Page 32 of Operation: Unify

Lacy shook her head harder. “No, you don’t understand. Melinda wouldn’t have asked me to drive all the way down here to save her life if she was looking to die.” She frantically looked from the doctor to Connor.

“I believe you. I just wonder if something didn’t change between a year ago and now.”

Lacy firmed her jaw. “Her husband has been taking out insurance policies. I think you should compare her signature on the health directive to her other signatures before you follow it.”

“Health directives are still fairly new and the only time we follow them without checking with family is if it is signed in front of a notary. I just wanted you to know what was happening. We’ll keep working on getting her stable, then she’ll move to a hospital room.”

“Her husband has threatened her. How safe is she in the hospital?” Lacy scooted to the edge of her seat.

“Unfortunately, unless we have some documentation that says he can’t be admitted in to see her, we have to let him. If you can come up with a restraining order or something like it, then the hospital can work with you. I’ve got to get back now. I doubt she’ll be in her room for a while. If you want to stay, you can. If you want to leave your number with the front desk, they’ll contact you when she is moved.”

He didn’t want to usher Lacy out before she had a chance to see her friend, but staying in the hospital for hours would be uncomfortable at best. Then again, with the window blown out of her rental and Melinda’s husband knowing she was there made it pretty lousy for resting and keeping safe. The town was small, Tod had probably found them by looking for any vehicle with

WY plates.

Lacy looked around the waiting room, then back to him. “I don’t know where else to go. There’s only the one hotel in town and it’s closed until they get it cleaned up. We can’t stay at Randy’s dad’s rental.” She bit her lip. “This is turning into a lot more than I bargained for, but I can’t abandon Melinda now.”

“No, you can’t, and neither can I.” Because if he did, Lacy would question his willingness to do what was hard for the rest of their lives. When this was over, he wanted her to know that he was with her no matter what. Things that were important to her were important to him. He wouldn’t let his own worries get in between them like he had the first time.

“What should we do? I want to be here, but . . .” Her voice trailed off as she looked around at the room around them. Her nose wrinkled. “I’m not fussy, but staying here for hours isn’t optimal.”

Randy stood and clicked the side of his phone to turn off the screen. “I’ve got a friend or two who would let us stay with themuntil you can get Melinda. I’m guessing you’ll leave town as soon as the police say you can?”

Lacy nodded her head even as Connor shook his. “We can’t.” He hadn’t told her the danger at Wayside. No matter how much he missed it, he couldn’t add another person for his team to protect at the ranch.

“Why? Because of Viceroy?” Lacy’s voice went up an octave.

“Yes, he got free which means you would be in even bigger danger there, plus Melinda would need protection from a completely separate threat. I can’t spread my team that thin.”

Lacy hung her head. “Then we need a home base. Somewhere we can stay for a while.”

Connor pulled Lacy into his arms, then looked to Randy. “I’m sorry about your dad’s rental. If there’s anything I can do, let me know.”

Randy brushed off the comment. “He has insurance, and he charges a lot for the house, enough that he has the money for a window and to fix the wall. He’ll be mad at me for letting people stay there who would bring trouble, but that’s all that will happen.”

Connor didn’t know the area, so trying to pull a solution out of thin air was impossible.

Randy snapped his fingers. “I have an idea. What about Melinda’s aunt’s house? It was cleared and Tod would never expect you to go back there because she wasn’t related to you. It will give you a place to rest and check in with your team back home and we can wait to hear from the hospital.”

Lacy shivered. “There’s a garage there too, to hide the truck. I’m okay with it. As long as I don’t have to see that bathroom ever again. That was the stuff of nightmares.”

Which meant Tod, if he’d done it, was able to be violent enough to kill someone face-to-face. That took a special kind of evil, one that Connor wasn’t looking forward to meeting.

Chapter Twelve

Connor had taken the couch at Aunt Joy’s and Randy had taken the office, leaving Lacy with the spare bedroom, since she wasn’t about to sleep in the dead woman’s bed. She had heard Connor talking on the phone with Brendon earlier, but she didn’t want to make him rehash everything with her. She closed the door to her room and called Ferd.

Ferd answered on the third ring. “Lacy? Is that you?”

“Yes, Ferd. How are you? How is the ranch?”

Silence made Lacy’s stomach tighten. “We’re taking this hour by hour. Officer Nixon has been in touch with us a lot. He’s got eyes on the entrances to town and another stationed on the road that leads to Wayside.”

“So, you’re boxed in.” She’d hated that feeling when they’d had to be behind locked gates and security systems. When Viceroy was finally gone, they wouldn’t need to have such stringent security. Their guests could roam freely again around the ranch.

“Yes, but so far, we’re doing all right. I’m actually more worried about Christmas than I am about an attack. I personally feel, and Nadine agrees with me, that Viceroy will stay away.He has to know that coming here is a huge risk. He could be captured again. I think his main goal is staying out of jail and avoiding trial.”

“That’s a great thought but criminals don’t always make sense.” She took a deep breath. “I may need a place for a friend to stay when we return. Can you get a cabin ready for me? One of the smaller ones is fine. She won’t need a family one.” Hopefully, she would make it through this and be able to come to Wyoming for the winter until Melinda could get back on her feet.

---