AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Did you phrase it that way to see if the protocol inhibitor is still working?”
That woke a very faint smile. “Partly. ”
“All right. Can I bring anything?”
“Anything but your sister,” he said. It sounded heartfelt, and she found herself smiling.
“Wow. You sound as if you’d actually met her. ”
“I wouldn’t mind meeting her, except that you already have enough to explain. It would take a lot more to produce a boyfriend with a Bruce Wayne mansion that she’s never heard of before. I’m using hypotheticals, of course. ”
“The mansion is hardly hypothetical. ”
“I was speaking of the boyfriend part. About our relationship. ”
“I wasn’t aware you thought we actually had one. ”
That cued him to look away again. “Of course we do. I’m your handler. ”
“That doesn’t sound as sexy as it ought to. ”
He let out a snort that was remarkably like her dog’s, and the brakes eased the taxi to a stop. “You’re home. ”
Bryn made no real effort to get out, other than putting her hand on the handle. She said, “You could have come in to save Joe. You didn’t. I know you had your reasons, but it makes me wonder: what if it’s me next time? You said you wouldn’t let me suffer. I need to count on that. ”
“You can,” he said. “Always. ”
Bryn stepped out and watched the taxi glide away. Her phone vibrated again, and she let out a tired sigh, jammed her fists in the pockets of her hoodie, and went upstairs to explain things to Annalie.
It didn’t go well.
Chapter 10
She just didn’t have the energy, after the awful night, to deal with Annalie’s questions—valid though they might have been. Bryn abandoned the field, showered, dressed, and stormed off to work with new (if adrenaline-fueled) energy. That lasted through the first consultation with a newly bereaved husband; his wife had celebrated her seventy-fifth birthday and passed away two weeks later of a stroke. He was stoic, but fragile, and Bryn guided him through it with the sad knowledge that he’d probably be a client soon; she could see the resignation in his eyes. He’d lost everything, and he was giving up. Maybe he’d come out of it, but at his age, she doubted it.
After he was gone, and she had time to think, she realized
that her head was throbbing and her throat was dry. A visit to the coffee machine helped. Lucy tried to tell her about Joe’s shooting, but Bryn was too tired to keep up a pretense of surprise. Besides, with Lucy’s connections, she’d find out soon enough that Bryn had been there on the scene.
“I was with him,” Bryn said, sipping her coffee. Lucy stopped typing on her computer keyboard and looked up with widened eyes. “He was helping me out, and he got shot for his trouble. I need to go see his wife and kids. ”
“I think they’re all at the hospital,” Lucy said. “I was told so, anyway. The nurses say he’s not in any danger, thank the Lord. Shot. My God. And you were right there?”
“Yes,” Bryn said. “I was right there. ”
“But what were you—” Lucy checked herself and firmly closed her mouth. “You know what? That’s none of my business, none at all. I’m just happy you’re all right. ”
She wasn’t all right, on so many levels, but Bryn just nodded and went back to her office. She could feel Lucy’s curious stare on her back. By the end of the day, everybody—including Riley Block, in her prep room inner sanctum—was going to have the unshakable opinion that she’d been screwing Joe Fideli.
God.
When her phone rang, it was almost a relief. It wasn’t her private line, just the main switchboard, so she answered with the standard greeting—or tried to.
Annalie interrupted her. “We need to talk about what happened, Bryn!”
“No, trust me. We really don’t. ”
“You were arrested! You don’t think Mom’s going to hear about that?”
