“Did Nina Lynch have a physical address for Mrs. Hardin?” a deputy asked.
“I asked her that. She said all she could find was a county road and that Roscoe Murdock had built a castle for his daughter.”
“Son of a bitch!”
A nurse walked by and glared at him, but he didn’t care. He wanted to physically hurt someone. How insane could this get?
Cadde got in the woman’s face. “You knew the woman was obsessed with Jessie. Why in the hell didn’t you do something?”
The woman paled and Chance pulled him away. “Let’s go to the waiting room. Jessie will be out soon.”
He let Chance lead him away because he knew at any minute he was going to lose it. Anger was bubbling in his system like a pot of water about to boil over.
Plopping into a chair in a waiting area, Cadde buried his face in his hands. “Jessie’s probably not going to remember about the baby. I’ll have to tell her all over again. How am I supposed to do that?”
Oh, God, how am I supposed to do that?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CADDE SAT WATCHING THE CLOCK and trying to keep his anger under control. He paced, ran his hands through his hair, jiggled the change in his pocket, but nothing eased the pain.
“Kid will be here any minute,” Chance said.
Cadde didn’t answer. The walls were closing in and he wanted to run until he had no breath—until there was no more agony.
Dr. Barnes came into the room in blue scrubs and Cadde rushed to him. “Everything went well and Jessie’s resting comfortably. They’ll take her to a room in a few minutes. She’ll be out for a couple of hours.” The doctor pulled off his surgical cap. “I don’t know if you want to know, but the baby was a boy.”
A choked sob clung in Cadde’s throat and the pain seared all the restraints he had on his temper.
“Do you want the fetus or do you want the hospital to take care of it?”
What! For a moment he was paralyzed with what the man was saying. He cleared the sob in his throat. “We’ll bury him. Jessie would want that.” He wasn’t letting his son be thrown away like garbage.
“I’ll let the appropriate people know.” The doctor fiddled with his cap. “I’m sorry, Cadde.”
Cadde nodded, unable to speak.
“Are you okay?” Chance asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Again, he didn’t respond.
Chance’s cell rang and he turned away to talk to Shay.
Cadde hit the door leading to the stairwell, taking them two at a time.
“Cadde!” Chance shouted, but he kept running. Once he reached the ground floor, he called for a cab and went to Shilah. He took the private elevator up to his office. Losing no time he opened the safe on the wall and pulled out Roscoe’s Glock with a clip. He jammed a clip in. Laying the gun on his desk, he sank into his chair.
Vernon Lynch was going to die tonight.
Chance and Kid burst through the door. They looked at him, the gun and then at each other.
“What are you doing?” Kid asked.
“I’m going to put a hole right through Vernon Lynch’s dead heart.”
Chance and Kid exchanged glances again.
“Cadde…” Chance moved toward him.
Kid grabbed the gun. “I’ll do it. You have to get back to the hospital. Jessie’s in her room and she needs you.” Kid took a breath. “I’ll kill the bastard for you and I can do the time.”
Chance yanked the gun from Kid. “Nobody’s killing anybody. The police haven’t even caught him yet.”
Abruptly, Cadde stood and his chair went flying backward. “Give me the gun. I have to do this for Jessie. When she wakes up, I have to tell her that bastard is dead.”
“No,” Chance replied. “You’re not thinking straight.”
Cadde leaped on his brother, determined to get the gun. Kid jumped on his back and they wrestled around the room, the gun slid beneath a table. Furniture crashed to the floor and two steel bands held him down. Then he did something uncharacteristic of a Hardin. He cried.
Tears rolled from his eyes and his chest shook with sobs. The steel bands wrapped around him now in soothing comfort. Nothing was said for some time.
Cadde finally stood, wiping at his eyes, his momentary insanity gone. “I have to go to Jessie.”
Chance drove him back to the hospital. Rosa, Felix and Myra were there. Jessie was still out.
“Where have you been?” Myra asked in a harsh whisper.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled a chair to Jessie’s bedside and took her lifeless hand in his. He waited. Everyone waited.
Suddenly, Jessie’s dark eyelashes fluttered open. They were filled with undisguised pain. His stomach clenched.