Page 70 of Risky Match
“Usually, I would say two to four hours before he fell ill. But given his level of exertion, I suspect the poison acted faster than that. My best guess is it was in something he ate or drank one to two hours before he passed out.”
“That’s helpful. We’ll make sure to have this checked out quickly,” Adrian says.
“Very well. I need to get back to my patients,” Dr. Shepard says as he stands.
“We’ll leave contact information. Please let us know if there is any change in Blake’s condition,” Adrian says.
“We will,” Dr. Shepard promises as he leaves.
“Let’s go,” Adrian says.
I nod, knowing we need to find somewhere to talk away from the cameras.
As we walk to the waiting car, my thoughts swirl. Was this a freak accident or a targeted attack? Is there trouble between thieves? Was there a double-cross?
And why did I let myself fall for the target? Should I come clean to Adrian or pretend nothing happened between Blake and me? If they find out, will they kick me out of the Convert Royals? If I’d trusted the evidence pointing to Blake, I wouldn’t be in this mess.
Worse—if I’d stayed focused on the mission, I might have seen the threat. Maybe, I could have protected him. If he dies, I’ll never forgive myself. He doesn’t deserve that fate, even if he’s guilty of smuggling.
As we reach the car, Adrian says, “I’ve arranged for our guards to follow in a separate vehicle so we can talk.”
“Okay,” I say, sliding into the back of the car.
He joins me, and the car pulls away.
“Do you know if this was an accident or intentional?” I ask.
“We received intel that there was a threat to Blake, so we believe it was intentional.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me? What the bloody hell?”
“Calm down. We weren’t sure the threat was credible.”
“What if I’d been poisoned too? How would you explain to my parents that you didn’t think it was important to share such critical information with me.”
“We had someone watching him. What’s important is that we determine when he was poisoned.”
“We’ll revisit your strategy when this mission ends. But based on the doctor’s estimate of the timing, Blake must have ingested the poison during his pre-match warm up.”
“Agreed.”
“Josh is the one who would know what Blake consumed before his match.”
“Yes, but Josh could be the one who poisoned Blake, so we need to be careful. Whoever did this to Blake expected him to die. They won’t be happy if he survives and may make another attempt on his life.”
“True. We have to tell Erin and Fausto what’s going on. We need their help to protect Blake.”
“I agree. I’ll check with Deputy Harrington for clearance to read them in.”
“Thanks. It doesn’t make sense having trained guards and not using them when someone’s life is in danger.”
“You don’t have to convince me.”
“What’s next?”
“It depends on how Blake is doing tomorrow.”
What he really means is it depends on whether Blake lives.
