Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
I heard Trenda and Simon talking as they headed toward my room.
It pulled me from the medication-induced haze I'd been drifting in and out of as I waited for Joy to come back with food.
Trenda's voice mixed with his as they approached my room, and I forced my eyes open, blinking against the harsh fluorescent lighting.
“There he is.” Simon pushed through the doorway first, Trenda right behind him. “Looking like he went ten rounds with a freight train and lost.”
“Thanks for the pep talk.” I shifted against the pillows, wincing as the movement sent fire through my ribs. “Where's Joy? She went to find me some decent food.”
Trenda immediately switched into her authoritative mother voice, the same tone she used when explaining why Bella couldn’t have ice cream for breakfast. “Graham, you need to eat only what they give you. Your body is still recovering.”
“Bullshit. It’s been two days. I'm fine.”
“You have two broken ribs and a severe concussion. You're lucky you didn’t have to have surgery.” Trenda pulled out her phone, probably to text Joy about my medical restrictions. “The last thing your body needs is to process heavy food when it's trying to heal.”
Simon wandered closer to the small table beside my bed, his eyebrows rising as he took in the massive bouquet of white lilies and pink roses. His gaze shifted to the teddy bear wearing a “Get Well Soon” t-shirt, and a grin spread across his face.
“Well, I'll be damned. Graham Wallace has a pink teddy bear.” He picked up the stuffed animal, examining it like it might explode. “Didn't know you were into stuffed animals.”
“Huh. First I’m seeing it.” I frowned at the bear.
Simon spotted the small card tucked into the flowers and plucked it out. His expression shifted as he read. “It's from Glenda.”
“Who the hell is Glenda?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
The door pushed open. “We’re back with food. Two breakfast burritos as requested.” Roxie grinned as she held up a greasy white sack. “Where’s Joy?”
“What a cute pink teddy bear. Are you going to keep him?” Ava asked Graham.
“Sure I am, right next to my snow globe collection,” Graham snarked. “Do you know who Glenda is?”
“Sure, she’s the woman who’s gone out with us a couple of times,” Ava shrugged. “The one who adopted the kitten. Wait a minute. Are you saying she gave you the teddy? That’s kind of weird.”
“Oh yeah, Joy’s mentioned her. Maybe she's just being nice,” I suggested, though something about the whole thing felt off. “Joy mentioned she was going through a breakup.”
“Maybe she has a thing for you.” Trenda laughed.
Roxie laughed. “No way, she has a thing for Joy.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“She’s all touchy-feely with Joy. She hasn’t told you?”
“She mentioned that the chick is a little off. That she tries too hard to make friends.”
Roxie laughed again. “That’s one way to put it. But I guess it’s nice that she sent you flowers.”
“And a teddy bear,” Simon reminded us.
The conversation died as the reality of the other day's events settled back over us like a heavy blanket. My truck. The cut brake lines. The crash that should have killed me.
“So?” I prompted.
“Roan confirmed it.” Simon's expression turned grim. “Both brake lines were sliced with a sharp blade, probably a box cutter or utility knife. Clean cuts, positioned so they'd start leaking fluid as soon as you started driving.”
“Professional job?”
“Smart enough. Whoever did it had studied up on it, positioned the cuts so they'd start leaking just when you needed the brakes most.”
The implications hit me like another crash. This bastard had been close enough to my truck to sabotage it. Had probably watched me drive away, knowing what would happen. That meant they’d done it when I was at the Wylies’ house. And I was stupid enough to have been going there like clockwork.
Fuck!
“Who's on Joy protection duty right now?” I asked.
Simon looked surprised. “Since Joy's been in your room the whole time, we didn't think we needed anyone specifically assigned. It’s got to be her brothers.”
Ice flooded my veins. “What do you mean, the whole time?”
“She hasn't left your side since the day before yesterday.”
“Well, that’s not true, now is it?” I said sarcastically. “She’s not here now.”
“When did she leave?” Simon asked.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’m not sure. I went to sleep after she left. She was going for food.” I fumbled for my phone on the bedside table, my fingers clumsy from the pain medication. I hit Joy's contact, then listened to the ringing with growing dread. It finally went to voicemail.
“Joy's not answering.” I tried again with the same result. “Roxie, try calling her.”
Roxie's fingers flew over her phone screen. We waited in tense silence as it rang and rang before going to voicemail.
Roxie gave me wide eyes after she looked at her phone. “Joy called me thirty-two minutes ago to bring food. I just figured she was in your room. Look, it’s not so bad. She’s probably with her brothers.”
“Then why the fuck isn’t she answering her phone?” I roared.
I opened the group text with everybody and typed rapidly.
GRAHAM: Can't find Joy. She left my room a while ago. Not answering phone. Need eyes on her NOW.
“I'm going to find her.” Roxie was already moving toward the door. “She's probably just in the cafeteria dealing with a long line or something. She probably gave up on Ava and me because we were taking too long.”
“I’m going with her,” Ava nodded.
“Me too.” Trenda followed the other two women out of my hospital room. I looked at Simon, who was looking at me. I did not have a good feeling. My phone buzzed with responses from the group.
SETH: At hospital. Haven't seen her.
RANDY: Checking parking garage.
NASH: Checking cafeteria.
JASE: Where the hell is she?
Simon read over my shoulder as more messages flooded in.
SETH: Gift shop is empty.
My chest tightened, and not from the broken ribs. Joy wouldn't just disappear. Not after everything that had happened. Not without telling someone where she was going.
“Simon.” My voice came out hoarse. “Something's wrong.”
Before he could respond, Roxie burst back through the door, her face pale and eyes wide with panic.
“I can't find her anywhere. I checked the cafeteria, the gift shop, even the women's bathrooms on this floor. No sign of her.”
The door opened again as Seth, Randy, Jase, and Nash filed in, their expressions grim.
“How long has she been missing?” Nash pulled out a notepad, slipping into investigator mode.
I tried to think through the medication fog. “She left to get food. I remember her kissing my forehead, saying she'd be back in a few minutes.”
“What time was that?” Randy asked.
“I don't know. I fell asleep after she left.” I gestured toward the flowers. “I don't remember those arriving, so it had to be before then.”
Roxie looked down at her phone. “I got a call from her thirty-eight minutes ago.”
“Do you know where she was calling from?” Nash asked.
Roxie shook her head. “I assumed she was in Graham’s room.”
“I'm going to get the security footage from the hospital. In the meantime, keep searching.” Nash left my room.
Roxie hung up and started pacing. Something was clearly bothering her, the way she kept running her hands through her hair and muttering under her breath.
“Roxie, what is it?” I asked.
“Something's nagging at me. Something's not right about this whole situation, but I can't put my finger on what.”
She continued pacing while the rest of us discussed search strategies and potential scenarios. After a few minutes, she slipped out of the room without saying anything.
“Where's she going?” Jase asked.
“Probably following up on whatever's bothering her,” Simon said. “Roxie's got good instincts.”
My phone buzzed with updates from the other men who'd arrived at the hospital. No one had seen Joy. It was like she'd vanished into thin air.
The door burst open as Roxie returned, dragging a confused-looking nurse behind her.
“Tell them what you told me,” Roxie commanded.
The nurse, a middle-aged woman with kind eyes, looked nervous surrounded by so many large, intimidating men.
“About the flowers?” she asked hesitantly.
“Everything. From the beginning.”
The nurse straightened. “Two ladies approached me at the nurses' station about forty-five minutes ago.
They asked if I could deliver flowers and a teddy bear to Mr. Wallace's room. One of them had really long blonde hair, very pretty. The other woman was a little older, maybe late thirties, with short brown hair.”
My blood turned to ice. “The blonde woman. Can you describe her?”
“About average height, maybe five-foot-five. Sweet smile. She seemed a little distracted, like she was in a hurry or worried about something.”
“Joy,” Seth said grimly.
“And the other woman?” Roxie pressed.
“Pleasant enough. Said she was a friend of yours, Mr. Wallace, and wanted to make sure you got the flowers. She seemed very concerned about your welfare.”
Roxie and I exchanged glances. “Glenda,” we said simultaneously.
“But that doesn't make sense,” Randy said. “Why didn’t they take the flowers to his room themselves?” he asked the nurse.
“They were heading to the elevators.”
“Let me call Glenda.” Roxie pulled out her phone, then stopped. “Shit. I don't have her number. It’ll be in my records back at the clinic, but that’ll take time to check.”
“Ava will have it,” I said. “She has everyone's number.”
Roxie dialed Ava. “Hey, I need Glenda's phone number… What? Because Joy's missing and we think Glenda might know where she is… Just give me the damn number, Ava.”
She scribbled something on a napkin, then hung up and immediately dialed again.
“Glenda? It's Roxie… Yes, we got your flowers, thank you… Actually, that's why I'm calling. We can't find Joy. The nurse said you and Joy were heading to the elevators together when she last saw you together…”
Roxie's expression grew more puzzled as she listened.