Page 68 of Sail Away
Darcie had to admit that Justin had gone above and beyond the call of duty when he showed up at the hospital. He’d only come to town for some conference thing. He hadn’t been here for official business, and he had no reason to be hanging out, holding her hand.
“Sorry. It’s just been four hours since he went into surgery.”
“He was shot in the chest, sister.” Jag squeezed her shoulder. “Doctor said it could take a while. The bullet did a fair amount of damage.”
“Do you have to remind me that this surgery is life or death?”
“I’ve been where Reid is.” Jag smiled. “The doctor said he would be fine.”
“No. The doctor told us that the average person wouldn’t have been as coherent as Reid after an injury like that.”
“Reid isn’t average,” her brother said. He had the nerve to remind her of that little piece of information. As if she’d somehow managed to forget that Reid was a bit of perfection.
“Look.” Justin took her by the forearms and guided her to the ugly green and brown vinyl chairs that were as hard as a rock. “Jag and I know doctor speak for gunshot wounds. The worst of Reid’s problems, besides being really fucking sore for a while, is a collapsed lung. But that will heal. Trust me. Remember, they didn’t start surgery right after they kicked us out of the room. As a matter of fact, for all we know, it could have been an hour before they even opened him up. He could be sitting in recovery right now.”
“Here comes Albert,” Jag said. “What did you find out?”
Darcie’s heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. “What’s Preston saying?” She could only imagine the lies spewing from that man’s mouth. Even Jim had started to backpedal when the police finally arrived. While she understood that he didn’t want to go to jail, Jim should have thought about that before he went to bed with the likes of Preston.
“He’s a fucking whackjob, that’s for sure,” Albert said. “Delusional would be a grave understatement.”
“Please tell me he’s not going to get away with this.” Darcie brought her hand to the center of her chest. It felt like a baby elephant had just plopped himself down on top of her in preparation for storytime. “If he’s come up with some crazy plan that will make all of us look—”
“Darcie. Calm down,” Albert said.
She glared at her brother’s long-time friend and fellow police officer. “Don’t tell me to calm the fuck down. I just had some asshole trying to kill me, and he shot my boyfriend. That pisses me off.”
“Then this should make you feel better.” Albert squeezed her shoulder. “Jim admitted to everything, including to running drugs.”
“Seriously? Preston had him running drugs? Why?” Justin asked.
“No. Jim was doing that on his own. That’s what Preston had on Jim, and he was using it to blackmail him,” Albert said. “Preston is a sick motherfucker. He said all he wanted to do was watch Reid fall apart when he saw you and Jim together. And then, of course, kill Reid, making it look like a suicide. When Jim got caught cheating, Preston had to change his plans. But the bottom line had always been to kill Reid and make it look like he offed himself, which in turn would leave the company to Preston outright. But instead, Preston is going to find out what it’s like to live in a nine-by-six cell for the next twenty years.”
“Thank God.” She shook out her hands, focused her gaze back on the floor, and paced in front of the ugly metal chairs.
“A man like Preston won’t do well in prison,” Justin said.
“I really don’t care.” Darcie rubbed the back of her neck. “What about Jim? What’s going to happen to him?”
“He could potentially avoid jail time because he’s a small piece of a very large drug trafficking ring involving superyachts. If Jim is smart, he’ll cut a deal,” Albert said. “Looks like we get to hear about our boy.” Albert pointed to the doctor stepping through the automatic doors.
Darcie shoved Justin and Albert to the side. She took her brother’s hand and squeezed it hard. “Hey, Doc, how is he?” Her vocal cords trembled. She pinched her thigh.
“He’s asking to be discharged, so I’d say he’s doing quite well,” the doctor said. “The surgery went fine. We patched up his lung and removed the bullet. He’ll need oxygen for a day or two, so we’ll keep him for at least another twenty-four hours. He’s got a cracked rib, but other than that, he’ll be as good as new in a few weeks.”
Jag looped his arm around her shoulders. “See? He’s going to be just fine.”
“I’ll believe that when I see him.”
“That can be arranged. Though only one at a time while he’s in recovery,” the doctor said.
“Obviously, I’m the one going in.” She gave her brother a big hug. “Thanks for having my back.”
“Always. And for the record, I heard you were pretty amazing out there.”
“I was.” She smiled. “I’m not leaving this hospital, so go ahead and go home. I’ll call you later.”
Jag kissed her cheek.
