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I frowned. How in the hell did everybody know that? First Bernie, now this guy. I gave a small nod.

He pulled out his wallet and drew out a card.

Simon Clark

Security

There was no address, just a phone number.

“Give me a call. I had planned to call you, but this makes things easier.”

“I’m not planning to stay around. Just want to connect with my brother.”

Marlowe softly whimpered. It was so soft I barely heard it. But I did.

Dammit.

“Understood,” Simon said with a smile. “How’s the physical therapy going with Sam?”

I was beginning to hate this town. Seriously, did everybody know everything?

“It’s going fine.”

“Give me a call,” Simon said with a smile. He turned to Nash. “E-mail me anything you get from Officer Grant. I want in on this.”

“Won’t that be up to Marlowe?” Nash asked.

“It’s a freebie. Nobody fucks with people in my town.” Simon tipped his chin to Nash and me. “Marlowe, you call Trenda if you need anything, alright?”

“I will,” she said. She was still speaking to my chest. I liked it.

Nash pulled out his phone and started talking. It must have been on vibrate. “Okay, I’ll come outside.” He looked at me. “My guy is outside, ready to investigate Marlowe’s Jeep. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

I nodded.

“Marlowe, it was smart thinking, what you did up on that mountain,” Nash said. “You saved your life. And your dog’s.”

She whimpered. “But she might not live,” she said as she pushed away from my chest to look up at the sheriff.

“It was because of your quick thinking that Chaos has a chance. Be proud of yourself.” He squeezed her shoulder, then followed Simon out the door.

There was a story there, but I didn’t ask. Right now, I just wanted to get Marlowe sitting down close to me, and comfort her as we waited for Chaos to get out of surgery.

I’ll never know how I fell asleep in the chair, leaning against Kai’s chest. It must have been the adrenaline crash.

“Marlowe. Sweetheart. Wake up.”

I looked up and saw glacier-blue eyes. It took a moment for me to orient myself, and when I did, I sat straight up. Then I looked around. Kizzie was crouched down in front of me.

“Oh, God,” I cried out.

“No, Marlowe. It’s good news, so far. Chaos made it through the surgery with flying colors.”

“Can I see her?” I stood up, and so did Kizzie.

“Absolutely, but first I want to tell you the next steps. We’re going to keep her here for probably a week. We need to monitor her vital signs and hydrate her with intravenous fluids.”

I nodded. I was only halfway listening, I wanted to see my baby. Kizzie must have noticed, because she put her hand on my shoulder.