Chapter Fourteen

The two people sat in a parked car inside the Rivercenter garage in downtown San Antonio.

“Once again we’ve managed to hire an incompetent. I can feel Khalid’s wrath now.”

“Our man winged her enough to put her out of commission, keep her the hell out of our way, and maybe distract Romeo at the same time. That will more than accomplish our objective.”

“The objective was to get rid of her permanently. Why the hell can’t we find someone to do that? I thought this guy was a professional.”

“He is. He said she moved just as he squeezed the trigger.”

“You’d think, considering what he’s getting out of it and what his reputation is, he’d have been able to compensate for that.”

“One good thing, though. It might also send the cops running off in the wrong direction. They might finally decide it’s someone who had a grudge against her personally. That all this has nothing to do with Oscar and her weird visions.”

“Yeah? What about Stan? They didn’t even know each other. And supposedly she got some kind of vision from touching him.”

“Let’s hope this will all be just a confusing puzzle to the cops and they’ll be chasing their tails.”

“Do you think we’ll get another chance at her?”

The laugh was filled with contempt. “Are you out of your mind? She’ll have more guards around her now than Fort Knox.”

“Well, we only need to buy time until Friday. Then we’re golden. But having her completely out of the way would make me feel a lot better.”

“If that shot did the damage our guy said it did, she won’t be relating visions to anyone until long past the danger point. She may still not recover from this.”

“Let’s hope.” A pause. “And when Friday arrives?”

“We’ll handle that like everything else. And play our parts beautifully. Is your call with Khalid set up? Are you ready with the arrangements for the money?”

“Yes. Three o’clock tomorrow. I’m all set. He’ll transfer the amount we agreed upon, I’ll monitor it on my laptop, and when the money’s in place we’ll proceed.”

A humorless laugh echoed in the car. “It’s all going in the joint account, right? You wouldn’t be trying to screw me out of some of the money, would you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. After all this time you still don’t trust me?”

“Lack of trust is what keeps us honest.”

A shrug. “The money will all be there. You can check it from your own computer when you get home.”

“And you’re absolutely sure this is going to work, and we’ll be able to pull it off.”

Another short laugh. “It’s either that or prison, or a coffin. The choice seems obvious.”

“All right. We’ll check in with each other in the morning, then go forward. I’d better get out of here now. And you’d better call our shooter and tell him to make himself scarce.”

The car door slammed, then footsteps echoed on the concrete. Finally a car started in the distance.

* * * * *

To Dan it felt as if a year had passed before anyone came out to talk to him, although in reality it was just a few short minutes. He knew he should step outside the building long enough to make his phone calls, but his feet seemed glued to the floor outside the trauma room where Mia was being treated. He had to argue his status with hospital personnel, but they finally allowed him to sign all the forms allowing them to treat her. Then he just waited, wondering whether he’d survive if Mia didn’t.

Finally a man in scrubs came out and introduced himself as the surgeon, Dr. Cardoza.

“We’re prepping her for surgery right now, and I have an OR ready,” he reported. “She lost a great deal of blood, so we had to pump some into her before taking her upstairs. The bullet itself appears to have done extensive damage. It doesn’t look like any handgun wound to me.”

“It wasn’t. More like a long-range rifle.” Dan was having trouble keeping himself in control. “Any fragments you can recover would be a help.”

“How well are you acquainted with the young lady?” Cardoza asked.

“She’s my fiancée.” Dan had stood in a similar spot many times when one of his men had been hurt, often in far more primitive facilities. He had never been as frightened as he was now. “Is there a problem I should know about?”

“Are you aware she has a heart murmur?”

Dan’s breath caught, but he had long ago schooled himself not to show a reaction to anything. “No, I wasn’t. Is it a danger during surgery?”

“Not if it’s what we call an ‘innocent’ murmur.”

The look on Dan’s face must have spoken volumes, because the doctor went on to explain in greater detail. “An ‘innocent murmur’ is nothing more than an occasional irregular blip in the flow of blood. However, if the murmur is caused by actual cardiac damage, that makes a difference.”

Dan shoved his clenched fists into his pockets. “Can’t you tell ahead of time?”

“Normally we’d do a heart catheterization. That would give us our answers. But we can’t afford to wait with Dr. Fleming, nor can we do any invasive procedures in the shape she’s in. I just wanted you to be aware of the situation. Also, since this is a bullet wound, you know we have to report it to the police.”

“Ask for Captain Holcomb. He’s already working two cases for us, and this is probably connected. Don’t let them slough you off to someone else.” He pulled out a business card and handed it to Cardoza. “Give this to whoever is going to make the call.”

The doctor studied the card, then looked back at Dan. “All right. I’ll give it to the head trauma nurse. If she has questions she’ll come find you.”

“Be sure to take good care of her,” Dan said, his face set in a grim expression.

Cardoza’s eyes narrowed as he heard the implied warning. “I take very good care of all my patients, Mr. Romeo.”

“Yes, of course. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply—”

“Of course, you did.” He smiled. “Relatives give me the same message all the time. Go get yourself a cup of coffee. The surgical waiting room is on the second floor.”

“Can I ride up in the elevator with her?”

Cardoza looked over his shoulder, seeing the gurney being wheeled out into the hall. “All right. Just don’t jostle anything.”

Dan gripped Mia’s hand tightly as the gurney was pushed toward the elevator. She looked even paler than before. Fear squeezed his heart, and he made a deliberate effort to push it away. He couldn’t lose her, not when he’d just found her. He’d use all his internal resources to be strong for her.

Just before they wheeled her through the doors to the operating suite, he leaned down and placed a kiss on her ice-cold lips. “I love you, sweetheart. Remember that. I love you, and I’ll be here waiting for you.”

Then she was gone, into the hands of strangers, and he was left standing in the hallway, feeling as if he’d lost everything in the world.

“Dan?”

The soft voice sounded behind him. He turned to see Faith standing there, her eyes filled with sympathy.

“Mark thought you might like some company.”

“Thanks.” He hugged her. “Although I hate to take you away from your writing. I know you’ve got a tough deadline looming.”

She squeezed his arm. “This is more important to me. How about a cup of coffee?” She held up the bag she’d brought. “I made a quick Starbucks stop.”

“It’ll probably taste like mud to me right now, but thanks anyway.”

“Come on.” She tugged at his arm. “Let’s go sit in the waiting room. I’m sure it’s going to be a long while before you hear anything.”

“I should go call everyone, but I can’t use the phone inside and I’m afraid to leave the building. Stupid, huh?”

“Not at all. Just sit down a minute. Mark gave me a bunch of messages for you.”

Dan moved closer, but he was too jittery to sit. Iceman Romeo, having a case of the nerves. He would have laughed at himself if the situation weren’t so serious.

“It’s my fault, you know,” he told her.

Faith raised an eyebrow. “That Mia got shot? Exactly how is that possible? Did you pull the trigger?”

“I never should have let her talk me into taking her to the house. Especially when we saw that mob. I should have driven like hell in the opposite direction.”

“Dan, no one expected this. When I talked to Mark he said the guys told him that woman has done this before. She shows up at Mia’s all the time. There’s never been any violence before. There’s no way you could have predicted this.”

“But damn it. I should have protected her better.” Pain contorted his face.

Faith cocked her head. “Am I detecting a little something more than just normal security concerns here?”

Dan gave her a halfhearted smile. “You might say.”

“She’s a lovely person, Dan. Just from the time I’ve spent with her—and certainly not under the best circumstances—I know she’s very special.”

“Yes, she is. Very.” He rubbed a hand across his face, feeling the beginnings of a five-o’clock shadow. I probably look like a bum, but who cares? “Listen, I know this will sound stupid, especially coming from me. But the minute I walked into her office I felt a strong connection to her. As if I’d known her forever.”

“Well.” Faith smiled. “Far be it from me to argue with feelings like that. You know my thoughts on psychic connections.” She pulled a little notepad from her purse. “All right, back to business. Aunt Vivi called her two friends who met with Mia, the ones who are also precognitive. They had told her to let them know if she needed help. They’re both Internet-savvy and connect with other Lotus Circle members who have the same powers.”

“Mia’s already tried going through the website your aunt told her about. She said she got some stuff but the database is far from extensive enough yet.”

“I know,” Faith agreed. “That’s why they’re going out beyond that, to other sites and other people. Maybe they can find reports of similar visions and what they meant. At least it might give us a guide to follow.”

“Thanks, Faith. I really appreciate you doing that. I know how upset Mia is that she can’t pull out any more information. She was really stressed-out last night.”

“No problem.” She flipped a page. “Next. Mark is at Carpenter, holding everyone’s hand and assuring them that everything will be fine. He’s also on the horn to Andy to see what the Dragon’s found so far.”

“Good, good. We need every piece of information we can get.”

“But even if we don’t find Stan’s killer before Friday,” she pointed out, “the demonstration and presentation can go off as scheduled. Mark put out the word and has Phoenix prepared to provide whatever manpower is needed to ensure that. He’s trying to make everyone at Carpenter focus on what they need to be doing for Friday. Chase has finally gotten his act together, and Lucas and Joy are refining the details for the event.”

“Do they know Mia’s been shot?”

Faith nodded. “Yes. It’s sort of hard to hide since it’s all over the news. Chase is really freaked, and Joy, of course, is saying Mia’s responsible somehow for all this trouble.”

“Nice. I wonder if she chews nails for breakfast?” He began pacing again. “What else?”

“Mark met up with Captain Holcomb at Carpenter Techtronics. As soon as Mark told him what happened, Holcomb headed to Mia’s to check the scene out for himself. He also got on the horn and sent one of his top men, a Lieutenant Santos, out there to take charge. He’s working with Rick. They both agree the timing on this thing is very strange.”

Dan stopped pacing and was suddenly very still. “I think so, too. Have we heard from Santos yet? What does he say?”

“That they’ve had disturbances at her house before, according to the cops who cover that area. Usually it’s this same woman who still blames Mia for her son’s death. But there’s never been any kind of violence. Certainly not shooting.

“I think today’s episode was arranged to cover up the shooting.”

Faith frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“I have a nasty feeling that someone got paid to set this up. To tell this woman, who I’m sure doesn’t need much urging, that this would be a good time to do her thing again. They had to get Mia out in the open where they could get at her again, then they hired the shooter. That shot came from the trees in the back, not from the crowd.”

Faith raised an eyebrow. “But for what purpose? Killing Mia isn’t going to stop the work on the case.”

“I know, and that’s what baffles me. Sure, her email is what set off this whole chain of events. But I’m having to fight to get people to take her seriously.”

“Maybe that’s it,” Faith pointed out. “Think about it. If she hadn’t forced the email issue to begin with, whoever is planning—or was planning—to steal the robot, would have pulled off their plan and gotten away with it. And Carpenter Techtronics would have fallen on their face at their big shindig on Friday.”

“So it’s someone trying to steal this advanced piece of technology for themselves and sell it on the black market. That’s what I thought when I first got into this.”

“Mia is a wild card,” Faith pointed out. “They want to make sure she’s out of commission until they pull this off. To them she’s merely collateral damage.”

“Not to me, she isn’t,” he said through gritted teeth. “Not to me.”

He resumed his pacing while Faith sat quietly, watching him. At one point he picked up the coffee she’d brought for him, drank from it, and made a face at the taste of the now-cold liquid.

Time ticked past. Other people came into the waiting area, huddling in groups as they waited for their own information. Every time someone came to the door, Dan tensed, the rawness of his nerves almost visible.

Faith went outside to call Aunt Vivi and came back with an update. “They’ve been checking with other people, matching visions and interpretations. It’s possible the numbers and the blocks have something to do with movement. A machine that moves. Or a car, a truck. Something like that. Think of license plates. Or a parking slot. They’ll keep working on it. They’re busy emailing other members of the Circle to see what else they can match up to.”

“I guess I never realized just how many people have psychic gifts. Or how they battle with refining their ability to use them.”

“You’d be amazed. Listen,” Faith said. “One of them has a nephew in Wisconsin who’s also a precog. He’s been trying different things to help him with his own visions. He definitely thinks it’s a machine that moves and has a number on it. Not much help, I know.”

“I’ll take anything. And thank them for helping.”

Finally Dan stopped wearing a rut in the floor and went to stand by the window, hands in his pockets, body rigid. “That’s got to be what’s behind this attack,” he said, as if there hadn’t been a lull in their conversation. “She was the original trigger, and they’re afraid she’ll come up with something again.”

“Or they want to use her death as a red herring and send us off on a hundred false trails.” Rick Latrobe walked into the waiting area and clapped Dan on the shoulder. “Any word?”

Dan shook his head. “Not yet.”

“This hospital has a great reputation as a trauma center,” Faith assured him. “She’s in good hands here.”

“What’s happening at the house? Are you sure you should have left?”

Rick made a face. “Please. I’ll chalk that question up to a temporary brain fart. And everything at Mia’s is under control. Chuck Santos really knows his stuff.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“He brought a shitload of cops with him. Within thirty minutes he had names taken, people interviewed, and the crowd dispersed. Then he set the crime-scene unit to work, looking for evidence of our shooter.”

“And? Come on. Spit out,” Dan said impatiently.

“Interesting choice of gun our fellow used. A Longbow T-76. It uses .338 ammunition and has a range of fifteen hundred meters. It’s lightweight, easy to pack up and move away with. It’s also highly accurate.”

“And very expensive,” Dan added. “Whoever is funding this doesn’t mind spending money. They didn’t get that gun at Walmart. We know this because?”

“He was set up in the woods behind the next-door neighbor,” Rick went on, “and we got lucky. Apparently he had to get the hell out of there before finding his shell. It was hidden pretty well, under a bunch of dead oak leaves, but the CSU guys found it. Santos asked Mike to fly it to the SAPD lab so he could get it there in a hurry.”

“Who did you leave at the house?”

“Frank, Lloyd, and two SAPD cops. I called Andy—who by the way is probably going to ask for a huge raise after this—and asked him to trace every Longbow T-76 that’s been sold in all of North America in the past year.” He studied Dan. “How about some coffee?”

“I tried that,” Faith told him. “By the time he got to it, even Mark wouldn’t drink it, and he’ll drink just about anything.”

“I want every resource we have on this,” Dan said. “I don’t care who we have to pull from where. This is a top priority.”

Rick and Faith exchanged glances.

“Am I missing something here, sport?” Rick asked, his tone mild. When Dan didn’t answer, he looked at Faith again. “Oh. Well, okay. Whatever. You’re a big boy, so I assume you know what you’re doing.”

Dan opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment Dr. Cardoza came to the door and called his name. His face gave nothing away as he beckoned to Dan. Rick and Faith joined him as they walked out into the hall. Dan felt his stomach cramp as he waited for the doctor to speak.

“She’s alive, I’ll tell you that first,” Cardoza said, noting the look on Dan’s face. He held up a plastic baggie, which Rick took. “A very high-powered rifle. Shattered the collarbone, shredded the muscle in the shoulder, and splintered two ribs. We’re damn lucky he didn’t puncture a lung. We repaired everything, but she’ll face a very long rehab with that shoulder. And we still have to guard against infection and a number of other things.” He shook his head. “If she’d been hit on the other side, she’d be dead, so you can thank God for small miracles or someone’s bad aim.”

“What about the heart murmur?” Dan asked, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“Not a problem. It turned out to be what I told you we call an ‘innocent murmur.’ There’s no actual damage to the heart. We had a cardiologist on hand, but she did just fine in surgery, considering the situation. We’re going to put her in ICU for at least a couple of days so we can monitor her better. The next forty-eight hours could still be touch and go.”

Dan drew his first full breath in what seemed like hours. “Listen, Dr. Cardoza, I don’t mean to throw my weight around, but her life is still in danger from outside sources. I know ICU has its rules, but I’ll be putting guards at the entrance to her area, and someone will be sitting with her at all times. Can you make sure that’s not a problem?”

Cardoza frowned. “Is this a special case of some kind? I guess I could assume so, considering the wound.” He looked very tired and anxious to have the situation resolved.

Dan did something he usually hated doing and saved for special occasions. He took out the business card he carried from the president of the United States, with a note scrawled on the back. Cardoza’s eyebrows nearly disappeared in his hairline. “I believe we can set Dr. Fleming up in a private room with everything she’d get in ICU. I warn you, though, it will be expensive.”

“Cost doesn’t matter. Just do it.” He shook the doctor’s hand. “I appreciate it very much, you’re doing this.”

“My staff will think I’m crazy, but I’ll take care of it.

“Can I see her now?”

“She’s in Recovery at the moment. Give us an hour to get things set up, and then she’ll be in her room. Check with the surgical desk in about fifteen minutes, and they’ll be able to give you her room number.”

“Any idea how long she’ll be here?” Dan wanted to get her away from here as fast as possible.

“She’s pretty weak,” he answered. “We had to replace a lot of blood and do a lot of digging around in the injured area. We’ll see how she does in a day or two, but I’d say at least a week.”

Dan held out his hand. “Thank you, Doctor.”

Cardoza shook hands with him and headed back toward the surgical suite.

“Good news, right?” Faith said, smiling. “She’ll be fine?”

Dan’s face was like granite as he gave Faith the report. “I’m going to find the son of a bitch that did this and kill him one inch at a time.”

“Okay,” Rick said. “I’ll help you. With great pleasure. But first we have business to attend to.”

“I’m not leaving here until I see her.” Dan’s tone of voice left no room for argument. “That’s final. And I need to find out what room she’ll be in.”

Rick knew that meant harassing whoever was in charge until he got his information. He let him go off on his own to handle it and sat down with Faith.

“He needs to do something to work off that tension,” he told her. “Pestering the hospital personnel is as good an outlet as any, I guess.”

“Dan will get his head on straight as soon as he sees Mia,” she commented. “Then he’ll get back to business.”

Rick glanced at Faith. “Like I mentioned before, I take it there’s something a little more than consulting going on there? I mean, he’s always been such a loner, and he’s known Mia less than a week.”

“Relax.” Faith smiled at him. “Mark always said if Dan ever finally found someone, it wouldn’t be any ordinary type of woman. It also wouldn’t be one of these long-drawn-out things. That’s just the way he is. And they do seem connected on some level, which I believe they are. But, of course, I would.”

Rick grinned back. “Yes, you would.”

“Room two forty,” Dan told them, striding back into the waiting room. “I’m going outside to make some calls in the meantime. Rick, I need you with me. Faith, are you . . .?”

“I’m here for the duration,” she told him. She opened her tote bag and pulled out her little netbook. “Maybe I’ll have better luck with my characters in a different setting. You guys go do what you need to do.”

She booted up on her little machine and settled down to write.

“Something smells here,” Dan said as he and Rick took the elevator downstairs. “Someone planted a sniper in those trees, and it wasn’t any distraught mother. And now that I take a step back, Stan’s killing was just a little too public. If they really wanted his biometrics, they’d have found a way to kill him off premises and dump his body so we couldn’t find him. At least not before Friday. Someone’s yanking our chain, and I intend to find out who. And damn soon.”

* * * * *

“Speaking of Stan Forbush, anything back on him yet?” Dan asked Rick when they reached the parking lot.

“Not much. Holcomb said they’re going through everything in his office and his home, looking for something a little bit off. Nothing’s turned up yet. The guy looks as if he was exactly what he appeared to be, just a dedicated nerd who lived for his designs. Oscar was Chase’s brainchild, but Stan made it happen. By the way, Holcomb got the call from the hospital about Mia and told them to give anything they recovered of the bullet to you.”

“I’m telling you, my neck itches on that one. I think the whole thing with Stan’s death was staged.”

“But to what purpose?” Rick frowned. “All it did was get the cops and us crawling all over the place and up everyone’s backside. Shine a spotlight on everyone.”

Dan pulled out his cell phone and speed-dialed a number. “I don’t know. I just feel like we’re missing something. Well, the cops can keep doing their thing, but we’re not hanging around anymore, waiting to see what turns up. Mark?” he spoke into his phone. “How‘s everything there?”

“About like you’d expect,” Mark told him. “Cops are still poking around, asking the wrong questions and driving everyone nuts.”

“Okay. Rick’s here at the hospital with me. We’ll be leaving in about an hour. Go through the ID system again and see if there’s anything we missed, any glitch where Stan’s . . . parts might be valuable. Then go through his office yourself. I think this is all a dead end, set up to throw us off the track, but do it anyway. Meet us back at my hotel in ninety minutes.” He clicked off.

“I agree with you,” Rick told him. “I think Forbush’s death is a red herring.”

“Yeah, but why? What’s it supposed to lead us away from?” He punched speed dial on his phone again. “Mark? One more thing. Get the latest list of the people coming to this shindig on Friday. Email it from your BlackBerry to Andy. Ask him to check out everything about them, including what kind of toothpaste they use. We’ll call him from the hotel.”

Rick frowned. “You think there’s a ringer in that group?”

“I think there’s a ringer somewhere, but I can’t figure out where. And Mia’s in no shape to help us put the pieces of the puzzle together.”

“Someone apparently wanted to make sure she wouldn’t be around to help us with anything.”

“Maybe this, maybe that.” Dan rubbed his hand over his face. “We have plenty of questions and almost no answers. The only thing we know for sure is that Oscar is safe. Thank God for that.” He thought for a moment, then flipped open his phone again and punched in some numbers.

“Most exalted nerd in the universe and master of the famed Dragon,” Andy said when he answered the phone.”

“Your title gets bigger every time I call you,” Dan told him.

“That’s instead of the raise I keep expecting.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Listen, Mark’s going to email you a list and some instructions in a little bit. In the meantime I want you to write down these names.” He rattled off the key people at Carpenter Techtronics.”

“I already did a search on them,” Andy reminded them.

“This time I want you to dig deeper. Check out their bank accounts. See if they have any hidden secrets anywhere.”

“You mean you want me to hack into forbidden databases and provide you with code-protected information,” Andy joked.

“Okay, you’ve had your laugh for the day. Just do it. I’ll call you when I get back to the hotel.”

“You think one of our golden stars is involved?” Rick asked, eyebrows raised.

“I think we need to take another close look at them. Nothing else is turning up. It’s got to be someone inside, but I’ll be damned if I can figure out who.”

He checked with Holcomb and gave him a report on Mia’s condition, then spoke with Lieutenant Santos at Mia’s house.

“I called the head of our security teams as soon as Mia went into surgery,” he told Rick. “Mike is picking up four men and flying them here to guard her in two-man shifts. Just in case. They should be here any minute now.

His calls completed for the moment, he headed back inside, Rick close on his heels.

“I should be able to see her by now,” he told his friend. “I just need to look at her for myself. Then, as soon as the security team gets here, we’re on the way.”

He paused in the doorway of Mia’s room, gathering himself before he walked in. He’d seen his men wounded badly in action, seen friends injured, shot, knifed. But nothing gave him the punch to the gut that seeing Mia like this did.

She looked so small in the hospital bed and so pale against the white sheets. Machines beeped and whirred, monitoring her vital signs, pumping life-giving fluids into her system, feeding her oxygen. A morphine drip dulled the pain. One arm had been slipped into the sleeve of a hospital gown. The other lay on the covers, a bulky bandage covering her entire shoulder area and part of her chest.

He felt as if a giant fist were squeezing his heart, and a fear greater than any he’d ever known gripped him. The most dangerous missions, the imminent threat of his own death, the feeling of dread when a mission felt like it was going south—none of that could compare with the sheer terror at the thought of losing Mia.

For so many years—as a marine and then as the head of Phoenix—he’d held himself emotionally aloof. All his energies had been focused on getting the job done. He was firmly convinced that a woman in his life would soften his edge, distort his focus.

And then he’d walked into that museum office, and he hadn’t been the same since. Now, when he’d barely opened his heart and gathered Mia in, he stood in great danger of losing her.

He forced his feet forward to the side of the bed. The nurse adjusting the apparatus smiled at him and stepped aside. He took Mia’s small hand in his and squeezed it gently.

“I love you, Mia. Get well for me. I’m going to get the people who did this, and that’s a promise.” He leaned over, careful not to jar or jostle or dislodge anything and kissed her lips. They were so cold it frightened him.

“She’s still coming out from the anesthetic,” the nurse told him, sensing his worry. “But all her vitals are good. I’m sure the doctor told you that the next forty-eight hours are critical, but I have a feeling she’ll do just fine.”

“Take good care of her,” Dan said fiercely.

“The best,” she told him.

Faith was standing in the doorway. “I got something to eat while she was still in recovery. I’m good for the night.”

“Your husband will have my head,” Dan told her.

“I’m hoping you’ll keep him too busy to notice,” she grinned and moved into the room. “Oh, by the way.” She crooked a finger at Dan. When he was close to her she opened her purse two inches and pointed at her little Kahr P 9mm nestled there. “Ssshh. It was Mark’s idea. I never leave home without it.”

Dan almost laughed at that. He was about to comment when Rick said, “The guys are here.”

Dan shook hands with two men in gray slacks, white shirts, and blazers with the Phoenix logo on the pockets, giving them a full briefing. Each of them also carried a handgun concealed beneath the blazer. Dan had hunted up the hospital administrator earlier and cleared it all with him.

He was reluctant to leave, nagged by a feeling that if he was gone the lifeline that connected him with Mia would snap.

“She’ll be okay, Dan,” Faith told him. “Really. You need to go out and find out who’s doing this.”

He kissed Mia one last time, then nodded at Rick. “Let’s go.”