Elle couldn’t agree more. Too bad the patriarch of the Monroe clan had been careful to veil himself behind layers of plausible deniability from a legal standpoint. But anyone who knew the man also knew his radical views on the government and what he considered to be the tyranny of law enforcement. He believed men should make their own laws as dictated only by the word and letter of the Bible—most specifically, the eye-for-an-eye style of justice in the Old Testament.
Elle had heard his views on this particular subject more times than she cared to recall while she was building the case against his son. He’d been more than happy to offer up an anti-everything sermon at any opportunity. But he’d never crossed a line, had never been threatening. In every instance, he’d merely been exercising his First Amendment rights—according to him.
“Social media has given him a whole new audience for spreading his conspiracy theories and rallying others to his cause,” she interjected into the conversation. “His following is growing. The disenchantment with the government and all their infighting is making it easier for him to recruit.”
“Fan-fucking-tastic,” Joe murmured, slipping his arm around his fiancée’s shoulders and pulling her in close, tucking her under his chin. “That’s exactly what we need.”
Elle glanced away, suddenly feeling like an intruder on the family’s time together. She turned to Charlotte, the only family she had left, the loss of her parents and siblings a sharp pang in the center of her chest.
“Let’s go,” she whispered. “I feel like I’m just in the way. I’ll check in with Mac later and answer any questions he has for me.”
Charlotte’s auburn brows drew together in a frown. “Alright, honey. If that’s what you want.”
Elle nodded quickly and slipped out into the hallway without saying good-bye, her eyes lighting on a spritely doctor with unruly, wavy, bobbed hair. “Hi, I’m looking for a patient who was in surgery for a gunshot wound to the leg. Deputy Gabe Dawson.”
The doctor started at Elle’s direct approach, then giggled. “Oh jeez. Sorry! Little jumpy. This is what happens when they let me out of the operating room.” She laughed again, her hazel eyes sparkling. She looked at Elle expectantly as if waiting for her to say something. Then she shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment. “Sorry. You asked me about a patient.”
Elle grinned. “Gabe Dawson.”
The doctor turned on her heel and took a few bouncy little steps before motioning for Elle and Charlotte to follow her. Charlotte sent an amused look Elle’s way, brows lifted in a silent question. Elle shrugged and followed the quirky doctor.
A moment later, they were standing at the nurse’s station. “Here you go,” the doctor said, gesturing vaguely toward the woman behind the desk. “Wanda can help you.”
“Thanks!” Elle called when she noticed the doctor was already walking away.
“Well, she’s an odd little thing,” Charlotte said with a laugh.
“Oh, that girl is completely crazy,” Wanda shot back with a shake of her elaborate network of crimson-dyed braids. “But she’s a good surgeon, so they keep her around.”
“Who is she?” Elle asked.
Wanda clacked on the keyboard with long, gold-lacquered nails. “Dr. Isabel Morales. Now, who are you looking for, baby?”
“Gabe Dawson,” Elle murmured, frowning at Dr. Morales’s back, wondering why the woman’s name sounded so familiar.
The nurse made a few rapid keystrokes, then gave a curt nod. “Looks like he’s in recovery. Gonna be a little while before he can have visitors. You can go sit in the family waiting room.”
“Oh, no,” Elle said in a rush, shaking her head. “I’m not family. I’m just…” She paused, not quite sure how to categorize their relationship. Girlfriend certainly wasn’t an option, considering he didn’t remember anything that had happened between them and had moved on with a vengeance. And reluctant colleague seemed kind of impersonal and catty considering how he’d thrown himself in front of her to protect her from harm. She probably owed him at least that dinner he’d offered now that he’d taken a bullet for her. She forced a smile when she saw Wanda giving her an expectant look. “A friend. I’m just a friend.”
Wanda pursed her lips. “Mmm-hmm.”
Elle glanced at her aunt, then back at the nurse. “No. Really. I wouldn’t even call it a friendship. He’s kind of an ass. I mean, okay, he’s really good-looking and all, don’t get me wrong, and he does have his moments now and then, but there’s nothing going on—”
Wanda turned back to her monitor. “Mmm-hmm.”
Elle huffed a little and turned to her aunt, giving her an exasperated look.
“C’mon, sweet girl,” Charlotte said with a grin, steering Elle away from the desk and toward the elevators. “Let’s get you home. I imagine Mac and the boys’ll be wanting to see Gabe when he first wakes up. You can stop by tomorrow to check on him.”
“Why are you grinning?” Elle protested as the elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. “You know he gets on my last nerve! Like there’d ever be anything going on between us. I can barely stand to be in the same room as him. His ego makes things a little crowded.”
Charlotte made no effort at all to smother her grin. “Mmm-mmm.”