Page 38 of Prodigal

What the fuck was happening?

Who was behind that door?

One of the men nodded at Samir and opened the door for him. Samir entered. André took a deep breath and did the same.

It was a fucking medical unit.

Men and women in scrubs and surgical masks were hustling about, and medical machines were beeping. It smelled like a hospital—felt like it too. André blinked. The place was—it was set up like the real thing. A small manned nurses’ station was off to his right, and six chairs and a set of vending machines made up a waiting area to his left. A heavy curtain cut off line of sight directly in front of him, so he didn’t know what else was going on, but…

He glanced at Samir and found the other man watching him.

“Follow me.” Samir headed for the heavy curtain, drawing it back. Rooms were partitioned off, like triage in an emergency room. André made out five of them. Four of the obvious hospital beds were empty, and machines sat dark and silent. But the curtain was drawn on the fifth, and André made out voices coming from there, almost drowned out by the loudly beeping machines.

His heart thudded.

Someone was in that bed.

Samir headed there, ducking under the curtain. André bit his lip, wondering if he should follow. Someone came out wearing a white lab coat, a stethoscope around his neck, a tablet in hand. A doctor. Then another person. This one was decked out as ifshe was about to go perform surgery. Or had just come from performing surgery. They nodded at André and left.

Then Gideon poked his head out from behind the curtain. “André.”

André’s feet moved, one in front of the other. Until he was inside the room, standing in the middle of Gideon and Samir, staring down at a man on the bed. He was hooked up toso many machinesand a breathing mask covered his nose and mouth.

Despite all the tubes covering him everywhere, André was still able to recognize him. There was no missing who that man was.

How did his father come to be here, in Gideon Winters’s secret hospital, clearly fighting for his life?

“What the fuck?”André’s voice was a shocked whisper. “What is this?”

Samir met Gideon’s eye, and Gideon didn’t have to ask to know what his friend was thinking—he didn’t want them to involve André. Samir thought he was a liability and couldn’t be fully trusted. Gideon wasn’t of the same mind, but maybe that was because he had a different kind of interest in André.

Either way, standing at the foot of Ennis Canto’s bed wasn’t the proper place for them to have any kind of deep discussion.

“Gideon.” André grabbed him. “What?—”

“Don’t touch him.” Samir stepped forward, but Gideon slashed a look in his friend’s direction, stopping him in his tracks. He ignored the exasperated expression on Samir’s face and turned to André.

“Ennis was almost assassinated tonight.”

André turned ashen. His hand fell away from Gideon and he stepped back. “By you?”

Samir snorted.

Gideon cocked his head, holding André’s stare as he asked, “What if it was?”

André’s lips parted. “What? Are you?—”

“Answer the question.” Because André had been demanding things earlier. He wanted Gideon to share shit with him, but he was also planning to leave at the first opportunity. So what would Gideon be left with? Did André even trust him? He didn’t know the answer to that question. “What if I had been the one behind the attempt on your father’s life? What would you do then?”

André’s Adam’s apple shifted on a deep swallow, and Gideon hated himself for the way his gaze clung to that movement.

“Is that a yes? Are you the one who tried to kill my—to kill Ennis?”

Gideon released a harsh laugh. “Yourfather, yes. That’s who he is.” He stepped closer, into André’s space. “Answer the fucking question,” he gritted out. “If I’m responsible, what would your next move be, huh? You try to avenge him?” He dipped his head in the direction of the bed. “You leave and take your sister out into possible danger? You try to get the authorities involved? Tell me.”

“G.” Samir’s tone held a warning as his hand landed on Gideon’s shoulder, but Gideon shrugged him off.

André glared at him and Gideon glared right back, and when André turned around and strode out, Gideon followed him.

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