Page 90 of Deputy Brand Gets Her Man
“We went home. Later on, Tank and me, we talked about it some. Tank said Stu took it too far this time and he was fixin’ to land us all in prison.” He sighed heavily. “And he was right, wasn’t he?”
“Maybe not if you tell the truth. Maybe Tank won’t either, if he cooperates. Right now, all you’ve confessed to is vandalism. But Stu’s gonna do some time, I gotta be honest with you about that.”
Tuck nodded slowly, sniffled twice, and then knuckled tears away from his pooling eyes.
“You’ve followed your big brother all this time,” Willow said. “This is gonna be a chance for you to see what kind of a man you are without him leading you by the nose. This can be a fresh start for you and Tank both. Stop bringin’ your poor ma heartache and make her proud for a change, huh?”
He nodded at her. She got up out of the chair and her knees went a little weak, but she caught herself. Jeremiah came nearer, took her arm to support her. His touch burned her straight to her toes, just like it always did.
He felt it, too, she knew it when his eyes shot to hers and held on.
Jeremiah said. “I want to be with you when you tell Elena it was her husband who tried to kill her, okay?”
“Yeah,” she said. She sent the recording to Garrett, so he could send someone out to arrest Richard Montrose, then left the room. She and Jeremiah headed down the hall to the elevator and up a floor to where Elena’s room was. It was only one floor up, a very short ride in very close proximity. It was stupid that she wanted to lean into him and feel his arms come around her, and turn her face up toward him, and then he’d kiss her, and then?—
The doors opened with a ping. They stepped out. He was looking at her every few seconds, but she was trying not to look back. She just kept walking to the end of the hall where Elena’s room was, to find its door open. They stepped inside.
There was a blonde woman in Elena’s bed, with a nurse nearby holding a tiny cup with pills in it.
“Excuse me,” Willow said, “where is the patient who was in this bed? Elena Montrose?”
“Oh, Elena was released this morning,” the nurse said. “She was so relieved when her husband arrived to pick her up.”
Jeremiah’s brain went dark and his heart sank to his stomach.
Willow said, “Where’s the cop who was on the door?”
“His captain called him off when Dr. Montrose was released.” She looked suddenly worried. “What’s wrong, Deputy?”
“Who walked her to the exit?” Willow asked.
“Helen did. Her shift just ended, you want me to?—?”
“I need Helen,” Willow said loudly. She was wearing her uniform and striding to the nurses’ desk. “Is Helen still here? Helen?”
A door opened and Helen came out shushing, then stopped mid-shush when she saw Willow in uniform.
“You walked Elena Montrose to the exit. Did you see the vehicle?”
“Sure did. Corvette,” she said. “Red with the sparkles, you know?”
“Metalflake,” Jeremiah muttered, his brain coming back on line one function at a time.
Willow pulled out her cell phone and started tapping while walking. It was all he could do to keep up with her. “I’m having Garrett look up the ‘Vette registered to Richard Montrose and put out the call. We’ll head to their house in case he took her home.”
She was tapping her phone again. His own phone chimed in his pocket. Frowning, he pulled it out, and saw the Brand clan text loop. He’d been added. The freaking thing had way too many people on it.
There was a new message from Willow.
Willow: Jeremiah and Ethan’s sister Elena in danger from hubs who just picked her up from hospital. Metalflake red Corvette, Garrett has plate and home address.
The Montrose’s home address followed.
Jeremiah frowned at his phone, and then at Willow, but she was focused dead ahead, walking as fast as she could’ve run. He just looked at her while keeping pace, and avoiding collisions with carts and trays and goosenecked devices and people in scrubs until they were crossing a lobby into the hospital parking lot.
She jumped into her truck and he jumped in beside her. She turned and looked at him sitting there and opened her mouth to tell him to get out.
“What are you waiting for?” he asked before she could speak. “Let’s go!”
