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“You want the best of both worlds. You don’t want to give your brother an opportunity to escape federal prison, and you don’t want a four-year-old boy to die as a result.” Graham removed the utensils from his napkin before spreading the thin paper product over his lap to protect his grey pants. Only then did he make eye contact with her to really hit home his feelings on the subject. “And you’re willing to go through with a surgery that could potentially cause you complications for the rest of your life to have both. Do I need to list the dangers of such actions?”
“No.”
Brook had suddenly lost her appetite for a completely different reason than the one two minutes ago.
She opted for her wine instead.
The sleeves of Graham’s dress shirt had already been rolled neatly up to his forearms, but he pushed them back ever so slightly more before reaching for the utensils he’d placed next to his plate. He slid the knife into the chicken breast and cut off a small portion. The fact that he’d listened to her and remained quiet on the subject only irritated her more.
“Graham, we are talking about a four-year-old little boy. He’s innocent in all this.”
“I’m well aware of that, and I’m not saying that you shouldn’t go through with being a living donor should you be a match to Jonah Cary.” Graham rested his fork and knife against the side of his plate. “I just want you to understand the risks.”
“Duly noted,” Brook murmured, relaxing somewhat enough to exchange her wine glass for her fork. “Dr. Mizrahi is the transplant surgeon for Jonah. He’s rushing the labs, so I’ll know sometime this evening if I’m a match.”
Her announcement on such a timeframe seemed to have the same effect on him as his statement had on her. They talked about their days as they enjoyed dinner, which was a rare occasion given their hectic schedules. It was a nice change of pace, and she found once again that she was in no hurry to spend countless hours combing through Jacob’s past crimes. Just because her brother was behind bars didn’t mean that she would stop searching for answers, but she would allow herself a moment of peace.
“There is a chance that I’ll be in Maryland next week,” Brook said after she took the last bite of her meal. As usual, she hadn’t been able to eat everything on her plate. “With the transplant surgery postponed for another two or three months, we decided to take on a private client.”
“What town?”
“Harbor.”
“I’ve heard of it,” Graham said with a nod as he reached for her plate. Once he had both dinner plates in hand, he stood and walked into the kitchen to place them in the sink. “Prominent neighborhood located about an hour from here.”
“We wouldn’t commute,” Brook replied as she observed him pour them both a cup of coffee. While his favorite alcoholic beverage was whiskey—expensive whiskey—he never drank the night before a business trip. “At least, not at the start of the investigation. If we are given all the preliminary information, we’ll be able to set up shop in an Airbnb located on the bay. It’s also close enough that Sylvie can drive back and forth if needed.”
Brook had already shared with him Sylvie’s situation, so she didn’t need to go further in depth. She drained the rest of the contents in her wine glass and shifted so that she could stand up from the table. Graham was motioning her to remain seated, and he carefully set her coffee down in front of her.
“I’ll clean up later.”
“I had blood drawn today,” Brook reminded him wryly as he took her empty wine glass to the kitchen. It wasn’t long before he’d joined her back in the dining room. “Not surgery. Not yet.”
The muffled ringing of her cell phone had Graham reaching over into the chair next to him. Always the gentleman, he lifted her purse and handed it to her instead of reaching inside for the phone.
The hospital’s name and number were on the lighted display.
“Brooklyn Sloane.”
Brook listened to Dr. Mizrahi’s side of the conversation, disappointment flooding her as the results were not what she’d hoped for this evening. The reality of her limitations hit hard. He thanked her for such an attempt before giving her a general update on Jonah’s condition. The little boy was still in ICU, but he was expected to be transferred to a private room before dawn. From that point on it was a waiting game until Jonah was strong enough to endure the transplant surgery.
“I’m not compatible.” Brook dropped her phone onto the table. “We’re back to square one.”
“Not if you can somehow find a link in the two familial chains,” Graham pointed out, never once letting on that he was relieved at the results. He gestured toward her mug, and the two of them talked about such a possibility until they’d finished enjoying their coffees. “You said yourself that you have two or three months before the surgery. Jacob can’t be too happy with the change of events, but it does give you time to do a thorough search through the family trees. If anyone can find a connection, it’s Bit.”
Graham stood and held out his hand. She took it without hesitation, the warmth of his skin enveloping hers and causing some of her stress to melt away. Not all of it, but enough that she could enjoy the next few hours of intimacy.
Morning would arrive soon enough.
Chapter Five
Brooklyn Sloane
November 2023
Friday — 7:00am
“Goodmorning,”Brooksaidas she entered the conference room. “I just spoke with Jordan Miles. He confirmed that he gave our firm’s name to the Jamesons at a function they attended together last month. And the answer is still no.”
