Blake raised a brow. “I can tell when I’m not wanted. I’ll take an Uber home and grab my truck, then come back to get her. Once I’ve had a shave and shower, of course.”
“It will take about an hour to process her out. Plenty of time to get rid of that stench.” The doctor winked and turned toward the door. “We’ll take good care of her until you get back.”
Blake followed the doctor to the door. “I’ll be right back with clean clothes for you, too, babe.”
The door closed behind them, and Paradise threw back the sheet and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She’d use the restroom and get a shower herself. Her hair reeked of garbage, but it was sweet of the men to blame the stench on Blake. She found a clean gown and towel on the bedside table and headed for the bathroom. The hot water and shampoo washed the horrible odor out of her hair and off her skin, and she felt nearly human by the time she donned the clean gown.
The sound of the door shutting came from in her room and she called out, “Did you forget something?”
When Blake didn’t answer, she tied the gown as modestly as possible, which wasn’t saying much, then poked her head out the bathroom door. The room was empty. Maybe a nurse had come in to check on her. Paradise started for the bed, then realized the sheets would smell and veered in the direction of a chair instead. A yellow sticky note on her pillow caught her attention.
She reversed direction again and reached for the note.
You know what you have to do if you want to live to get to know your brother. FINAL WARNING.
Chills shuddered down her back, and she let the note fall from her fingers. She could handle threats against herself, but it was different when someone targeted her brother. Should she cancel his visit?
She reached for the phone, then drew back her hand. Drew wouldn’t change his plans for this. If anything, he’d be more determined than ever to find the man who murdered her parents and his father. There had to be a connection, and this threat proved it.
Blake stood beside Jane and studied the video on the screen in the small security office of the hospital. He tugged the neck of his tee. The space was claustrophobic and too hot. “Can you slow down the video?”
The tech nodded and the frame-by-frame rollout made it easier to see the figure draped in a blue surgical gown in the hallway of the hospital. A disposable blue cap covered his hair and was pulled down low to conceal his eyebrows as well. A mask hid hismouth and nose so that only his eyes were visible. The angle of the video made it impossible to make out his eye color. The figure slipped into room 211, and the closing door hid him from view until he emerged a few seconds later, still masked and gowned.
“That didn’t tell us much,” Jane said. “I’d guess he’s six-one or so. Nora is swabbing for prints and DNA, but he wore gloves so I doubt we’ll get any hits.”
“I was afraid of that.” Blake turned toward the door. “I’d better get Paradise home so she can rest.” He’d left her in a different room under the care of a guard at the door.
“Stay with her,” Jane called after him. “I don’t like this, not any of it. Two attacks in three days.”
At least Jane was taking the leopard sighting seriously too. He waved his hand and headed to the elevator to go back to the second floor. He nodded to the guard, then stepped quietly into the room where Paradise rested in a recliner with her eyes closed. Even bruised and traumatized, she was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen.
He had to keep her safe, but she wouldn’t thank him for the call he’d made on the way back from his shower.
Her eyes opened. “Hey, you’re back. What did the video show?”
“Not much. A guy covered from head to toe in surgical garb. We couldn’t even tell his eye color. He was clever. No one would have questioned him.”
She rose. “Let’s get out of here. I want to see the boys. They’re probably scared.”
She always thought about how his little brothers would react instead of herself. “I’ll bring the truck around while they take you out in a wheelchair.”
“I can walk.”
“You know the drill.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She pressed the button to call the nurse.
He left her and hurried down the elevator and out the building to the parking lot. By the time he drove his truck to the hospital exit, his phone was ringing. Right on time. “Hey, Drew, you on your way?”
“I’m on my way. How is she?”
“Getting released right now. I struggled with calling you, but I realized that while I tend to be overprotective, there’s such a thing as doing the reasonable thing when it’s needed. She might kill me anyway.”
“You did the right thing. I was coming anyway—I just moved the trip up by a few days. I thought about flying so I could get there right away, but you can handle protection for a few hours, right?”
“I’m taking her to my cousin’s house. Hez and Savannah have plenty of room, and I don’t think whoever is after her will think to look there. Her apartment isn’t safe and neither is the refuge. I want her tucked away where no one knows to look. At least until you get here and we can plan a strategy.”
“I’ll be there in three hours. Are you staying at your cousin’s too?”
