Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
She nodded quickly, much too interested in the rest of the story. “So you asked Mr. Strood what exactly he dosed Finn with, and then what happened?”
George shrugged.
“He said oh, it was GHB, and here’s the packet I used,” she said flippantly.
“Something like that.”
“Is he here at the hospital?” she asked like she knew already.
“He is.”
Anne gasped, and Eammon appeared stunned.
“He endangered one of my employees and initially refused to give me information that could help with his possibly life-threatening care.”
“Police?”
“That’s up to Finn, but knowing him, he’ll just want to forget this ever happened. He won’t want anyone to know, and it’s not as though the confession from Strood wasn’t coerced.”
Hannah nodded. “Did it take a lot to gain his cooperation?”
“Only the threat of broken bones and some bruises.”
“Holy crap,” Anne barely got out.
In response, George only shrugged. Unlike the rest of us, I suspected that George did not have a crisis of conscience when he thought he was right.
“Did you have him sign an NDA?”
George scowled at Hannah. “You already heard me say I did. Are you going deaf?”
“That’s charming,” she snapped at him. “And I was just making sure.”
“You never have to do that with me and you know it,” he said pointedly.
“I do. I apologize,” she said softly. “And I’m very proud of you for showing such restraint.”
“Restraint?” Poor Anne appeared flustered.
Hannah nodded. “A year ago, I was walking back from the bathroom at the Drake, and this man had his bodyguard grab and hold me while he tried to…let me think of a nice way to put—disrobe me,” she rushed out, looking pleased with herself.
“I’m sorry, what?” Sam asked sharply.
“When was this?” Jake’s voice cracked as he took hold of her arm.
She patted Jake’s hand. “It was a case of mistaken identity. The man thought I was this other girl who had gone into the bathroom and hidden in one of the stalls. I never saw her, and she only heard me come in and out, but never peeked out to say anything. Also, the guy and his bodyguard didn’t see me go in because I had come through the kitchen area.”
“Hannah,” Sam snapped at her.
She smiled at him. “Anyway, as soon as they stepped into the light in this little alcove, the bodyguard says oh shit, and when I looked at the man, he was also surprised, at which point he spun around and probably would have had his guy let me go, but it was too late.”
“Too late?” Anne sounded worried.
Sam turned to George.
“Sometimes, even though a mistake is made, a lesson still needs to be learned,” George pointed out. “Because no, they would have never put their hands on Hannah, too many people know she works at Sutter now, but the other girl, that Hannah found in the bathroom later, would have been…hurt.”
He was being gentle with his language.
“What lesson did they learn, George?” I asked him.
“That if you touch other people without permission, then there is a chance that you will end up both bruised and broken.”
All of us but Anne and Eammon understood what he was really saying.
Sam had to know more, though. “The man who had his hands on my daughter?”
“Lost the use of his jaw for a couple months, sir.”
My husband nodded, appreciating that.
“I thought you had to be a professional fighter to break another man’s jaw with just your fist,” Eammon stated.
“No,” Kola told him. “It’s about training. I mean, your son has.”
“My son has what?”
“Broken a man’s jaw,” Kola answered.
“Finn has broken someone’s jaw?” I could hear both unease and pride in Eammon’s voice.
Kola nodded. “A year ago on New Year’s Eve, we went to get tacos after my sister’s party, and these guys picked a fight with him—well, us really, and I got hurt saving Finn from being blindsided. That guy could have crippled him, and it was all so stupid and unnecessary, but I thought at the time that he was angry because the guy could have hurt him. It turned out, though, he was angry because I got hurt.”
Anne smiled at him. “He already cared for you. He called and asked for one of my bread recipes, and I knew he was on his way to see you.”
“He wanted to stay that night,” Kola told all of us. “But he wasn’t sure if I would allow that.” He was quiet a moment. “He was scared, but he should have known better.”
“He knows now, love,” I soothed him, taking a seat beside him and leaning sideways to squeeze him. His smile was my reward.
“So,” George began, wrapping up. “This won’t ever happen again, we’ll make sure.” He then turned to Hannah. “Text me when he’s up.”
She nodded.
Kola stood up and offered George his hand. “Thank you for finding out everything so they could treat him to the best of their ability.”