He didn’t agree, but he didn’t dare argue. It wasn’t his place to express an opinion. “You don’t think she will let it go and move on?”
“No, of course she won’t. She’s planning now. I’m sure of it. That’s what I would do. I’d carefully plan. Is there anything else to report?”
“She has two close women friends.”
“Yes, you mentioned them last phone call.”
“I’m sure they know.”
“She could destroy this family, destroy me.”
“There’s something more I’ve discovered,” he said. He’d been holding this information, waiting for the right moment.
“The two women friends . . .”
“What about them?”
“They’re married to FBI agents.”
A long minute of silence followed. Then a hiss. “Something has to be done before she ruins me. I don’t want to worry that one day I’ll turn on the television and see her giving an interview . . . telling everyone who she is.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes. I understand.”
EIGHTEEN
She’d had little time for her friends, and she was glad to hear from Regan, who called on Friday morning just to chat. She told Cordie that Sophie and Jack were going up north to a friend’s lake house for the weekend. They would be back late Sunday. She also told her that there was a sale at Neiman Marcus. They talked for quite a while, and Regan happened to mention that Aiden was on his way home from the airport—he should be landing any time now—and she expected fireworks when he confronted Walker, who had made a deal with some congressman to build a new hotel. Regan continued with her news, but all Cordie heard was that Aiden was back in Chicago, and her heart skipped a beat. She didn’t want to run into him, didn’t want to chance seeing him with another woman. As long as she stayed away from the hotel, she figured, she would be okay.
After she ended the call with Regan, she was determined to avoid thinking about Aiden. Focusing on a few chores around her house wasn’t working, so she decided to do some shopping. The weather was hot but bearable. She changed into a pale blue cotton sundress. The humidity was climbing, and her hair was reacting with its usual curl, so she went with her go-to hairstyle and pulled it back into a ponytail. By the time she reached the shops on Michigan Avenue, she was wilting and wondering why in God’s name she’d thought it was a good idea to wear heels. She stood at the curb with a crowd of men and women around her waiting for the light to change. Cars were zooming past. She spotted two former students, Sean Corrigan and Jayden Martin, across the street waiting for the light. She hadn’t seen them since the funeral, when Jayden surprised everyone by giving his rather ambiguous testament to her father’s kindness in the matter of a stolen car. Both were decent boys who struggled with authority. Jayden, especially, had big trust issues. Sean saw her and waved. Jayden gave her an abrupt nod, which made her smile. He still liked to act the tough guy, she thought.
What happened next defied logic. She had just glanced up at the light. One second she was watching for the signal to turn, and the next she was standing in front of a car barreling toward her. In a crazy attempt to ward off the inevitable, she put her hand out to try to stop it from happening and jumped back. The driver hit the brakes, but it was too late, and the vehicle, brakes screeching, slammed into her.
The impact threw her into the air. The left side of her body was struck first, and she was tossed onto the hood. Her shoulder and head hit the windshield, and as the car skidded to a stop, she was thrown again and ended up on the ground. She had never experienced such horrific pain. The world began to swirl above her, and she heard people screaming as everything faded to black. She was barely conscious, but she could make out the sounds of worried voices and blaring sirens before she drifted into oblivion.
? ? ?
The emergency room physician and three specialists all told her how lucky she was to be alive. She didn’t feel lucky. She felt as though she had just been hit by a car.
Her injuries weren’t all that severe . . . considering. Her left arm was broken, the wrist was fractured, and she was bruised everywhere. She hadn’t suffered a concussion or broken any other bones, which really was miraculous, she supposed. As soon as she was given something for the pain, she became coherent and was able to give the hospital staff the information they needed to fill out the paperwork. A nurse told her that her purse hadn’t made it to the hospital with her. Either it had been left at the accident scene or someone had taken it. Her cell phone was missing, too.
A few minutes later she was given a shot that knocked her out, and the next time she opened her eyes, she was sporting a cast from her fingers to her elbow. And Aiden was standing at the foot of her bed. How was that possible? She closed her eyes, opened them again, and he was still there.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. “How did you know? The accident just happened . . . didn’t it?” Had she been asleep for hours . . . or days?
“Alec phoned the hotel looking for Regan. The staff couldn’t locate her. Spencer and I had just walked into the office and heard the news. We turned around and came right over. You gave me quite a scare. Don’t ever do that again.” He was scolding her, but there was worry in his voice. He added, “Alec and Spencer are here. They’re talking to the police right now.”
“But how did Alec know?”
She was struggling to sit up, so Aiden walked to the side of the bed and pushed a button until she was upright.
“I’ll let Alec explain,” he said. “How are you feeling?” he asked.
Horrible, she wanted to say. Really horrible. Her entire body was aching. Her arm throbbed. “I’m okay,” she said, and even she could hear how pathetic she sounded.
“You look like hell.” He actually smiled while he insulted her.
“Let me run over you with my car a couple of times, and I’ll bet you’ll look like hell, too.”
“You’re going to have two black eyes.” Spencer made the announcement as he pulled the curtain back. “Put on a cape and you’ll look like Zorro.”
Alec joined them. He winced when he saw her and said what he was thinking. “You look bad.”
Spencer stood beside him at the foot of the bed and nodded in agreement.
“Don’t you people know how to be sympathetic?” she snapped.
All three of them shook their heads. For some inexplicable reason, they made her feel a little better.
“You don’t want us to lie to you, do you?” Spencer asked.
“Yes, I do. I really do.” Turning to Alec she asked, “How did you find out I was in an accident?”
“I called you on your cell phone to ask you a house question, and some kid answered. He wouldn’t tell me his name. He said that Miss Kane was hit by a car and was on her way to the hospital.”
“Sounds like one of your students, calling you Miss Kane,” Spencer said.
She suddenly remembered seeing Sean and Jayden at the stoplight. “Did he say anything else?”
Alec answered. “He took your purse and your phone. He said someone was trying to grab it, so he grabbed it first. I told him where to bring it.”
“It was either Jayden or Sean, and they both know where I live.”