Turner’s eyes went to Annie immediately when he and the other two men entered Rafe’s office. Her big, blue eyes were worried—and scared. He wanted to comfort her, make that fear go away in any way that he could. “Annie, honey.”
“Turner. I…I’m not exactly certain what’s going on here.” She had on blue scrubs now. Her hair was in a French braid down her back. The blue of the scrubs made her eyes even brighter. But that didn’t detract from the worry in them. The fear.
Turner didn’t stop to think; he just went to the chair where she sat and knelt down in front of her. He wrapped a hand around hers. “You ok?”
“Of course. I’m just not sure what this is about.”
Turner felt like an idiot. But the idea that the people responsible for executing a twenty-five-year-old female TSP officer after forcing her to shoot her own partner and watch him die—Elliot’s forensics team had put what had happened to the two officers shot just after the storm together two days ago—wouldn’t hesitate to take out a nurse who knew too much.
It would be too easy for them to do. How much of a threat could a single mother of three present? Every hackle he had was rising with the urge to protect his woman. Caveman of him, no doubt. But he was a Barratt. And they protected.
Daniel came in behind Elliot and closed the door.
Turner slipped behind Annie’s chair and dropped his hands to her shoulders. He had no real idea what Elliot and Daniel were going to ask. But whatever it was, he felt the tension running through her. He wasn’t going anywhere.
“We need to know what Delancey might have said to you,” Elliot started.
“Thanks for calling us so quickly, Annie. Delancey…Delancey means the world to me,” Daniel said at the same time. Elliot fell silent.
Annie shot him a look filled with compassion. “I know, Daniel. She told me about your relationship.”
“What else did she say?” Elliot asked.
Turner stood quietly and listened to her words, trying to make sense of just what it meant. When she was finished, he looked at the man in charge. “So what do we do now?”
“The best thing for us to do is to do nothing, for Annie’s sake. As far as the world knows, Delancey hasn’t woken up yet, and she’s Officer Kelsie Royce, a transplant out of Brownsville,” Elliot said. He looked at Annie. “Does anyone else know?”
“No. There wasn’t time for me to even put it in her chart that she’d awakened yet. I called you as soon as I left her room. There was an officer outside the room. He asked me if she’d woken. I told him no. Just being cautious. He concerned me. I’m not sure why he was even back there. We don’t let people in surgical recovery.”
“Do you remember his name?”
She shook her head. “But I’ve seen him before, I think. I’m just not certain where. Wherever it was, the mayor was there, as well. It may have even been the night of the storm. I can’t remember. I’m sorry. I wish I could be more help.”
“You have helped. You relayed the information from Delancey that we needed to keep her safe.” Elliot looked at the fourth man in the room.
His cousin Rafe. Elliot was first cousins with Rafe and Rafe’s brother, the governor. That came in handy, no doubt. “How soon can Delancey be moved?”
“Tomorrow morning at the latest,” Rafe answered. “Why? What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking we can’t leave her here. It’s far too dangerous. We need to get her someplace safe,” Elliot said. He looked at Daniel for confirmation. “I think it’s time we put out a notice that Kelsie Royce didn’t make it. And get your sister out of here.”
“I’m ready when you are. So how are we going to make this work?”