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? I replied as she got into her car.
She drove off, and I went into the house. Rebecca’s words resounded in my mind as I poured myself a glass of brandy and curled up on my couch. I didn’t know the Ward she warned me about. The Ward I knew was protective and caring. He was annoyingly controlling and a little crazy, but he had a good heart. He stayed with me at the hospital and was by my side through this entire ordeal. He was a wonderful lover, and he said he loved me. And I loved him too. I was in love with him. But why didn’t he trust me to know his past? Why didn’t he like to talk about his parents?
I reached for my laptop and sent an email to my secretary, notifying her I wouldn’t be in the office tomorrow. If I wanted to know more about Ward, I would have to talk to his Aunt Maggie.
***
The ringtone of my phone woke me up in the morning. I checked the phone, and my heart skipped a beat. The call was from the hospital. My fingers were numb, and my heartbeat accelerated as I answered the call.
“Hello, Miss McBride,” a female voice said. “I’m nurse Bella…”
"Hello, how's Joe? Is he okay?"
“Yes, he’s awake now,” the nurse said excitedly.
“Oh, Sweet Lord, thank you! I’ll be there shortly,” I told the nurse and dropped the phone on the bed and ran into the bathroom.
Thirty minutes later, I was at the hospital, running down the corridor that led into Joe’s room. He was sitting up, but he looked very pale, and his leg was still in a cast.
“Joe,” I said.
He smiled at me. “It’s good to see you, boss.”
I went close to him and hugged him. “Don’t ever scare me like this again. How do you feel now?”
“My lungs still hurt, and my body aches, but I’m happy to be alive.”
“Do you remember anything?” I asked. “What happened at the site?”
He nodded his head. “I saw a woman running away before the fire exploded.”
“A woman? Can you describe her?”
“She was hot,” he said.
“Joe!” I chuckled, gently touching his shoulder.
He grinned at me but held back his laughter as if it would hurt to do so.
The door opened, and Detectives Jones and Murray came in.
“Hello, Miss McBride and Mr. Joe,” the detectives said.
“Joe, this is Detective Jones and his partner, Detective Murray,” I introduced them.
“Hello, detectives,” Joe spoke.
“How did you know he was awake?” I asked the men who looked eager to question Joe.
“We have our ways of finding out things,” Detective Murray replied.
“Joe, tell the detectives everything you remember,” I said.
"I perceived a foul smell, and I asked the other guys if they did also," Joe began. He coughed and continued, "But they all said no, so I decided to inspect the rooms to see if there was an electrical fault in any of the rooms."
“Okay,” Detective Jones said.
“I went into one of the rooms and almost choked on the smell of gas,” Joe said. “I was surprised because there was no way there could be gas on the site because we made it a rule that there shouldn’t be any flammables at the building sites including…” Joe coughed and winced as pain filled his eyes.
