“I did and so did Tim.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Alec Kunzleman called. The network reported the ratings went through the roof. He wanted to know, after you heal, if you’d be willing to be a consultant on certain major cases.”
“Put it on my maybe list,” Troy chuckled.
“I spoke with your mom. Dan Bishop will bring her by. Nothing but the head of your security team for your mom.” Her eyes twinkled. “I’m sorry, that was snarky. I spoke to her after I knew you were stable and twice more this morning. She’s worried. I was thinking…”
“Is that what all the smoke in the room is?” Troy teased.
Gwen made a face at him. “I was thinking it would be helpful if we flew your sisters and their families here to help her. We can get them a family suite so they can all be together. I can assign Level-2 Papa to them for transportation. Our childcare facility can cover your nieces and nephews when they visit.”
“Another reason you’re my best partner ever,” he yawned.
“I’ll make the arrangements. Close your eyes.” Gwen kissed his forehead. Soon sleep took him under.
Chapter 35
Gwen stared at Troy’s sleeping form, then closed her eyes and said a prayer for God to see him through. Listening to the doctors, the magnitude of the surgery struck her. If this was a mission planning session, she’d walk away from the table until there was more positive intel. Currently, it was a suicide mission.
After leaving him a note that she was going to her office for a while to do allowable paperwork, she proceeded down the corridor and found Tim sitting at a computer terminal with Ethan Miller. Both looked up at her expectantly. “Everything alright?” Ethan asked.
“Troy’s sleeping,” she said.
“I mean with you?” Ethan asked. “Even though I’m an arrogant surgeon, I do notice things. That was a tough listen.”
Gwen bit her cheek, drawing blood. “It was. And you do know there’s someone out there who wants to hurt him, us. The release of the films was provoked by the belief it would make Troy fall apart. His interview, it showed the release empowered him instead, but that empowers whoever is doing this too.”
“Kip spoke with us. A plan is supposedly being drafted tomorrow,” Tim said. “Gwen, there’s more?”
She wondered why Kip hadn’t said anything to her. “I need to figure this out. Troy and I have been receiving threatening calls, Troy to his cell, mine to my office. We’ve swept the entire two towers for listening devices. We are looking at all possibilities. Has there been anyone visiting regularly? Or new staff we may have missed.”
“No staff since the May purge,” Ethan said.
“That’s what you call it?” Tim chuckled about the mass staff change over when Julian took over the facility security.
Gwen turned. “If you think of anything…”
“Wait, James Richmond’s dad. He’s giving him a hard time. We’ve caught him pacing the corridor. Troy’s spoken with him too. He didn’t take kindly to that,” Tim said.
“Thanks, I’ll put him on our list.” Continuing on her way, she had another thought.
She knocked on the glass doors and entered to find Jessie Brooks crocheting and watching TV. “Hi, Jessie, I’m Gwen, a first deputy at Chase Security. I was wondering if you’d speak with me?” She wasn’t lying, but she didn’t reveal the whole truth. She was still on restricted leave.
“I guess.” Jessie put her stitchery down.
Gwen pulled up a seat. “Jessie, I am so sorry about what happened to you. I need to ask you about the man who watched you and the man who cut you.” Gwen dug her nails into her thigh.
“Why?” She began to tear up.
“I think they are the same men who hurt me in 2013,” Gwen admitted.
Jessie’s wide eyes connected with Gwen’s, expressing empathy and horror. “My God. How are they getting away with this?”
“Troy Bremen is leading the investigation into who. I’m trying to help him. Do you remember anything about them?”
“The man who watched, his hands were white. I watched them as he took notes and when he…he touched himself.”
“Anything else? The pad he wrote on? His pen? His eye color?” Gwen persisted.
“His eyes were eerie. A strange blue. It didn’t seem natural. It was a small black book. He wrote with his right hand.” Jessie’s brows knit as she closed her eyes. “His pen, it was heavy in his hands. Shiny black and it had red… um… it looked like little flags. I was so scared and in pain. I don’t know.”
