Page 42 of Relentless
Kara nodded. “Her parents are still alive, and she has a brother. He lives in Silicon Valley. Works for some tech company that I don’t remember the name of. I never got the sense she was close to him.”
“Any chance her grief drove her to do something that maybe she shouldn’t have?” he asked.
Kara considered the question. “I don’t think so, but I’m not familiar with that kind of grief. I lost my mom, and that was traumatic. But I think losing your spouse, or, in her case, the person she planned to spend the rest of her life with, is different. Even so, I can’t see her intentionally engaging in anything she shouldn’t have. But I suppose someone could take advantage of her.”
“Might be something to look into?”
She wagged her head. “I’ll mention it to Sabina.”
“What about Shane and Peter? You told me about their reactions to the calls from HICC. What about the men themselves?”
“They are around the same age. I think Shane is a few years younger than Peter, but not many. Both are divorced, which surprises no one who meets them—”
“Why’s that?” Ethan interrupted.
“Peter Hilton is self-important. He’s very good at his job. Not only does he know that, but he wants everyone else to know it, too. Shane is…interesting. He’s amazing with patients. Really, they love him. And I’ve seen him work wonders in the clinic. But outside of the hospital, he’s a different person. He doesn’t, as they say, play well with others.”
“So basically, he’s a dick?”
She huffed a laugh. “Yes, basically he’s a dick. No one likes to spend much time with him. Thankfully, that hasn’t been an issue since he doesn’t care to fraternize much, either.”
“Kids?”
“Peter has two. College-aged, I think. Both boys. I think Shane has a little girl, but I heard that secondhand, so don’t know if it’s true.”
A knock sounded at the door, and their conversation paused as Kara slid from Ethan’s lap and went to answer. With Cody napping, she didn’t know who it could be and was surprised to see Alex standing outside.
“Alex,” Kara said. “What can I do for you?” Behind her, she heard Ethan shift on the couch. Out of Alex’s line of sight, Kara raised a hand, gesturing for him to stay put. She didn’t need his help in dealing with the temperamental PA.
“Cody wanted me to give you these,” she said, handing Kara two lanyards. “All we could manage were press passes. They’ll get you to certain areas backstage, but not everywhere. It was the best we could do on short notice.”
Kara glanced at the passes Alex held and decided to nip whatever ploy she was scheming in the bud. “We won’t be needing those.”
Alex drew back. “You won’t be going to the show, then? After everything he’s done for you?” Her gaze swept over the bus as she asked.
“He dropped passes by earlier today. We’re all set.”
Alex blinked. “He did?”
Kara nodded.
Alex slid a look behind her to Cody’s bus.
“He’s resting,” Kara said. “If there’s a problem, I suggest you wait until after the show to talk to him.”
“No. No problem…I should talk to him,” she said. Kara could all but hear the woman composing her “cover your ass” speech to Cody. If he found out what she’d done, she’d have some explaining to do.
“Tia’s in there. If I were you, I’d wait,” Kara said, flashing the PA a saccharine smile. Kara had no idea where Tia was. But she figured Alex wouldn’t bother Cody if she thought the woman was on the bus. Two seconds later, Alex proved her right.
“Okay,” Alex said, drawing out the word. “I guess I’ll head to my bus and get some rest as well.” She didn’t sound convinced about the path of action she’d proposed, so Kara nodded in encouragement.
“Well, bye. I guess I’ll see you tonight,” Alex said.
Kara responded with a smile but didn’t say anything. She hovered in the door until Alex was out of sight, then pulled out her phone. “I do not like that woman,” she said, walking back to Ethan.
“I get the feeling that’s a pretty universal sentiment. At least with Cody and his security team. Who are you calling?” Ethan asked.
“Texting Tia to let her know what I said to Alex. And why. I’ve seen her type before. Not exactly, of course, but similar. She wants to stir up trouble. And with Cody being in the public eye, there’s a lot of trouble she can stir.” She finished jotting down her text, hit Send, then paused before retaking her seat.
