Page 77 of Last Chance

She nodded.

“Good.” He pointed at the nurse hovering nearby. “Answer her questions while the others prep your brother for surgery. We don’t know what we’ll find when we get in there, so the operation could take a while.”

“Of course. Whatever information you need.”

The doctor headed for the exam room door. “Candy, get what we need while I talk to the surgeon and reserve an operating room.” He didn’t wait for a response.

“Sorry about that,” Candy said with a sympathetic smile at Janie. “Dr. Fentress can be abrupt, but he’s a skilled physician.”

“As long as he can help my brother, I’ll put up with a terrible bedside manner.”

“Come out into the hall. We’ll give the medical team more room to work on your brother.” Candy took them to a row of chairs and motioned for Janie to sit beside her. “Now, let’s go through Mr. Moran’s medical history first.”

The next few minutes were filled with question after question. Thankfully, Janie knew most of the answers. Candy finished the last question as the medical team rolled Moran out of the exam room and headed toward an operating room. She stood. “Go to the family waiting room down the hall and to your right. The surgeon will find you when the operation is complete.”

“Thank you, Candy.”

“Of course. If you need anything, let me know. I’m working until 7:00 tonight. When I leave, I’ll introduce you to my replacement.”

Sawyer escorted Janie to the family waiting room, grateful they were the only occupants. He seated her on the couch, then crouched in front of her, his hands cradling her trembling ones. “Can I get you anything? A soft drink, water, tea?”

Janie shook her head. “I don’t think I could swallow anything and keep it down.”

“I’ll let you get by with that for now. Soon, though, you need to hydrate. If the surgery takes a long time, you need to eat as well.” Sawyer held up a hand. “You won’t want anything, but you must keep up your strength. David needs you, and you can’t help him if you’re weak and woozy from neglecting yourself.”

She breathed deep, then nodded. “You’re right. I have to take care of myself so I can help with his care if Maria will let me.”

“You worried she’ll blame you for David’s condition?”

“Who else is to blame?”

“The people who beat him, Janie. Not you. You aren’t responsible for what David got involved in. If this is a burglary, you had nothing to do with it. If the attack is connected to Vatos Locos, you were a victim yourself. You certainly didn’t bring them to your brother’s hotel room. No matter what your heart might tell you, you aren’t responsible for David’s condition. Lay the blame at the feet of the ones who beat your brother.”

“My brain knows you’re right. My heart insists I could have prevented this. I know it makes little sense because I couldn’t have prevented what I didn’t know was going to happen.”

“You care about your brother. I would feel guilty if my enemy attacked my family, despite taking every precaution to prevent them from being targets.”

Tears trickled down her cheeks, breaking Sawyer’s heart. He sat beside her on the couch. “Come here.” Gathering her against his side, Sawyer held her while she cried.

After a long time, she fell into a fitful sleep against his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head and sent a message to Zane. If his friend could get the inn’s security cam footage from the time they left David in the coffee shop parking lot, they might see who attacked Janie’s brother.

He received a response seconds later. Excellent. Perhaps they could find something to give them a direction. The sooner they located the perps, the better. He wanted Janie free from threats as soon as possible.

While Janie slept, Sawyer multitasked by digging deeper into the backgrounds of the two men who had been arguing with Moran in the coffee shop parking lot. The more he read, the less he liked what he was seeing. Those men were straight-up killers. If they were the ones who worked over Janie’s brother, David was lucky to be alive.

If they didn’t want him dead, what did they want? He frowned. The logical answer was Janie. But why? What made her such an attractive target? Was it the money or something else? If he could figure out the motive for the hijacking and kidnapping of the hostages, the puzzle pieces would fall into place.

Janie sighed and snuggled closer. “What’s wrong?” she murmured.

“Thinking.”

She opened her eyes. “And that makes you unhappy?”

“In this case, yes. I can’t figure out the motive for the hijacking. If we nail that down, we’ll know who gave the order to take over the plane.”

“Whoever gave the order planned in advance.”

“Yes, they did. No one has claimed responsibility for the hijacking.”

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