Agent Langley didn’t like that at all. After a moment of chicken, the calm façade wore off, and the agent leaned back in the seat, creating distance. Hate and disgust were clear on his face, and he stayed silent. That spoke volumes. Mitch had his strategy.
He said nothing more, but turned to leave the room. As they shut the door behind him, he re-holstered his weapon, then grabbed his phone and set the alarm for one hour. He’d be back in there talking about the homosexual lifestyle, accuse the guy of being closeted, and let him tick like a time bomb. Langley would give. He’d talk before morning, for sure.
“Let me handle him, Connors. Don’t let anyone in there, and don’t fucking argue with me right now. I’ll be back in an hour.” Mitch headed to his office to call Cody.
Chapter 49
“Mr. Turner,” Cody heard in his haze of sleep. He tried to turn away from the voice. Anyone using words like mister wasn’t anyone he needed to talk to right now.
“Mr. Turner, I need to give you your medication.” Cody cracked an eyelid, saw the nurse, and gave in as he opened both eyes. The place was wrong, so was the nurse, and he tried to rise. A long string of curse words flew from his lips as he registered the pain in his body and carefully laid himself back.
“Settle down, sir. You’re okay. This will help with the pain,” she said swiftly and efficiently. Clearly this was not her first time with disorientated patients. Cody let her drop the tablets in his mouth and took a sip of the water she held. They did that three more times until everything on the tray was taken. She turned away and entered information into a portable rolling computer before she looked back to him.
“You slept through dinner, can I get you another tray?” He looked in the direction she pointed to see covered dishes sitting on the hospital bedside cart. The pain in his arm was a little too much to consider eating anything and he shook his head.
“His parents are bringing him some warm soup from the dining room,” someone said from the corner of the room.
“All right, Mr. Turner. Here’s the call button. Call the nurse’s station if you need anything. It’s almost time for your vitals. The aide will be around soon.” The nurse packed up her portable cart and left. Cody’s eyes landed on the man attached to the voice, but recognition took a second more to sink in.
“Dr. Knox?” Cody asked, still a little uncertain if he had dreamed the earlier exchange or if this was Mitch’s father in the room.
“Yes, you remember. Pretty impressive after everything you’ve gone through today,” Dr. Knox said, rising, walking toward him.
“Why are you here? Wait. Not that I’m not thankful…” Cody started, but stopped as a hand reached out to him.
“Mitch couldn’t be here. He needed someone watching over you. I volunteered.” Dr. Knox stood beside the bed, patting his leg. “Make sure you let them know when you’re in pain, especially this next twenty-four hours. No need to live with it right now.”
“Yes, sir,” Cody nodded, staring at the older man. He had a memory of thinking Mitch looked absolutely nothing like his father. Dr. Knox was a shorter man, balding, very excellent bedside manner. Then he remembered the smile and the dimples he’d caught glimpses of earlier.
“I’m sorry you came all this way.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else. Son, Mitch wants you to know they have the suspect in custody now. They still have security tight around you, but he’s working hard to alleviate the threats.”
“He blames himself, doesn’t he?” Cody asked.
“He has always taken on other’s burdens, but I’ve always figured that’s what makes him so good at his job,” Dr. Knox answered.
“What are they saying about my arm?”
“You’ve had good care. If you do what they say and promise to do your physical therapy, you’ll be good as new. But they’ll keep you in here another day or two, for good measure. Your phone took the hit. I suspect Apple’s going to have a field day with that one,” Dr. Knox said, smiling warmly down at him.
“Mitch found the suspect pretty quick,” Cody said, relieved the agent had already been taken off the streets.
“Yes, he did, and I promised him I’d call once you woke. Are you up to talking to him now?” Dr. Knox asked, pulling his phone from his pocket.
“Yes, thank you, sir. I hate that Mitch called you away from your job and family because of me,” Cody replied, watching as Mitch’s father dialed the number.
“He’s never asked anything of his family since the minute he pushed himself out of the nest. I’m very happy to be here for him and you, Cody. It’s not an imposition,” Dr. Knox responded and lifted a finger to Cody, silencing him.
“Son, do you have a minute? Cody’s awake,” he heard Dr. Knox ask. “Here, Cody.”
“Hello,” Cody said, watching as Dr. Knox turned from the bed and walked toward the door. He ushered the guard out of the room before he stepped out too.
“How you feeling?” Mitch asked, his voice turning soft as he spoke.
“Okay, sore, tired,” Cody replied honestly. “What’s going on? Your dad said you have him in custody.”
“Yeah, we have him. We’re just trying to get him to talk.”
“Was he really CIA?” He tried to push himself up in bed and winced, but kept quiet. He didn’t want Mitch to know he was in any pain.
“No, he’s Secret Service, but he left too many clues this time,” Mitch trailed off.
“You still there?” Cody asked when Mitch became silent.
“Yeah, babe, I gotta go. I just thought of something. Can I call you back?” Mitch asked, distracted.
“Yeah, sure.” Cody hoped Mitch couldn’t hear the disappointment in his voice.
“I just thought of a new angle to get his confession. If it works, I can get back there with you a little faster. I love you, Cody. I’m not sure I could have handled losing you. I knew you were important to me, but you freaked my shit out. I don’t ever want a repeat.” Cody felt the exact same way. The emotion of that statement ran strong inside him. Too strong.