Page 73 of Heston
Heston dragged a hand over his head and down the back of his aching neck. Didn’t help. There had to be a way to get through to her, but damned if he knew what it was. He’d never thought of her as fragile before, but she was now. Beyond fragile. Obermeyer had broken London’s spirit, and Heston didn’t know how to help her pick up those fragmented pieces and put herself back together again.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. Caller ID showed Mother on the line.What now?He’d already called in and taken the day off, opting to spend it with London.
“Heston,” he answered.
“Alex is on his way,” she said.
“He’s coming here? Why?”
“To talk to you, why else?”
“I’m not coming in, Mother, and neither is London. I don’t care what Alex wants. I’m not going on call-outs, either. Already spoke to Murphy and told him no out-of-town missions or overnight ops for a while. I’m… I’m…” What? On hold? Afraid if he left, London would leave and he’d never find her again?
“Will you shut up and listen? Get dressed. Alex should be there by now.”
“But I—”
Sure enough, someone with a damned big opinion of himself pounded on the door with a sharp, bold knock that sounded more like, “Let me the hell in,” rather than, “Please answer your door.”
“There he is. I hear him knocking. Open the door, Hes. Alex brought someone who’d like to speak with London.”
“She doesn’t want counseling, Mother. I’ve tried. If she thinks I’ve set her up, she’ll leave me for sure. I can’t do that to her. It wouldn’t be fair. You don’t understand.”
“That’s the thing, honey. I do understand.” Suddenly, Mother’s voice was softer and sweeter than Heston had ever heard. “I know exactly where London’s head is right now. I’ve been in her shoes, and so has the woman with Alex. Trust him. Trust her. Give London a chance to talk with someone who understands. She needs this particular woman on her side. You’ll see.”
“But I—” Heston shut his mouth at the sound of London’s bare feet on the stairs behind him.
“You gonna get that, or should I?” she asked, still in her too-warm layers of winter wear.
“No, babe. Don’t open—!”
Too late. She’d answered the door in the clothes she’d slept in. And there she faltered, staring open-mouthed at Alex.
“About damned time,” he chuffed.
“Bye, Mother. I gotta go.” Heston pocketed his phone and went straight to London. Damn it, Alex had no right to do this, this—whatever he thought he was doing.
London had turned white, as if she’d seen a ghost. Heston had half a mind to slam the door in his boss’s face—until he saw who else was on his doorstep.
“Kelsey?” That changed everything. “Come, come in. Please…” He gestured his smug boss and Kelsey inside, then closed the door behind them. Speechless, Heston had no idea what to say to smooth over this fiasco before London lost it. Poor thing had taken a definite step back, and damn it. Alex had just blown the progress Heston thought he’d made. If this didn’t look like betrayal—
“Hi, London. I’m Kelsey,” Alex’s wife said, her big dark brown eyes shining. But her voice was too weak and her face too damned pale for her to be out and about like she was. “I hope you don’t mind me stopping by. I’d lie and say we were in the neighborhood, but I felt I needed to see you. So here we are.”
Heston now knew one of the Wirths had planted a nurse in the Washington hospital and used her to slip Kelsey fentanyl. Again, not enough to kill her, just enough to keep her asleep and keep Alex on edge.
“She knows who you are, sweetheart. London Wilde is the woman who found us the night the trailer blew up, right, Hes?” Alex asked.
“Yeah, right. Sure. London ducked her boss that night and took me and Asher to this trailer she’d been scoping out and…” Heston shook his head, needing to shut up before he said something London didn’t like.
Her sad eyes were still fixed on the fragile-looking woman in the wheelchair. Kelsey would be in that chair until her ankle and hip healed. The helmet on her head was a sure giveaway as to her condition. She couldn’t go to London and Heston wouldn’t daresuggest anything, except… “Coffee?” he blurted. “Anyone want coffee?”Because I sure do.
Shit!This was turning out so, so bad. Alex had his nerve. He never should’ve—
“Hi,” London said quietly, shyly. Just to Kelsey. Not to Alex. Heston wasn’t sure London even knew Alex was there.
“Could we go somewhere private, maybe to another room, just to talk?” Kelsey asked, her attention focused entirely on London.
Heston opened his mouth to answer, but London beat him to it. “Umm, sure. But my bedroom’s upstairs, and you don’t look like you can walk. Is, umm, the laundry room okay? It’s just down the hall.” She gestured toward the garage. The mud slash laundry room was just inside the side entry.
