“Yeah,” Brynnon nodded absentmindedly. “After the explosion, I was sure Jessica Price had decided to come after me again. But then Coop told me about what happened to her father today, so I know it wasn’t her.” She got choked up again. “That poor man. I really wanted to help him find some peace before he passed.”
“We’ll figure this out, Bryn.” He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. “No matter how long it takes, I won’t stop until we have the answers we need.”
Several minutes later, after showing his I.D., Grant pulled his truck into the secured parking area. After opening the passenger door, he took her hand and helped her out of the truck.
Wrapping her arms around herself, Brynnon shivered against the cold wind. She’d rushed out in such a hurry, she hadn’t thought to grab her coat.
With a low curse, Grant shrugged out of his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. She thanked him for the chivalrous gesture as they walked toward the building’s entrance.
“I’ve driven by this place a handful of times, but I had no idea it was a hospital.”
Grant gave her a tiny smirk. “That’s because Homeland doesn’t want people to know.”
Once inside, Brynnon couldn’t help but notice how familiar Grant seemed to be with the facility. Not only did he know exactly where the elevators were located, he’d also lead her straight to the Intensive Care unit, where he’d been told her brother’s room was located.
“You’ve been here before,” she stated the obvious.
“A few times.” He looked down at her as they walked. “Someone at R.I.S.C. gets hurt badly enough to see a doctor, this is where we come. Also, Olivia, our boss’s wife, is a nurse here. She won’t be working tonight, though. They’re expecting their first kid in a couple of months. Liv had some issues with the pregnancy early on. As a precaution, she took a few months off from work. Jake’s also been taking a lot of time off from R.I.S.C. to be with her.”
The big guy was talking way more than was his norm, and Brynnon had a sneaky suspicion it was for her benefit. He knew she was terrified at the thought of losing her brother and was making every effort to take her mind off it. Even if only for a few moments.
If she wasn’t already hopelessly in love with the man, that small act of kindness would have tipped her over the edge.
Seeing the guards standing by one of the ICU room’s doors, Brynnon instinctively knew it was her brother’s. Recognizing Grant, the serious men allowed them entrance with a tip of their heads.
Sitting in a chair next to the bed, her father’s puffy, red-rimmed eyes met hers the second she walked into the room. Heaviness pressed down onto her chest when she realized the powerful politician had been replaced by the sad, hopeless man before her.
To her left stood Coop, his arms crossed at his chest as he leaned against the room’s sink. His expression was grim.
Unable to put off the inevitable, Brynnon tried hard not to react when her gaze fell upon her brother. Lying in the middle of the stark white room, he looked pale and small. Several tubes and cords ran from his body to the many machines surrounding the head of the bed.
A heart monitor beeped with the steady thrum of his pulse and a breathing tube had been inserted and was taped to his mouth, providing some much-needed oxygen to his lungs.
“Billy.” Releasing Grant’s hand, Brynnon shrugged out of his coat and handed it back to him before rushing to her brother’s side.
Her father stood, leaving the chair he’d been using to go to her. With an arm around her shoulders, he did his best to comfort her while sharing the grave news.
“The doctor said he’s critical. Apparently, the bullet nicked his aorta. He’d already lost a lot of blood before anyone found him. Crashed twice during surgery. We should know more in the next hour or two, but should prepare ourselves for the worst.”
“Oh, God.” Brynnon hugged her father as they stood there, crying together. When the two parted, she wiped her face dry and asked, “Do they know who did this?”
Before her dad could answer, Martin Downing came rushing through the door. “Sorry, it took me so long to get here, sir.” He looked at Billy then eyed the others in the room. “I-I would have left sooner, but I had to make a couple phone calls first. Damage control with the press.”
“It’s fine, Martin.” Her dad looked warily at his chief of staff. “I was just filling Brynnon in on Billy’s condition.”
Barely able to look at his friend, Martin asked, “How is he?”
“The doctors aren’t hopeful,” Brynnon said tearfully.
“Damn.”
“To answer your question, Bryn”—Coop continued the interrupted conversation—“no. We don’t know who did this. But we will soon.”
“How can you be so sure?” Martin asked anxiously. His eyes bouncing back and forth between Billy and Coop.
Brynnon actually felt sorry for the man. It was no secret they merely tolerated each other, but personal feelings aside, Martin and her brother had been best friends for years. It was no wonder the guy was upset.
“Billy was shot inside his apartment,” Coop backtracked to give them a full picture of the night’s events. “A neighbor heard the shot and called it in.”
