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“Nothing,” Tiger reported.
“Thanks for being there,” Remy said. “We’re almost to the airport. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”
“No worries,” Tiger said. “I’ve got this for now.”
“Thanks.” Remy ended the call and called Broussard Country Store.
Chrissy answered on the first ring. “Broussard Country Store.”
“Chrissy, it’s Remy.”
“Oh, thank God. I’ve been going out of my mind.”
“We positioned a man at the hospital to keep an eye on Shelby. His name is Tyson King. He’ll be with her until I arrive. I’m almost to the airport in Bozeman, where I’ll board a plane. I don’t know how long the flight will take, but I’ll be at the hospital by morning, though I suspect we’ll get there sooner. Either way, someone will be with her until she’s released.”
“Thank you,” Chrissy said, her voice a whisper of relief. “J.D. LaDue is running a bag of her clothes and shoes into New Orleans for when they release her from the hospital. When you see Shelby, give her my love.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And Remy?” Chrissy continued. “For what it’s worth, she’s been acting weird since you left. Whatever you two did out there in the bayou during that insane storm left a mark on her.”
“What did she say?” Remy asked.
“Not a damned thing,” Chrissy said. “And she usually tells me everything.”
Remy let go of a silent sigh of relief, glad Shelby hadn’t told Chrissy about their lovemaking. He suspected she hadn’t because he’d dated her older sister in high school. Not that he and Chrissy had gone all the way. Heavy petting was all they’d done before Chrissy had broken up with him. He couldn’t imagine Shelby comparing notes on his performance with her sister.
If she’d enjoyed it even half as much as Remy had, would she still be thinking about him?
Not that making love mattered at the moment. Shelby needed to wake up and tell them she was all right.
Until that happened, anything else was inconsequential.
Chapter 4
Too many stressful hours later, the jet landed at the closest general aviation airport to the hospital where Shelby had been taken. Night had cloaked the land long before they’d reached their destination. As they circled the airport, runway lights glowed brightly. The pilot bought them in for a smooth landing, the wheels kissing the ground with barely a bump. After taxiing for what felt like forever, the plane pulled to a stop at a Fixed Base Operator building.
Remy gathered his duffel bag, rifle case and the equipment Hank had given him. As soon as the door was opened, he leaped to the ground and hurried to the rental SUV waiting nearby on the tarmac with the back hatch open.
Remy tossed his gear into the rear. Right behind him, Gerard threw in his bag and gun case.
The attendant standing beside the car handed him the key. “The tank’s full.”
“Thank you.” Remy took the key, slid into the driver’s seat and connected his phone to the vehicle’s onboard computer screen. As the pilot had been vectored in to land at the airport, Remy had entered the hospital’s address into his phone’s map application. He hit GO and pulled through the open gate and out onto the road.
Breaking most of the posted speed limits, he raced through the city to the hospital and parked. Gerard had his door open before Remy turned off the engine. The two men hurried into the hospital, passed the front desk and found the elevator.
So close now, Remy tapped his foot impatiently as the elevator slowly ascended to Shelby’s floor. As soon as the door opened wide enough, he was out and scanning direction arrows, indicating which direction different rooms were located. Once he knew which way to go, he sprinted down the hallway, past a nurses’ station and around a corner.
The man with shaggy salt-and-pepper hair he’d seen hours ago in the video call sat in a chair with his back to the wall outside one of the rooms.
As Remy approached, the man pushed to his feet, a grin spreading across his face. “You must be Remy Montagne.” He held out his hand. “Hank said you’d be here about now.”
“Tyson King, I presume?” Remy said as he gripped the man’s hand.
“Most folks call me Tiger. Tyson sounds too uppity. And I’m anything but uppity.”
Remy briefly shook the man’s hand and turned to Gerard. “This is Gerard Guidry. We both work with Hank.”
