Bailey opened her eyes, feeling overheated, forcing her to push back the blankets. Only to cry out. Every movement hurt. As she rolled over, her back pain flared up again. The painkillers had helped, and she sure hoped the antibiotics would take care of any other problems. The last thing she wanted was an infection and a fever from the injury.
Of course, if she’d known she would get shot, she would’ve changed her outfit. On that slightly humorous note, she tried to sit up, using the headboard to keep her back rigid. Finally she made it, gasping with pain. She sat there and looked around the room, pleased to see it had the air of a home not a hotel. A bathroom was right in front of her. The only problem was getting to it.
Considering how weak she was, she used the headboard to pull herself upright, and then, using the wall for support, she slowly made her way across to the bathroom.
After using the facilities, she winced at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was a nightmare. She quickly tried to straighten it. She looked tired, but she couldn’t do much about that.
She wasn’t sure if she should stay here or go downstairs, not knowing the house rules. She didn’t mind staying in her room, but it was hardly polite.
Determined to not make anyone regret helping her out, she slowly reached for a bathrobe and placed it around her shoulders. She took a deep breath, waiting for the pain. At the very least, maybe she could say hi and then come back. She opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.
She didn’t have her purse or her cell phone, so she had no idea what time it was. She turned the corner and headed down a wider hallway. She marveled at the architecture reflected in this huge space—a whole lot of medieval castle elements. Seeing the elevator, she smiled. “I remember those.” She stepped inside and read the numbers.
She pushed the button for the ground floor and waited for it to take her downstairs. When the door opened again, she wasn’t sure where to go, but a lot of noise came from the right. She slowly made her way toward the commotion, taking another right, and ended up in a massive kitchen.
An older man prepped a single plate of food. He looked up; surprise crossed his face. Immediately he rushed over to her. “Are you sure you should be up?”
She reached out and grasped his hand. “I feel much better. I think it must be the painkillers,” she admitted.
He smiled, hooked her arm through his and said gently, “My name is Alfred. Come on. I’ll take you in to Dakota.”
He walked her slowly into the noisy dining room. She didn’t recognize anybody.
Alfred cleared his throat, and there was silence. Everyone turned to look her way. She retreated, but Alfred patted her hand. “Don’t you worry. You’ll fit right in, my dear. Everyone, this is Bailey. She’s awake and on her feet, even though she shouldn’t be.”
Dakota bounded up from the far side of the table and strode toward her. Relief washed through her at the sight of him. “There you are,” she cried.
He wrapped an arm carefully around her shoulders for support. “I thought you’d be asleep for hours yet.”
She smiled. “As much as I’d like to be back asleep, I’m awake. I wasn’t sure if I should stay in my room or come find you,” she confessed.
“You didn’t have to worry on that score. I’d planned to come check on you in a little bit.”
Ice stood, and her gaze traveled over Bailey, making a head-to-toe assessment of her condition.
Bailey smiled. “You have medical training by any chance?”
“Field variety but yes.”
Dakota slowly walked her around the dining table to an empty seat beside him.
“This has got to be the largest table I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“That’s because it’s four put together,” Levi said.
Bailey recognized a few of the faces now, but the others were all a blur from when Dakota had brought her here. “I’m sorry. I don’t remember most of you.”
Dakota pulled out the chair and helped her sit down. “How could you,” he joked. “They weren’t all here when you arrived.”
Seated, her back felt better. She smiled up at him with thanks and glanced around the table full of strange faces. “Thank you for the haven. My name is Bailey Hoskins,” she said more formally.
Dakota did the introductions, but the names came fast, and she knew she’d never remember them all. “It will take me a while to remember everyone,” she admitted.
“Don’t rush it,” a woman on the far side said. “By the time you figure it out, the rest of our team will be back, and you’ll be confused again. This is only half of us right now.”
Bailey knew her surprise showed on her face when the others chuckled. “Wow.” She turned to look at Dakota. “You said you worked for a security company?”
He nodded and pointed toward Ice and Levi. “It’s their company.”
Bailey looked over at the twosome and smiled. “So, it’s you I have to thank for the assistance.”
Ice said firmly, “No thanks required. It’s important you get back on your feet again.”
“Of course I really would like to know if you’re sure that the mayor was involved in the shooting,” Levi said, leaning forward. “He’s not my favorite person, so I won’t be too upset if he was.”
She winced. “It was him. I saw his face clearly.”
Levi studied her for a long moment, then nodded. “Good enough for me.” He turned to Ice. “Another regime will fall.”
Ice chuckled. “This is just a mini-regime.”
“I almost miss that. Toppling governments is a lot of work but fun.”
Bailey listened to the banter back and forth, but she wasn’t sure if they were joking or if they were serious. She figured it was a little bit of both.
Alfred arrived with a plate of food for Dakota. As soon as he set it down, he turned to Bailey. “May I get you a plate of the same?”
She glanced over at the roast beef and gravy and vegetables and could feel her mouth water. “Yes, please, if you have it to spare.”
Dakota chuckled. “If there’s one thing Alfred likes to do, it’s feed people. So it’s okay if he makes something fresh for you.”
She leaned over as Alfred walked away and whispered, “You’re lucky to have him.”
Dakota leaned back and said, “And we know it.”
She smiled. “Any word from Detective Mannford?”
Ice shook her head. “Not yet but I should give him a quick call anyway.” She hopped to her feet and disappeared around the corner. Her movements were fast, exact and efficient.
And it surprised Bailey. “I didn’t mean she had to call now.”
Levi shook his head. “Always better to do what you can do now, instead of putting it off.”
Alfred came back a few moments later. As he set the food in front of her, Ice returned. “Detective Mannford said no visible signs or evidence was left where you described it happening. He found no sign of a body or a large pool of blood at this point.”
“Of course there isn’t.” She frowned, hating for anyone to think she’d made this up. Why had she expected anything to be easy? She’d just assumed forensic evidence would be left behind, like in the television shows. “I guess he didn’t find any gun casings?”
“He said it was too dark to tell more than that, but he’ll return in the morning. He’s hoping the puddles will have dried up enough that they can search for casings or other evidence left behind. He wants to go back before the killer thinks to double-check for evidence himself.”
Bailey nodded. She cut into the roast beef, lifted a bite, and almost moaned in joy. “Oh, wow. I hope you pay Alfred lots. He’s worth every penny.”
Levi grinned and admitted, “We would be lost without him.”
Dakota kept a close eye on her and could tell she tried not to let him see her discomfort, but occasionally she’d shift positions, and he’d catch the pain whisper across her face. After she’d been sitting here for a full hour, fatigue pulled at her. Nothing like a warm stomach to make her want to fall back asleep again.
Dakota leaned closer and whispered, “Are you ready to go back to bed?”
She gave him a lopsided smile. “I think I’m ready to fall asleep again.”
“I’ll take her up to her room now,” Dakota announced, standing up. “Your purse is here on the sideboard too. We’ll take it up with us.”
Giving her his arm, he waited for her to stand. He knew her back had to be killing her, but the painkiller should be helping. He glanced over at Ice. “She needs her bandage checked.”
Ice hopped up. “Let’s take her to the medical clinic first. We’ll change the bandage so she can go right to bed.”
“Medical clinic?”
Moving slowly at Dakota’s side, she used his arm to walk, her back throbbing with every step.
“We have a full-on medical clinic here. Ice’s a medic, but her father is a doctor. He owns a private hospital in California. She’s done a lot of different training, although she’s not a licensed nurse.”
Bailey shook her head. “Wow, I sure hit the right vehicle.”
“I think I hit you,” he corrected. “Not the other way around. I’m still having nightmare flashbacks about that.”
She squeezed his arm. “No point. I have enough for both of us.”
He shot her a look to see if she was serious, realizing of course she was. She’d seen a man murdered, then ran for her life, got hit by a vehicle, only to find out when it was all over she’d been burned by a bullet. She’d have nightmares for the rest of her life.
In the medical clinic, they stopped so Bailey could stop and stare. Slowly she spun in a circle. “Oh, my goodness, this is just like a hospital.”
Ice turned and beamed at Bailey.
Dakota smiled. He hadn’t realized just how proud of the space Ice really was, but it was evident in every line of her body.
“It took a lot of time and effort to make this the way we wanted it,” she explained. “The first couple months we were here, we actually had a doctor with us, to help get it right. Unfortunately this medical clinic has been christened several times.”
“Did anybody die here?” Bailey asked quietly.
“None of our men did. Mexican guerrillas came after several of us on the compound. They weren’t so lucky.” She walked to the first bed. “Hop up here.”
“Good.” Bailey stumbled over to the bed Ice patted with her hand.
“Take off your bathrobe, give it to Dakota, and then we’ll just take care of your back.”
Dakota stood in front of Bailey, so she could see him, but also so she wouldn’t feel exposed when Ice checked her wound.
She handed over the bathrobe and struggled until she lay on the clean bed. With her hands at her side, Ice gently lifted her huge hand-me-down T-shirt that served as a nightgown until it exposed the center of her back. She used a blanket to cover her legs and hips.
In an efficient move, Ice removed the bandage. “That’s quite a burn mark.”
Bailey lifted her head and frowned. “Burn?”
“It’s what we call it when the bullet scrapes through the edge of the skin and burns into the tissue,” Ice explained. “It’s really just a superficial wound when compared to what the bullet could have done.”
As she lay here, Ice’s gentle ministrations were cooling and soothing. Ice carefully cleaned the wound, put a new bandage over it, taping it in place. Then she pulled down Bailey’s makeshift nightgown. “There, you’re all done.”
Bailey slowly shifted so she sat up again. She smiled at Ice. “I hardly felt a thing.”
Ice chuckled. “Well, I took it easy on you. But the rest of these guys, I’m pretty rough with.”
Dakota rolled his eyes. “Ice is a softy on the inside.”
Bailey gently slipped off the edge of the bed to the floor. “How long is the wound?”
“About four inches. I didn’t count the stitches, but quite a few are in there.”
“In other words, a big scar?”
Ice shrugged. “It’ll be a scar for sure. Doesn’t have to be a very big one. Depends on how well you heal. Around this place, scars are just war wounds. We all have them—way more than we want to show anyone—and they all come with bad memories. Now you have one of your own.”
On that note, she patted Dakota on the shoulder and said, “Make sure she gets to bed safely.” Then she turned and walked out.
With Dakota guiding her, Bailey made her way to the elevator and upstairs to the second floor. “This place is incredible.”
Dakota smiled. “It’s pretty crazy. I haven’t been here very long myself. But at least I know my way around now. Yet that was still the first time I’ve had to go to the medical clinic.”
“Good to know you weren’t injured enough to need medical care.”
He nodded quietly. “She meant what she said about somebody attacking the compound. It’s happened several times.”
She shook her head. “It’s hard to imagine. But, of all the places I could end up, this is likely one of the best.”
“Which is exactly why I brought you here. Ice and Levi also have great connections within the law enforcement world. Not just in Houston but across the country. Including the FBI and the Texas Rangers.”
“Wow. Thank you so much for hitting me then.” She shot him a comical look.
He gave a bark of laughter. “I never thought I’d hear that statement in my life.”
They arrived outside her door. He stepped forward, opened it, turned on the lights and held the door so she could walk in.
She stared at the bed. “I have to go to the bathroom first. Then I’ll be tucked in for the night.” As she made her way to the bathroom, she turned to look at him. “I’ll be fine now. You don’t have to wait for me.”
He crossed his arms, leaned against the open door, not saying a word.
She rolled her eyes. “I guess that means you’ll wait?” She shook her head without waiting to see or hear the answer and walked into the bathroom. She silently closed the door. She really wanted a shower, but she knew that wasn’t feasible with the bandage on her back.
A brand-new toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste waited for her. She smiled. Ice thought of everything.
Also a folded washcloth was off to the side. She used the facilities and washed her hands and face and brushed her teeth. When she was done, she opened the door and made her way to the bed.
She hadn’t made the bed when she’d walked out earlier, but, while she’d been in the bathroom, Dakota must have straightened the bedding and then turned back the covers so she could get in easier. She stood beside the bed and dropped the bathrobe from her shoulders. She should have handed it to him, but it was too late. He stepped up and held her arm. She slowly lowered herself to the mattress.
When she was finally flattened out, he pulled the covers over her. Then he grabbed the bathrobe and hung it on a hook on the back of the door.
“You make a great babysitter,” she whispered.
“No, I do not.” He walked to the door.
“Good night,” she called out. “And thanks for taking such great care of me.”
“Good night.” He hesitated at the doorway, turned, then asked, “You want the door open or closed?”
She thought about it for a moment and then whispered, “Closed please.”
The last thing she heard was the gentle click as the door latch was engaged. She smiled. She had no idea how she got to be so lucky, but she was damned grateful. She closed her eyes and let sleep take over.
*
Dakota walked back downstairs. It’d been a hell of a long day in many ways. He was restless, rather desperate to discuss today’s events with his friends. He found Ice and Levi still sitting at one of the smaller kitchen tables. They both looked up at him when he walked in.
“She’s almost asleep now,” he said. He turned and leaned against the counter and stared at them both. “Not sure I’ll sleep tonight though.”
Levi nodded. “Nightmares are something we’re all well used to.”
“Any update from Detective Mannford?”
Ice shook her head. “Not since I called. There won’t be any new info until morning.”
He nodded. “I’ll do some research on the mayor and the people he has business dealings with. Maybe, if we can come up with some faces for her to look at tomorrow, it’ll jog her memory.”
“That’s a good idea,” Levi said. “And make sure you do some research on her too. I don’t doubt that this happened to her today, but you don’t know who she is fully yet.”
Dakota nodded. “I’m pretty damn sure about what I do know. However, as we all are aware, information is power, so I’ll do my due diligence there too.”
“Does she have a vehicle?” Ice asked.
He shrugged. “I’m not sure if she does or not. She was running when I hit her, and she was only a few blocks from her apartment.” He frowned at Ice. “Why?”
“I just wondered if it needed to be collected.”
He was relieved she was thinking about it as he sure hadn’t thought to ask. “Better it stays where it is, particularly if it’s at her apartment. Keeping it under surveillance will burn their manpower and keep them guessing. I’ll ask her about it later.” He walked toward the doorway. “I’ll head to my room, do a little online digging before I call it a night.”
The two called out good-night as he left the kitchen. He detoured to the dishwasher, put his coffee cup in and went upstairs to his room, next to Bailey’s. He didn’t know if that was deliberate on Ice’s part but figured it was. Not only would he hear Bailey if she called out, but he could keep an eye on her.
Once in his room, he took a quick shower, put on clean boxers and dropped onto the bed with his laptop. A few minutes later he was deep in research on the mayor. Being relatively new to the area, Dakota didn’t know any of the names or issues.
An hour later he was certainly much better versed. And he wasn’t impressed with what he had read about the mayor either.
According to the pictures he’d found, the mayor was often seen with two men. Whether they were bodyguards or aides, Dakota didn’t know, but one was tall and had more of a bruiser look to him. Dakota tracked down several good images of both the mayor’s face and his aides, saving them on his laptop. In the morning he’d ask Bailey if she recognized any of them.
Then he did research on Bailey herself. Searching for her last name and then her first name. One of the initial things that popped up was the obituary for her husband. He settled back to read it.
The story was as she had given him—just a brief description. The images of the grief-stricken widow hit him hard. She really had been through a lot lately. He looked for earlier photos of her and came up with a couple from social media. Back then she was at least twenty pounds heavier than she was now and a whole lot happier. He put away his laptop and muttered, “You might’ve been happier, but you’re a survivor now, and that’s worth a lot today and into the future. We’ll get you through this. Don’t worry.”
He turned out the lights and rolled over. With any luck, he’d get some decent sleep himself.