Page 9 of Code Trauma (Extreme Measures #1.5)

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H olly dropped her packed bag on the floor of the locker room and turned to find Raina and Penny staring at her with sober faces and angry eyes. Angry on her behalf. “Stop,” she said. “It’ll be okay. The truth will come out.” She frowned. “What are you doing here anyway? You’re off shift.”

“We’re here for you, my friend,” Penny said. “Just like you’d be for us.”

Holly refused to cry over the love of her friends. Simply because if she started, she wouldn’t stop. And that wouldn’t help anyone. “Oh. Thank you.”

“Where are you going?” Raina asked.

“Back to the motel. The sheriff called and said he doesn’t want me going home until this has been resolved. I told him I would do that for the next couple of days, but after that, I wouldn’t have a choice.”

“And Andy? Where’s he?”

“He was with the sheriff when he called, but he’s on his way here. Said he wants to escort me to the motel.”

“And then?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll just take it one day at a time.”

“Well, you’re not staying there by yourself,” Raina said. “As soon as I’m off shift, I’m coming over.”

“Yeah,” Penny nodded. “Me too.”

Holly stepped forward for a group hug. “Thanks, guys,” she whispered.

After a tight squeeze, she let go and picked up her bag. She followed Raina and Penny back into the large living area only to see a dark-haired woman standing just inside the door.

“Hi,” Penny said, “can we help you?”

“Yes, please. I’m looking for someone named Holly Cooper. I was told I could find her here.”

Penny stepped in front of Holly from the right side while Raina did the same from the left. Closing in and protecting her.

“And who are you?” Penny asked.

“Victoria Mann.”

Mann? As in Garrett Mann? A sister or cousin perhaps?

Holly wasn’t about to let her friends put themselves in danger for her—should this woman be dangerous. She stepped around her self-appointed guardians. “I’m Holly.” She set her bag on the floor but didn’t move forward like she normally would. “What do you need?”

“I need you to stay away from my husband.”

Penny gaped and Raina clasped Holly’s bicep, obviously ready to yank her out of harm’s way.

“And who is your husband?” Holly asked, knowing the answer without hearing it, but needing it confirmed.

“Garrett Mann.”

She knew it, but she still gasped. When she snapped her lips shut, she couldn’t help but stare. “I’m sorry, what? Garrett Mann is married ?”

The woman scoffed and crossed her arms. “Are you saying you didn’t know?”

“Of course I didn’t know. Not that it would matter, because I’m not interested in the man.”

“Then why is your picture all over his phone?”

Holly blinked. “Again, I’m completely at a loss. I have no idea why he’d have my picture.”

The woman pulled her phone from her purse, tapped the screen and then held the device out to Holly. “This is my phone. When he was in the shower yesterday morning, I AirDropped the pictures from his phone to mine. Look. Nothing but you.”

Raina snatched the phone before Holly could move and passed it over to her. Holly raised a brow at her friend. “Thanks.” Then she glanced at the screen and sucked in a breath. Swipe after swipe revealed pictures she had no idea had been taken. A tremor swept through her. “No.” She shook her head. “I don’t know why he has these, but if you look closely, you can see they were taken when I wasn’t looking at the camera.”

A flicker of uncertainty flashed in Mrs. Mann’s eyes. “Even so, it’s obvious he’s obsessed with you.”

Holly passed the phone back to the woman. “But I’m not with him. In fact, it looks like he’s stalking me.”

Her quiet words hovered in the air between them, then with a huff, Mrs. Mann spun and darted out the door.

“You need to tell the sheriff about this,” Raina said. “I know that they cleared Dr. Mann as being the one after you, but what if they’re wrong? What if someone is working with him and he just reported his car stolen so he had that out?”

Holly bit her lip and nodded. “I’ll call the sheriff.”

“And Andy,” Penny said.

“Yes. And Andy.”

* * *

Andy had his finger over the button that would send the call to Holly’s phone when her call came in. He answered. “Hey. I was just getting ready to call you.”

“Well, I’ve finished packing up my stuff and am ready to head to the motel whenever you can take me. But, first, I wanted to tell you about an interesting encounter I had with Mrs. Garrett Mann.”

“ Mrs.? The man’s married?”

“Very.”

“Oh boy. Does he know she knows that he’s been ... um...?”

“Unfaithful? I have no idea. She went searching on his phone and found a bunch of pictures of me. He’s been stalking me, Andy, but I don’t know what to think about setting me up to be suspended. Or fired. What would he have to gain from that?”

“Revenge?”

She sighed. “Maybe. I don’t know. I just know I’m tired and want to go home.”

“No, don’t go home. Not yet.”

“I’m not, I promise.”

“Perfect. And honestly, this suspension might be a blessing in disguise. I don’t know that you’re safe at the hospital base.”

“Or maybe someone just wants me to get away from the base so they have easier access to me?”

He blinked. “Or that. We’ll just have to be super careful. I’ll come get you and take you to the motel, so just hang tight and I’ll be there shortly. The sheriff plans to pick up Mann and dig a little deeper into his previous story. He’s still our number one pick for the one causing all of your problems.”

“Fine. I’m going down to the lobby. I’ll wait for you there?”

“No, go to the ER entrance. I’ll park in the police spot and come in and get you.”

“Fine. See you in a little bit.”