“AJ. You found my wife. Alive. Call me AJ.”
“Gracias, AJ. Grace is confused and very scared. Her injuries are serious, and my responsibility—as her doctor—is to keep her as calm as I can. Seeing you in person…well, I believe it would be the better option.”
“I’ll get in the car as soon as we hang up the phone. Just need to get one of my lieutenants to take care of my dog for a few days. Where did you say your hospital was?” My hands shake as I reach for my cell phone.
“Twenty miles west of San José de Carranza. There is only one road in and out of town. You will not miss it.”
“San José de Carranza?” My phone gives me directions to the middle of fucking nowhere. “How small is this clinic and why haven’t you transferred Grace to a bigger hospital?”
Digging my fingers into the arms of my chair hard enough my knuckles crack, I wonder if this sombitch is even a doctor. I wouldn’t know a Mexican medical school if it bit me in the ass.
He sighs, his voice weary. “AJ, forgive me for being so insensitive, but your wife was stabbed, poisoned, and left for dead in a burlap bag. She was suffering from hypothermia, and I believe that is the only reason she is still alive. Whoever hurt her clearly wanted her dead. What happens when they realize they failed in that endeavor? If I transferred her to Chihuahua, it would not be long at all before she was identified. She has no defenses. The people who tried to end her life could walk right up to her and she would have no idea who they were.”
Fuck.
He’s right.
“Doc, I don’t know you, but if I find out you’re lyin’, San José de Carranza is gonna be down one doctor.”
“I took an oath, Captain Stone. Not unlike yours, I believe. I put my patients first. Always.”
I can’t tell if he’s a self-righteous asshole or a truly good man. Not over the phone. But all that matters now is getting to Grace.
“Take down my cell,” I say after I unclench my jaw. “If Grace remembers anything—if anyone comes lookin’ for her besides me—you call. Understood?”
“Sí. Go ahead.”
I rattle off the digits, push to my feet, and grab my jacket off the back of the chair. “I’ll be there by nine in the morning. If you do tell her anythin’ about me, tell her I never stopped lookin’ for her.” It’s one of a thousand things I want Grace to know. A thousand things I didn’t think I’d ever get to say.
“Very well. But AJ?” The doctor clears his throat and lowers his voice. “I do not recommend telling anyone that Grace is alive. Not unless you trust them with your life. And hers.”
“Elmore!” I call on my way through the bullpen. “I need you to pick up Belle tonight!”
Dammit. Where is she? The mug of coffee on her desk is still steaming, but her computer’s off and her coat ain’t hanging on the rack by the door.
“Elmore!”
Fuck. I don’t have time for this.
The doggie daycare closes in twenty minutes. I’m gonna have to pick up Belle and take her all the way out to the lake with me. I can’t go to Mexico without our passports, my personal sidearm, and some of Grace’s things.
Pulling out my phone, I text Elmore on the way out of the station.
AJ: Need you to watch Belle this weekend. Got something personal to deal with. Call me. ASAP.
I’m so distracted, I don’t notice her leaning against the driver’s door of my SUV until I practically punch her in the gut reaching for the handle.
“Fuck!” My keys slip from my hand, but she catches them before they hit the ground.
“I know you weren’t fixin’ to walk out of the station like it was just any other Friday.” Elmore draws up to her full height, hands on her hips. “And you sure as shit weren’t gonna drive all night to a tiny town deep in the middle of Sandoval cartel territory, alone.”
Yeah. I was. I am.
“Move,” I grit out, pushing into her personal space to give her my best glare. “You weren’t supposed to hear any of that.”
“No shit. Next time you have secrets to keep, use your inside voice. Or close your office door.”
“I need you to watch Belle?—”
