The next morning, Rick wished he could pace in the hospital’s waiting area. That would work off some of his nervous energy, but his legs wouldn’t cooperate. Instead he was stuck waiting in one of the uncomfortable industrial chairs that was half a size too small for him while he waited for Nola to finish her release processing after her night spent in the hospital.
At least he’d gotten Lauren on a plane home with hurried, but surprisingly comfortable goodbyes. And Lauren had seemed nearly as shaken as him by Nola’s trip to the E.R.
He’d spoken to Lauren the minute she’d landed in Atlanta. Now he just needed to hear that she’d made it to New Hampshire and back into her mother’s safekeeping.
The electric doors swished open, a cool burst of air from outside swirling in along with three of Nola’s squadron friends he’d met at the party the night before.
The in-flight mechanic, Mako; the wiry genius junk-food-junkie pilot, Crusty; and the football-player-looking pilot, Bronco.
Rick shoved to his feet, determined to meet them on even footing.
Crusty pulled up to a stop in front of him. “How’s Nola doing?”
Rick nodded toward Bronco. “His flight doc wife has cleared her to leave, but stay on bed rest. Nola’s checking out now.”
The three men eyed him, chests puffing like a line of overprotective brothers. Yeah, they were all posturing, but he could see the genuine concern in their eyes, and since he cared what happened to Nola, too, he couldn’t fault them. Suddenly he realized one of these guys wasn’t married. Sure, Mako was enlisted and that was taboo for dating, but that didn’t stop plenty of people in the military.
Possessiveness pumped through him.
“I’ve got her from here.” Rick stepped forward, pulling himself to his full height, only Bronco matching him in inches, but not a chance did the easygoing guy equal him in intensity when it came to seeing to this woman’s well-being.
Mako nodded slowly. “So that’s the way it is.”
Rick narrowed his gaze. “I’m not answering that and I don’t want any gossip about her.”
Bronco grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. “Well hell, now we have to like you.”
Hmm. Apparently, he’d been accepted into their brotherhood. “I’ll tell her you stopped by. I’m sure it will mean a lot to her.”
“We’ll wait.” Crusty nodded and the Three Musketeers found their seats.
Uh-huh. They were curious about him. He could see it in their eyes. He understood about squadron unity. He’d lived it and he missed it every single day.
Right now more than ever the craving for his old life razored through him.
Everyone sat around, no one speaking and Rick wasn’t ponying up information until he had a handle on what they wanted from him. A TV droned in the background. A phone rang at the nurses’ station. The low buzz of conversations hummed in corners of the industrial chairs.
Finally Bronco leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “What’s the deal with this stalker?”
“You really should talk to David Reis at the OSI, or better yet, Nola.”
“She isn’t talking to us. Out of misplaced pride or sheer recklessness, I don’t know, but we’re worried for her.”
Why wouldn’t she tell them? That didn’t make sense. These were obviously her friends. He sorted through the events of the night and he was certain none of them could have planted the scorpions. They’d arrived before he and Nola and they’d been a fixture at a table near Carson and Nikki all evening.
Why then would she depend on a watchdog she barely knew with a broken body over her able-bodied friends? More of the pride?
Misplaced pride. Her life could well be at stake. Sure she would probably be pissed with him if she found out, but he didn’t intend to bypass help that could well keep her safe.
“The guy’s ramping up his threat level. He started out with letters. Then rigged her car to blow. When she got home, she found a box of candy on her bed, opened so that only her favorites were left in the box.”
Crusty’s foot propped on his knee twitched in perpetual itchy motion. “Sounds like this bastard is a master at psychological torture.”
“I’m not even close to finished. Next he rigged all her credit cards and bank account so she had no money. That threw me because I expected his next move to be another attempt on her life. This seemed like a step back. That made me think. Nola is very much a woman of habit. She always does things the same way. So perhaps he knew she would turn on her car by the remote control. Maybe he didn’t mean to kill her then because he knew she would use the remote. He merely wanted to scare her. That made sense, because then taking her money was a step closer because she couldn’t replace her vehicle.”
Crusty’s twitchy foot paused. “What happened after that?”
“He called, using a voice-altering device, but clearly sounded male. He made it doubly clear he’s done playing and is ready to move.”