“One moment, Captain.” They placed him on hold, the mind-numbing classical music interspersed with static.
Brody moved out of the way when an aid brought in his lunch. Ryker glanced at the tray and rolled his eyes. Brie was bringing him lunch. The crap on the tray was just going to sit there. Brody carried his chair to the other side of the bed, straddled it, and waited.
“Captain, thank you for holding. I had to validate you were on the information release forms. Due to HIPPA concerns we need to authenticate your identity. Would you please tell me the password you both decided on when she was dropped off?"
"Cottages." Ryker gave the password.
"Thank you, sir. Sarah is doing well. The notes indicated extreme exhaustion and depression, which isn’t uncommon. She’s progressing as expected. If you have any further questions, I can try to find one of the doctors.”
“I have one question. If she chose to check herself out, could she?”
“Yes, sir. She’s a voluntary admit. We couldn’t hold her. Why? Do you believe she’d want to leave?”
“No, as a matter of fact, I think she’ll stay as long as possible.” Mouse was smart—she’d probably figured out as long as she wasn’t on Peña’s scope, she was safe. “However, I need to talk with her. I’ll be coming down next week. What do I need to do to make that happen?”
“Normally, sir, we discourage visitation for the first thirty days.”
“I understand that, but she is a witness in a case we are working, and we need to speak with her. It is a life and death situation.” Hers and his. Obviously.
“Well, I can leave a message for Doctor Missolli. He must approve the visit.”
“Please do that, and give him my number if he has questions.” He rattled off his cell number and then gave them the number at the office just in case he didn’t answer. Brody gave him a thumbs up, acknowledging the secondary number.
He hung up and dropped his phone to his lap. Brody shifted and leaned forward. “We aren’t giving this information to Callaway and Forsythe, are we?”
“No. She's a witness who has information on an ongoing case JDET is working against Peña and Rubio. If we get other intel that specifically supports the assumption that Rubio and Peña are behind the attempted hit on me, we’ll make the call to share information at that time.”
Brody dipped his chin in acknowledgment. "We got the preliminary on the three bodies from the fire the other night. Desoto was an easy match as we suspected he was one of the victims. The ME confirmed him through his dental records. No ID's on the other two as of yet."
Ryker felt his gut drop. "Those fuckers need to be taken down."
Brody’s attention riveted outside the open door. “What the––”
“What? What do you see?” He tightened his stomach muscles and sat up.
“Brie.” Brody was up and moving.
“Fuck. What?” He swung his legs out of the bed before he saw her.
She held a white plastic bag. “I brought lunch.” There was a red welt across her cheek and a puffy eye with a dark ring forming under it.
“What the fuck happened to you?” Ryker and Brody spoke at the same time.
She sighed heavily and set the takeout beside his hospital-supplied tray of food. “This is embarrassing. I had my purse and the lunch that Roger prepped for us, and I was trying to open the door to the SUV, and somehow, I got tangled up and popped myself with the door.” She pointed to the burger bag. “Our lunch disappeared in that little tussle. So, you’ll have to settle for a double-double.”
Ryker reached for her with his good arm, and when she took his hand, he tugged her to where he sat, moving her between his legs. She bit her lip and flinched a bit as he reached up to push back her hair so he could see the extent of the damage. He narrowed his eyes. “How hard did you hit the door? Can you see okay?”
“I clocked myself, that’s for sure, and yes, I can see fine.”
“No headache?”
“No.” She leaned forward. “But you can kiss it better for me.”
“And with that, I’m out of here.” Brody gave an exaggerated full-body shudder. “Never going to get that image out of my mind.” He winked at them both before he left.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” He carefully ran his finger across the tender skin of her cheek.
“I am. You don’t need to worry about me. I can handle things myself.” She spun and reached for the bag she’d brought in.
“What?” He placed his hand on her arm. “Babe, why would you say something like that?” She hesitated for a moment before she turned to meet his gaze.
Brie sighed and shook her head. “I’m just embarrassed. You have so much on your plate already.” She made a motion to her face. “You don’t need to worry about things like this.”
He shook his head and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. “Wrong. You will always be my first priority. Always.” He leaned forward and winced a bit before she leaned in and met his lips. They moved apart but didn’t separate. “I love you.” He whispered the words against her lips.
She leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against his lips. “I love you, too.” She leaned back and nodded toward the bag. He noticed the wince at the action, but she turned away and asked, “Hungry?”
“I could eat.” He nodded to the tiny table by the window. “Let’s sit there. I’m tired of being in bed. Are you sure you're okay?”
“You haven’t even been in bed twenty-four hours, and I'll be fine.” She was at his side as soon as he stood.
He held the hand she offered, noticing the way it shook. "You're trembling."
"I haven't eaten anything, and I've
