She still had her old corrections ID. She was supposed to turn it in, but she hadn’t because she’d needed it. She wasn’t in uniform, but half the cops who were here weren’t in uniform. She showed her badge to the information desk and asked about the cop who was brought in that morning with a GSW. She was given a visitor’s pass and directed to the second floor, where he was being prepped for surgery.
She found a young nurse and showed her visitor’s pass. “My fiancé is here. He was shot, a corrections guard?” Tim wasn’t her fiancé, not yet, but if they survived this they deserved to be together. “Tim Sheffield?”
“He’s being prepped for surgery.”
“I just want to see him, one minute, please, just to tell him I love him.” This was true. She needed to see him. Because she had to find out what the fuck went wrong that his partner was killed and he was shot. Had Elise and her people betrayed them? Was Tim supposed to die? She had to find out what was going on and whether she needed to get her kids out of town.
“Let me see what I can do.”
The nurse walked off and Erica paced.
Her cell phone vibrated.
She almost ignored it. But it was her contact, Clara. A smart bitch, but a bitch nonetheless.
“What?” she answered.
“Where are you? You’re supposed to be back at the house to take care of the situation.”
Erica closed her eyes. Elise Hunt had killed someone and Erica needed to dispose of the body.
How the fuck did it come to this?
First she was paid to falsify some paperwork. No big deal. Then running stupid errands and making sure gangbangers did their fucking job. Annoying, but not difficult. Then planting a gun in a plane. Sure, why not? No skin off her nose. Tim had done worse, been forced to do things they both knew would get them in serious trouble, but he had to clean his slate. Make sure that one mistake didn’t come back to bite him in the ass.
But now body disposal? When was it going to end?
“Erica, where are you?” Clara demanded.
“Houston,” she said.
“You’re fucking three hours away?”
“I’m leaving now.”
“You’d better be, because this is not the time to get cold feet.”
“I’m fine,” she snapped.
The nurse was approaching. Erica hung up on Clara without another word.
“I can give you two minutes, that’s it,” the nurse said. “I’m sorry.”
“Two minutes is perfect,” she said. “Thank you so much.”
She followed the nurse down the hall to a small alcove with a sheet draped across. Tim was lying on a gurney, already prepped for surgery. The nurse hooking up his IV finished, then said, “I’ll be right back, give you two a minute. But he’s going to be fine,” she told Erica and patted her on the arm.
That made tears well up in her eyes. Erica was not a crier, but seeing Tim so … helpless … was her undoing. He was a big man, a strong man, and he looked defeated.
She took his hand. “Baby, what happened?”
He turned his head. He was on painkillers, she could see it in his eyes. “Just part of the plan.”
“What? Getting shot was part of the plan?”
“Shh,” he said. He squeezed her hand but his grip was weak. “To sell it. Shot me in the leg. Not fatal. But the bullet got lodged in my bone. They’ll get it out.”
“Your partner—he’s dead.”
“I know.”
“That wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“I know. Just—shh. Don’t worry. Everything is going to be fine.”
The nurse came back and told Erica she needed to leave, the doctor was ready for Tim. Erica kissed his forehead and walked out in a daze.
Something was very wrong. Maybe it was the drugs, or maybe it was her eyes finally being opened.
Tim didn’t seem to care that his partner, a man he’d known for more than a decade, was dead. Had he known that killing Dave was part of the plan?
Everything had gone off the rails, and Erica didn’t know what to do.
Except one thing.
She left the hospital and called her ex-husband. “Erica! Where are you? I’ve been trying—”
“Shut up, Bill. Shut up and listen to me. Get the kids out of town. Don’t ask questions, don’t ask me anything. Just get them safe right now and don’t do anything else until you hear from me. I fucking mean it, Bill. Those kids are all I care about in this world and if anything happens