“You won’t,” he said firmly.
She looked doubtful but carefully climbed into the bed, snuggling down until her head was on his left shoulder. She cuddled close, resting her hand over his heart.
“This okay?” she asked softly.
He sighed, contented. “Perfect.” He kissed the top of her head. “Where’s Brutus?”
“Asleep on the floor. I think she needed a break from me. I’ve kind of petted her a lot today.”
Because it had been a pretty horrible day. Still, he held Daisy against him and it was so nice. “She’s got to be hungry by now.”
“Sasha brought some food for her. Don’t worry.” She patted his chest. “Go to sleep.”
He didn’t think he could. “Are you okay now?” he murmured, hoping he could give her the same comfort she was giving him.
“Of course.”
Stupid question, Gideon. Of course she’s not okay. She was just crying her eyes out. He hummed deep in his throat. “Okay, I’m going to try that again. Are you okay now?”
She lifted her head to glare at him. “If you didn’t want my answer, you shouldn’t have asked the question.”
“Fair enough,” he said. She rested her head on his shoulder and he nuzzled her hair, liking the feel of it getting caught in the stubble covering his jaw. “Why were you crying?”
She was quiet for a long moment. “Trish,” she finally said. “I only knew her for six months, but she and I . . . we fit. Sasha and I have been friends forever and I love her like my own sister, but Trish was the first friend I’d made on my own since we went into hiding.” Her voice dropped to a tortured whisper. “I can’t believe she’s gone. I don’t want to think about how she suffered, but it’s all I can think about.”
He wanted to tell her it would be all right, wanted to promise that they’d catch the man who’d killed her friend. He wanted to tell her not to think about the way Trish had died, but she’d seen the body herself. Telling her to simply “not think about it” was neither fair nor reasonable. But he could try to distract her. Unfortunately, not the way he’d distracted her the night before. Hopefully it would be as helpful, though.
“Tell me about her. How you met her. Tell me about the things you did together.”
“We met at AA,” she began, “and we just hit it off.” She kept talking, then she started crying, soaking his hospital gown with her tears. After a while, her words slowed, grew slurred. And then she was asleep on his chest, just as she’d been the night before.
He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when the nurse came in to check on him, because he’d fallen asleep, too.
“Agent Reynolds,” the nurse said quietly, and he jerked awake.
He looked up at the nurse pleadingly. He’d learned the woman was something of a softy and had a son who was a cop. “Let her sleep,” he murmured. “Please.”
“I wish I could, but I have to check your vitals and she’s in the way.”
Daisy stiffened, sucking in a startled breath, and he knew she was awake. She lifted her head, narrowing her eyes before they flared almost comically wide. “Oh. I’m sorry.”
“Stay,” he said firmly, but she shook her head.
“It’s okay,” she said, softening her words with a smile. “I got what I needed, so thank you. The nurse needs to do her job and I need to walk Brutus.” She slid from the bed and picked up the furball who’d curled up on her big bag.
His pulse skyrocketed. Walking Brutus. Outside? No way in hell. “Daisy.” Her eyes snapped back to him, wide and alarmed.
“What?”
“Agent Reynolds,” the nurse cautioned. “Take it down a notch.”
He dragged in a harsh breath. “You can’t go outside, Daisy. Ask someone else to walk her. Please.”
Understanding dawned in her eyes. “Oh, right.” She laughed bitterly. “I almost forgot. How messed up is that?”
He forced his muscles to relax. “You had other things on your mind.”
She huffed her frustration. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.” She pointed at the monitor, where his pulse was slowly decreasing. “I’ll be careful. I promise. I won’t go outside. I’ll be back soon.”
Sighing, the nurse did all the necessary checks. “That poor girl,” she clucked once Daisy had gone. “She’s been through the wringer these past few days. Hated to wake her up. Don’t worry. There’s plenty of extra security here tonight.”
“Because of us?”
She shook her head. “Well, not just because of you. That little girl that got kidnapped after you were shot? She was found at Mercy.”
Gideon sat up abruptly, sending new pain shooting down his arm. “Mercy? Where?”
The nurse took a half step back. “Mercy Hospital is only ten minutes from here.”
“Oh.” His lungs emptied on a rush. “I’m sorry. Mercy is my sister’s name and I—” He stopped himself from rambling. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” He pulled his thoughts back under control. “Was she okay? The little girl?”
“She was fine. A little dehydrated, maybe. From what I heard through the grapevine. The police haven’t made any statements yet.”
“How did they find her?”
“A 911 call. Again, from what I heard.”
911 call? What the hell? “Does the grapevine know who made the call?”
She shook her head. “Not that I heard. If I pick up any new intel, I’ll let you know. Anyway, they’ve beefed up security around all the hospitals in the area, just in case he’s nearby. We can’t turn around for tripping over a cop. Your girlfriend will be fine.”
Yes, she would. Because he was getting out of this place. As soon as possible.
“You’re due for some pain meds,” the nurse said. “Let me know when you want them.”
That’ll be never. He couldn’t go nodding off again. “I’m okay without them.”
“I kind of figured you’d say that. You cops are all alike. You know how to get me if you need me.”
“I need to make a phone call,” he said.
She pointed at the remote that controlled the TV. “On the other side is the phone.”
When she was gone, he flipped the phone and dialed his boss’s number. “It’s Gideon,” he said when he got her voice mail. “My laptop was in my car up in Macdoel. I assume someone from your office retrieved it. Can you have it brought to me at the hospital?” He gave her the room number. “I’ll also need my phone back. Thanks.”
He had work to do.
TWENTY-TWO
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 6:15 A.M.
“Good morning, A—” His boss broke off her greeting when Gideon tapped his finger to his lips, then pointed to Daisy, who slept in the chair next to his bed. “Agent Reynolds,” Molina continued in a whisper.
Gideon pointed to the empty chair on the other side of the bed. “Good morning,” he murmured. He nodded to the laptop bag over Molina’s shoulder. “Mine?”
“Yes. With your phone.” She laid them carefully on the bed beside him. “You’re not supposed to be working. You’re officially on medical leave until you’re healed and cleared to return to duty.”
Gideon gave her his best innocent look. “I won’t. I promise.”
She snorted. “Right.” She sat in the chair and glanced over at Daisy. “She needs to go home and rest.”
He sighed. “I apparently asked her to stay when I was on pain meds last night.”
“I doubt she would have left, even if you hadn’t. She’s loyal. And smart. She called me last night.”
Gideon blinked. “She did?”
“She did. She asked us to place surveillance cameras at the rec center where they’ll do Miss Hart’s memorial service. Told us to look for a man with an injured hand who might be wearing her friend’s necklace. We will, of course.”
“Good,” Gideon murmured.
Molina gave Daisy a sympathetic look. “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. That her friend is gone, I mean. She seemed too . . . rational.”
“She is rational.” And loyal and smart. And fearless. The memory of her scrambling up that hillside with his rifle, of her going after that car on foot . . . they still made his gut turn to water. “And the death of her friend is starting to sink in.”
His hospital gown was still a little damp from where she’d cried all over him. And then she’d let him hold her. He’d been the one to give her comfort. It felt too damn good.
Too damn right. Whatever it took, he was keeping that feeling.
“I heard that the little girl was found,” he told his boss. “My night nurse told me.”
“It’s all over the news, so I’m not surprised.”
“She’s still okay?”
“Unhurt. Her grandparents admitted to giving her a large dose of Benadryl. They were on a long drive and wanted to keep her quiet.”
“Lovely,” he said sarcastically.
“Yeah, well.” She shrugged. “Not sure if they’ll be charged or not. The kid being quiet might have saved her. If she’d screamed, he might have killed her, too.”
“Too?” Gideon asked quietly. “You mean besides the man at the rest area?”
“I hope he’s the only one. He grabbed a nurse from another hospital’s parking lot. The nurse hasn’t been seen since.” She grimaced. “The interior of the minivan the kid was found in was covered in blood.” She sighed. “And brain matter.”
God. “He shot the nurse.”