“Right. Take her those cookies. I’ll be in soon, that’ll give you two some time.”
Alanis shot him a shrewd look. “If you insist, but don’t bail on my account.”
With a shake of his head, he wandered down the corridor toward the elevators while Alanis went to Savannah’s room. Hestopped at a bank of windows overlooking the Fuller-Warren Bridge and pulled his phone from his back pocket to call Blood.
“Punc, anything new to report?” Blood answered.
“She’s awake. Wanted us to use her pay from Sunday toward the medical bills, but I told her that isn’t happening. If she continues to improve, she could be out by Sunday.”
“That’s good news. You got a shift tonight, right?”
He shook his head. “Traded off with Evict.”
“She’s fine. You don’t need to stick around there.”
“We still don’t know who attacked her.”
“The hospital has security.”
He put steel in his tone while trying to stay respectful. “I don’t care, Blood. Something about this shit is off, we know it; but hell if the brothers are doing anything about it.”
Blood sighed. “The cops assume it was a robbery gone bad.”
“The security feeds were turned off—”
“Yeah, but as hectic as it was here that night… we haven’t done anything to dissuade the cops from thinking that. We’d rather handle it ourselves, because you’re right: something's wrong here.”
“Then I’m damn sure not leaving her with hospital security.”
“You can’t watch her twenty-four-seven, Punc.”
That was true, but Punc despised the idea of her being alone.
“Understood, Blood. I’m back at Platinum’s on Tuesday. Later.”
Punc rounded the corner toward Savannah’s room and found Alanis milling about in the corridor.
Alanis read his questioning expression. “There’s a doctor in there with her. I figured privacy would be better.” She shook her head. “Part of me is still mad. I’m trying to get over her lying to me. What were the odds she’d be atyourstrip club? She told me she wasn’t going to do anything like that.”
“Notmystrip club, but she made a killing that night.”
Alanis glared at him. “There’s a poor choice of words. She could have been killed from what the doctor told Catalina.”
He clenched his teeth. That was what bugged him the most. If Yak hadn’t noticed the security monitors being off, Savannah probably would be dead. And for what? It was senseless.
“Have you heard anything more about it?” Alanis asked.
He shrugged a shoulder. “Cops think it was a robbery gone wrong. She didn’t walk out with all the money she earned that night, but only a few people knew that.”
The doctor opened the door to Savannah’s room and gave them a nod.
Alanis stepped forward, but Punc put a hand on her shoulder. “You gonna be cool with her? I’m not gonna let you upset her.” And he wasn’t. She might not be his officially, but he was damn sure going to shield her from petty headaches like this.
Alanis pursed her lips. “I’m not gonna go out of my way to upset her, but I have a right to tell her that I feel betrayed. Dancing behind my back,andapparently seeing you behind my back, too. Don’t think Catalina didn’t mention you going over there with a pizza for them.”
He managed to contain his lip curl before he semi-lied. “I’m not seeing her. They’ve got it rough. Be cool with her. I may have fallen down on protecting her from an attack, but I won’t fall down on that job again.”
“Fine.”
