Page 90 of Montana Manhunt

“I want Noah with me. Don’t worry, Heather. He’s had plenty of stitches in his various careers.”

“Is that right?” Heather washed her hands and tugged on rubber gloves. She picked up the bottle of Lidocaine and plunged a needle into the top. “What do you do for a living, Noah?”

While Heather treated Violet, Noah told her a little about his background in Special Forces and his time as a law enforcement officer.

“Are you still a cop?”

“I joined Fortress Security with my teammates a few months ago.”

Heather paused and glanced at him. “You put in alarm systems?” She sounded skeptical.

Noah chuckled. “No, ma’am. We’re a black ops team now. We specialize in hostage retrieval.”

The intern resumed her work. “Dangerous occupation.”

“It can be.”

“What about you, Ms. Trevelyan? What’s your occupation?”

“Paramedic. I frequently work with Noah and his team.”

Minutes later, Heather put down her instruments and stripped off the rubber gloves. “Congratulations, Ms. Trevelyan. You’re the proud owner of ten stitches. I was careful, but you’ll have a scar near your hairline.”

“No worries, Heather. It’s fine. Thanks for the fast work.”

“The nurse will return soon with your discharge papers. Come back in if your symptoms are worse or if you develop an infection.”

Soon Violet walked with Noah to the waiting room. Grant and Rayne stood. “What’s the verdict?” Grant asked.

“Ten stitches and a slight concussion.” Violet squinted at the bright sunlight pouring through the windows. The pain in her head intensified. Lovely. She needed a pair of sunglasses. “Let’s get out of here.”

Noah leaned down and kissed her lightly. “I’ll catch up with you in a minute.” He glanced at Grant, who gave a slight nod.

Really? Noah handed off responsibility for her safety to Grant when she could look after herself? Most of the time, anyway.

She walked out of the hospital with Grant and Rayne flanking her. “Did you find Charity Bradshaw and Lauren Gilmore?”

“We have their home addresses and their places of employment,” Rayne said. “They live about an hour from here.”

“Are you sure you’re up to visiting these women?” Grant asked. “Rayne and I can handle it if you need to go back to the hotel for a while.”

“I’ll be fine.” She had to be. Finding her sister’s killer was her mission, and if Melton was their man, something these women said might give them the leverage they needed to force a confession from the lawyer.

And if he wasn’t their man? At least they would eliminate him from the running so they could focus on someone else. The problem was, she didn’t have any other suspects.

Noah caught up to them and handed Violet a pair of sunglasses. “Thought you might need these.”

Of course he’d noticed her light sensitivity. Noah Mann was definitely a keeper. She put the sunglasses on and breathed easier. “These are perfect. Thanks.”

Noah helped Violet into the backseat of the SUV and climbed in beside her. “Need your mike bag?”

“Oh, yeah.” If she didn’t get some relief from the headache, she might end up embarrassing herself by puking out the window. When Grant drove from the parking lot, Violet said, “Find a gas station, please.”

He glanced in the rearview mirror. “Yes, ma’am.” Two blocks later, he turned into the parking lot of a gas station and twisted in his seat to look at Violet. “What do you need?”

“A soft drink with ginger and some crackers.”

“Copy that.” He slid out from behind the wheel and walked into the convenience store.

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