Hidden - Laura Griffin Page 0,99
leaned closer. “Bailey, what the hell? How did all this happen?”
“I don’t really know.”
“This was some woman you’re covering?”
“Yeah.” She closed her eyes and felt a headache coming on. “She’s been arrested.”
“Jacob told me.”
Bailey opened her eyes.
“Thanks for talking to Mom.”
“Sure.” Hannah’s eyes welled with tears again and she glanced at the door. “You know, the overnight nurse said Jacob didn’t leave your side once. Not even to eat. He spent the night in that chair.”
Bailey looked at the door.
“He seems like a stand-up guy,” Hannah said.
“He is.”
Hannah patted her hand as another nurse bustled into the room. She wore green scrubs with yellow emojis all over them.
“She’s up,” Hannah said brightly.
“I see that.” The nurse wrote on the whiteboard with a marker and then picked up Bailey’s chart.
Bailey’s gaze fell on a pair of crutches propped against the wall, and a ball of dread filled her stomach. She took a deep breath and looked at the nurse. “How long will I be on crutches?”
“The doctor said six to eight weeks. And we’ll get you started on some physical therapy.”
Eight weeks! How would she work? Or row? Or even walk around? Tears stung her eyes and she looked at Hannah.
“I’m going to get fired,” she said.
“No, you won’t.”
“How will I do anything? I won’t be able to drive.”
“It’s not as long as it sounds.”
Bailey laughed through her tears. “It sounds like shit.” She lifted the neck of her hospital gown and dabbed her eyes. “Sorry. I’m a little overwhelmed.”
Hannah smiled with sympathy.
The nurse walked out as Jacob returned with the pink pitcher. He set it on the table, and Bailey heard the ice sloshing.
“Thanks,” she told him. Instead of resuming his place in the chair, he leaned back against the wall.
Bailey took a deep breath and looked at Hannah. “So, when can I go home?”
“If Chan clears you, probably tomorrow.”
Thank God.
“You can stay with us for a while,” Hannah said.
“Why?”
“You’re got all those stairs at your place.”
Bailey hadn’t even thought about the stairs. “My building has an elevator.” It even worked sometimes.
Hannah patted her hand. “It’d be easier to stay with us, for at least the first few weeks. I’ll set up a room for you. Drew can sleep in ours.”
“I really don’t want you to go to all that trouble.”
“It’s not trouble.”
“You just got him sleeping on his own. And you work night shifts. I don’t want to disrupt your whole house.”
“You can stay with me,” Jacob said.
Bailey and Hannah both turned to look at him. His attention was locked on Bailey.
“Thanks, but that’s totally unnecessary.”
He folded his arms. “David Langham hasn’t been arrested yet.”
Hannah frowned. “Who’s that?”
He kept his eyes on Bailey’s. “A hit man who killed a woman at the lake.”
Her sister’s mouth fell open.
“He wouldn’t come after me,” Bailey said.
“You don’t know that.”
“Jacob, get real.”
“It would be wise for you to stay somewhere else for a while,” he said. “At least until he’s in custody.”
Hannah stood up. “I’ll let you two talk.”
She left the room and Bailey turned to Jacob. “Great. Now she’s terrified. You did that on purpose.”
He sat in the chair again and scooted close to her.
“There’s no reason for David Langham to come looking for me,” she told him. “I thought you said the job was over, and his goal now is to evade police?”
Jacob rubbed his hand over his bristly jaw. “It probably is. But we don’t know that for sure.” He leaned forward on his elbow and looked at her, and she noticed the deep lines around his eyes.
“I want to be straight with you, Bailey. No more word games.” He picked up her hand. “You almost died last night, and I need some honesty now.”
Bailey just looked at him. His eyes were tired, and there was a vulnerability there she’d never seen before.
She nodded.
“Unless one of us has an ethical obligation not to share something because of our job,” he said, “I want us to be straight with each other from now on. Okay?”
She nodded again.
“Here’s the situation: David Langham has a federal warrant out for him. He’s probably focused on evading capture, and it’s unlikely he’ll come looking for you. But I don’t know that for sure. Okay? There’s also a chance he’s still trying to finish a job, and he may be looking for Tabitha. He might think you know where she is.”
“I don’t.”
“He might think you do anyway. I won’t rest easy until we have him in custody.”
Bailey bit her lip.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes.” She sighed. “Thank you