Brand Page 5

  “She told you last night there wasn’t, but I noticed she bit her bottom lip. I’ve found that’s a tell-tale sign she’s lying. I don’t know about what, but there is something she wasn’t saying. Whether it’s about her, her job, or her fa—”

  Brand watched Carly shut down. She rinsed the plates and stowed them in the small dishwasher to run later. He waited as she squirted dish liquid in the frypan and washed it, before rinsing and drying.

  “Her what?” he prompted.

  “Father. It seems I recall her saying something recently about not being able to reach him. She's left him several messages on his phone, but he hasn't returned them. Before she left town on her last business trip, she made the comment that she was concerned something was wrong, he wasn’t at work. His secretary hadn’t seen him in days, yet his business partners weren’t concerned at all. That really had her upset.”

  “Is this normal for him?”

  “Clayton Reid.” Carly nodded. “He’s a wheeler-dealer type. That’s why Simone is as good a sales rep for her company, but she’s honest to the core, while her dad has been known to do some shady deals in the past.”

  “Anything else about Simone?”

  “Her parents divorced when she was young. Her mother remarried to a real-estate developer who adored Simone, so she had the best of both worlds. She had two men in her life who loved her but were from the opposite end of the spectrum in ethics.”

  “What about this stepfather?”

  “Stanwell. Leland Stanwell. Gloria and Leland moved to Miami five years ago. He’s semi-retired. Dabbles still in real-estate.”

  “So Jules is from the wrong side of the tracks. Simone’s dad is shady. Stepfather is in real-estate. These don’t sound like friends of someone from a country club background.”

  Carly grinned. “We met in college. The place my father had no control over who I’d be around. Of course, you haven’t asked me about Colleen. Her parents are divorced, yet they have remained friends. Joan and Bob Summers work in corporate offices in downtown Chicago. They do Saturday brunch with her almost every weekend. She came from the good side of town as I did.”

  “Thank you. I didn’t ask about her because she didn’t witness the shooting or the gang members like you, Jules or Simone. But it is nice to know how she fits into your little circle of friends.”

  “Speaking of Colleen…Can you call your friend Wyatt and see if he has an update on her? It would make me feel better knowing how she is.”

  Brand nodded. “I’ll check in with him while you make out the shopping list.”

  “I’ve got paper and pen in my room. I’ll give you some privacy.”

  Chapter 5

  Brand waited until Carly was in her bedroom and closed the door before he texted Wyatt for an update on Colleen. He didn’t expect to receive any news from him, but his phone pinged back immediately.

  “She’s awake. Doc with her now. Commander Burns located her parents. Bad mistake. Arguing over which one should take her home. Haven’t told them she’s not going with them.”

  “Take charge of the situation.”

  “Will do.”

  “Report back when you know more on Colleen’s condition.”

  “Over and out.”

  Brand pulled out his note pad and jotted down important facts that Carly had told him. He would check them out later tonight after she was asleep so she wouldn’t walk in on him. The last thing he needed was a million questions about what he was doing.

  The bedroom door opened and she emerged with a list and several coupons for him to use. “Here is some cash towards the groceries. I know you said you’d get it, but I would feel better if you at least allowed me to chip in some on it. I’ve added a few personal items that I had planned to get when I went shopping anyway. Unless you’ll allow me to go to the local drug store down the street to get these items myself?”

  He took the stack she handed him and glanced at it, spotting a coupon for feminine products on top. He swallowed and tried not to grimace. Was she forcing him to buy the product out of need or in retaliation? Then he saw the mascara and powder compact shade #C058 on the list as well. Okay, maybe these were legit requests. After all, she did offer to go the local drugstore to get them herself if he’d let her. Which was out of the question.

  Folding the money, list, and coupons, he stashed them in his front pocket. “No. I can get these for you with the other stuff. No problem at all.”

  She smiled. “Okay then. Is it a problem if I go down to the laundry room in the building while you’re gone? Or would you prefer I wait until you return to go with me?”

  “I’ll go down with you and check the place out before I leave. If I feel it’s safe for you to return alone, then you are free to move about in the building without concern.”

  “Fair enough,” she said. “Do you really think someone would try to come after me?”

  “If I can be candid with you?”

  “Please.”

  “You did get a good look at the two gang members who got away and you prevented the shooter from escaping as well. That is enough to put you on their hit list to take you out.”

  “You don’t mince words, Brand. I like that about you. I bet your team does as well.”

  He shrugged. “I get no complaints from them.”

  “Give me a moment to grab my laundry basket and I’ll be ready to head down. If you have anything you want to wash while I’m down there, feel free to bring it along.”

  “You’re assuming I’ll give you the all clear.”

  “I like to keep a positive attitude. Besides, even if you don’t, I can at least put my laundry in the wash and come back up until you return. If someone needs the washer, they’ll take it out and put it in my basket for me to put in the dryer.”

  He grunted, finding it hard not to smirk at her reasoning. “Okay. If you don’t mind my throwing in some dirty laundry, I’ll take you up on that offer.”

  While she left, he grabbed his duffle to take down.

  Carly didn’t wait for Brand to give the all-clear before she threw her load in the washer. She had it started before he shoved his clothes in two empty washers and they headed back upstairs. “Looks like you really needed to do laundry.”

  “We were here all week and headed to the airport when we were reassigned to watch over you girls …er, women last night.”

  “So is it okay for me to go back down in thirty to check on the clothes?”

  He nodded. “For a basement laundry room, it is well lit. The elevator is in great working order and the lighting in the stairwell is excellent as well. You have options on which way you travel if one path makes you feel safer over the other. Don’t get spooked, but keep your eyes and ears open at all times. Do you have a neighbor in the building that you have gotten to know since you moved in? Maybe you could go down together?”

  “Afraid not. I haven’t lived here that long.”

  “It was worth a shot. Okay. I’ll leave you to go back to your apartment and I’ll go get the groceries. I’ll be back soon.”

  Carly started to wave but stopped. “Did you by chance hear from Kincaid about Colleen?”

  “She’s awake. A doctor was in with her, but her parents are there arguing over who should take her home with them.”

  Carly shook her head. “That’s the last thing she needs. Thanks for the update. See you.”

  She hurried up the flights of stairs to her apartment and called Simone.

  “Hey, good to hear your voice. Are you alone?” Simone asked.

  “Yes. Are you?”

  “I am. Sent my guy out shopping. What did you do?”

  “Same. Or rather, he insisted. The reason I called is I got info on Colleen. She’s still at the hospital. Brand said it was because she was resting last night. I have a funny feeling something more is going on than he is telling me. He also said she’s awake and that the doctor was checking her out. But, her parents are there arguing over which one is going to take her h
ome. That makes me believe something happened last night that we don’t know about. Don’t you agree? Otherwise, why would they be arguing over her going home with one of them?”

  “You always have a sixth sense, Carly, except when it came to Justin Porter. If you have a feeling something isn’t right with Colleen, I believe you. We should go to the hospital and see her.”

  “I don’t know. It’s too risky. Brand said our lives are in danger.”

  “Are you sure you can trust him completely? Especially if he is keeping secrets about Colleen from us.”

  “Maybe he is telling me all he can when he can. Besides, he found a man watching the place last night. The man was still here this morning and he found out the guy works for Justin Porter.”

  “What! I’m coming over. You don’t need to be left alone if that slime ball Porter has a man following you.”

  “What about your safety, Simone?” Carly asked. “I don’t want you putting your life in jeopardy on my account. You’ve already had a gun pointed at you and the trigger pulled.”

  “Don’t you worry your pretty little head over that. Donnie and I had a long discussion about it this morning and we agree it was a fluke.”

  “Donnie?”

  “Donovan. My guy. He said he got the nickname Don Juan from his Marine buddies. But until I see him put the moves on me and he earns those stripes, I’m going to refer to him as Donnie.”

  “Simone, be real. He’s not going to put the moves on you. He’s here to protect you. Not seduce you.”

  “No man alive can resist me when I make a play for him. You watch. I’ll have little Donnie in my hands before the week’s out.”

  “Little Donnie. I don’t even want to know what you mean by that.”

  “You already do, Carly. So tell me, when are you going to put my handcuffs to work?”

  “None of your business. I don’t kiss and tell.”

  “Isn’t that the truth! You’re no fun in the bedroom.” Simone took a breath. “I’ve got confirmation from my Uber on pickup. I’ll be there soon and call when I’m outside your building.”

  “You shouldn’t be doing this.”

  “Be ready when I get there. We’re going to see Colleen.”

  The phone line went dead before Carly could protest further. She went to her bedroom closet, got a basket out of the bottom and headed back to the laundry room. She left it on the washers Brand was using so if anyone came down while she was gone, they'd put the clothes in it. She knew Brand would be pissed when he came back and found her gone. If she couldn’t talk Simone out of her plan to go to the hospital, she’d be going along with her. At least the two of them wouldn’t be traveling alone.

  Carly and Simone got out of the Uber at the entrance to Chicago Med and went inside to the information desk. They typed in Colleen’s name at the kiosk to find out what floor she was on before heading to the bank of elevators.

  Once inside the elevator, Carly turned to Simone. “I still think this was a bad idea.”

  “You didn’t have to come with me,” Simone pointed out. “You could have stayed at your apartment doing your laundry.”

  “No, I couldn’t. I'd have worried the whole time that you were in danger. The smart thing was for you to stay at your place until Donovan returned.”

  “Live a little, Carly. Take chances.”

  The elevator dinged, signaling they’d arrived on their floor. The doors opened and the girls stepped out. All discussion about what was right or wrong ceased. They followed the corridor signs down the hallway to Colleen’s room.

  The sound of arguing voices wafted down the hall and the two looked at one another.

  “Geeze, I hope they aren’t in her room doing that.”

  “Mr. and Mrs. Summers never had tact when it came to disagreeing,” Simone said.

  Someone made a sharp pitched whistle sound cutting them off. “Enough. I know you want what’s best for your daughter, but this isn’t it.” A door shut, ending them overhearing whatever was being said on the matter.

  “Was that Colleen’s guy?” Carly asked.

  “Sounded like it. We better hurry and find her while he’s preoccupied with mom and dad or we’re busted.”

  “Oh, now you think of that.”

  Simone rolled her eyes. She grabbed Carly’s arm, dragging her with her down the hall at a faster pace toward the nurses’ station.

  Colleen’s room was across the hall from the station, which was good. The nurses could watch who went in and out at all times. They went inside and slid the curtain back so no one would see them visiting with her.

  “Oh my God,” Simone gasped when she saw the bruising and swelling on Colleen’s face. Carly focused in on the busted lip.

  “She must have been attacked in the bathroom. That’s the reason she was in there so long,” Carly said. “And you wanted to leave when those guys came in.”

  “I-I had no idea. The three of us had been to that bar so many times before. It was always a safe place to go until last night. Do you think she was raped?” Simone whispered.

  Carly moved to the opposite side of the bed and reached for Colleen’s hand that didn’t have an IV sticking in it. Sweet Colleen.

  Her friend flinched at her touch. Her eyes fluttered opened and her lips began to tremble once she focused. Tears began to roll down her cheeks.

  “Sh-h-h, don’t cry. It’s okay. You’re okay. You’re safe.” Carly patted her hand.

  Simone stepped forward and brushed the hair away from Colleen’s forehead. “We’re here for you.”

  “What happened to me?” Colleen asked.

  “You don’t know?”

  Colleen shook her head.

  Carly looked at Simone, then back down at Colleen. “Honey, we don’t know. Do you remember going out with us on Friday night?”

  “Yes. I remember dancing with you guys, but that is it.”

  “We were getting ready to leave, but you had to go to the restroom,” Simone said. “So you went alone.”

  “We waited for you out front, at the bar, but then the bar got robbed. The bartender was shot and we were lucky to have gotten out alive. In all the chaos, we never knew what happened to you. We found out you were taken to the hospital last night to be checked out.”

  “Your parents are here, down the hall arguing about who's going to take you home. Have you seen them yet?” Simone asked.

  Colleen groaned. “Carly, I know I made fun of your apartment last night, but let me go home with you.”

  They laughed.

  “Hey, you’re remembering something from last night. That is good.” Carly smiled at her. “What did the doctor say when he saw you this morning?”

  “That I needed to rest and stay here another day because of my memory loss and some tests they want to run on me.”

  “Did they examine you?” Simone asked.

  Colleen nodded. “I wasn't... That didn’t happen. For what did, I still feel violated. I don’t remember it, but it feels like something horrible happened. My body feels icky and I want to shower a dozen times. I know I never want to wear that skirt again.”

  The curtain scrapped back fast and a younger, blonder version of Brand came into the room. Carly assumed this was Wyatt Kincaid and they were caught.

  “Ladies, I don’t assume you were given permission to be here?”

  “Are you going to do something about it?” Simone asked, walking toward him. She came nose to nose with him.

  The guy didn’t say a word, he slid the glass room door shut, pulled out his phone and punched in a number. Then he put the phone up to his ear. “Don Juan, I think you’ve lost something very important. You need to come to collect it now before I report you to Brand for slacking on your duties. It has red-hair and curvaceous …”

  The guy laughed into the phone. “See you then.”

  “Who’s he?” Colleen asked.

  “He’s your protector,” Carly explained. “We’ve all got a guy assigned to protect us after what happene
d last night at the bar.”

  “Really? Why?”

  “The bar shooting was gang-related. Simone and I are witnesses inside. Jules saw the getaway car outside because she came back when she heard the gunshots.”

  “I heard them too.”

  “You did?”

  Colleen nodded, closing her eyes. “That’s what caused my attacker to run away.”

  Wyatt came over to the bed. “Did she say what I think she said?”

  Carly nodded.

  “Colleen, what else do remember from last night?” he asked.

  “I’m tired. I need to rest now.”

  Wyatt punched in a few more numbers on his phone and walked back toward the sliding doors. “Brand, Wyatt here. You need to come to Chicago Med. There’s been a development. Sure. Get here as fast as you can. Thanks.”

  He turned around and looked at them. “Ladies, you might as well take a seat and get comfortable. You’re gonna be here a while. And then you won’t be able to sit without remembering the chewing out you get.”

  Chapter 6

  Brand hurried with the groceries to Carly’s apartment. He expected to drop them off with her before heading to Chicago Med to check-in with Wyatt. Yet, he found the place empty. A note card on the kitchen counter explained Simone had picked her up in an Uber and they had gone to see Colleen.

  “Dammit to hell.”

  Why hadn’t Wyatt said that was the reason he needed him at the hospital?

  He shoved the cold and freezer items into the refrigerator and left the rest. He headed back downstairs to catch a taxi to the hospital. The nearest “L” line was five blocks away, and he’d get to the hospital quicker this if there wasn’t a traffic jam.

  He tried not to think about that as he waited to hail a taxi. All he wanted to think about was getting to the hospital and Carly before something happened to her. Had it been a wrong move on his part to trust her to stay at her apartment while he ran to the grocery? He hadn’t thought so at the time, but now he was beginning to think otherwise. He thought he had made it clear the danger she could be in if she wasn’t careful.