Page 81 of Booked for Kidnapping

“Mickey?”

“Everyone else is staying in New York to handle work. Mr. Tawnlen arranged for temps to help cover duties over at the main branch. Mickey volunteered to stay behind, as he was given the keys to Bradley’s sports car if he agreed to go over and check on the herd of goats and horses in the evenings. Sorry, Bradley. Mickey really wanted to drive it, and he spent weeks learning how to handle a manual so he could. I even set some ridiculous rules on when he could drive it. If it needs maintained again, I’ll pay the bill. I know the engine’s rough. He also has keys to one of our cars if yours breaks down on him.”

Bradley huffed. “I don’t mind Mickey driving my car if he’s helping to hold down the fort.”

“Dr. Mansfield is helping, too, as is Lenard. Dr. Mansfield volunteered to help with the animals in addition to the folks I hired, as she didn’t want your parents to worry. Mickey needs more work with firearms, too, so he’s got access to our range and will check on the house. He’ll also be practicing evasion of the security guards. He’s also going to be doing some more research on our new favorite doctor when he has time.”

My life had gotten stranger. “Honestly, this freaks me out a little more than having a thirty million dollar foot. I mean, I’m not freaking out, but it’s disconcerting.” I sighed. “It wasn’t my fault, but I feel guilty all the same.”

“Don’t, Janette,” Bradley ordered. “Yes, we all were upset you were gone, but nobody really thought you were to blame. We were upset you went and had dinner with a politician. Politicians are dangerous creatures, and we need to approach them using the safety of numbers to our advantage. Nobody is upset you took your job working at the library seriously, and he wanted to talk to you about his donations. There were plenty of witnesses who verified you were at the restaurant discussing the library. And some even got some pictures and recordings. Personally, you couldn’t have behaved more like a librarian out for that man’s wallet if you tried. And you skillfully took him for a great deal of money. I’m proud of you, suckering a senator into having a conscience and donating to your library.”

I preened at the praise. “I did do a good job, didn’t I?”

“You did great. We were cranky you put us to shame in the ethics department, though. After you went to the memorial service, we realized we’d made a mistake,” my fiancé admitted. “But we didn’t get a chance to apologize before you disappeared. And if we hadn’t been dicks to you about it, you might have taken us with you.”

“I may have taken you with me, and then you would have been kidnapped, too.”

Mr. Hampton cleared his throat. “I’m very grateful that you were not kidnapped, Bradley. I probably would have had a heart attack if you were. It was bad enough seeing my baby boy passed out on my yard.”

“Shortness of breath?” I asked.

“Yes, and I saw a doctor about it afterwards. That’s how I know it will be terminal without some extensive treatment. I’ve been undergoing conventional treatments, but in my stage? It takes a lot of magic. In reality, I’m old, and I didn’t treat my heart well early in my life. I’m paying for that now.”

I drummed my fingers on the wheel, focusing my attention on the twisting, turning roads, and when I was confident of my handling of the vehicle and the upcoming stretch, I said, “All right. I can accept that. I should have also done the work right away, and I didn’t.”

“You’d been shot, you were in extreme pain, and you’d tapped your magic out. It’s better you hadn’t. It’ll probably take you longer than you like to fix. My doctors have a betting pool started up on how long it’ll take you.”

“How much did you bet?”

Mr. Hampton laughed. “Why do you think I bet anything?”

“Because I’ve known you for years. You would totally make some horrible bet, and because you know me, you’d probably make it a good one—and expensive. You’d make it expensive.”

“All right. I may have placed a bet.”

“What did you bet and for how much?”

“Five hours, and one hour of it would be you screaming at me roughly three hours into the procedure.”

I twitched, as after three hours of carefully peeling away plaque using blood, I would be fit to murder somebody. “If I have at least three hours of work fixing that mess, you better believe I’ll be screaming over it for about an hour.”

“Please tell me it’s not that bad, Dad.”

I winced, but as I didn’t want to lie to my fiancé, I replied, “It’s that bad, Bradley. There’s a reason he’s up front with me, and it’s not because he’s afraid I’ll lose control of the SUV. It’s because he knows if he’s in the backseat and has a heart attack, I’ll crash trying to save him. Where he’s at, I can work and safely stop the vehicle.” I sighed. “I’m now in bodyguard mode. This is a fact. When the real bodyguard shows up, I’m going to cry on his shoulder. He’ll understand.”

“You can be in bodyguard mode when you’re making sure my dad keeps breathing. I really don’t mind. I won’t even be upset you’re crying on Ren, mainly because Ren had a similar reaction when we both got knocked out. Except he melted down with my mom. But I’m the only one who gets highly irritated wife mode.”

Poor Ren. Maybe we could take a few hours and share war stories. I’d cried the first time Bradley had been in serious trouble, too, although I’d done my crying alone. While strained, I laughed. “Sure, Bradley. That mode is just for you. One man is almost more than I can handle. What would I do with two? Beyond go crazy.”

“You’d definitely go crazy.”

“Your father’s as fine as he’ll be for a few hours, and I didn’t sense any heart attacks or base distress in progress, and he doesn’t have any clots. Heart attacks are usually a long-term affair. They can go on for over twelve hours. It’s the catastrophic and sudden ones that are an issue, and all I have to do to start treatment is touch him. After I pulled over, I’d move him to the back, you’d take over driving, and we’d haul him to Dr. Castor’s place. I’d fix the problem, and he’d be on bed rest for a few days while his blood pressure headed back to normal, because I’d be removing a lot of volume from his arteries. He may need a transfusion.”

“How likely is it he’ll need a transfusion?”

“It depends on how much I remove from his arteries. How has your blood pressure been, Mr. Hampton?”

“It’s been fine.”