Harper’s hand rose to her mouth to hold back her scream.
* * *
“Son of a bitch,”Mike cursed as he lay flat on his back. Dirt and rocks pelleted him from the explosion. “Acrobat.”
Kip stood over him. “Right here. You alright?”
“I’m too old for this shit.” Mike rolled to his side, brought up his knees and stood. Kip watched him shake each leg and arm. With a final shimmy of his hips, Mike deemed himself “good to go.”
“Somebody alerted him. Stay low. Not only do we need to hide from the bad guy, but cameras.” Kip sighed. “Sweetheart, you don’t have to do this. Get back to Josh.”
“Hi, Mr. Fontenot. It’s Harper. Do you remember me?” Kip heard her say.
“Harper. You shouldn’t be here,” the man said.
“Sweetheart, please go back,” Kip begged.
“I think I should. I can’t imagine how you feel.” Her voice shook.
Was she being brave and ignoring him, or did she lose contact?
“That’s right. They killed her.”
“Miss Candace was very sick,” Harper said.
“That’s the point. She was dying—slowly. That’s until Lourdes conned her into trying that drug. From the second it was in her system, she was in agony. Nothing helped. It tore her apart. You saw her,” he yelled.
“I did. I think the drug acted like poison in her system. And I believe Lourdes knew that,” she said.
Kip closed his eyes. She put a target on her back. Mike looked at him and shook his head.
“Now you see why I hate her. Why didn’t you stand up for my wife?” Marcel Fontenot demanded.
“Mr. Fontenot, I didn’t know about the drug until Miss Candace passed. And you need to know, the Sommerstones don’t own the hospital anymore. You need to trust me. Mr. Brennan is the new CEO, and Dr. Hunter Montgomery is the new head doctor. They’ll listen to you.” Harper took a step closer.
“Why should I trust you? Somebody is listening in.” He looked at his phone.
Harper pulled the earwig from her ear. “Here.” She put it on the ground and stepped on it.
“Everyone, comms off,” Mike called.
* * *
“See?It’s you and me. Please come with me, and we can talk with Mr. Brennan and Dr. Montgomery. I know you wouldn’t want any more people to hurt like Miss Candace. Mr. Fontenot, can I call your kids?” Harper asked.
“No, this was a big inconvenience for them. After the funeral, they fought about their mother’s jewelry.” He looked disgusted.
Harper wanted to cry. “I’m sorry. I wish for parents every day. My parents, they disowned my sister and me.” She sighed. “My sister is pregnant and not married. That doesn’t fit their mold for us.”
“Candace liked you. She said you were a good one.” He looked around.
“What do you think? Walk out of here with me?” She tried to force her knees to stop knocking.
“I wish it was that easy,” he said.
“What do you mean?” Harper asked. “Oh God, there are other bombs?”
“Harper, get out of here while you can,” he warned.
