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I can feel Nathan’s anger radiating throughout the room. Addy lifts her chin, pride beaming for the man she loves and his fierce dedication to not only her but her family.
Bryant quirks an eyebrow at Nathan before turning his attention back to Jack. He clearly isn’t looking for a fight. He’s just full of himself and wants to think he’s more important than he actually is. He doesn’t know who he’s fucking with, not with this group.
I stand, still holding Andrew’s hand. “If you can’t do your job, we’ll hire someone who will.”
Bryant holds one hand up. “We will protect Mr. Shaw and every other patient we have here. I don’t have the human resources to have someone specifically assigned to him. If you want to hire someone, be my guest.” Without another word, the security guard turns and walks away, closing the door behind him.
“What the fuck was that?” Andrea’s voice is full of disbelief. Her eyes are wide as she stares at Jack and then at Adalyn.
“Call SJ,” Addy says quickly. “Call SJ and tell him we need him immediately. He’ll protect Andrew. We can trust him.”
“He’s our best bet,” Jack adds.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Call him now, please.” I barely finish my sentence before Jack has his phone out.
The phone isn’t on speaker, but I still hear when SJ answers.
“Hey, it’s Jack Lawson.”
Andrea taps her ear, signaling she wants to hear. Jack pulls the phone away, puts the call on speaker.
“We’re all here, Andrea, Adalyn, Nathan, and Charlie. Andrew is here, too, but he’s in a coma. It’s a long story and is a lot to explain. The short version is Andrew was in a car accident, and we believe someone tried to kill him. Hospital security is no help. We need you. Can you come?”
“You’re in Sacramento?” SJ asks.
“Yes. We haven’t been here long. A stranger showed up at my door in Fraser with a package. Andrew thought something might happen to him and prepared a jump drive and letters to be delivered if anything happened. We still don’t know all the details.”
“Send me the address, and I’ll be right over,” SJ replies without hesitation.
They end the call, and Jack immediately texts SJ the hospital address.
“Something’s up with that security guard,” Nathan says as he rubs his chin. He’s pondering something, but I’m unsure he meant to say that statement out loud.
“What do you mean, babe?” Adalyn asks as she reaches for Nathan’s hand.
“I mean, that’s his job. At my hospital, if someone is injured and there’s suspicion of foul play, whether it’s domestic violence, a shooting, or something else, security must step in to make sure that the patient is safe. Something’s up with that Bryant guy.”
Nathan releases Addy’s hand and pecks her on the cheek. “I’m going to see if I can find out.” He turns to walk away, but Adalyn stops him.
“How? What are you going to do?” Addy has a puzzled look on her face. Jack does, too.
“I’m going to talk someone into seeing those tapes,” he says with confidence.
Jack raises his eyebrows in surprise at Nathan. “Security tapes? For Bryant?”
“I want to see if that bastard Malcom talked to Bryant before we got here. It’s kind of strange he came to identify his son but isn’t here now. Not to mention the security guard refuses to do his job to protect Andrew.”
I’ve never heard that kind of disdain for someone in Nathan’s voice, but I understand and relate to that feeling towards Malcom.
Jack nods in agreement. “Let’s wait until SJ gets here, and I’ll go with you. We probably need to wait until dickface Bryant is off duty, anyway. I doubt we’ll be able to get ahold of any footage while he’s here.”
Nathan nods but doesn’t change his stance. He seems sure that guy is up to no good. I can’t disagree with him. There’s something off about him and his refusal to do his job properly.
What feels like an eternity has passed while we wait for SJ. Jack and Nathan stand abruptly when the door opens. Their stiff backs loosen when they see SJ’s enormous frame come through and close the door behind him.
He approaches Jack first, holding out his hand for Jack to shake. His eyes shift to Andrew, to me, then to everyone else in the room before speaking. “What do we know?”
“Enough to nail Malcom’s ass for everything Andrea and Adalyn went through and then some, but not a lot about the accident itself, unfortunately,” Jack says as he paces.
