“Did I ask for your advice?”
“I’m offering it for free.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway. I can never go home, not after everything. They’ll never respect me. I don’t want to live like that.”
It was hard to stand there and hear someone who had a family turn their back on them, especially when I’d give anything to have mine back. “I hope one day you’ll change your mind. I’ll stop by tomorrow to check on you. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure it’s after visiting hours are over so nobody sees us together.”
She seemed annoyed, but now more than ever, I was determined to make sure she stayed out of harm’s way.
Chapter 15
Cassie
From the moment he walked into my hospital room, I regretted calling him. He acted like his shit didn’t stink, and it bothered me. Nobody was perfect, especially an agent who used his badge to control people.
The doctor who promised to give me something to help me sleep didn’t order the prescription until the middle of the night. Exhaustion had already set in, so the moment my IV was filled with the medication, I passed out.
The next morning I woke up to a nurse taking my vitals. A plate of breakfast was already sitting on the tray next to my bed. I coasted the room for Brant only to realize I was alone. Before attempting to eat something that may or may not be appetizing, I used my cell phone to call my boyfriend. It got his voicemail six times in a row. His phone was either turned off or he’d forgotten to charge it. I thought about calling Tammy, but I didn’t want to hear her voice, asking where I was and when I’d be back.
Figuring he might be on his way in, I remained calm. I watched television, and managed to keep down some hard toast. By lunch time, I was chomping at the bit to get out of the hospital. I don’t know why I did it, but I threatened to harm myself if they didn’t let me go. They strapped me into the bed and put in for a psychiatric evaluation.
I was in a big fat mess, and I didn’t have any way to get out of it.
I cried. I screamed. I begged.
No one came. They left me there to rot.
Nightfall came, and still no Brant. I couldn’t exactly use my phone since I was strapped to the bed. They fed me through an IV, but my stomach growled for something solid to eat. Finally I dozed off, succumbing to the fact that I had to wait it out. Footsteps caught my attention. I turned, excited to see my boyfriend, only to realize it wasn’t him at all. Logan Campbell stood over my bed, his hair disheveled and face looking exhausted. “Do you mind telling me what happened earlier? I called to check on you and they said you had a breakdown. What’s going on? Did you hear from Brant?”
“No. That’s why I’m freaking out. Is he alive? Is he in jail?”
“If he was in jail I’d know it. As far as my team knows everything has been quiet all day. There hasn’t been one person coming or leaving from the residence.”
“Do you think they’ve hurt him?”
“There’s nothing to make us think an act of violence has occurred, Cassie.”
“I need to get out of here. I can’t stand it anymore. I’m starving, and they’re not feeding me. Please, Agent Campbell. Please help me get out of here. I don’t care if you have to take me to jail. At least I’ll be able to eat. They won’t even talk to me when they check my vitals.”
He stepped out for a second and came back in. In a matter of seconds he freed both of my hands. “I made some calls. I have good news and bad.”
“What’s the good?”
“They’re releasing you under my supervision.”
“What does that mean? Do you have to babysit me?”
“Pretty much. Tomorrow they’ll assign a detail to you, but right now we’re short staffed. There was a murder of a government official on the strip earlier, and all agents are busy at the scene.”
“Just let me go. I need to check on Brant.”
“I can’t. It’s my civil duty to protect you. Now, I’ve had a shitty day, so don’t even think about trying something stupid. It’s for one night. My roommate is a nurse, and she’s agreed to care for you until you can manage on your own. She’s not involved in this, so don’t treat her like you treat me. She’s kind, and she knows what you’ve been through.”
“What?” She wasn’t happy at all. She pointed her finger in my direction as she spoke. “I’m not going to your house.”
“I’m doing this because I’m not willing to let you get involved with my investigation. It’s too dangerous. You need to be under protective custody until further notice. You know too much, and that puts you in the line of fire.”
“Protective custody? You’re the one putting me in danger. I can’t do this. Brant might need my help. I have to go home.”
He grabbed my hand to keep me from searching for my clothes. With him standing behind me I knew exactly what he was getting an eyeful of. I turned toward him with a disgusted look on my face. “Get away from me, you pervert.”
“Are you being serious? I’m a government agent, not the pope. Maybe you should have stayed in bed until I could hand you something to put on? Did you ever think of that?”
I shut my mouth and watched as he located my bag of things. He tossed them in my direction. “Here, I’ll wait outside. Call me when you’re finished.”
I gave him a dirty look behind his back, but dressed quickly once I knew I was alone in the room. I didn’t care what I had to do to get to Brant. I had to warn him he was in danger. I had to save him from himself before it was too late.
Agent Campbell led me to the outside parking lot where he’d parked his cruiser. He looked around, as if he was making sure someone wasn’t watching us. He opened the door for me and made sure I was buckled in before walking around to climb in himself. He started the vehicle, still without a spoken word to me.
“How far away do you live?” I asked.
“I live outside of Vegas. It will take us a bit to get through the traffic. Don’t worry, I plan on stopping to get us something to eat.”
My stomach growled at the mention of food. I was starving. “I could eat a triple cheeseburger if you stuck one in front of my face.”
“Wow, as small as you are, that could be entertaining to watch.”
I suppose his comment was somewhat funny, though I didn’t have the energy to laugh. My mind was consumed with worry. “I know it’s asking a lot, but could you at least call to make sure nothing has changed. I haven’t heard from Brant all day, and that’s not like him. He was worried about me last night. He wouldn’t have left me in the hospital without a call. Something is wrong. I can feel it.”
I could tell he didn’t want to, but he pulled out his phone from his leather jacket and made a call. I listened to see if I could make out what they were talking about.
“It’s me. Any change?” He paused and listened to whoever he was speaking to. “Have you seen the boyfriend? Yeah, I see. Okay. Keep me posted if anything changes.”
“Your boyfriend is fine. Apparently a bunch of people just showed up. Music is playing and it seems like there’s a party taking place. Do you know if one was scheduled?”
I felt sick again. “No. Brant didn’t say anything to me.”
My contact says the backyard is full of people. They’ve seen your boyfriend several times throughout the day.”
I couldn’t believe he’d left me in the hospital, and was now partying it up. How could he have been so cruel. “I left everything for him,” I managed to get out. “I can’t believe he’d abandon me. I thought he cared. I was under the impression he was supportive of me getting clean.”