Page 178 of Keep This Promise
I lift my hand, cutting him off. “Eden is mine without a test.”
“Holden . . .”
“No, listen. I don’t need a test to tell me what I already know. Mama James said the same thing when she saw her. She knew, just like I did. As I said to Sophie, had she come to me right after, I wouldn’t have questioned it. While I absolutely hate how it all happened and that I’ve missed three years of her life, a DNA test doesn’t change what I see when I look at Eden. I’m done talking about this, and I’ll take it as an insult if you say otherwise.”
“All right. I won’t bring it up again,” Emmett assures me. “So, if it’s not about the girls, is it about the dead husband?”
I wish I knew something about that, but I don’t. No matter how hard I try to figure out if there is something about them that I’m not seeing, the only thing that stands out is my medical license number. It is almost as if the person who sent them wanted to remind me that I am, in fact, a doctor. So, I requested Theo’s medical records.
Now I just wait to get it and see how many hoops I’ll have to jump through in order to obtain it.
“No, but I got a call from a doctor in the Seattle area. He wanted to discuss a patient he has—a young girl with a lot of similarities to Keeley and the other girls. Apparently, he was in Portland when Keeley showed up in the morgue and is friends with the ME there. She was admitted to the hospital two weeks ago, and she’s alive, but barely. He thinks it’s tied to the Wilkinson case based on the similarities. He was aware of my involvement and reached out.”
Emmett’s jaw tightens. “That’s not possible. Ryan Wilkinson is in jail awaiting trial.”
“And you think his organization folded because one person was arrested?” I challenge.
It’s been quiet since Ryan was arrested, and while I hoped it would stay that way, we all knew it wouldn’t. He threatened that there would be more, if not girls, then trouble with someone who is pissed. He’d made it clear that he wasn’t working alone, so until the police figure out who else is involved, there will be more.
“Of course not, and we have the FBI involved and looking into it. Blake was in contact with someone from her old team, and they told her they found a connection to someone in Texas.”
“That’s good, and we haven’t gotten anything from Wilkinson on the girls who were already in Portland?”
Emmett rolls the scotch in his glass, sighing heavily. “Nothing.”
Before I can say anything else, Spencer walks out. “Look at this sad bunch of idiots.”
“And look who completes the picture,” I toss back.
“True. Very true.” Spencer pours himself a drink then takes a seat next to us. “Why does it look like one of you is going to wreck my evening?”
“Another doctor I’ve worked with called me about a girl who might be linked to the case. Young, pretty, injected with all kinds of drugs, and found without any identifying information. She’s in a coma, so we can’t get answers from her yet.”
Spencer’s head falls back. “You know, the three of us don’t have to save the world. We can let the police there handle it.”
Emmett laughs. “My wife sure thinks we do, and if there’s a connection, I am the police and can help.”
“Your wife also thinks you are a catch.”
I raise my glass and smirk. “We all know the truth on that one.”
Emmett ignores us. “So, you want to just ignore it, Spencer?”
“Of course not. I just would like to enjoy our lives for once. I’d like to have time to actually heal from the hell we’ve endured. Brielle may look like she’s normal again, but she’s struggling. She jumps at loud noises and still has trouble sleeping. Anytime I say Isaac’s name, it’s as if the air deflates from her.”
“It hasn’t been that long,” I remind him. “From a medical standpoint, she’s still in the trauma of what happened. That first year isn’t easy.”
Spencer glances at his wife and then to me. “I know, and she’s seeing Kate now, which is part of what has me not losing my damn mind over it all. She goes weekly, and it’s starting to help a little.”
I nod. “Kate’s a great doctor. Incredibly smart and in tune with her patients.”
Emmett shakes his head. “She’s also dating George.”
Ahh, George, our deputy who truly baffles all of us. He’s a nice guy, which is probably what Kate sees in him, but he’s awkward and often finds himself in the strangest situations. The two of them are truly the most unlikely pair.
“Mama James loves George,” I remind them. She thinks he is perfect.
“Mama James loves all things that are in need of fixing. It’s why she loves you so damn much,” Spencer jokes.
