We All Sleep Alone

by Calle J. Brookes

  This place was half done. He had some subflooring to replace in the near future under the back half of the house, but for now, it was mostly livable.

  A TSP detective stood on his porch. Reggie bit back a curse. The man was probably there to ask even more questions about Reggie’s father.

  They were picking about his father’s life with a fine-toothed comb. Asking questions about their life twenty-something years ago.

  Reggie didn’t understand a damned bit of it. He opened the door, resignation and irritation warring equally. That’s when he saw the gun gripped in the man’s hand.

  Fire followed. Fire so hot Reggie knew he would never be ok again.

  40

  Something was happening. Jennifer had gotten fifteen messages in the last fifteen minutes. Asking about that bastard Turner Barratt. Something was going on with the mayor.

  She’d heard everything from his house being engulfed in flames to the mayor being dead.

  Well. It was about time. She’d been waiting for that for weeks.

  Dennis Lee had made a few comments about how Turner Barratt was becoming more of an issue than he should be, but Jennifer had been consumed with dealing with everything that had happened to Ray and with what Wallace had done. Dennis Lee had finally had one of his multitude of lackeys take care of the problem.

  That at least brightened her day.

  For the first time since that nurse had been shot, she had something to smile about.

  Jennifer had had such pretty dreams a few months ago.

  She’d run for—and win—the mayoral seat. Ray would settle into his job and find happiness and respectability with the girl he had been seeing at the time of his death; Wallace—she’d deal with Wallace and go on to enter this next phase of her life with both a clear conscience and no ring on her finger tying her down.

  She’d probably eventually openly date Carl. Play grandma to his orphaned grandson Jason.

  Jason was in the pediatric wing now. Carl was likely nearby, too.

  She needed to see Carl. She hadn’t seen him much since the storm. She missed him. A great deal.

  Whereas she and Dennis Lee saw the world the same way and wanted to make it work for them, Carl was as heartfelt as Wallace used to be.

  But far more honorable.

  She felt like she was a better person when she was with Carl. She wanted to make him proud of her.

  She’d find Carl as soon as she could and spend the night with him.

  To feel a little less alone.

  41

  He was being used. Kyle was well aware of that. Jennifer was avoiding her son.

  Mostly because of her guilt. She was blaming herself for what had happened with Reggie’s idiot father and that fiancée who’d left Reggie. He understood that.

  Jennifer was pathetic over her son. Always trying to coddle him in a way Kyle himself had never experienced. Reggie had been chafing under his mother’s pampering since they’d met in high school.

  It had been one of the things that had first attracted Kyle to her eleven years ago when he had first met her and her husband.

  Reggie was very lucky to have a mother that gave a damn about him.

  Kyle’s mother had been killed when he had been four. His father had made her out to be a whore. That had never been in doubt in Kyle’s mind. She’d died in her lover’s arms during a house fire, while he’d been with his father.

  His father had never remarried. Victor Scott wasn’t exactly a trusting man. He had plenty of female companionship, but no woman would ever get into his father’s coffers again.

  Even with a prenuptial.

  Still, his father liked woman almost as much as Kyle did. Young, gorgeous women with bodies that were utter perfection.

  Reggie had never been like that. He liked women—Kyle had caught him in bed with a woman a few years back, so he was pretty certain he did—but Reggie was the quiet relationship kind.

  Jennifer’s influence. She’d made it very clear to Kyle that she wouldn’t tolerate him or Reggie acting like dogs where women were concerned.

  Right before she’d dragged Kyle off to her bed to initiate him in the ways of a mature woman.

  Damn, he had always enjoyed fucking Reggie’s mother.

  Wallace Henedy was a damned fool for going elsewhere. Jennifer had years of experience now.

  He was a block away from Reggie’s when he saw the sirens. The ambulance.

  Kyle wanted to get this finished, and deal with the three hundred eighty seven other things he had going on tonight.

  Momentary irritation had him cursing.

  Until he realized they were parked in Reggie’s driveway.

  What in three fucks had happened now?

  42

  At first, Allen thought the woman on the gurney was his sister. He almost paused for a moment. Then he realized.

  He knew the woman, but it wasn’t Shelby.

  Annie resembled Shelby a great deal from a distance. He thought it was the hair. Shelby was a good four inches taller.

  It didn’t matter; Allen was already moving.

  He was exhausted, but it didn’t show.

  Wallace Henedy’s son had barely made it off Allen’s table. Henedy was most likely going to make it, but it had been close. He never would have expected his emergency GSW to be Henedy’s son. He’d have to go over the ethics requirements of this with Fin in case there was a problem.

  Or if the man didn’t make it.

  He’d met Reggie a time or two. He had seemed like a nice guy. He didn’t deserve this, that was for certain.

  Someone nudged past him and he looked down.

  Honey-brown hair and glasses with cartoon crocodiles attached to the sides. Scrubs with cartoon alligators printed all over them. Instantly recognizable.

  Nikkie Jean.

  She reached Annie first. Nikkie Jean could move when she wanted to.

  Nikkie Jean would see to it that her friend had the best of care possible.

  Allen pivoted, and went on to the next patient.

  Allen looked at the other man. Turner had been his friend for years. Since the shooting with Henedy, the mayor had made a point of checking on Allen at least once a week. Like clockwork. He’d even insisted Allen meeting him for lunch twice since then.

  Turner seemed on a mission.

  Allen didn’t know how the man had the time. He appreciated it. Not many people had reached out to him since what had happened with Jess all those months ago. “What happened to you tonight?”

  Turner shot him a grin, but there was no humor in it. “Lost everything. Gained even more back.”

  “What?”

  “Annie loves me. I died tonight. My house burned to the ground. Annie almost died. I hope to hell everything’s over now.”

  “Ok.” Turner was fine, even if he wasn’t making much sense to Allen right now. There was another ambulance pulling in now. One with a patient in far worse condition.

  Allen nodded toward Lacy who was running down the hall. She’d assist. As the gurney moved closer, Allen got his first look.

  Carl Buchanan. The deputy mayor of Finley Creek. “What happened?”

  “Multiple GSWs to the chest and abdomen,” Drew, the paramedic, said. Allen bit back a curse. He’d seen more GSWs in the past eighteen months in the ER than he had in the rest of his career combined. “Coded on the way in.”

  The man didn’t look good. “Get him upstairs.”

  “Who did this?” Lacy demanded from Annie’s side.

  “There will be time for that later. Let’s get him upstairs.” Allen threw a look over his shoulder as Nikkie Jean instructed an orderly to wheel Annie into exam room B, just as Izzie and Jillian came back in from break.

  The two nurses immediately jumped into action. They might not have their ER rebuilt fully yet, but the staff at FCGH knew exactly what they had to do.

  Now, it was time to do it.

  Allen looked at the orderlies. “Let’s go.”

  43r />
  There wasn’t any fear greater than what she felt as she clung to the handle of Kyle’s passenger door. “Hurry, just hurry. I have to get to him.”

  “We’ll get there,” he said.

  His tone was soothing. It grated.

  She wanted to scream at him. Demand to know why he hadn’t gotten to Reggie faster than he had.

  Kyle should have gotten there earlier. Should have gotten there in time to stop what had happened. “Maybe it was someone wanting revenge for something. Something Wallace has done. Or me.”

  “Nonsense. For all we know, it was an interrupted home invasion. Reggie got unlucky. Let’s worry less about why it happened and focus on getting him through this.”

  Jennifer nodded. That was true. It made sense. Reggie’s latest project house wasn’t in the greatest part of town. She’d always hated that fact. “We can do this.”

  “He was talking when they loaded him, but I won’t lie. He looked bad.”

  Jennifer bit back a scream of anger. Of fear. “He’s big, strong, and healthy.”

  “The surgeons at FCGH are the best. Whether we like them or not.”

  Anger went through her. She knew the man was right. Wallace had worked at one of the best hospitals in the country.

  He had been one of the best.

  The best of the best. “Who’s the best surgeon at FCGH now?”

  “Allen Jacobson, most likely. Virat Patel. I’ve heard they have worldwide reputations now.”

  “See to it that Reggie gets the best, Kyle. Let them know money is not a problem. I will break out my savings if I have to. I will beggar myself in a heartbeat if it keeps him alive. No matter the cost.”

  She closed her eyes as Kyle continued the distance between her condo and the hospital seventeen long blocks away. Jennifer prayed.

  Prayed for her son.

  Reggie didn’t deserve this. For any reason.

  44

  Jake cursed to himself as they covered the councilman’s face and zipped up the bag. Far too many bodies; he’d seen far too many lately. He’d never expected the asshole Dennis Lee to go after Annie. They’d set the trap for the councilman using the mayor as bait.

  Jake and Elliot had thought they had things contained.

  There was a leak somewhere in the TSP. Jake was absolutely convinced of it now.

  This shouldn’t have happened, shouldn’t have gotten so close to his family.

  Not Annie. They’d come too close to losing her for his peace of mind. He loved her almost as much as he did Izzie. Jake didn’t take what had happened lightly.

  That she was hurt tonight royally pissed him off.

  Hell, Jake was exhausted. He’d suspected someone on the city council had been involved. He’d even suspected the mayor was a target.

  But Annie? Never would he have risked her—or let anyone else risk her. Not her. Hell. This shouldn’t have happened.

  He hadn’t even known she was involved with that damned Barratt. Not like this. Not that deeply. He knew her well enough to know this was the real deal with the mayor.

  Annie was in love.

  Jake wasn’t too thrilled that he’d missed so much with his family lately. He’d have to change that.

  He looked at the man next to him. “This is getting way out of hand. I don’t think it was just him. There’s more to it than this. One man couldn’t be responsible for everything that we suspect.”

  Elliot Marshall nodded. He was a good man. A few years older than Jake. Jake trusted Marshall probably more than he did anyone else other than McKellen on the force. He and Daniel McKellen had been partners back ten years ago. They had had each other’s backs then and they still had them now. “Evers called. Wallace Henedy’s son was shot in his front hallway tonight; Callum and Evers pulled the case. He got out of surgery an hour ago. No one knows why he was targeted. With his mother being on the council with Arnold, there could be a connection to this tonight.”

  Jake swore. That made a hell of a lot of sense. With Izzie’s connection to the Henedys, that was going to mean trouble for Jake. Damn it. He needed a vacation. When all of this was over, he was going to tap into his savings and take Izzie to Italy for a while. See their family. It had been far too long. “What’s going on here?”

  “Keep digging, Jake,” Marshall said. “I want to know everything that Arnold had his grubby little fingers in. There are more connections going on than we think.”

  “I’ll keep on it.” This was only the beginning. Every instinct Jake had was telling him exactly that.

  He stepped back as the evidence tech, Chuckie again, nodded and stood. She made such an odd sight in the paper coveralls. Her boss, Haldyn, stood nearby, giving orders. They were good at what they did.

  Nothing would be missed. Jake had complete trust in this forensic team.

  Not that Jake needed the evidence to tell him what had happened. Annie made one hell of a good witness.

  He’d never forget the sight of her tonight. Nor would he ever forgive.

  A cell phone rang nearby.

  From the body bag.

  Chuckie unzipped the bag quickly. She pulled the cellphone free of the man’s breast pocket.

  It was the second phone they’d found on him. Who needed two phones? Jake wished he didn’t even have to carry the one. Chuckie looked at Jake. “You want to do the honors? Or should I?”

  She never looked at Dan. She was one of the very few women who didn’t seem to get along with Dan. She far preferred Jake.

  Jake could handle that. When all of this was over, he was going to ask the woman out. Nothing serious, but…he was tired of dealing with the darkness all the time. When this case was finally over and all of his hard work over the last year and a half paid off, he…was going to do some reevaluating of his life. See what he wanted to do now. “You go ahead, Chuck.”

  “It’s Councilwoman Jennifer Henedy, boys. Anyone want to speak with her?”

  Jake shook his head. There were a million and one reasons a councilwoman would be calling a councilman. “The only real question is why is she calling him at one a.m.?”

  “That’s something Callum and I will ask in the morning,” Dan said.

  Marshall nodded. “Jake, if we find out she’s involved, hand this over to Callum and Evers. They just finished with the Talivois case.”

  Jake bit back a retort. He got where both men were coming from. That didn’t mean he had to like it. Things were starting to look a little too connected to him for this case. There had to be a reason for it.

  He stared at the man’s body for a long time. He knew one thing was for sure.

  Those responsible for making a cluster fuck of the hospital where his niece and Annie and their friends worked were on borrowed time. Jake was coming for them. No one threatened his family and got away from it.

  No one.

  He owed them for Annie now, too.

  45

  Izzie was having a hard time wrapping her head around it.

  A prominent Finley Creek councilman was dead, the deputy mayor Carl Buchanan was in a coma, Wallace Henedy’s son was barely hanging on after being shot near his spine, and Annie was in room 403. Turner Barratt, the mayor and the man off his rocker in love with Annie, had been dead according to the news channels and brought back to life in time to lead the cavalry to save Annie. The cavalry consisting of Elliot Marshall and Izzie’s uncle Jake.

  It was by sheer luck that Annie had survived.

  Izzie finished with Carl and made notes in his chart and initialed them. She said a prayer that he would pull through. She’d met him before and found him very kind and likeable.

  He hadn’t deserved this. His grandson was all alone now, two floors up in pediatrics, recovering from another surgery on the injuries he’d received in the tornado over two months ago.

  Thirteen and basically all alone.

  Izzie would check on him herself first chance she got.

  Annie had been a wreck when she’d given Izzie a hurried run-d
own on what had happened tonight. When she’d made Izzie promise to keep her informed of what was going on with Carl—and his grandson. Annie had been full of instructions about the boys and where to find them and what she wanted to happen with them.

  Izzie had reassured her; those boys would be fine. She and Nikkie Jean would make absolutely certain of it.

  Annie and Turner had already spoken with the hospital social workers, who’d started the process for Carl’s grandson. Annie and Turner were going to take Jason home with them until Carl could care for him again. They were both adamant about seeing that he was taken care of, no matter what happened to his grandfather.

  Izzie paused outside 403 and pulled in a deep breath.

  Annie should still be sleeping. Izzie would check on her, then check on Jason. Then decide what to do tonight.

  She’d always been the one at Annie’s side before, but Turner was there now. He probably would be forever.

  Izzie slipped into the room quietly. She’d sit with Annie for a little while. Try to remind herself that Annie was alive and would be fine in the morning. Life was so fleeting. That was a lesson that had practically been pounded into her head lately.

  She’d almost lost Annie, and she hadn’t even known something was happening. Other than that feeling in her gut that had told her something was wrong.

  She had to learn to trust that gut. It was serving her better than any plan ever had.

  Turner slept in the other bed in the room, dressed in jeans and an FCGH T-shirt. She suspected he’d borrowed that shirt from somewhere; his cousins had stopped by to check on him earlier.

  He’d lost almost everything tonight, she’d heard.

  It didn’t seem like the craziness was ever going to end.