“That’s my fault.” Gunnar licked his lips, his eyes dull with fever. “Before coming to see Yardley, I hired a security agent I’d dealt with overseas.” A ghost of a smile laced with affection sketched his mouth. “I wanted to be certain she was protected, whatever happened.”
Kye stomped on the temptation to say that her brother Law had already taken care of that by sending him. He needed to hear the doctor’s side. “What went wrong?”
“We were on our way here when he pulled out a gun and told me there was a bounty on my head that he intended to collect.”
Yardley gasped. “You didn’t say that earlier.”
Kye moved on before they could turn this tidbit of information into a lovers’ tiff. If that happened, he’d need to gag them both and stuff them in next to Purdy while he went to see the sheriff. Because, though they seemed in doubt, that’s where this was headed. He just wanted his facts straight first. “Did he say who set the bounty?”
“No, but I can guess.” David sighed through some pain. “You won’t like it.”
“I haven’t liked anything about this so far.”
“Most recently I was acting as a go-between for a counterfeit drug ring and Interpol. I can identify names on both sides that their employers would like kept secret.”
“Thanks for narrowing it down.” The grimness in Kye’s voice registered as frowns on his companions’ faces. No need to say it. Their situation was becoming more and more like a plot out of a James Bond movie.
“So, Purdy.” Kye hitched a finger in the general direction of the stairs. “He’s your boy?”
David’s gaze sharpened, the resentment in Kye’s tone cutting through his own daze. “I’m sure I recognized his voice. But that’s not the name I knew him by.”
Kye pulled out the wallet he’d taken from Purdy. The driver’s license was issued to Pruitt James Hollister. It was a good fake, if one didn’t look too closely.
He handed it to David. “Is this the man?”
David took the ID, his hand a little unsteady. As he looked at the picture a “fuck” escaped through dry lips. He really needed medical attention.
“I know him as Harold Prosett Jr. He’s based in Texas. Private security. He’d done work for DWB overseas. I thought he’d be trustworthy.”
“They all call themselves private security for a reason. Many are no more than mercs working for hire. Their loyalty is fluid. It goes to the highest bidder. Obviously you weren’t it.”
“I’ve known some reputable men in that line of work.” Yardley said the words tightly, giving Kye a hard look as she crossed the room. She bent and picked up something and put it in Kye’s hand. “Ice pack. Put that on your face.”
Kye shrugged but did as he was told. She was trying to take care of him. He was just too angry to be grateful. “What else should I know about this Prosett guy?”
“I didn’t tell him who I wanted him to protect or where she lived. Once he agreed to do the job, I told him I’d meet him in Richmond, Virginia. He hired the car. I couldn’t exactly use my ID. I gave him directions on a turn-by-turn basis. After we entered the mountains, he suddenly turned off the road and pulled a gun on me. He said there were people in Atlanta who wanted to chat with me. I waited until he was distracted by making a turn and jumped from the car.”
“Moving vehicle?” Yardley sounded shocked.
David’s gaze shifted to her, a tender smile forming on his mouth. “He shot me. I was not going to win by staying in the car.”
“Gutsy move, Doc.” Kye sounded impressed. “How’d you get here?”
“I hitchhiked. After I crossed the highway. I took the gamble that Prosett wouldn’t want to shoot me with witnesses.”
“How did you explain your wound?” Yardley sounded appalled.
“I told the driver I’d broken my arm when my car went into a ditch. I needed to get home so my wife wouldn’t faint when she got a call from the police or hospital. She’s not good in a crisis.”
“He bought that drivel?” Yardley sounded offended for all womankind.
“So how did Prosett find you?”
The doctor looked pained but, again, he didn’t give an inch. “I left my cell phone behind when I bailed. Didn’t know it at the time.” He looked at Yardley. “This is all my fault.”
“Just so you know that.” The icepack muffled Kye’s voice but not his anger. “You might as well have drawn a bull’s-eye on her back.”
Yardley rounded on Kye. “That’s hardly fair or true. Everything David’s done, he’s done to help others. He didn’t have to take on the fake pharms. He could have looked the other way, like I’m sure so many others have.”
“Got it. The doc fronted a worthy cause.” Kye hitched a shoulder and got a twinge in his back for it. He was going to be sore all over in the morning. Not the biggest problem right now. “But maybe you should have thought about how it would affect the people in your life before you dragged Yard into it.”
She shifted against the wall. “I’m standing right here. I can speak for myself.”