Dom nodded.
“Good. Tired. How long…I…stuck here?”
“That, I do not know.”
“So why here? You have questions.”
“Just a few. They can wait.”
“No. They can’t. Trey…?”
“Going to live. Most damaging shot was Mig’s doing, actually. Gunnar got Grundenman in the upper chest, ironically enough. Stuck in a chair for life thanks to Mig’s round, I believe. However long that will be.” Trey Grundenman was a murderer several times over—he’d probably get the death penalty eventually. Dom didn’t give a shit at all. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving man. The security guard Grundenman had killed outside the Barratts’ house that night had had a family. Kids who’d been waiting on him at home. He hadn’t been any older than twenty-four himself. Grundenman would get what he deserved.
“No regrets. Always a monster. His father?”
Dom hesitated. She wouldn’t be happy when she found out. And he didn’t want to upset her. But she was looking at him, like she could see right through his soul. “Still looking for him. He’s…wily.”
“No kidding. Smart…brilliant, really. Like…his daughters. But…no real common sense. The little girl…? Have they found her yet?”
Dom just shook his head. He’d heard what she’d had to say when she’d learned that her sister Denita had been the egg-donor for that little girl. But that had been over a week ago. Heather had been in and out of consciousness for almost two weeks now. He didn’t have a clue what she rememberedor didn’t. Apparently she remembered that little girl who had Heather’s smile, too. “Still looking.”
“I see. We need to find her. Make sure she is okay, and withuswhere she belongs. With her sisters. What do you…want to know?” She reached one skinny arm out toward the water. “So…thirsty.”
Dom helped her, feeling like an awkward idiot. He wasn’t a nurse. She just looked so damned fragile. This woman was one of the toughest, strongest, he knew. She had deserved better than this. “You need to just rest. I’m holding down the fort now. And…Rodriguez is taking care of your family. Nobody can get through him.”
“Except…Hope? She…figured him out yet?”
“Last I saw her, she didn’t have a clue. And he’s still drooling over her every time she moves. Fun to watch, actually.”
“He’s the best man I know…good for her. Tired again. Sorry.”
Dom was just floored that she was coherent. Hopefully it meant she was going to be okay. The woman had scared them all. "You have any idea who is behind all this?"
"Not yet. Some things Kimball said… starting to fall in place now." She closed her eyes. She opened them again. Stared right into him. “Just need…to…think…connect dots…”
He'd heard Daniel say once that this woman could stare right into a man's soul and see all of his weaknesses. Well, yes. Dom believed that.
"You need to talk to my sister. Talk to Hope. She'll tell you. Tell her that I told you the secret word is Elspeth. Great-great-grandmother. You tell her I…told you Elspeth will tell you. She should know what it means."
"Elspeth." Locked down in his brain now. Dom would not forget. “I’ll do that.”
“You give her that name and she’ll give you…what I have been working on. Trust…you…don’t…let down…”
"I won’t. You just rest. I'll keep an eye on things now. Just worry about getting better. Your girls need you."
"My girls… tell them… that I love them. And I'll be home soon. No matter what I have to do."
“Sleep. I’m not going anywhere until your niece or sister gets here. You’re safe now. I’m going to damned well make sure of it.” He didn’t tell her they had two guards on her door at all times. He didn’t want to scare her. She drifted off again. He just sat there.
He studied her, taking in the perfect face. Heather Coleson was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She had lost weight now, of course, but that physical perfection was still there beneath the surface. Classical, really. The kind men fought wars over in mythology, he suspected.
Beautiful, but he’d never been attracted to her the way some of the men of Major Crimes had. He’d always wondered why, from the moment Daniel had walked her into the Major Crimes bullpen.
Of course, it could have been because of how strongly she’d resembled his teammate Murdoch Lake’s wife, but Dom didn’t think it was that. By the time Heather had joined Major Crimes, everyone knew she was related to Zoey. But…seeing her in person for the first time…wow.
She was just a beautiful, physically attractive woman. And men had noticed her. Bringing trouble her way that she didn’t deserve.
A sound had him looking up. At the young woman standing in the door frame. “Well, well, well, a copper who is a man of his word. How extraordinary. Other than Uncle Nick and Uncle Miggy, I didn’t think it was possible to find.”
