When Dove Cries Read Free

she was a little too trusting because her heart twisted when he let go of her hand. She whimpered, wondering if he had lied to her just as her father had. Emmett Aldrin had kissed her nose, told her he’d see her in a week and walked out of the door. And now her angel was letting her go as she was lifted and placed in an ambulance. But a moment later, she heard the revving of motorcycle engines nearby and realized he must be following the ambulance.
    He hadn’t lied. He was still with her.
    With that thought, she decided to succumb to the oblivion that teased her.
     
    * * * *
     
    Draven wasted no time in securing his Harley in the adjacent hospital parking lot before running into the ER. He’d been in and out of this hospital too many times this month, first with Nick and now with this girl. He was vaguely aware of Cade running behind him, but he didn’t really care. He was too focused on the woman lying somewhere in the depths of the Emergency Room.
    He hurried up to the admissions desk and waited impatiently for the woman to end her phone call. What seemed to be an eternity later, she finally turned toward him with a haughty coolness in her eyes as she assessed his attire. Recognition dawned and her lips compressed. Yep. She remembered the Red Wolves.
    “The woman they just brought in,” he said urgently. “Can I see her?”
    “Excuse me but you’ll have to wait—”
    He banged his fist on the counter, and the woman jumped. “I want information! Her wrists were zip-tied together. She was starved. God knows what else was done to her. The asshole who did this could return and try to finish her off, so I need to be with her.”
    “We,” Cade interjected. “ We need to be with her.”
    Draven shot him a quick glower but didn’t want to start arguing in front of the administrative bitch.
    She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. If you’re not family, you can’t go back there.”
    “Really? That’s how you want to play this?”
    The woman lifted her nose a little. “You’ll have to leave.”
    He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward so she wouldn’t misunderstand any of his words. “You know who I am. I would suggest you don’t fuck with me, lady.” He glanced down at her name tag. “Susan. Besides, wasn’t it only a few weeks ago that someone tried to smother a patient to death in this hospital?”
    “What?” Cade asked, clearly shocked.
    “Yeah,” Draven continued, suddenly glad to have Cade there. He’d be a great new ear to relate the story to—loudly. “You didn’t hear? A gunshot victim lay recovering in her bed on the third floor, and the bastard who shot her came back to finish the job. Stole a lab coat and a mask and no one questioned him. Not even the cop on guard duty.”
    “Are you fucking with me?” Cade asked.
    “Absolutely not.”
    “All right,” the woman snarled. “Keep your voice down. Let me call someone to find out her status.”
    He didn’t bother thanking her. Instead, he folded his arms and refused to budge from in front of her desk. It wasn’t like there were people waiting in line. It was Destiny, after all. Usually a trip to the ER had to do with either being thrown from a horse or doing something stupid on a four-wheeler.
    Cade hit his arm. “What the hell was that?”
    “What’s your problem?”
    “For all intents and purposes, you’re my partner,” Cade said. “I’m pretty positive, after seeing the place she was held captive, that this woman is part of our investigation. The last thing we need is to get into a scrap with a civilian.”
    “No one talks down to the Red Wolves.”
    “Put your biker testosterone away, John.”
    “If I do that, I’ll seem more suspicious. And what about you, Mr. FBI—”
    Cade grabbed his arm and dragged him to a private corner. “Shut up.”
    Draven yanked his arm away. “Don’t touch me, Vanaker. I’m tolerating you because I now know you’re telling the truth about this trafficking ring. Someone really hurt