Page 40 of The Perfect Deception (Jessie Hunt #40)

Lenore Campos was startled awake by an unexpected sound.

Looking over at the clock on the wall, she saw that it was 1:13 A.M. Maybe it was a squirrel scurrying around outside. Then she heard it again. It was coming from inside the room.

She sat upright in the lounge chair next to Finn Anderton’s hospital-style bed, unsure if she was imagining things. But she wasn’t. The young man’s eyes were open and he was stirring slightly in the bed.

Lenore popped up and moved toward him.

“Finn, can you hear me? My name is Lenore. I’m a nurse taking care of you. Don’t try to move. You’ve been badly injured.”

There didn’t seem to be recognition in his wild, blurry eyes. She wasn’t sure if he’d understood or even heard her. And then, as quickly as he’d awoken, it was gone. His eyes closed and he slumped back down.

She looked at the patient monitor. He was still alive. His vitals were okay but the moment of consciousness was gone. Still, this was momentous. She snapped into the action she was instructed to take under these circumstances.

“Rufus!”

she called out to the private security officer in the next room.

He appeared in the doorway in mere seconds, looking fully alert.

“What’s going on?”

“Finn woke up briefly. His eyes were open for a few seconds and he tried to move. Then he slipped back into unconsciousness. The whole thing couldn’t have lasted more than fifteen seconds. What do we do?”

“You stay here with him,”

Rufus said calmly.

“Let me know if anything changes. I have to make a phone call.”

Lenore nodded and stood by Finn, checking to make sure the monitor still showed him doing okay. Rufus stepped into the hall for his call but she could still hear him clearly in the small cottage house.

“Marshal Murphy, this is Rufus Harrington with Security Analysis Services, the firm that Jessie Hunt hired to protect Finn Anderton. Sorry to call so late. I’m on duty at the safe house right now. The nurse said he just woke up briefly before losing consciousness again. I was told that if that happened, our first call should be to you.”

Lenore couldn’t hear the response of the Marshal on the other end of the line. But whatever he said, Rufus waited several seconds before answering.

“Neither of us will leave Anderton’s room until your people get here. One question though: do you want to call Jessie Hunt or should I?”