AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Stop right there, big brother.” The way she said it suggested annoyance, not affection. “It’s an ER. Where do you think DV victims end up?”
I glanced in the rearview mirror. The welt on Red’s forehead, put there by a violent sonofabitch, reminded me way too much of the marks I’d seen on Kerri, although her abuser had confined the bruises to her torso and arms where they were easily covered by clothing. For far too long, she had hidden them from everyone, including me.
“I just texted Dr. Inez,” my sister told me, “and I’m on my way to your place. I’m coming from the hospital gym, so it should only take me about ten minutes.”
“Perfect. Thanks. I love you.”
“And you owe me,” she added. “And don’t think I’ve forgotten about Ellison. We’ll talk about how to make this up to her when your innocent bystander is doing better.” She hung up before I could beg for mercy.
I hit speed dial #2 on my phone because this shitshow of a night was far from over. Bennet also picked up on the first ring. Was everyone sitting around waiting for my call?
“Where the hell are you?” Bennet said with a growl.
Yeah, I was everyone’s favorite tonight. “Almost home. Police had the hotel on lockdown.”
“What about your Chicago PD contacts?”
I laughed at that one. “LeBeque was incident commander.”
Anytime I ran into Captain LeBeque and she didn’t arrest me out of sheer spite, I considered it a win. When I’d left the Philly PD and moved to Chicago, LeBeque had personally fast-tracked me to be hired as one of her detectives. But before we’d gotten through the red tape, an incident had gone down that had steered me in an entirely different direction, working for my old army buddy Bennet. LeBeque had never gotten over me wasting her time and cache on my sorry ass.
“It was a simple mission, Prescott,” Bennet said. “So you walked away with nothing?”
I winced. “About that. Something shady went down in the parking garage. It had to do with O’Dell, but I don’t know what yet.”
“What aren’t you telling me?” It sounded like he was speaking through clenched teeth, which was fair.
“I need you to run a name for me: Dr. Samantha Bond.”
“And why would I do that?” he asked, although the typing I heard in the background indicated he was already on it.
“Because she might have something to do with our dead soldier. Oh, and she’s currently unconscious in my back seat.”
* * *
Back at my apartment,I settled Red in my bed because the guest room bed wasn’t made up for company. When I pulled the covers up to her chin, she fluttered her eyelids, smiled at me, said, “TJ’s friend,” and fell back into sleep. Or oblivion, whichever the case may be. If I were the jealous type, I might be a bit miffed at how often this TJ guy’s name crossed her lips. Well, the jealous type and interested in her as more than a patient and potential witness.
The front doorbell rang. I clicked on the screen near my bed and saw Kerri with another woman in the lobby. I pressed the button by the side of my bed to unlock the elevator for them and went to my front door to let them in. Despite the scowl on her face, Kerri hugged me, and both women followed me to the master bedroom.
Kerri looked pointedly at the guest room and then back to me. She whispered, “Why is she in your bed?”
I shrugged. “No sheets on the one in the guest room.”
She quirked an eyebrow, but didn’t say another word as Dr. Inez, a small, dark-haired, efficient woman, assigned Kerri to check Red’s vitals.
“You should wait outside,” Dr. Inez told me in a tone that forestalled any argument.
A minute later, I was texting with Bennet, who confirmed that my Dr. Samantha Bond appeared to be a real woman employed by an actual concierge medical practice. However, he assigned our researcher, Joey Taylor, to do a deeper dive. I wandered around my apartment for several more minutes until Kerri and Dr. Inez emerged from the bedroom. They joined me in the living room.
“She has a mild concussion,” Dr. Inez announced. “Assuming there’s a reason she’s here and not at the hospital, the only thing to do is keep an eye on her breathing and vital signs and let her rest. Tomorrow, keep her hydrated, give her light meals, and let her rest as much as she wants. If anything goes south...”
“We’ll get her to the ER,” Kerri added. She looked at me. “And I’ll stay here overnight just to make sure.”
I opened my mouth to say it wasn’t necessary, but as the realization hit me that Red’s injury could have been much worse, I knew I didn’t want to ride out this night without a medical professional nearby. “Thanks,” I said instead.
I poured a Remy Martin and offered Kerri and Dr. Inez drinks, but both declined. Dr. Inez promised to stop by at 6:30 in the morning before her rounds at the hospital, and told Kerri to call her if we needed anything. We thanked her profusely and Kerri walked her to the elevator while I made up the guest bed. When Kerri found me there a minute later, she fixed me with a stare that was exactly like the one our mom had given us when we’d gotten into trouble as kids.
“What?” I asked as I fluffed the bed pillows.
