Ryan’s phone rang somewhere in the house and woke him from an exhausting night. He and Sienna had not said a word as they made love through the night. They would fall asleep entangled. Then sometime later, he would feel her hand wrapped around him, caressing him from his sleep. He rolled over and took her slowly as their foreheads rested against each other. Their eyes locked, and they came together, then once again drifted off to sleep. He knew the night was over at the sound of the phone. For all their love, they never seemed to be able to find themselves on the same page.
He untangled himself from Sienna’s nude body and went to find his phone.
“Parker.”
“It’s Shaw. Arnie is dead.”
Ryan froze. He couldn’t have heard that right. “What?”
“They killed him, Ryan. He was found shot in his car outside of his home. Same with Simmons, Landry, and Perret.”
That was the entire undercover operation against The Suit with the exception of him! “Do they have any leads?”
“No. I’m sorry, Ryan. Is there anything I can do?”
Ryan shook his head. “No. I have enough backup here, and now I know they are coming. I just wish I knew what this had to do with Sienna.”
“I can’t figure that out either. The hits against the players are totally out of character. They have to be worried about their identity becoming known to be tying up all these loose ends. The key may be there in Kentucky.”
“Ryan? What is it?” Sienna asked from the doorway with nothing but his dress shirt wrapped around her.
“I have to go, Shaw. Thanks for calling.” Ryan hung up and looked at the woman he loved. How far would he go to protect her? That was an easy question—he’d protect her with his life.
“We need to move Jaylen, and we can’t tell anyone about it. My handler was worried about a leak, and we can't trust the Lexington police, my dad’s office, nothing.”
“Ryan, you’re scaring me. What’s happened?”
Ryan stepped into his jeans and then looked at her. Her hair was a beautiful mess and the love she had for him was right there for the world to see in her eyes. “My unit has all been killed. I’ll be next. Then it will be you and Jaylen. I need to see you safe before I go after them.”
“I’ll help you. I’ll be by your side the entire time. I may not look like it, but there’s a lot of fight in me,” Sienna said staunchly.
Ryan didn’t answer. He just stepped forward to wrap her in his arms.
“So, our time is up?” she asked.
Ryan couldn’t voice his answer, the answer they both already knew.
“Well, I have an idea where to put Jaylen," she said.
“I need all the ideas I can get.”
“Keeneston. There is no place safer than Keeneston.” Sienna's smile was faint, but she had a point. Keeneston was contained, and they knew every inch of it.
“Now I just need to think of a way to get Jaylen out of the hospital,” Ryan said to himself as looked down at the woman he loved—the woman he’d give his life for. And that was exactly what he was prepared to do.
* * *
Sienna sat in the booth at the Blossom Café and waited for Katelyn Davies and Emma Miller to show up. Ryan had gone to talk with his father to fill him in on the deaths in L.A. while she set the plan in motion to move Jaylen Cox from the hospital to Keeneston.
Sienna looked at her coffee and stared into its depths. She should have felt paralyzing fear. Instead she felt numb. She knew what she needed to do. She would draw them out. She would offer herself to save the man she loved. She knew Ryan would be furious. But she would do anything to protect him.
“Sienna?” A hand came to rest on her shoulder. She jerked her eyes from her coffee to find Emma standing in front of her. “Sorry to startle you, but I said your name a couple times.”
Sienna looked into Emma’s concerned eyes and gave a weak smile. Emma was her mother’s age, and her brown curly hair was pulled back into a sloppy bun at the top of her head. Sprigs of curls cascaded down the nape of her neck. She had her scrubs on, which reminded Sienna why Dr. Emma Miller was there. She worked at Jaylen's hospital.
“Dreaming of an engagement to my nephew perhaps?” Katelyn Davies smiled as she came up to the table. Sydney’s mom had been a model just like Syd. But after her modeling career, she’d returned to Keeneston and opened a veterinarian clinic.
The two women slid into the booth and ordered coffee from Zinnia before Katelyn turned her cornflower blue eyes to Sienna. “What’s going on?” She must have sensed it was serious because Katelyn’s voice was deadly serious.
“I need your help. Both of you.” Sienna sighed. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“How about at the beginning?” Emma smiled kindly and urged Sienna on.
“I need your help saving the live of a patient of mine,” Sienna started and then it flowed out—how her life, Ryan’s life, and Jaylen’s life were in danger. How the men knew where she lived, had already killed Malik, and had tried to attack Ryan. But she didn’t tell them how she planned to sacrifice herself so Ryan could be safe. No one would be suspicious of a woman like her asking for a meeting alone. When they searched her house, they wouldn’t find any weapons, but she knew where to get them and how to use them. They would never see her coming.
“You want me to steal a patient from my hospital?” Emma asked slowly.
“And you want me to put him up at my animal hospital?” Katelyn followed up questioningly.
“Yes.” Sienna nodded. “And I know that I’m asking a lot, but we have to break some rules to save lives. I’ll take full blame if we get caught. I was just hoping you would have an idea how we could get Jaylen out from protective custody.”
Emma shook her head and more curls sprang loose. “I have no idea.”
“We might be able to help with that, dear.”
Sienna looked up at three pairs of matching eyes and permed white hair. “You were eavesdropping?”
Miss Lily just smirked. “Of course.”
“But we can help,” Miss Violet said encouragingly.
Miss Daisy nodded. “It’s been mighty dull around here lately. I have a drawer full of unused wooden spoons I’ve been itching to use.”
Katelyn snorted most shockingly for someone as strikingly beautiful as she, but nodded her head. “I can get us some backup, too.”
“You’re not going to talk me out of this?” Sienna asked in wonder.
“Oh, honey. You have no idea the things we’ve done in our lives. This is a piece of cake,” Miss Lily said knowingly.
“Zinnia! Poppy!” Miss Violet called out. The two cousins, however many generations apart, came rushing forward. “We’re back in action. I need dozens of cookies, pies, brownies, whatever, enough to fill that huge serving cart Mo uses for his fancy receptions.”
Emma smirked. “You’re going to cram him underneath it, aren’t you?”
“Sure am. No one will think twice about three old ladies handing out sweets at the hospital. I even have a candy striper outfit from . . .” Miss Daisy blushed, “never mind from where.”
“I’ll call Anton. He’ll get it for us,” Miss Violet said.
“And Charlie and Emma can take shifts checking in on Jaylen at the vet clinic. My Charlie was a great surgeon in his day, and he’s been itching to practice medicine again,” Miss Daisy said proudly.
“And John will round up the troops. No one will step foot in this town without us knowing about it,” Miss Lily said as she patted Sienna’s hand reassuringly. “Don’t worry, we’ll get these guys.”
When Miss Lily said it, everyone at the table nodded. The Rose sisters looked practically gleeful. What had happened in Keeneston before she was born? Their parents were definitely not telling them things, especially by the way neither Emma nor Katelyn looked surprised by the idea of terrorists in Keeneston.
Ryan sat in the uncomfortable chair in his dad’s office and filled him in on the latest. “Sienna says she has a plan for getting Jaylen out of the hospital. I just feel the less people who know about it the better. I don’t want anyone else being considered a loose end or, worse, becoming the next leak.”
Cole’s phone went off, and he looked down at a text. “Good idea about placing Jaylen at Katelyn’s.”
“What?”
“Sienna’s plan. It’s smart,” Cole told his son.
“How do you know that’s the plan? Sienna didn’t even tell me what it was. She said she needed to talk to some people first to see if it was a go.” Ryan sat at the edge of his seat and tried to see the text message his dad had just received.
“John. It’s on the town text system. So much faster than the old telephone system the Rose sisters could activate when something was going down in the old days.”
“Going down? In Keeneston? Dad, nothing ever happens in Keeneston.” Ryan let out a frustrated breath. So much for this being a secret.
“You have no idea. Don’t worry. This will help you. No one in this text loop will say a word. Think of it as a citizen brigade.”
“So, what’s the plan then?” Ryan asked grudgingly. At least no one knew of his idea to protect Sienna. He would take down The Suit or die trying.
* * *
The next day, Dr. Emma Miller confidently approached the hall, which was guarded by two armed officers, and disappeared into Jaylen’s room. Sienna watched from the nurses’ station at the end of the hall where she was dressed in scrubs wearing a mask and hair cover. Cole had Dr. Miller put on the approved physician’s list, and Emma had gotten Jaylen’s regular doctor to take a couple of days off. Something about telling his wife about the affair he was having with the head nurse on this floor. It worked like a charm and now there was no one who was going to stop the Rose sisters as they got off the elevator.
Sure enough, they were in official candy striper outfits as they pushed the biggest serving cart Sienna had ever seen. They stopped in the nurses’ station and handed out sweets. Sienna tried to blend in and noticed the guards eyeing the treats and practically drooling.
The Rose sisters pushed the cart away and headed for the officers. They stopped at the only other occupied room, and five minutes later they reappeared in the hallway. Sienna pretended to review the file she held as the sisters stopped in front of the officers. Miss Lily reached up and patted one of them on the cheek before Miss Violet buried the other officer’s head in her over-fluffed bosom. Miss Violet looked thrilled; the officer looked like he was having trouble breathing.
The guards took some brownies and cookies, and Sienna saw Miss Daisy signal to go inside Jaylen’s room. Dr. Miller made her appearance at the door and smiled at the older women.
“Ladies, did you save me a piece of the peanut butter chocolate brownie I asked for?” Sienna heard Emma ask. Miss Lily handed her a brownie.
“There is a very hungry man back here, but you better not spoil him. He’s still on a restrictive diet. He can only have one. On second thought, I better go with you to make sure he only takes one. He’s a charmer,” Dr. Miller laughed.
And just like that the officers sat down to eat their treats as the Rose sisters walked into Jaylen’s room with Dr. Miller. Less than five minutes later, the cart was wheeled back out by three struggling ninety-five-year-old women.
Sienna saw them trying not to show strain pushing the cart. But with Jaylen lying beneath the white cloth, they were suddenly pushing over two hundred pounds of man along with all their desserts.
“Ladies!” Sienna called out in a full Southern accent. “Can I get one of those brownies Dr. Miller was talking about?”
Sienna held her breath and walked up the hall, taking the brownie Miss Violet held out for her. She took a bite and groaned. They really were delicious. “Have you tried these?” Sienna asked the officers and then proceeded to unload some more of the desserts on them.
“We still need to get the surgical floor; are you heading that way?” Miss Lily asked Sienna who was starting to sweat in her full surgical get-up.
“Sure am, let me help you with this,” Sienna said as she tried to effortlessly push the cart to the elevator.
“I gave Mr. Cox a sedative. He was complaining of nightmares. He’ll be out for at least six hours,” Emma told the guards as she placed Jaylen’s chart on the door for the night shift doctor to review.
While the guards were talking to her, Sienna and the Rose sisters pushed the cart as fast as they could to the elevator. Emma smiled at the guards and took off in the other direction from the group pushing Jaylen. “My shift’s over. I’ll see you men tomorrow,” she called out to the guards.
The elevator chimed and Sienna pushed Jaylen inside. She was quiet as the people on the elevator chatted with the Rose sisters and took treats off the service cart. They reached the main floor, and Sienna pushed the cart right out the back door. The Rose sisters kept up their chattering as Charlie and Anton drove up in a big white van to meet them.
Ryan had pointed out the location of the cameras and told Anton exactly where to park so the cameras couldn’t pick up the activity going on at the back of the van. Miss Lily opened the back doors while Charlie hopped out to help unload the leftover desserts.
Ryan took the desserts Miss Lily handed to him and stacked them up in the back of the van. He heard Sienna say her goodbyes in a horrible, fake, deep Southern accent and head back inside. Once the top of the service cart was emptied, Ryan and Anton braced themselves against the door. Charlie and Miss Daisy helped Jaylen out from underneath the cart. Miss Lily and Miss Violet took the time to shake off the large tablecloth and slowly fold it, further protecting Jaylen from view.
“Here we go, son,” Charlie told Jaylen and helped him stand up.
Ryan and Anton leaned forward and each took a hand. Jaylen grimaced as he moved his leg to climb inside the van. Ryan grunted and pulled while Charlie cursed as he used his shoulder to push Jaylen’s butt up and into the van.
Ryan, Anton, and Jaylen collapsed onto the floor of the van. Charlie hurried to load the cart and soon they were all piled in the van and headed toward Georgetown.
Ryan wasn’t taking any chances at being followed. His father would pick them up on New Circle Road and watch for tails. If there were none, then they would take the scenic route back to Keeneston.
“Oh, you poor dear. Can we do anything to make you more comfortable?” Miss Violet asked as she pulled a crocheted blanket over Jaylen.
“No thank you, ma’am. I sure do appreciate you busting me out of that place. That detective was starting to get on my nerves. How many times do I have to tell her I don’t know anything about Doc Ashton and Seth.” Jaylen looked at Ryan and frowned. “I’m kinda surprised to see you still. I thought the doc would have filleted you by now.”
“Her, my mother, these ladies, yeah,” Ryan said with grin. “Pretty much the whole town let me have it.”
“Where is the doc? That other doctor with the curly hair told me what was going on, but she said this was all Dr. Ashton’s plan.”
“Nash, a security expert, is with her. She’ll meet us at your safe place,” Ryan told him as he tried to avoid the subject of where this safe place was. He had a feeling Jaylen wasn’t going to like it.
The van pulled up to the Keeneston Animal Hospital. The back door was flung open and Katelyn, Marshall, and Cole stood looking inside.
Jaylen winced as he sat up. “Do I hear dogs barking?”
Katelyn smiled. “Hi. I’m Dr. Katelyn Davies and this is my husband, Sheriff Marshall Davies. Over here is Ryan’s father, FBI Agent in Charge Cole Parker. Welcome to my place. I have a run all set up for you.”
“You mean room,” Jaylen said as he shook Katelyn’s hand. Katelyn just smiled back, not correcting him. “You look so familiar . . . no way,” Jaylen shook his head. “Katelyn Jacks, the supermodel?”
“That’s me. But I haven’t been a model in decades.”
“You’re a doctor now, wow. That’s impressive. If I weren’t in love with the angel who saved me, I would totally want to know if you had a daughter.”
Ryan heard Marshall grind his teeth together and place his hand on his gun. “Okay, let’s show you where we’re going to keep you for the next little bit.”
Marshall, Cole, and Ryan helped Jaylen from the van as the Rose sisters and Anton left to return the van. Charlie slowly climbed out and stood behind Ryan.
“Why do I keep hearing barking?” Jaylen asked as they helped walk him through the back door. He looked around at the operating room, and as they passed the storage room, he noticed the bags of pet food. “What kind of hospital is this?”
“It’s my animal hospital,” Katelyn said as sweetly as she could.
Jaylen stopped walking.
“Your run is right up here.” Katelyn opened a chain-link door, and Jaylen peered in.
“No way,” was all he said as he started backing up.
“I gave you the double run and even brought in a twin bed, a nightstand, and lamp from home. It’s just like a dorm room really,” Katelyn pointed out.
“I didn’t go to college with a bunch of dogs!” Jaylen yelled.
Katelyn shrugged her shoulder. “I’ve seen my son’s dorm. That’s debatable.”
Ryan gave Jaylen a little nudge. “You will be totally safe here. Come on, your bandage is seeping. You need to lie down. Charlie!”
“I’m on it,” Charlie opened up an old, well-worn medical bag and snapped on a pair of gloves. “Into bed with you, young man.”
“What you are going to do?” Jaylen asked fearfully.
“I need to hook up your IV and probably put another stitch in,” Charlie told him, pulling out an IV bag.
“You’re like a hundred years old,” Jaylen stammered.
“Ninety-five, but who’s counting?” Charlie smiled.
Ryan urged Jaylen into bed. “Charlie used to be the head of surgery in Boston. He knows what he’s doing.”
Jaylen closed his eyes. “This is a weird dream. I’m going to wake up in my own bed in the morning.”
Ryan slapped Charlie on the back and grinned. The old man looked elated to stick a needle in someone again. The backdoor opened, and Ryan heard heavy footsteps. His father and uncle were already checking it out. Nash and Sienna came to the run door a few seconds later.
“How are you doing, Jaylen?” Sienna asked calmly and sat on the other side of the bed from the one where Charlie was working.
“This is a dream, right, Doc?”
Sienna pulled out a needle and injected it into the IV. “You’ll wake up tomorrow, and we’ll tackle it then. Before you fall asleep, Jaylen, what has Detective Braxton been asking about?”
Jaylen yawned. “You mostly. And Seth. I’m sorry, Doc. I don’t have the answers. But, I’ll give you something she wanted that I wouldn’t give her.”
Sienna patted his hand. “What’s that?”
“The password to my email. She wanted to read it. But I only trust you, Doc.”
Ryan watched as Sienna leaned forward, and Jaylen whispered in her ear. She sat back up and Jaylen’s eyes were already closed.
“How is he, Charlie?” Ryan asked.
“Good. I just need to replace a single stitch, and then I’ll stay here until Dr. Emma relieves me tonight. He’ll be just fine.” Charlie smiled up at the group.
“I’m staying with you, too,” Marshall told him and pulled a chair into the kennel run. “Cole will be checking in as well, and Noodle will stay with his wife for the night shift.”
Ryan nodded and slid his arm around Sienna. “Want to have a romantic date reading Jaylen’s emails?”
“I’d like nothing better.” She smiled up at him.