Page 17 of Risky Obsession

She strode to my bedside and gripped my left hand in hers.

“Whisper, thank you for saving me.”

“I had to resuscitate your ass. Lucky, I remembered my CPR training, or you’d be toast.”

Tears prickled my eyes as I attempted a chuckle. “I can’t thank you enough. How did you find me?”

“When I heard that chopper, I used the binoculars to check it out. My timing was perfect to see you shooting at that bastard.”

“Oh. You did?”

“Yep. When the explosion took off the top of that island, I hightailed around to where I last saw you. Thankfully, you were face-up in the water. You’re a good floater.”

I chuckled, and pain gripped my ribs. “Ouch.”

“You were unconscious when I pulled you onto the patrol boat.”

“Thank you.” I gripped her palm to mine.

“You’re a lucky bitch. If I hadn’t seen you shooting at the chopper, I would never have known where to start looking for you.” She released my hand and nodded at Kingsley and Aria. “I hope you’re going to tell me what happened, ’cause the suspense is killing me.”

“Your timing is perfect,” Aria said. “Lacey was about to tell us what happened.”

“Oh, goodie.” Whisper rubbed her hands together and grinned like I was about to reveal a juicy secret.

Kingsley pulled a notepad from his top pocket. “How about you start at the beginning?”

As I tested my recall, trying to give them every piece of detail, from my reason for going to the island, to Hughes escaping in the helicopter as the island exploded, nurses took turns checking my vital signs, temperature, and IV drip. I was also fed a hot meal, and cold dessert and offered coffee, which I accepted.

I reached the end of my summary. “So, I need to get out of here ASAP, and get after that?—”

“Not going to happen, Brooks.” Watts raised his hands. “I’m sidelining you. You’re officially off duty.”

“What? No! Don’t do this, captain.” My voice cracked with desperation. “I can still work. I have to do this. Hughes can’t get away.”

Aria’s eyes filled with understanding. “Lacey, you’re in no condition to go after anyone right now.”

I sighed. The thought of Hughes getting away after I’d been so close was unbearable. “I can’t believe he escaped.”

“He can’t hide forever,” Aria said. “Thanks to you, we finally know who Chui’s accountant is.”

Kingsley nodded. “We’ll get a BOLO out for him and his chopper. We’ll find him.”

“He had that escape well planned. That timer, the escape hatch, the chopper. He was ready to vanish. He’s not going to make a mistake now.” My shoulders slumped.

“He made the mistake of hanging around here when he could have taken off ages ago,” Aria said.

She had a point. I pinched the end of my finger protruding from the top of the splint on my right hand. It didn’t hurt. I didn’t feel anything at all.

“Why didn’t he leave?” I asked nobody in particular.

They all shook their heads.

“Must’ve been something keeping him here,” I said.

“Or someone,” Watts said.

“Like that B woman who we are yet to figure out,” I said.