Page 94 of Deadly Designs

“At least thirty minutes. It was a while. One of yourcoworkers commandeered the helicopter and pilot from the yacht tofly you here. Dr. Wooten, who was attending the fundraiser,accompanied us.”

He squeezed her hand. “Thanks for coming withme.”

“Are you kidding? There is nowhere else I’d ratherbe. But please, don’t get hurt again.”

“I’ll try.”

The door opened, and a man came inside wearing awhite smock over a tuxedo. He nodded at Aja Blue. “Ms. Lalonde. Howare you feeling, Mr. Zamora?”

“Like I could get out of here and go home.”

The man smirked. “Nice try. I’m Doctor Wooten. I wasat the fundraiser tonight. Still not sure what transpired, butthat’s a discussion for later. Your tests and x-rays have come backnormal. No cracked skull. You have a very hard head, Mr.Zamora.”

“Heard that all my life,” joked Christian.

“You do have a significant concussion and, once thedrugs wear off, you’ll have a monster headache, I’m sure, but youshould recover with no ill effects.”

“Great. When can I get out of here?”

“I’m keeping you for twenty-four hours, minimum.”When Christian opened his mouth, Dr. Wooten cut him off. “Noarguments. Head injuries are not to be treated lightly. Issuescould crop up unexpectedly, like blood clots. We’ll need to monitoryou today, and if your numbers are strong and you show no signs ofimpairment, you will be released tomorrow.”

The only good thing about spending the day confinedto a hospital was that he wouldn’t have to deal with the crush ofthe media that was about to descend—or maybe they already had.Discovering the wealthiest man in America had conspired with anotorious war criminal would blow up quickly. Kayne or Presleywould’ve called the COBRA Securities public relations professionalsto handle it.

He must have fallen asleep because the low murmur ofvoices woke him. Instead of Dr. Wooten standing by his bed, Kayne,Presley, and Nicole talked with Aja Blue.

“Hey, Christian, how are you feeling?” Kayne askedwhen he noticed he’d awoken.

The drugs were wearing off, and his head was poundingdully, but he lied and said, “Good. Fill me in.”

They approached the bed, and he held up a hand for afist-bump with Nicole. “I heard you took care of my attacker.”

“Broke her radius in two places.”

“Sweet.”

“It was a thing of beauty to watch,” Kayne toldhim.

“I figured you’d be dealing with the aftermath fordays.”

Nicole gritted her teeth. “I wasn’t allowed toassist. I was ordered away after giving my statement.”

“Wow. Harsh, after you were part of thetakedown.”

“To be fair, it was all you guys. You figuredeverything out.” She looked up at Aja Blue. “Detectives will behere to interview you sometime today. Probably the feds, too. Everythree-letter agency in the government descended.”

“Great,” Aja Blue deadpanned. “Can’t wait.”

“All of us will be interviewed endlessly, so getready.”

“Needless to say, it was a monumental shitstorm . . .uh, sorry for the profanity, Aja Blue,” said Kayne.

“You never apologize to me.” Presley sniffed.

“That’s because your vocabulary is far more colorfulthan mine.”

She shrugged. “True.”

“No worries here,” Aja Blue told him.

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