Desperate Girls

19

BRYNN WOKE up alone in the big bed. The room was light, and the traffic noise drifted up from street level. She lay beneath the cool comforter, listening to voices in the kitchen, but none of them belonged to Erik.

She refused to feel hurt. Or disappointed. He’d made it clear last night where he stood on things, and nothing she’d done had changed his mind.

She slid out of bed and took her time in the shower. It was Saturday, so at least she didn’t have to be in court. She dressed and put on some makeup, then took a deep breath to brace herself before going into the kitchen.

She found Jeremy seated at the bar with his computer. The sight of him there instead of Hayes or Trent put an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“Good morning,” she said.

“Morning.”

She went straight for the coffeepot, glancing over her shoulder at him. Jeremy had a super-ripped build, a military-short haircut, and pale gray eyes that seemed to notice everything. Like Erik, he was a former Marine. Also like Erik, he wasn’t a talker.

Brynn opened the canister, and just the smell of ground coffee perked up her senses. She got the coffee maker going and turned to face him. Her first challenge of the day was going to be chatting him up and getting info.

“So.” She smiled. “Who else is here this morning?”

“Keith is in the control room, watching the surveillance cams.”

“I assume you reviewed them from last night?”

He nodded. “No sign of Corby near the entrances.”

Brynn shook her head. “Amazing.”

“What’s that?”

“How he’s managed to elude the marshals for so long. Not to mention the local police.”

“They’ll find him.”

“You sound like Erik.”

The coffeepot gurgled, and she went to the pantry to hunt up some breakfast.

“Would you like a Pop-Tart?” she asked.

“No, ma’am.”

She eyed him across the kitchen. Did they do it to needle her, or was it just ingrained? She tore open the foil packet and slipped a chocolate-iced pastry into the toaster.

The coffee finished brewing, and she filled a mug. She dumped several scoops of sugar into it and then stepped over to the bar across from Jeremy.

“So where is Erik?” she asked, taking a sip.

“Out.”

She sighed and tried again. “Where did he go?”

“Had some things to take care of.”

She lifted her eyebrows.

“He’ll probably be back by this afternoon.”

Brynn tried to keep her reaction to herself. This afternoon? She sipped her coffee and waited for Jeremy to elaborate, but he didn’t.

The toaster popped. Brynn put her pastry on a plate and broke off a bite. Jeremy watched her silently, probably horrified by her caffeineand-sugar–infused breakfast.

She glanced at the clock. “It’s eight, so Ross’s sister is likely at the hospital. I need to call her for an update.”

“I just talked to Skyler. He made it through the night, no complications, and they’ve moved him to a private room.”

“That’s great.” Relief flooded her, and she pressed her hand to her chest. “He’s stabilized, then?”

Jeremy nodded.

Tears welled in her eyes, and she turned around to top off her coffee while she struggled for composure.

“What else do you know?” she asked.

“The doctor didn’t tell the family much.”

“Yes, but I’m guessing you know more, right?”

Jeremy was the head of Ross’s security detail. He felt responsible for him. And there was no way he’d been satisfied with the hospital’s vague we’ll know more when we know more crap.

“Come on. Tell me what you have.”

He closed his computer. “I talked to my friend who’s a combat medic, told him about Ross’s injury.”

“Okay . . . but isn’t a combat medic more familiar with bullet wounds?”

“Bullets, blades, shrapnel, burns. He’s pretty much seen it all.”

“What did he say?”

“Generally, the kidney is the bigger issue. If they can repair the damage and keep him stabilized, he should have a good outlook. And from what I hear, they were able to do that last night.”

“So that’s more good news.”

“Should be.”

But Jeremy continued to look morose. Clearly, he felt responsible for his protectee being in the hospital, even though he wasn’t the man who put him there.

“How’s Skyler doing?” Brynn asked.

His brow furrowed. “This has been hard on her. But she’s tough. She was there all night with the marshals.”

“I heard Liam pulled her off the team.”

“Pulled her off protective detail,” Jeremy said. “She’s handling purely tech stuff now.”

“You think it was the right call?”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “And she understands that. She screwed up, so she’s off.”

“And the marshals are guarding him at the hospital?”

“So they say. I think they’re mostly there to interview him when he’s ready to talk.”

“I need to go see him,” she said.

“He can’t have visitors right now.”

“Later this morning, then.”

“We should be able to arrange something this afternoon.”

Brynn’s uneasy feeling was back again. She took her plate to the sink. “You mean when Erik gets back,” she stated.

“That’s right.”

She turned to look at Jeremy. “And where is he again?”

“He had something to take care of.”

“What exactly?”

No comment.

She leaned back against the counter and stared at Jeremy. He didn’t look away. Neither did she. Brynn had a sneaking suspicion about where Erik had gone, and she hoped to hell she was wrong.

“Jeremy, why are you here this morning?”

“Erik asked me to cover for him.”

“And why’d he ask you?”

“I don’t know.”

“He could have asked Trent or Keith or Hayes, but instead, he asked you. Why do you think that is?”

Jeremy smiled slightly and crossed his arms. “I feel like I’m in a deposition here.”

She shrugged. “I’m just curious why Erik would ask you, specifically, when you’re not on my detail.”

“He trusts me.”

“Trusts you . . . not to hit on me? Or to keep me contained today while he’s off on some mystery errand?”

“Both.”

Wow. Honesty. She hadn’t really expected him to answer. And his answer told her a lot, starting with the fact that he knew something was going on between her and Erik.

Brynn no longer felt uneasy. Now she was worried.

“Jeremy, you understand, right, that just because my firm hired your firm to provide security, that doesn’t mean I’m under house arrest here. You guys can’t force me to do anything.”

He nodded. “We can recommend. And we strongly recommend that you stay here today.”

“That doesn’t work for me. I have places to go and things to do today.”

Jeremy shook his head, and she could tell he regretted promising Erik anything.

“I know I’m going to regret this.” He sighed. “Where do you need to go?”

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“I’ll ask you again. Where is Erik?”