Page 101 of Forbidden Wish
“Sersh?”
Spinning around as her head went up, they both landed on Lachlan about the same time.
“What are you doing here at this time of night?” Sersha asked her concerned brother.
“London called. I was on my way to pick her up.” Whoever London was, someone who worked there, no doubt. “Want to tell me what you’re doing here?”
“No, I don’t,” Sersha said, folding her arms. “Who’s London, Mr. Fifth Date?”
He glanced at her and back to his sister. A love interest? Weird? Yes. But also a blessing. When the truth came out about her and Jagg, it would be easier if she wasn’t the only one moving on.
“I’m going to call,” she said to Sersha and retreated to a quiet corner.
Quiet being relative. She dialed and held her breath, waiting for her father to answer. Five rings… ten… Oh, God, what if he was—
“Immie? Jesus, girl, where are you?”
“The emergency room,” she said. “We’re fine. Sersha’s with me.”
“What you doing at the hospital?”
“Have you spoken to Ford? The hotel—”
“Yeah, I know about the hotel. It’s a fucking mess. Silvio being in there can’t be a coincidence. Someone set that fire for him.” Maybe, could be. Okay, so he was right, but the aim hadn’t been to hurt Silvio… not exactly. “Someone who knew he’d be there. I’m trying to find out what happened with—”
“Have you spoken to Ford? Did they get out?”
“Yes, shit, sorry, sweetheart, yes, they’re out. Tell me why you’re at the hospital. Did you get hurt? Is it Sersh?”
Cringing, she braced for revealing the truth. “We were in the Carlyle.” Silence. “Not in any danger, we… After you left, we took one of the garage cars to the hotel.” Oh, the quiet killed her. “With everyone focused on the meet upstairs, we thought it was a good time to search for the missing women.”
“We?”
“Sersha and me.”
“Shit, what if something happened? Something did if you’re at the damn hospital. Sersha should know fucking better. She’s spent enough time in the hospital recently.” Something she hadn’t thought much about, but her father had a point. Was the woman a masochist? “Which one of you is hurt? I’m on my way.”
“No, it’s neither of us. You don’t have to come here. We found someone. We found a woman they were keeping captive. We rescued her.”
“You rescued her?” Strat’s voice got uncomfortably calm. “You took a woman out of the Carlyle?”
“We couldn’t leave her there.”
“You took from the Manzanis.”
Which meant what? Something serious judging by the gravity of his tone.
“Dad, I—”
“I’m on my way.”
The line cut off.
Sersha knew the families and hadn’t said anything about taking from them. Going back toward her and Lachlan, she was just a couple of feet away when a nurse intercepted her.
“Excuse me, you’re the woman who brought in the Jane Doe?”
“I am,” Sersha said behind her, bringing the woman a step back to include her in the circle. “I brought Jane Doe in.” That assertion wasn’t about credit, not with Sersha’s expression so hard. Was her father’s friend protecting her? “Is there a problem?”
