Page 3 of The Perfect Revenge
“Yes, but you can’t see him yet,” Jessie said.“I need to explain some things first.And you need to keep your voice down, no matter what I say.”
“Okay, explain.”
“I’m the one who organized the transfer,” Jessie said simply.
Hannah felt the pit in her stomach melt, burned away by the rage that replaced it.She wanted to yell at her sister, whom she’d asked for help in finding Finn and who had apparently known his location the whole time.But she couldn’t yell, so she hissed instead.
“Go on.”
“We were worried that Finn was too exposed at the hospital,” Jessie explained in a whisper.“Even with a guard posted outside his room 24/7, he was vulnerable.Whoever attacked him had to know that if he ever woke up, he could reveal their identity.So the attacker might be willing to take some dangerous risks to get to him.We needed Finn taken to a location that we could better control.”
“So what, you called in a favor from Murph?”Hannah demanded.
“That’s correct,” someone said, stepping out from the shadows.
Hannah recognized him immediately.It was Patrick “Murph” Murphy, a senior U.S.Marshal who had once hidden Jessie, Ryan, and herself in a mountain cabin safe house when they were being hunted by a notorious serial killer known as the Night Hunter.
“How’s it going, Murph?”she said, trying to control her frustration.
“It’s good to see you again, Hannah.”
Murph had the certitude of a man who’d been dealing with situations like this all his life.His physical bearing reinforced that image.Short and trim, with tightly cropped light brown hair, he projected a no-nonsense sensibility.
“You too,” she said before returning her attention to her sister.“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you were at risk too,” Jessie said.“First at that hospital.If you were in the room with Finn and the attacker came to finish him off, do you think they’d just leave you be?You’d be a witness.And even after he was moved, we feared that if you knew where Finn was and went to visit him, the attacker might follow you there.”
“You couldn’t do what you did with the family, and have the Marshals take me secretly, like they did tonight?”
Murph shook his head.
“We don’t have the manpower or financial resources for that,” he said.“It’s one thing to periodically get the family here.That can be justified to my bosses.But his not-quite-girlfriend?I don’t think so.Besides, the family wasn’t all that enthused about you even being at the hospital so much, so they weren’t going to be okay with you coming here.”
Hannah knew Finn’s family didn’t love her.She got the feeling that they blamed her for what happened to him, even though she hadn’t been around at the time of the attack.Of course, since Finn met her, hehadbeen in a few dangerous scrapes, probably more than he’d encountered in his entire life up to that point.
“So you obviously had the hospital surveillance footage wiped,” she said, returning her ire to Jessie.“Did you have Jamil and Beth slow walk things when I asked them for help finding Finn?”
Jamil Winslow and Beth Ryerson were the researchers for Jessie and Ryan’s LAPD unit,Homicide Special Section.Hannah had been working as an intern in their office this summer.
“No,” Jessie told her.“The only people who knew the truth, other than Finn’s family, are in this house right now.I didn’t want to put them in the position of lying to you.I didn’t even tell Kat, so she wouldn’t be put in the middle of things.“
“So why are you telling me the truth now?”she asked, and then, despite herself, added, “Is he dead?Is that why I’m here?So I can say goodbye?”
Jessie sighed.“No.I’m telling you because he woke up, very briefly, about a week ago.”
Hannah felt a million questions rise in her throat, but bit her tongue.She worried she might shout, so she swallowed hard and said nothing.
Jessie continued."He was conscious for about fifteen seconds, according to the nurse on duty.His eyes opened, and he made some sounds.But then he faded back into unconsciousness.He hasn't woken up since, but the nurse said there has been more physical movement since that time.The doctor has come by three times.He believes that there's a good chance that Finn might wake up sometime very soon."
Jessie paused, waiting for a response.But Hannah still didn’t trust how her words would come out, so she stayed silent.Jessie kept going.
"There was no point in telling you the situation as long as his condition remained the same.It wouldn't help either of you, and it could put you at risk if you insisted on seeing him.But now that his condition has changed, so did our evaluation.In fact, Rufus suggested that hearing your voice might help him wake up sooner."
“Rufus is here?”Hannah said.
“I’m here,” he said, stepping out from an alcove off the hallway.
Rufus Harrington was a private security officer from a company calledSecurity Analysis Services, or SAS.Back when a hitwoman named Ash Pierce was hunting down Hannah, Jessie, Ryan, and their friend Kat, Jessie had hired SAS to essentially serve as bodyguards.Rufus, a former special forces soldier who had moved into personal security once he left the service, was part of the team.He looked more like a gymnast (which he was in high school) than a brutish bodyguard.He still wore his dark hair in the buzz-cut style that she remembered, and he exuded a relaxed vibe that masked his skill set.
