Page 45 of Lone Star Secrets

“We just got to the hospital,” Angel relayed to Presley as they approached their turn. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

Angel drove into the multistory garage, continuing to keep watch while he also looked for a parking space. It was jammed so he continued until he found one on the fifth floor. He glanced around, and he must have gotten an uneasy feeling because he sent a text to Presley.

“Meet us on level five of the garage,” Angel dictated to Danno. “You have your gun with you?”

“No gun,” Presley immediately texted back. “There are metal detectors so I locked up mine in the glove compartment of my SUV.”

Mia saw the sign on one of the pylons. Notice: No firearms or weapons allowed inside the hospital.

“Shit,” Angel grumbled.

And she knew the debate he was having with himself. Their instincts had been to rush to Melanie, but that could turn out to be a deadly mistake.

“Come to the garage,” Angel finally dictated in response to Presley’s text. “Parking space A13. When you’re here, we’ll discuss options.”

Everything inside Mia was yelling for her to get inside the hospital. For her to give that blood that Melanie would need. But she also recalled those two attacks and stayed put.

Both Angel and she looked up as a car drove onto the level, and while Mia didn’t recognize the vehicle, she did recognize the driver.

Birdie.

Birdie saw them as well, and she stopped, giving them a nervous little wave before she pulled into the parking space directly across from them.

“Roger’s not with her,” Angel muttered.

“No.” That was a surprise since Roger had been right by her side during the visit at the foster house.

And Mia instantly got a bad feeling about it in the pit of her stomach.

Birdie got out of her car, and Angel drew his gun, confirming his bad feeling about this, too. He didn’t take aim at her but rather kept the gun resting on his knee. Ready in case this turned into an attack.

Birdie made a beeline toward them, and she didn’t look as polished as she had at the reenactment at the foster house. She was wearing black yoga pants, sneakers, and a gray top that slipped off one shoulder when she hooked a large purse over it.

As Birdie got closer, Mia could see that she’d been crying. There were makeup smears on her face, she was wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand as she approached them.

“Make sure your door is locked,” Angel told her in a whisper.

That got Mia’s heart revving, and she checked. It was locked. And she didn’t see anyone sneaking up on her side of the van.

Angel lowered his window just a fraction, not even enough for the woman to stick the barrel of a gun through the gap if that was indeed what Birdie had in mind. Mia hated to think the worst of someone who’d once been her foster sister, but Birdie had a huge motive to want to silence anyone who could spill details about that last night with Kenton.

“Melanie,” she blurted. Birdie looked at both of them and shook her head. “How is she? Is she still alive?”

Angel didn’t jump to answer. He volleyed some glances around them. Aimed some at Birdie, too.

“We’re waiting for Presley,” he finally said. “He’ll be here soon. Where’s Roger?” he added.

Birdie got a deer caught in the headlights look for a couple of seconds and then shook her head. “He doesn’t know I’m here. He, uh, wouldn’t have wanted me to come.”

“I’ll bet,” Angel muttered.

Mia picked up on what Angel wasn’t saying. Maybe Birdie didn’t want her husband to know that she had come here to kill anyone who might be able to put her in a cage for killing Kenton.

“Please don’t tell him I came here,” Birdie said, wiping away more tears. “Roger’s trying to make sure none of this affects his businesses. I’m doing the same. In fact, I’m here to say goodbye to RJ and tell him how sorry I am about Melanie. Then, I’ll be done with both of them. With all of this,” she added in a mutter. “You’re sure she’s still alive?”

Angel frowned. “Yes. Why? Did you hear otherwise?”

Birdie waved that off and made some nervous glances around her. “I have a friend, a nurse, who works here, and I called her. She said Melanie was critical and might not make it through surgery.”

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