JACE-1(Lane Brothers, Book 3)(40)

“That glass isn’t bulletproof. If she makes one move your way I will nail her between the eyes.”

Okay, now I feel sick, because that is hands down the hottest thing anyone has ever said to me, and I’m feeling almost turned on by his willingness to commit violence in my defence.

Plus, I feel safe, knowing that he’s just a bullet away.

How romantic.

“I’ll be fine. Just go with Doctor Frank—with the doctor, and I‘ll see you in a few.”

“Kiss me.”

I obey and pull away a minute later with a smile and a wink when he looks green and ready to throw me over his shoulder and bolt.

“It’ll be okay, Jace. I swear. Now watch how brilliant I am.” I chuckle, gritting my teeth against the need to start crying.

You’ve done this before, I keep telling myself when Jace finally nods and reluctantly lets me go. I brace myself and enter the small white room, ignoring the mirror as I take my seat and start going over the interrogation in my head.

The lab coat the good doc provided, coupled with the clear lens glasses and my ugly-ass shoes, give me a boost of confidence I needed about a minute ago before I let Jace witness my nerves.

All I need to do is ask her enough to ascertain whether or not she is involved in the Patriots.

“Well hello there. How nice to finally see a different face.”

I turn to the door and stop my inner dialogue when the door creeks open and a thin, matronly looking woman breezes in, her demeanor that of a woman who thinks she’s above it all to the extreme.

I see Ronny in her refined, vain movements so clearly that I don’t even blink the whole time as she glides to the mirror and starts priming her hair.

“Mrs. Conrad, my name is Doctor Gates and I’ll be performing your assessment today. Please do take a seat.”

She laughs and fluffs her hair once before turning to me with a wide smile.

“Oh dear, can’t we exchange a few civilized pleasantries, at least? Surely this situation does not make it necessary for us to conduct ourselves like common rabble, dear.”

Oh, God help me if this is not the living, breathing, carbon copy of Ronny. While they look nothing alike, I can see Ronny in every over-the-top hand gesture, facial expression, and manner of speech as Lynn Conrad floats over to the table and offers me her hand.

Like I’d sully myself by touching her.

“Mrs. Conrad, I am not here to please your vanity or coddle you in any way. You are a patient at this facility and it’s my job to talk to you about the events leading up to your institutionalization and your treatment thus far,” I say harshly, removing the tape recorder from my pocket and keeping it low beneath the table so she doesn’t see it.

My answer does not please her, and I almost smile when she scowls and plops into the chair with a huff of displeasure.

“What do you want form me?”

“Just your recollection of the events that took place on the third of May last year when you shot your husband and kidnapped your nephew’s fiancée at gunpoint. Your intent to kill her and send her body home to Wyatt Lane is the reason you are housed in such a high security establishment, and it is the opinion of the other staff members and your primary doctor that you could qualify to be moved to a lower security hospital with less restrictions.”

That gets her attention, and it’s a real effort to keep my face blank when she perks up and gets downright sweet all of a sudden.

“Why, I explained to them all that I was drinking and taking some prescription pills at the time. That coupled with my grief almost sent me into a mania. I hardly remember all of it and…and it breaks my heart to think that I almost killed that poor woman, if not for my dear nephews stopping me.”

What a crock!

“I saw in the notes from previous sessions that you weren’t quite lucid when you arrived, so that supports you being on very strong drugs. However, we have yet to establish the facts that led up to the event. From family statements, I see that you were almost broke and under a great deal of stress, and yet the police report stated that your net worth was well over a million dollars.”

Her eyes narrow and I swallow, keeping my expression blank.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well, it doesn’t add up and the doctors think that you’re using the stress and pills as an excuse. Obviously that can’t be valid, because you were well and financially stable at the time.”

“Of course I was! I’m no fool despite having married one, young lady. When I saw that Jerry was less than trustworthy and a moron besides, I decided to start my own venture. I made sure that I was taken care of and that my brother would be none the wiser. See, I’m not as helpless as they all thought.”