Secret Indiscretions (Carson Cove Scandals 2)

“I’ll call the lawyer.” I looked around the room. “Do you see my cell phone anywhere?”

“No.” She shook her head back and forth. “You can use mine.”

I had several lawyers on retainer, including the one that handled my divorce, but I needed an attorney that could make miracles happen. There was only one lawyer I trusted that much—Addison Regan. If she hadn’t moved her practice to the city, she would have been the one I called when Mary filed for divorce. She was discreet, effective, and an old friend. I made the call, told her the situation, and she agreed to take Melanie’s case. The nurse arrived with the pain medication, but I waved her off—I was in pain, but I didn’t want the drugs to knock me out. I needed to make sure a few things were in order first.

“She’ll be here tonight.” I put the phone in Melanie’s hand. “She’ll call you when she arrives in Carson Cove.”

“Thank you,” Melanie sighed. “I really hope she can help.”

“Alright, back to what I asked you earlier.” I narrowed my eyes. “How did you find out I was in the hospital?”

“Um…” She reached into her purse and pulled out a pink envelope. “Someone slid this under my front door—my mom found it. There was a pink carnation outside of my apartment too…”

“What the fuck?” I snatched the envelope from her hand—a little too hard and immediately regretted it when my entire left side started throbbing.

“I didn’t realize Jackson stabbed you when I got it, but now that I do, I assume he must have been the one that left it…” She stared as I opened the envelope.

“This doesn’t have anything to do with Jackson…” I pulled out the piece of paper that was inside.

‘The king has fallen. He lays his head where many go to die…’

“I’ve been trying to call you all day,” she sighed. “When I got this, I just had a horrible feeling—the only place I could think of was the hospital…”

“I need to use your phone again.” I motioned to it.

I called Leo and told him what happened. After a string of profanities, he said he would make sure a couple of his guys came to stay with me at the hospital in case Jackson tried anything else. I didn’t think that was necessary—I just wanted to make sure Melanie had protection—even if she was at Alcott Inc. I didn’t care if he posted a guy outside of her cubicle—I wasn’t going to take another risk. If Jackson wanted me dead, I would be. He dumped me in a stairwell instead of finishing the job, so it seemed like my wounds were more of a warning than anything else. That didn’t make me feel better about getting stabbed, but my main priority was ensuring that Melanie and her family were safe.

Leo also informed me that Jackson had checked out of the Pembroke Hotel, which wasn’t that much of a surprise—I didn’t expect him to stay after his location was compromised by someone bursting into his room. Melanie told me that the guy who was with Jackson was Duke Harris, so I asked Leo to make sure he was watching for any sign of activity from him as well. Leo said he would talk to the cops that were assigned to my case and see if he could run interference. He understood why I didn’t want to name my assailant or get tangled up in a case that could make headlines in Carson Cove.

“You need to be really careful from now on.” I put the phone back in her hand after I hung up with Leo. “That envelope—I’ve been getting those messages too.”

“From Jackson?” She blinked in surprise.

“No, I really don’t think that came from Jackson,” I sighed. “I guess I should just tell you the truth.”

Melanie was aware of what happened with Alexis Devereaux—it was a big story, and she was Taylor’s friend, so she knew a little more than most people did. I told her about the Carnation Club, the other messages I had gotten, and the theory Bryant and I came up with for the next clue—except that it seemed like the person decided they couldn’t wait that long. If they knew about Melanie, that meant they were way too close for comfort. They knew I had been stabbed before anyone else too—which meant they could have been at the Pembroke Hotel when it happened. That opened up a lot of possibilities that I hadn’t considered before, but it still didn’t tell me who could be sending them.

“Mr. Alcott?” The nurse pushed the door open. “I apologize for disturbing you again, but Dr. Weston insisted that I give you your medication—your visitor has stayed long enough.”

“I’ll be in the waiting room if you need anything.” Melanie squeezed my hand and started to stand.

“You don’t have to stay.” I shook my head back and forth.

“If you think I’m going anywhere, then you’ve lost your damn mind along with way too much blood.” She narrowed her eyes.

“Okay.” I nodded. “Leave your cell phone number—I’ve got a phone in here. I can call you…”

I do need some rest—but then I need to figure out how I’m going to handle things at Alcott Inc. I don’t want it getting out that CEO of the company got stabbed—that wouldn’t be a good look for the company…

Chapter Twenty-One

Melanie

The next day

I stayed with Jon through the night. A couple of guys in suits that looked fairly out of place showed up and seemed to be keeping an eye on things. I assumed they belonged to Craven Security, even though they didn’t have any logos to identify themselves as such. Morning came, and I was allowed to see Jon for a few minutes.

He woke up at some point during the night and used the phone in his room to make a few calls. The official story for everyone at Alcott Inc. was emergency surgery due to an undisclosed medical issue. He even worked me into the story—he said I found him, called an ambulance, and saved his life. I felt like that was a little bit over the top, but it would explain why I was at the hospital if anyone asked. The doctor talked to us both while I was in Jon’s room and told us that Jon would need to stay in the hospital for a few days. Jon was upgraded from pain medicine to an IV drip, and the doctor was sure that he would sleep through the day, so I decided to go home and get a shower—I also had to meet with the attorney Jon hired to go over my case.