“What the fuck?”
“Bristol has dangerous friends and may not be working alone, if indeed he’s behind the attack. Until we determine exactly who’s after you and why, you’re a target. The farther away you are, the better.” The boss managed to miss bumps better than the orderlies back at the hospital.
Looked like Lucky might get to know Jimmy better than he’d ever hoped to.
But at least Agent Jimmy beat Nurse Andy.
Or did he?
***
“Are you comfortable? Need another pillow?”
A growl backed Jimmy away from fluffing the pillow behind Lucky’s head. “No and No.” Lucky might never be comfortable again, and one more pillow would crowd him out of the passenger seat of Jimmy’s car.
“Are you sure? I don’t mind.” Jimmy shut up long enough to trot around the hood and get in the car. “We should be there in about…”
Blah, blah, blah. There went Lucky’s hopes of a peaceful ride home. Just his luck to get stuck with an overly-eager talker.
“I owe you, you know.” A bit of Nurse Andy’s creepiness shone in Jimmy’s fan-boy smile.
The last time someone had said those words, they’d tried to kill Lucky. “Owe me what?”
To his credit, Jimmy finally started the vehicle and eased out of the parking lot. Goodbye, Magnolia Manor! “I owe you my freedom.”
“Your freedom.”
“Yeah.” Jimmy’s voice softened. “Several years back I got busted for pot. Not much, mind you, but enough to get me into some serious trouble.”
Of all the states to legalize weed, Virginia might be one of the last. “And?”
“And I nearly lost my nursing license. Then my current boss heard about the operations you pulled off in Georgia and gave me a chance to redeem myself. If it weren’t for you, that might never have happened. Then, thanks to both you and Agent Schollenberger, I got offered a permanent position once I’d done my time. Been with SNB ever since.”
Bo and Lucky paved the way for others? Who’d have thunk it?
“Anyway, I’d put in for undercover ops training with you down in Atlanta, but a slot hasn’t come up yet. And then what do you know? Here you come up this way.” Jimmy’s grin threatened to split his face. He gave a sheepish shrug. “Watching Bristol’s father kept me close enough to keep tabs on Bristol, though he didn’t visit much. I had no idea at the time that Simon Harrison and Lucky Lucklighter were one and the same. When a request came in for protection for a new patient, we discovered your link to my target.”
“A request? When? And whose request?”
“The day you checked in, and I don’t know who asked. Since I was already assigned to the hospital, switching over to you benefitted my case, since you and his… your father… were on the same floor.”
The day Lucky’s checked into the hospital. When had Walter gotten in touch with Nestor? “Who…” Had to be Victor and Nestor. Walter only recently found out about Nurse Andy being Agent Jimmy, ruling the boss out. Maybe learning about Daytona being drugged put Nestor and Victor on alert. They’d promised to watch out for Lucky, after all. And they definitely had the pull to make arrangements for a baby sitter. “Don’t make a lick of sense.”
“Since me hovering over you like a mother hen means you’re still breathing, I guess the request proved right.”
Couldn’t argue there. “Is that why Bo took my clothes so I couldn’t go with him back to the hospital? I still owe him one.”
Jimmy grin fell. “I’ve never worked with him, but my boss sings his praises. Bo’s a pro, but with you around, he’d lose focus and not concentrate on work. You know what happens to agents who can’t keep their minds on their work.”
Yep. SNB memorial page. But still, someday soon, when Bo least expected… “What’s happening at the hospital? What’s Bo doing there?”
“Maybe I shouldn’t be telling you this, but he’s keeping an eye on the rest of your family.”
“Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but why?” If someone kept an eye on Bristol, the rest of the family should be safe.
“Let’s call it a hunch.” Jimmy stopped at a red light and turned to Lucky. “I’m afraid we have a lead to follow up on.”
Lucky’s mind reeled, and not from painkillers. He eyed a Starbucks sign. Good news or bad news all went down better with coffee.
