that’s why they’ll have me released in under an hour. Honey thinks my dad is dying from injuries sustained in a car accident.”
