“It’s curious that you would think of comparing it to objects made of paper. It did, in fact, hold paper.”
“Oh?” She said that politely, as if she felt a certain social obligation to express interest.
“Mmm. Ms. Rucker—”
“Please make it Carrie Ann,” she said warmly.
Lily bared her teeth in something not meant to be mistaken for a smile. “Carrie Ann, I hope you’ll search your memory carefully. Amazing as it seems, that nice old man was not arranging a scavenger hunt. As I said, the Bureau takes very little interest in such things. We do, however, really perk up and pay attention when kidnapping’s involved.”
The slight widening of her eyes was Carrie Ann’s first unscripted response. She didn’t like that word, not at all. Whoever told her to make the drop hadn’t given her any hint it might be ransom money. She recovered quickly, lifting one hand to her throat and allowing herself to look uncertain. “Kidnapping. Oh, surely not. If one of that nice old man’s grandchildren was—”
The door opened. “Lily,” Rule said. “They tried for Beth. She’s okay. Murray isn’t. I need to get there quick.”
Lily shoved her chair back and fixed Rucker with a look. “Stay here.”
One second later, she was out the door and flinging orders at the first face she saw. “Get me a driver and a car with a siren. Black-and-white or Bureau—whichever’s faster. I need the car waiting on the street by the time the elevator gets me down there.”
“What—”
“Do it. Now. Bergman!”
The door at the end of the hall opened. The woman’s face creased with annoyance. “You yelled?”
“They attacked my sister. One of Rule’s people is badly hurt. I’m leaving. Keep someone on Rucker. Use this attack to shake her loose, if you can.” She flung the last over her shoulder as she headed for the elevator bank, Rule beside her. “Who called you,” she asked him, her voice low, “if Murray’s badly hurt?”
“Patrick.”
“Patrick? But—”
“I added him to Beth’s detail while you were questioning Tony. The attackers came at her in the stairwell of her building—four men, two from above, two from below. Beth is unharmed. Murray took at least one bullet in the chest. I told Patrick to call an ambulance. I need to be there. Murray’s not conscious now, but if he survives long enough for the EMTs to load him, he could wake up.”
“Right.” Badly hurt lupi were dangerous. Murray might Change; he might see any attempt at help as an attack. Rule could control him. She jabbed the elevator button and thought about the stairs, but they were on the thirteenth floor. Rule might beat the elevator down, but she couldn’t. The car she’d ordered probably wouldn’t be there yet, anyway.
Bergman caught up with them. “Is your sister all right?”
“I think so. Four men came for her. Could have been an attempted hit or a snatch, but my money’s on the latter. Who sends four men to kill a single young woman?” She looked at Rule. “What happened to the attackers? Was Patrick able to hold on to any of them?”
“Who’s Patrick?’ Bergman said.
Rule answered Lily, not the other woman. “Two are dead. One escaped. One is alive, but badly injured.”
Bergman scowled. “Sounds like one hell of a mess. Your sister didn’t repel four men on her own. Who’s this Patrick?”
“One of Rule’s men.” Lily stabbed the stupid damn elevator button again and looked at Rule. “Are the locals on the scene yet?”
He looked blank. Rule tended not to think about calling the cops.
“Someone’s probably called it in,” Lily told Bergman as the elevator finally opened. “At least one shot was fired. Get in touch with the locals. Make sure they’re expecting me and Rule.” She and Rule stepped into the elevator.
“Wait. What do you mean, he’s one of Rule’s men? Were you expecting something like this?”
“Not like this, no.” The doors shut on Special Agent Bergman’s frustrated face. Lily looked at Rule. “You were, though. You sent Patrick.”
“Belt and suspenders,” he said obscurely as the elevator started down. “Lily, the two dead—Murray took out one, and Patrick got the other. The badly injured one, though, that was Beth’s doing. Do you want Patrick to take responsibility for him? I need to let him know.”
“Shit.”
TWENTY-FOUR
“SURE,” Lily said. “I’ll call you later. No, I’m here and…I know you do. I’ll give her your love, and…” Lily listened patiently to another list of things she must be sure to do. It wasn’t that hard. She knew the list was her mother’s way of saying she loved Beth, and this time, at least, her mother wasn’t blaming Lily for what had happened to her sister. This time, her mother seemed to trust her. “Uh-huh. No, don’t worry about that—she’ll be staying with me and Rule.”
Beth paused in her pacing to glare at her. “No, I won’t.”
Lily gave her a look. “I need to go. I don’t like to leave Beth alone with that detective and…of course I will. ’Bye.”
“She’s not coming here, is she?” Beth demanded.
Lily slipped her phone in her pocket. “No, and you owe me big-time for telling her you were still talking to the local police. You’ll call her yourself later. And you are staying with me and Rule.”
“No, I’m not.” Beth resumed her furious circuit of the surgical waiting room. “Haven’t I proved how damn good I am at taking care of myself? Sent him sailing—splat!” She slapped her hands together. “Took him right out.”
“Uh-huh. You figure you can protect your roommates, too, if the bad guys try for you again?”
Beth’s mouth opened. Closed. She turned away and started pacing again, up and down the room, like she’d been doing since they got here.
There was only one person other than Lily to watch. Tony Romano sat in the corner pretending to read an old issue of Better Homes and Gardens. Maybe he really was reading it—who knew? He’d insisted on coming to the hospital, claiming he had no problem with the setting. Most lupi didn’t do well in hospitals, but Tony was a Rho. He was supposed to be aces at control. He said he hoped to be useful to Rule, but of course Rule didn’t stay where Tony could hang around being helpful. He went into surgery with Murray. That’s when Tony attached himself to Lily like an enormous barnacle. She thought he must be “studying on” her, getting used to the idea of a woman with authority. She wasn’t sure why she was letting him.
Scott and Todd were just outside in the hall, glaring at anyone who looked like they might come in. Either the glares worked or the hospital was having a slow surgical day, because they’d had the room to themselves for the past twenty minutes. Lily knew that was temporary. If nothing, else, the press would find them eventually.
Somewhere nearby was the man Beth had sent sailing over a railing to plummet three stories down. He was still in surgery. Lily had told Rule it was Beth’s choice about whether to ask Patrick to claim responsibility for that. Beth had reacted just as Lily had expected—she’d been horrified by the idea.
Murray had come around at the scene, but Rule had kept him calm, and Cullen had met them at the hospital. Murray had taken two bullets; one wasn’t much of a problem, being in his shoulder, but the other had hit his heart. He had to have surgery, but anesthesia didn’t work on lupi. Fortunately, sleep spells did, and Cullen was good at them, so he and Rule had scrubbed and gone into surgery with Murray. They were with him now in post-op.
Lily was not needed for any of this. She’d rather have taken Beth to the hotel once they could leave the scene of the attack. Beth could be guarded better there—and Lily had so much to do. The locals were handling the immediate investigation of Beth’s attackers, but that wasn’t exactly the only thing on her plate. She’d ended up video conferencing from the damn ladies’ room—the one spot at the hospital with some privacy—when the judge insisted on a personal discussion of her need for taps on Jasper Machek’s phones.