“Would you like an officer to be stationed outside of your house tonight?” Burns asked.
The unexpected change of subject caught Harley off guard, sending waves of fear tingling over her skin. “Why would I need that? Do you think I’m in danger?”
“We don’t know at this point,” Burns said heavily. “Hopefully the answer is no, but until we can determine more after speaking with his doctor, I’d rather err on the side of caution.”
“Then yes, please, assign an officer tonight,” Harley agreed.
“Let me make a phone call and I’ll have someone follow you home,” Burns said and stepped away.
“Would you like for Carly to spend the night with you?” Brand asked.
“No, thank you though,” Harley told him gratefully. “I probably won’t get much rest, and she doesn’t need to lose sleep in her condition.”
“So she shared our news?” A sudden grin lit up Brand’s face.
“She did,” Harley said, and they walked back to their friends. Carly coming over to meet them.
“I just checked with the nurse on the maternity ward, and Colleen is still in labor,” she informed them. “I was lucky to find out that much.”
“Are you wanting to stay or go home?” Brand slipped an arm around her waist.
“I’m not sure what to do,” she said. “I do have to work tomorrow. I have a client who wants to meet for a consultation at noon.”
Harley glanced at her watch and saw it was already after midnight. She hadn’t realized she’d been at the hospital that long. But she was certain she’d lost track of how long she and Jules had been waiting for news about Reilly’s condition before the girls came rolling Colleen in even if it hadn’t seemed that long.
Still more officers arrived, all wanting to speak with her about Reilly. She forced herself to patience politely listening and responding when all she wanted was to get out of there and go home. She wanted to process everything that had happened tonight and most of all, she wanted to talk to Scottie. But was it wise? Should they be in contact with an investigation going on?
Uncertain what to do, she decided to wait for him to reach out to her. If he did then she would know it was okay. Until then, she’d keep her distance.
“Ready to go?” Jules asked. “You look like you are beat. I’ll drive you and Will can pick me up at your place.”
She nodded and grabbed her coat from the chair where she’d been sitting and slipped it on. “I appreciate it,” she said, and followed the couple out of the hospital and into the night.
The shrill ringingof the phone woke Harley late in the next afternoon, but she didn’t answer it. Her head was foggy as she tried to recall why she had slept so late and then everything camerushing back to her so fast she screamed and held her head on both sides with her fingertips. The image of Reilly lying on the ice, seeing the blood spilling all around him, the wait at the ER and then learning he was dead.
Exhaustion overtook her and she fell back on the bed crying at the loss she felt.
The phone rang again, and she stared at it for a moment before she reached out and answered, seeing it was Carly on the caller ID. “Hi. I thought you had a meeting with a client at noon today.”
“I did,” she said. “But it’s over now. Really dumb question, but how are you?”
“I’m numb.”
“Yea. I know it’s not the same thing, but when I got divorced, it felt like I was losing part of myself. Might be what you’re feeling like.”
“Maybe.”
“Did you get any sleep? Really?” Carly told her. “Can I bring you dinner or something?”
“I just got up. I haven’t even thought that far.”
“What about tomorrow?”
“I’ll figure it out as it happens,” Harley said.
“Fair enough, but if you need anything.”
“I’ll call you,” Harley told her. “I appreciate you checking on me.”
