Page 64 of Embattled Ever After

“What are you thinking, buddy?”

Chad leaned against the wall beside him, one cowboy boot cocked and his arms crossed. John shook his head.

“I’m not sure. Why target her? She never does anything to anyone.”

“That seems hinky to you too, huh?”

“Yeah.” He looked up at his buddy. “Am I oblivious? Did I offend someone and just not realize it? I’m coarse, I know that, but this seems more deeply rooted. He went after her specifically.”

Chad sighed and dragged a chair close so that he wasn’t looming. John appreciated that. “I don’t think so, dude. I mean, you push the line sometimes but this is different.”

Duncan ducked his head into the room. “Hey, gentlemen.”

“Hey, Sarge. We were just trying to figure out if maybe John pissed off somebody special.”

Duncan smiled grimly, lines bracketing his mouth. “I was wondering the same thing earlier.”

John folded his arms defensively. “I enjoy pissing people off, but this seems like a drastic retaliation. I mean, really? Put my woman in the hospital?”

Duncan shrugged, leaning heavily on his cane. Pushing to his feet, Chad passed the chair over. Duncan sank into it, and John stared. Normally, he’d have waved Chad off and just stood there. Was the boss actually admitting he was in pain?

“I think we need to keep an extra sharp eye out for anything out of the ordinary. John, just to be safe, why don’t you sack out in here tonight?”

“I had already planned on it. There’s no way I’m leaving her right now.”

“Chad,” Duncan continued, “is Preston back?”

He nodded.

“Let’s pull him in here tonight as well. He’ll go high and be ten different places at once.”

Chad pulled his cell phone from his pocket and typed in a message. “He’ll be here in about thirty minutes.”

The men sat there for a moment, trying to understand a situation that had very few details.

***

As she landedat Denver’s pretty, canopied airport, she wondered what the hell she was doing.

She was trying to get her life back on track, she supposed. There were too many loose ends.

Alex rented a small SUV with four-wheel drive to deal with the snow, if needed. The roads were clear, but there were a couple of inches of snow on the ground. It wasn’t enough to slow Denver down, of course, but enough for her to be leery of driving in it.

Now, where should she go? It was after eight in the evening. Scrolling through her cell phone, she sent Duncan a text.

What hospital is Shannon in? I want to send her flowers.

St. Joseph East. Room 319.

Thank you.

No problem. She’ll appreciate the thought.

Wow. Doesn’t get any more cut and dried than that.

Alex plugged the address into her GPS and took off. She parked in the lot and walked inside. Yup. Just as she’d expected. There was a gift shop inside, so she grabbed a couple of baby and parenting magazines and a huge vase of flowers. Juggling her purse and everything else, she headed to the elevator.

The hospital was big and beautiful, and appeared to have just been recently updated. There were still a few areas of construction, with floor to ceiling plastic hanging, as if to keep in the dust. Or maybe to keep people out. She wasn’t sure.

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