Cal swore under his breath, his jaw tight with fury. “Son of a bitch. Someone’s screwing with him on purpose.”
They grabbed their things and hurried out the door. Alena hit redial, and when Nurse Collins answered again, Alena said, “Can I talk to David?”
The nurse didn’t hesitate. “Of course.” A few seconds later, David’s voice came on, shaky and agitated.
“They said… they said the attack in the warehouse was my fault,” David blurted, his words tumbling over each other. “That I’m the reason you and Cal aren’t together.”
Alena’s heart squeezed hard. “No, David. None of that’s true. It wasn’t your fault. It was Dexter Westbrook’s. He did that. Not you.”
David groaned. “But I can’t remember. Why’d the caller say that if it’s not true?”
Alena closed her eyes, forcing herself to keep her voice steady. “I don’t know. But I’m going to find out.”
Cal shot her a look, his face still set in stone, and she knew he was already thinking of a dozen ways to track the bastard down.
“The caller probably used a burner,” Alena went on, her voice firm for David’s sake. “But maybe Isla can dig into it, find out who made that call. What matters right now is that you know the truth. You didn’t do this. Dexter did.”
Cal leaned closer to the phone. “David, was the caller a man or a woman?”
David’s breath rasped through the speaker. “I don’t know. It was hard to tell. They were whispering.”
Alena’s stomach tightened. Whispering meant it could be anyone. Kara. Arneson. Even Dexter. But maybe not Melissa—at least not if she was still with Raines.
Keeping David on speaker, she snatched up Cal’s phone and typed out a quick message to Raines.Is Melissa still there with you?
The reply came almost right away.No. She left about 10 minutes ago. She was pissed I was questioning her about hiring those two men.
Alena’s fingers clenched around the phone. So much for ruling Melissa out.
David’s voice came soft and uncertain. “Cal… is it true? Did you and Alena break up?”
Cal let out a long sigh, his hand tightening on the wheel. “I kissed Alena just a few minutes ago. So that’s my answer.”
Alena glanced at him, her heart giving a quick, hard thump.
“That’s… okay,” David muttered, and his tone eased a little. But then he asked, “How long before you get here?”
“About fifteen minutes,” Cal said.
“I’ll wait for you,” David promised. The sound of the phone shifting followed, and then Nurse Collins came back on.
Alena spoke quickly. “Just keep him calm, and we’ll be there soon.”
“I will,” the nurse said.
Alena ended the call and let the phone drop into her lap, her chest tight with both relief and fury. Whoever had called David had wanted to stir the pot. And they had.
The road narrowed as they took the final turn toward Cedar Ridge. Towering oaks and pecans pressed in close, their branches arching overhead so the morning light came in broken strips across the SUV.
Alena’s eyes tracked the shadows on either side. Too many places to hide. Too many angles where someone could wait and watch.
“The gate’s just ahead,” Cal said, his grip tightening on the wheel.
Alena nodded, but her gut was already knotting. She reached for her gun, settling it on her thigh, finger brushing the trigger guard.
The pop of gunfire cracked through the quiet.
The windshield spiderwebbed, and metal pinged as bullets tore into the SUV.
