Page 76 of Turn Up The Heat

“Grady’s stable enough for now, but we need to get to Riverside Hospital. They have an advanced cardiac unit, so they’ll be better able to diagnose and treat him than Pine Mountain’s medical facility.” Teagan paused. “Not to ask a stupid question, but is Grady his first name or last? I’ve never heard anyone call him anything other than just Grady.”

“First.” This couldn’t be happening. Why hadn’t Shane been there? Guilt pushed through him, relentless and fast.

He should’ve been there.

“You work with him,” Teagan said. “Do you know his last name? We’re going to need to find his family. If he’s got any.”

The male paramedic began strapping Grady to the stretcher with care, and Teagan aimed an expectant look at Shane.

His heart wrenched in his chest, his voice utterly cold as the words formed in his brain and forced their way from his mouth. “His last name’s Griffin, just like mine. The only other family he’s got besides me is his son, Charles Griffin, Esquire. My father.”

* * *

Bellamy blinkedat Shane and took an involuntary step backwards as she reeled in an equal mix of shock and confusion.

Shane was Grady’sgrandson? But why hadn’t he said anything to her?

Realization shot through her as she stood next to Jackson, who looked equally poleaxed at the news. No wonder Grady had seemed so familiar to her when she’d met him that morning. Shane’s mannerisms were an exact mirror of Grady’s, right down to the inflection in his voice when Shane had called her “darlin’” the other day. Even if the physical resemblance was only slight, they were definitely cut from the same cloth. How had she not seen it before?

“Jesus,” Jackson said, his chiseled jaw falling open. “Grady’s his grandfather?”

“I take it you didn’t know either?”

“No. Neither one of them ever said anything,” Jackson replied in a low voice, shaking his head. “After Grady had that heart attack last year, Shane just showed up. I always thought it was a stroke of luck for the old man, you know, that some drifter came along to save the day. But Shane never told me where he camefrom.”

Bellamy’s thoughts raced. Shane’s devotion was a little clearer, but still. Jackson was right. He had to have come from somewhere, left something behind, in order to help Grady out.

Wait a second…Charles Griffin,Esquire? Bellamy’s stomach dropped like a rock.

Oh, God. He couldn’t possibly be Charles Griffin, Philadelphia’s most prominent attorney, could he? Bellamy had heard the name in certain circles at the bank, and while his offices didn’t specialize in real estate, per se, everyone who was anyone in the world of business had at least heard of the law firm. His name was in the papers on a regular basis, in both local news and on the social page.

But of course she hadn’t connected the dots. Why the hell would she?

Shane’s voice, loud and argumentative, yanked her focus back to the garage. “I’m going with you,” he insisted, following the paramedics and the stretcher to the door.

“Standard operating procedure, Shane. No passengers unless the patient is a minor.” The female paramedic’s tone suggested zero wiggle room.

Shane didn’t seem to care. “Like hell, Teagan. I’m going.”

Bellamy sprang into action, shoving her fist into the pocket of her jeans where she’d stashed Shane’s truck keys, and they all moved toward the door in a bustle of movement and sound.

The paramedic stared him down. “What you’re doing is wasting precious seconds of my time. I get that you’re worried, but if you want me to save his life, you have to get out of my way and let medothat.”

Shane stopped short at her order, helplessly watching in defeat as she and her partner loaded the stretcher into the back of the ambulance. Bellamy passed the keys to Jackson, who wordlessly went to start Shane’s truck. Out of sheer instinct, she put her hand on Shane’s shoulder, realizing only after the fact that he might not want her to.

He clutched her hand for a second before slumping into her, and she barely got her arm around him in time to hold him up.

“Okay,” she whispered, biting back tears with every breath. “Okay. Jackson’s waiting, Shane. We’re going to follow them the whole way there. Come on.”

The redhead jumped out the back of the ambulance, slamming the doors to the rig with finality before turning toward the driver’s side.

“I’m sorry,” she said over her shoulder. “I really am. But I promise we’ll do all we can to keep him safe.”

Shane’s eyes surged with raw emotion as he looked at her. “I’m holding you to that.”

With a nod, the woman climbed into the ambulance and pulled out into the dead of night.

* * *

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