Page 157 of Triggered By Love
“Guys, guys, no one has to watch me,” Avery said. “Finn is an Army Ranger. I’m sure we’ll be safe.”
“Well then, you will stay with us until it’s time to get on the airplane,” Dad said in an authoritative voice. “I’m concerned there’s still a killer out there.”
“Dan, stop scaring her,” Mom protested. “No one on that elevator had any reason to hurt Avery. I wonder if the restaurant up there served fugu and somehow, one of your quills got contaminated.”
“Mom, that is a crazy series of coincidences,” Avery said. “First of all, all the headdresses, crowns, collars, and masks were left at the art institute. Why would there be a random quill?”
“Ivanna might have stuck an extra one in Saul’s camera bag.” Mom never wanted to give up on one of her way-out theories. “Saul set it down where someone dropped one of those pufferfish livers, or one of the models thought it was funny to spear one of them from the aquarium.”
“Were there pufferfish in the aquarium?” Avery asked. “I didn’t take a look.”
“There were,” Damon said. “The police took all the fish as evidence, although I don’t see the point. The manager in charge of the fish tank didn’t know how many pufferfish he had.”
“Actually, someone tried to steal pufferfish,” Chase said. “I heard they found a plastic bag with water and a fish inside.”
“All this discussion only underscores the fact that we as a family need to keep Avery safe,” Dad pronounced. “No more discussion. One of you stays in her room. We take turns.”
“Sorry, but I have a flight to catch,” Alex said.
“I’ll have to set up video conferencing and my virtual reality headset,” Damon said. “Not sure the hospital will let me on their wireless.”
“Chase?” Mom demanded. “You can skip that Secret Service meeting, can’t you?”
“They’re picking me up in twenty. I don’t think I can reschedule.”
“What about that nice police officer?” Mom asked. “The one who gave you mouth-to-mouth? He kept you alive. If it weren’t for his quick thinking.”
“How the heck did he know you were poisoned with TTX?” Dad growled.
“It’s a good thing he knew,” Mom said. “Otherwise you couldn’t have gotten the antidote in time.”
“Yes, but it’s almost like he set it up to be a hero. Chase, what’s the data dump on Jason Burnett?”
“NYPD detective. Wears a chip on his shoulder the size of Everest. Shot the shooter from last year’s show. We went over it already. His background is clean, although he tends to be trigger-happy. Killed another suspect his rookie year.”
“If he’s so clean, why don’t we ask him to protect Avery?” Mom spread her hands as if she were the first to think of it.
“Because he isn’t family,” Dad said.
“Dad, will you do it?” Avery asked. All her life, her father called her “Princess” and put her on a pedestal, but he never really understood her. It was like she played a role of pretty daughter and he was okay with it.
“I’d love to, but you’re going to have to come with me to my meetings. I’m not sure you’re up to riding in a car all day. Are you feeling nauseous?”
In other words, he would be moving too fast for her to tag along. Story of her life. Dad was always busy, and Mom was always creating.
“I’m still a bit queasy, yes,” she agreed.
The real reason her stomach was squirming was that Jason had yet to visit, call, or send her flowers or a card. Had he really said the things she thought he said? Or had she been dreaming?
Even worse, had she said or done anything that scared him away?
“We should go and let you rest.” Mom hugged her, and she let herself enjoy the mother scent of turpentine and hand wipes. “We’ll be back as soon as the doctor releases you. Do you need anything?”
Only Jason.
“I’m good. Don’t feel like I’m all here, but nothing a little sleep won’t fix.”
Actually, she was obsessed with breathing, and every few seconds, she’d poke and pinch herself to make sure her nerves still worked. Being numb and paralyzed wide awake was like being alive inside a dead body. The scariest thing was needing to gasp for air but being unable to do so.
