“Nina’s not going to leave you as a loose end out here. As long as you’re alive, you’re a threat to her.”
I never opened my eyes but rubbed them with my fingers. “Hmmm . . . yes. I know.”
“Now that she’s assumed the leadership position, it’s going to make getting to her harder, and we’ve got a lot to do in the next couple of days. I don’t mean to talk out of turn but Mr. Windham is getting the best care available, and his family is here. Do you need to be? Any distraction could cost you.”
“I hear what you are saying, but trust me, I’ve got this. With the information you gave me about what Nina’s been doing over the last fifteen years, some things haven’t changed very much. She’s still greedy and selfish. I won’t need to devise some elaborate scheme to get to her. She’ll come to me.”
Hahn hesitated. “Okay.” He took a deep breath. “You’re the boss, and you sign my checks.”
Jokingly, I responded. “You’ll do well to remember that.”
“Dex is going to be on duty with you tonight. I’ll be with Lim finalizing what you’ve asked me to do.”
“Call if there are any hiccups.”
Just as Hahn finished speaking, Dex opened my door, and I got out. As we entered the hospital, Hahn’s car didn’t move until he saw us go inside. Where my enemies outnumbered my friends a million to one, his loyalty to me didn’t go unnoticed.
*****
Dex and I walked towards the ICU unit and then over to Brody’s hospital room. The closer we came to it, the hairs on my body began to stand up. Something wasn’t right. Where the hell was everybody? My heart started racing. There weren’t any guards stationed outside the door, and his room was empty.
Immediately, I dashed over to the nurse’s station. “That man—the man who was in room #204—Brody Windham, where is he?”
A nurse looked up from her station. She frowned as she glanced at the clock. “I’m sorry visiting hours are over.”
“Lady, it’s been a long day, and I don’t have time for any shit! I am Gina Lee-Xiou. Now look down on your little clipboard and tell me where is Brody Windham?”
The night shift nurse was about to say something, and it must have been obvious that if she uttered the wrong words, I would hand her, her ass. Instead of allowing that to happen, Dex spoke before she could. “Ms. Lee-Xiou has been given special privileges. Please, if you would, let us know Mr. Windham’s location.”
The nurse hesitated. Dex was trying to be nice, but I was ready to hurt that woman.
“If you could help us we’d greatly appreciate it. Otherwise, we’ll have to get your superiors involved.”
After a second of indecision, the nurse picked up her clipboard. She ran her finger midway down the sheet of paper then stopped.
I stood there frozen waiting for words to come out of her mouth. The seemingly permanent scowl she’d been wearing since my arrival disappeared only to be replaced by a softening of her face. The tight lines around her mouth loosened and changed into something that looked more like sympathy.
I wasn’t sure if my legs were going to support me. Why hadn’t anyone called? She raised her eyes to mine. “Ms. Lee-Xiou, I’m very sorry, but I’ll need to call Mr. Windham’s doctor to speak with you.”
I couldn’t respond. I just stood there. Everything and everyone around me seemed to be moving in slow motion.
*****
Death wasn’t anything new to me. I’d experienced a lot of it in my lifetime, some I’d personally been responsible for. Still, I didn’t take life for granted. In the midst of everything I was going through, Brody should have been a one-night stand. Period. Having him in my life had cost him his.
I was leaning against the wall next to the nurse’s station when his physician finally appeared. “Ms. Lee-Xiou?”
I pushed myself off of it, straightened my spine, and braced for the confirmation. Strange, it was a déjà vu moment. Only days ago, I’d seen Brody do the same thing when I finally came out from the US Capitol Police’s office after being questioned.
I was numb. All I could focus on when I answered the doctor was his white lab coat, and the fact that his wire-rimmed glasses were crooked. “Yes.”
“I hate to be the one to tell you this . . . I am so very sorry. We did all we could for Mr. Windham. In the end, his injuries were just too severe for him to overcome.”
I pressed my lips together as I tried to process what he’d just told me. My mouth felt like cotton. It was hard to breathe because even my chest didn’t want to move. I wanted to yell at the top of my lungs but couldn’t manage to do anything except stare straight ahead.
On the inside, I was having a full-on meltdown. Life had taught me never to let anyone see the most vulnerable part of yourself because they would just use it against you. Instead, I blinked a few times.
My voice held no emotion. “Have you informed his family?”
“Yes, a couple of hours ago. Some of them are still with the body.”
They always said karma was a bitch. Was this my karma? The pain I felt was as if it were my own gunshot to the chest. I’d met a man who’d finally accepted me, flaws and all, and who I didn’t have to pretend to
