Barry took Sean into a small, empty office. He pulled out his cell phone and said, “I downloaded the security feed from the parking lot. Zach and our tech people are putting together every feed from the area, but this one will tell you what you need to know.”
Sean didn’t want to watch the feed, but he needed the minute to calm down. He saw Tia exit the building. Right behind her was Lucy, her right wrist cuffed to Elise’s left wrist, because Elise’s right arm was in a sling. They weren’t in a protective formation—they hadn’t expected trouble. The transport van was twenty feet down from the entrance. Almost immediately, Lucy’s body lurched forward. She grabbed Elise, putting her body between Elise and the parking lot, and pushed her into the bushes against the building. Tia was shot twice, first in the torso, then in the leg. Barry was only two feet away, blocked by a pillar, firing back.
Sean grabbed the phone and played the beginning in slow motion.
The first shot hit Lucy in the back.
She went down with Elise, obscured by the hedge, and Tia pulled her gun but couldn’t get a shot fired. She was blocking the shooters’ target. If Tia hadn’t been standing where she was, the bullet’s trajectory would have hit Lucy as she started going down. The second bullet hit Tia’s leg, which easily could have hit Lucy even though she was behind the hedge by that point.
“Lucy was the target,” Sean said.
Barry frowned. “No. Elise was the target. They were shooting at Lucy to get to Elise.”
Sean didn’t say anything. He knew different.
“Where is she?”
“I know you’re worried, but Lucy was wearing a vest. She acted quickly, did everything she was supposed to do. I talked to her. She’s fine, but the doctor wanted an x-ray to make sure that there were no cracked or broken ribs. She is okay, Sean. As soon as the doctor clears her, she’ll be out here. Give it a few more minutes. And stay away from the hospital staff—they’re ready to toss you out.”
“What else do you know, Barry?” Sean asked.
“I can’t tell you that, Sean.”
“I’ll find out.”
“I’m sure you will.”
“Do you know who hired the call girl?”
“We have a solid suspect, but I’m not telling you who it is. He’s most likely behind this hit. We have agents on their way to pick him up right now.”
That means it wasn’t Tobias. Because law enforcement had no idea who he was or where he was located.
“Wait here,” Barry said. “I’ll get you when Lucy is out of x-ray.”
Barry left and Sean called Nate. “Nate, who’s the suspect behind the shooting at the hospital? Crawford said agents had been sent out to arrest him, but he refused to tell me who.”
“I’ll tell you on one condition.”
“I’m not going to go after him.”
“Swear.”
“I swear, Nate. I have some pieces to the puzzle, but I need this one. I suspect there’s a connection between this case and what happened two months ago. When my brother was in Mexico.”
Nate knew what had really happened down there, but Sean didn’t completely trust FBI phones, so was discreet.
“How certain are you?”
“I wouldn’t ask you if I wasn’t almost positive.”
“The girl confirmed that Rob Garza hired her to take dirty pictures of Worthington, and that he gave her the syringe. She swears she didn’t know the drugs would kill him.”
“She just gave him up?”
“No—it took being nearly killed twice to scare her into cooperating. Kenzie and two other agents are on their way to Garza’s office right now. They’ll bring him in for questioning, but I swear, Sean, if you retaliate, I can’t protect you.”
“I won’t. Thanks, buddy.”
Sean hung up and called Donnelly. “Where are you?”
“Trying to get into the hospital. It’s a fucking zoo out here.”
“I’m on the fourth floor. A private office, room E four-oh-four. Hurry.”
*
Adeline had been trying to reach Tobias’s people all day. Nothing. Nothing!
Her life was over. She was going to lose everything.
She straightened her spine. Never. She was too strong, too powerful to take this hit sitting down. She had plenty of money, plenty of resources.
She found Joseph Contreras in his small, tidy office off the kitchen. “You have to find Tobias, or someone! Tell them I’ll pay him. Everything he thinks I owe. And more.”
“I’ve tried, Adeline.” Joseph looked pained and worried. “I’m concerned about you. I think we’ve underestimated this man.”
“I don’t know how! He was left with nothing two months ago. How could he do this to me?”
“Maybe he had a bigger network than we thought.”
She didn’t see how that could be, but there was no other logical explanation.
“Then we need to take a vacation,” she said.
“Tonight?”
It was already afternoon. It would take time to liquidate money. There was plenty in her offshore accounts, but very little—since Jolene’s lawyers had frozen all of Harper’s assets pending distribution per his will—cash on hand.
“Tomorrow morning. We need to quickly and quietly drain my accounts.”