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What the hell was going on? “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I have to go check on my father.”
He turned, still a bit shocked. What were these people doing here?
He heard footsteps behind him, the clop clop of heels against the concrete.
“Are you dating Bria Knight? Was she out there with you for a reason, and do you know if she’s stopped seeing her costar, Gavin Jacks?” The woman was following him, and her friend seemed to have turned on a flashlight, because there was a bright beam lighting the path now.
Who the hell was . . . Brynn . . . she was asking about Brynn. He remembered what she’d said about those rumors. They hurt her. “She’s not seeing Gavin. She was never seeing him. He’s like her dad.”
He heard the whooshing sound of the doors coming open ahead.
“Hey, who are you?” Roxie strode out. She was dressed for work and had the frown on she usually reserved for the most obnoxious of calls. “This is a private residence, and you are trespassing.”
“It’s a hospital. I’m completely within my rights to be here,” Jeannie replied. “And I find it very interesting that Bria’s new guy doesn’t seem to know her history with the old one. Is Gavin here in Pappadeaux?”
He didn’t bother to correct the woman. If she couldn’t be polite enough to learn the name of the town she’d invaded, that was her trouble. “Ma’am, this is not a public hospital. This is very much a private business, and if you do not leave in the next five minutes, the deputy will arrest you.”
“Did you get that on camera?” Jeannie asked her partner. “I want everyone to know that Bria Knight is now dating an aggressive cop. That should affect her career.”
“I’m not trying to affect anything.” Frustration was starting to swirl with the worry and guilt. A toxic combination. “I’m trying to explain the law to you since you don’t seem to understand it.”
That smile of hers turned a bit predatory. “Look, you can make this easy on yourself or hard. I don’t care as long as I get my story.”
“You know, you’re like a cartoon villain,” Roxie said with a shake of her head. “At least the one in there is trying to convince me he’s doing it to help his family.”
Jeannie rolled her eyes. “Like he has a family. Look, officer, I don’t know if you get the Internet here in Podunk, Louisiana, but this guy is now a huge celebrity. That video of him getting rescued and losing his pants has twenty-two million views and climbing. Everyone wants to know his story. I’m going to be the first to tell it.”
He didn’t even want to think about the ramifications of that. He just wanted to get to his father. He turned to Roxie. “Where is my dad?”
“The better question is, where is Bria?” Jeannie didn’t seem willing to let go. “We asked around and it seems like she might have been with you. Are you aware that her mother is in town? Is Diane Pearson trying to warn you away from her daughter? Did you and Bria fake that video to get attention?”
“I don’t want the attention I have,” he argued. He couldn’t imagine why anyone would want this. “I only want to see my father.”
“Has he met Bria yet? He told me you two were dating,” a new voice said. The doors had come open again and the man who’d been standing in the lobby was in handcuffs being led down the walkway by Landon Price, the officer they’d hired a couple of months back. The man was in a dark tracksuit, his longish hair tied back. “Deputy Blanchard, I’m a freelancer and if you’ll give me an exclusive, I’ll cut you in on the sale. Jeannie here works for a network. She won’t give you anything.”
“Except excellent exposure, you bottom-feeder,” Jeannie argued. “If you were halfway decent you wouldn’t have to freelance.”
“Keep it moving, buddy,” Landon said, gently pressing the man along. He nodded at Major. “Your dad is fine. He had a scare because this asshole snuck into his room. He got in the back when Juan went to take some trash out.”
“I’m sorry. I propped the door open.” Juan had followed them, a worried look on his face. “I didn’t have my keys.”
And why should he? Major bet in all the years Juan had run this place no one had tried to sneak in the back. “It’s okay. I think this might be my fault.”
He’d probably brought this down on Juan and his dad since they’d been looking for him and Brynn. When they couldn’t find what they wanted, they’d gone after his father.
“It is one hundred percent not your fault, Major. You’re not the one causing trouble.” Roxie turned to the journalists who were following him. “You have two minutes to get out of here before I take you to the station with your friend. You’ve been warned and now you’re trespassing.”
