Page 72 of Operation: Discovery

Brendon snorted. “She was sick enough to kill at least five people for their blood. She’s almost as bad as he is. For all we know, Viceroy is the father.”

Connor kept silent for a moment. “If that’s true, they’ve kept this whole scenario in the family. Her sister Evie owns the home of the child who is the perfect organ match for her sick nephew. Ramona is a nurse, capable of doing the transfusions but not the transplants for her child. She needed help, but mostly, she needed donors.”

“Yes, and if Viceroy is the boy’s father, then she would have the connection to an almost endless supply of donors for her needs.” Brendon glanced up at Dee to make sure his voice wouldn’t wake her.

“I need to call Nixon on this hunch and see if Ramona is married and who he is. This might be the break we’ve been praying for.”

Dee whimpered in her sleep, and she shifted like she was trying to break free of something but was too weak to even move the blankets. Brendon lowered his voice to barely a whisper. “I don’t know if the cost was worth it.”

ChapterTwenty-Nine

Sam Elsner ruffled the ears of Max, the golden retriever. He’d been keeping an eye on the dog for weeks after the bombing, to make sure he wouldn’t have permanent hearing loss. Unfortunately, he was fairly certain the blast had damaged the dog’s ear drum and now he had a perpetual head-tilt. He was slightly wobbly and sometimes went in circles, like he was caught in a vertigo whirlpool, but otherwise didn’t appear to be suffering.

He didn’t choose favorites in his kennels, but Max and Bubbles had been chosen to go for more walks lately than the others. To be fair, the others were working dogs, used to keep Wayside safe from animal and human predators. Max just wouldn’t be able to perform the same duties he used to. They didn’t usually need a bomb sniffer at Wayside, anyway.

A text came through on his phone from Connor, asking him to come up to his office for a minute. Since he already had a guest who he worked with, the request was odd. Usually, Connor would walk out there and talk to him if he needed to say anything.

His chest constricted slightly. Had Connor finally found Kelly? He’d been searching for months, but Kelly had apparently disappeared like fog on a hot morning. Since he was certain his regret was justified, he wasn’t exactly sad over that fact. He put Max back in the large kennel run where the dogs could play and exercise, then headed up to the house.

The moment the door closed behind him, the house felt different, like someone was there who wasn’t usually. His steps slowed as he headed for Connor’s office door and knocked. Connor told him to enter immediately, without asking who was on the other side.

He opened the door and expected to see someone there, but only Connor sat at his desk, his head buried in his laptop. “Come in. Sit.” He tilted his head slightly to the chairs in front of the desk. “We need to talk.”

Sam lowered himself into his seat. Had he done something wrong? He always tried to keep quiet, follow orders, be the guy Connor could rely on. He didn’t want to be a foreman or lead anyone, he just wanted to help people and work with the dogs. That was his calling, and it was fulfilling. Leaving Wayside had never even crossed his mind. “Is something wrong?”

Connor looked up briefly. “Partly.” He went on tapping. “Just a second. I’m finishing an email. One that could drastically change your life and everyone here at Wayside.”

“Whoa, if that email is about me and will do that much, shouldn’t I be a part of whatever it is you’re saying?” He hated not knowing what Connor was getting at.

“Sam,” he stopped typing and turned to face him, “when I set out to challenge my men to face their one regret, I never dreamed that any of them would disrupt life as we know it.”

“But?” His chest hurt as questions flew through his mind too quick to even really consider them.

“But when I found Kelly, completely by accident, I realized that I would have to choose between one of my men and the rules that have made this place successful since the beginning.”

Realization dawned slowly over Sam, shoving him to the back of his seat. “You’re saying that the only way I could do this mission is if I have a relationship … with a guest.” Meaning the reason Connor hadn’t been able to find her for months was because she couldn’t be found by anyone.

Connor sighed and nodded once. “That is my issue. The other is that I refuse to turn her away. Her application came across my desk three weeks ago, when we were right in the middle of the Adam case. She was going through some things at the halfway house where she was living, but she’s going to be ready to come soon.”

“I can’t help her.” For more than one reason, he wasn’t sure how to even talk to her after what had happened between them, and he already had Rebecca as his current client. Connor never gave them more than one at a time.

“Even if you’d been available, I wouldn’t do that. In fact, in this case, I’m going to have her work with Edwyn, mainly because he rarely works with clients, and he’ll be a good balance for making sure she is comfortable. There’s just as much chance that seeing you could cause her to spiral into a depression as it is that you seeing her could be trouble for you.”

He’d never told Connor what it was Kelly had done to him, mainly because it was embarrassing. Kelly had been the bubbly sort of woman men loved to be with. She was great at making a man feel good about being a man without the promiscuity that sometimes came with women like that. She was sweeter than apple pie.

He’d been about ready to propose when he’d gone over to her house to pick her up for a surprise supper. When he got there, a large truck had been parked in her driveway, one he’d never seen before. Since she’d had a brother who lived in another state, he hadn’t thought anything of it. The visitor could be innocent.

When he went up the steps, he caught movement inside the house through the huge front picture window. There, in front of anyone who might be walking by, was the love of his life in the middle of a very thorough kiss with another man.

He’d turned around and left because he wasn’t the type of guy who confronted people. How could she explain that in any valid way? She couldn’t so why try? This wasn’t a peck on the cheek. If it had been, he may have still knocked. Unfortunately, without any sense of closure, he always wondered if she was happy and if she and her mystery lover ever married.

“Seeing her will cause an upset, for both of us. She cheated on me and I didn’t confront her about it. I’m not a confrontational guy, despite the fact that a lot of my military brothers are. That’s just not my way. I’ll call a spade a spade, but I won’t start a fight.”

“But I know you’ll finish one.” Connor’s brow shot up. “I know you don’t let yourself get pushed around indefinitely.”

Sam shrugged. “Not sure it matters in this case. What do you want me to do? Should I leave until she goes through graduation? Who will take care of Rebecca and help Brendon with his chair?”

Connor lifted his hand up slightly off the desk. “Just wait. You’re getting ahead of me. I’m not having you leave. Once Brendon is married, he’s considering a move over to the Homestead, so he’s not really an issue either.”

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