It seemed to snap Olivia out of it. “I will not leave until I have news I can report to your friends. They’re all worried about you.”
The doctor looked to Granger who nodded as he yanked up the sheet to cover his full body. “He’s very lucky. No vital organs were hit. His rib is cracked, though, and that’s going to be a slow, painful healing process. We’re going to keep him here for a week to make sure no infection sets in so we won’t have to debride the wound.”
“Thank you,” Olivia told the doctor as she took a step closer to Granger. “We’re all thankful you’ll be okay. Is there anything I can get for you or do for you?”
“Yes,” Granger snapped. “Get out.”
Olivia nodded and spun on one heel before leaving.
“Granger.” Ridge shook his head. “She’s trying to be helpful. She’s the one who got you in here so quickly with the chief of surgery.”
Granger ran a hand over his face and then looked up at the doctor. “Is that true?”
“From what I’ve gathered, a woman named Tinsley called Mrs. Cummings who called the hospital. Tinsley also called Miss Townsend. When I wasn’t here fast enough, it was Miss Townsend who called next. I’ve been threatened a lot in my life but . . . Let’s just say, her threat got me here in five minutes.”
Granger grumbled to himself, and Ridge saw that he knew he was going to apologize. “How do you feel?”
“Like I’ve been shot.”
“Speaking of which, the state police want to talk to you, but Miss Townsend told them they weren’t allowed to until morning. Is that your wish?” the doctor asked.
“Damn,” Granger groaned. “Now I’m really going to need to apologize. Keep everyone away except for whoever Miss Townsend approves.”
“Yes, sir. There’s a call button. We’ll be checking on you in thirty minutes.”
The doctor left and Ridge took a seat. “You saved her, you know. I’ll always be in your debt. I don’t know what to say.”
“It’s my job. Plus, I like Savannah,” Granger said as he shoved the sheet back down. “Is she okay?”
“Few cuts and scrapes, but okay.”
Granger looked down at his scars and shook his head. “I mean, at least the scar will just blend into the others.”
“It’s not as bad as you think it is,” Ridge finally said. “Stop focusing on that and focus instead on the fact that you just saved Savannah’s life. You, my friend, are a hero.”
Granger rolled his eyes. It was going to take a lot more than Ridge telling him his scars weren’t bad for him to believe it. Granger’s scars were so much more than surface marks. The women he’d been with had scarred his heart.
“Screw legalities. I want this person,” Granger finally said.
Ridge pulled out his phone, called Kale, and handed the phone to Granger.
“What’s up?” Ridge heard Kale answer.
“The bastard shot me.”
“Granger?”
“Yup,” Granger affirmed. “And the bastard shot me. Find him. Any way you can.”
“I just did.”
Ridge froze and Granger’s eyes shot to his. “Who is he?”
“So, here’s the thing. I can’t find the contract yet. But I found out the why, which leads me to the who,” Kale explained.
“Wait,” Ridge interrupted. “Let me get Savannah. She needs to hear this.”
“Okay,” Kale said. “How did you get shot, Granger?”
Ridge left Granger telling Kale about the shooting as he hurried down to Savannah’s room. “Granger is doing well. Nothing major was hit. Full recovery in time. He’ll stay here for a week to make sure there’s no infection and it’s draining properly.”
“Thank goodness,” Savannah said. Her whole body seemed to finally relax.
“I’ll tell the others,” Trent said as he stood.
“Wait,” Ridge told his cousin. “Help me move Savannah. We need to see Granger.”
“Why?” Savannah asked as Trent moved a wheelchair close to her bed.
“Because we’re on the phone with Kale, and he knows why and who wants you dead.”
Savannah didn’t breathe as Trent and Ridge helped her into the wheelchair. Trent grabbed her IV stand and Ridge placed a blanket over her lap before he got behind her and began to push her down the hall.
“Here they are,” Granger said as he smiled at her when she entered his room. Ridge and Trent positioned her right next to Granger who had a sheet pulled up to his armpits. She reached out to him and he took her hand in his.
“Thank you for saving my life.” Savannah had found it was hard to talk. Her eyes were filled with tears but she refused to shed them. It was time to get down to business and find out who was trying to kill her.
“You’re welcome,” Granger said gruffly. He moved in his bed as he handed the phone back to Ridge and his sheet dropped. He quickly yanked it up, but not before Savannah saw the scars and the dressing for the bullet wound.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to hold up your sheet,” Savannah whispered to Granger who seemed so tired his arms were shaking.
She could tell Granger was fighting it. “I won’t look. I promise. Look at me,” she said to him as she pulled away her blanket to reveal the fifty-some stitches she got along her knees and legs.
“I’m sorry,” Granger whispered back.
“For what? Scars? They’re just life stories.”
Granger let his sheet drop to where it pooled around his waist, but Savannah didn’t stare. She turned to Ridge who was holding the phone. “Kale, it’s Savannah. What have you found out?”
“So, I haven’t been able to find the actual contract yet, but it’s only a matter of time before I find that communication,” Kale told them.
“I thought you found out who was behind it?” Savannah felt completely dejected. Were they really at step zero still?
“I did. Just not with evidence.” Kale paused and then asked, “Savannah, how many bank accounts do you have?”
“Um, checking, savings, and a small investment account. Why?”
“Are any of your accounts at Ocean Waters Bank in the Caribbean?”
“No,” Savannah answered quickly. She knew her face mirrored the confusion she saw in Ridge’s. “Why?”
“Because according to what I’ve found, you have eleven million dollars in that bank.”
The only noise was the medical equipment. That didn’t even make sense. “I’m sorry, what?” Savannah finally said.
“What does your ex-husband do?” Kale asked, but Savannah knew Kale must already know.
“He’s a venture capitalist. I’m sure you know that. Please, just tell me what this is about.” Savannah was running out of patience. She felt her heart beating hard, and it caused her stitches to feel like they were throbbing.
“It’ll make sense soon. I promise,” Kale told her. “What do venture capitalists do?”
Savannah let out an agitated huff of air. “He finds small companies or people who have a good chance of going big if only they had enough money behind them. He scouts them and then writes up a business plan for them that will take them to the next level. Then he gets money either from his firm or from investors to make his business plan work. The small company grows and the investors get their money back plus interest. Some of them become equity partners and then get a percentage of sales as well.”
“So, your husband was a general partner who takes money from limited partners to invest in companies?” Kale asked.
“Right.”
“And what if the company fails?” Kale asked.
“That’s part of the risk,” Savannah explained. “It’s why it’s called venture capital.”
“When you were married, did he ever mention Heart Stone Medical Company?” Kale asked her.
Savannah nodded. “Yeah. It was a huge account that he raised millions for, but then the warehouse burned down and the owner died. The company folded. It was a huge hit for Penn’s portfolio. He
was worried he’d get fired for it. He was working on this deal during our divorce. He used it as a reason to pay me less.”
“Can you guess how much he raised for it?”
“I don’t know,” Savannah told Kale. “I remember it being more than ten million. Why?”
“I bet I know,” Ridge said grimly. “Eleven million dollars.”
“Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner,” Kale said.
Savannah shook her head when she saw Trent and Granger had gotten it. And then it hit her like a truck. “The same amount that’s in my name in a foreign bank. He embezzled it? That son of a bitch!”
“That’s right,” Kale told them. “It was all a shell. The man who died technically did own Heart Stone Medical, but he was an eighty-six year old widower with dementia. His daughter swears he never started that company. She’d never heard of it, and he didn’t have any papers for it. He certainly wasn’t of sound legal mind to start the company eight months before he died.”
Savannah thought she’d be sick. “Penn killed him.” She pressed a hand to her stomach to try to keep it from revolting against her. “Like he’s trying to kill me. An accident. The man died in an accident, right?”
“Faulty electric work,” Kale told her, and then Ridge was there rubbing her back as he tried to calm her.
“And the money?”
“He couldn’t put it in his name because his company runs regular searches on their employees. And he didn’t put it in your married name. He put it under Savannah Ambrose the day after you signed the divorce papers.”
“His company would never find it,” she said. “It’s brilliant, but he can’t get it either. It’s in my name.”
“Except—” Kale began, and Savannah had a bad feeling she wasn’t going to like what he was going to say. “Except if you die. The account is payable to Penn Benson upon your death.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Ridge snapped behind her.
Savannah was shaking her head. Through the nausea, through the rage, and through the pain, she knew exactly what she wanted to do.
“I need everyone to think I’m in the hospital, and then I need to sneak out and get to that bank.” Savannah looked over at Ridge and saw him smile slowly.
“You’re going to steal it from Penn.”
“How could it be stealing if it’s in my name?” Savannah asked sweetly.
26
Ridge blinked. Was it stealing? “Trent, will you ask Olivia to bring everyone back here? I think we need some help with this.”
“Sure thing,” Trent sent Savannah a wink and Ridge rolled his eyes at his cousin.
“Savannah,” Granger said after Trent left. “Can I have a moment alone with Ridge?”
Savannah looked surprised but then nodded. “I just need a push.”
Ridge looked questioningly at Granger who glanced down at his bare chest. Ah. “I’ll just push you out into the hall and you can wave the group down.” When Ridge made it out into the hall, he leaned down and kissed Savannah. “He wants to get covered.”
“Oh,” she said understanding. “I’ll keep everyone here until you’re ready for us.”
“Thanks, love.” Ridge bent and kissed her again before hurrying back into the room.
“Get this blasted thing on me,” Granger grumbled as he tried to figure out the dressing gown.
“What can I do?” Kale asked over the phone. “Besides finding evidence?”
“I hate to admit it, but I need help,” Granger said, sounding completely pissed off about it. “Can you send Walker?”
Walker Greene had been one of their best friends growing up. He’d turned into a DEVGRU man until a mission went horribly wrong—the same mission that had left his sister, Edie, a widow. Walker was injured and in hiding when Gavin turned to their cousin, Layne Davies, for help. A wedding later and Walker was now teaching other soldiers and law enforcement officers at an elite school in Keeneston.
“I know someone better and who’s available right now. Walker is out of town with the Davies brothers looking at equipment to buy for the school,” Kale said.
“Send him here and I’ll deputize him,” Granger said, his voice harsh with pain as Ridge made him move to slip his arm into one of the sleeves.
“You don’t need to worry about that. If you can get Savannah out of Shadows Landing, you all can meet up on the island,” Kale told them.
Granger let out a sigh as Ridge lowered him back into bed now covered in his gown. “Want me to let them in?”
“Yeah. Let’s see if we can get Savannah out of town.”
“I mean, I can make it happen if you can’t,” Kale told them as Ridge opened the door. The number of people had grown. Olivia pushed Savannah into the room. Behind them were Kord, Ryker, Trent, Tinsley, Gavin, and Ellery.
“Harper had to stay at the bar. It’s packed and the state troopers are there,” Tinsley told the room. “Though I think they might just be watching the game.”
Ridge moved to stand next to Savannah again. He rested his hand on her shoulder as he faced the room. “I have Kale Mueez on the phone. Here’s what we’ve learned.”
Ridge gave a summary and then turned to Olivia. “Can Savannah cash out the account?”
“Yes. It’s in her name, so she should be able to access it. The trouble is, those funds are illegally obtained money. I wouldn’t touch them without an immunity agreement in place so Penn’s company doesn’t come after her as a co-conspirator.”
“Can you help me with that?” Savannah asked Olivia. “I can give the money back to the company.”
Olivia was quiet for a moment. “How well do you know the president of the company?”
“Really well. He and his wife were very supportive of me during the divorce. They have a daughter my age that I still talk to,” Savannah told her.
“Okay. I need an FBI agent, a federal judge, and the president of the company to get this all wrapped up. You’ll need someone with federal authority with you when you retrieve the money so they can take possession of it for evidence.”
“I’ve got that all covered,” Kale’s voice said calmly over the phone. “I’ll send all the information to your phone.”
“You don’t have—” Olivia started to say but was interrupted by her phone. She looked down and her eyes went wide. “How did you do that? My number is unlisted.”
Kale just chuckled as if she’d said something funny.
Ryker cleared his throat. “I can get you out of the hospital and to the island without any customs. You can take the yacht.”
“Thank you,” Ridge told his cousin.
“No dead bodies. I swear if someone dies even near my boat I’ll kill you.”
Ridge and his cousins laughed. Their cousin Wade had pulled a dead man onto Ryker’s speedboat and Ryker had sold it instantly, claiming it had death cooties.
“What about Penn?” Savannah asked. “And what about the man who tried to kill me?”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Kord told them as he looked around the room. “What if he thinks Savannah is here and no longer guarded. He can tell the assassin and we can catch him in the act. Hopefully, Kale can find the communications and we catch not only the assassin, but also Penn on a charge a lot worse than embezzlement.”
“Solid plan,” Granger said, nodding his head.
“But how will he know about Savannah?” Ellery asked.
Ridge felt Savannah go stiff as she inhaled sharply. “Because the hospital can call him again as my emergency contact.”
Ridge shook his head. “No. Then he’ll want to see you.”
Savannah looked up at him and actually smiled. “Exactly. He will rush in here and find me in the lockdown area. I’ll be upset, of course, and I’ll tell him it’s because a police officer was shot. Then I’ll tell him they hope to move me down to a regular room in a couple days. A regular room with no security.”
“And a nurse can tell him that visitors are limited and she’ll call him when you�
��re moved. That will give you time to get the money,” Ridge added on. “I don’t like it. I don’t want him near you, but this could work.”
“But you’re in a wheelchair,” Ellery pointed out. “You can’t go running around.”
“I’m fine,” Savannah told them. “They’re pumping me full of antibiotics to prevent infection. As long as I keep the wounds nice and clean, I was going to be discharged tonight. I’m just stiff from where the stitches are pulling and the skin is scabbing. Nothing will stop me from doing this.”
Everyone was quiet as they all looked at Savannah. It was as if they were gauging if she were strong enough to pull it off.
“Well, you can’t walk into a bank wearing that,” Tinsley told them.
“I’ll have my assistant get you clothes so you can rest.” Ryker was already pulling out his cell phone. “My boat will be ready in an hour,” Ryker said a minute later. “I’ll pick you up at the back door in the commercial delivery zone.”
“Let’s get you back to bed and have the hospital call Penn,” Ridge finally said, giving in to the plan.
Twenty-two long minutes. That’s how long it took Penn to rush to the hospital after he was called. The Faulkners were all in Granger’s room and Savannah had been moved to the room next door. Kord stood guard between her room and Granger’s. And that was after Olivia had whipped the hospital security into something resembling a swat team. They were at every door and the one outside the wing she and Granger were in had a clipboard with names on it. It was a short list. Doctors and nurses only. Penn’s name wasn’t on it. A nice nurse would get him through “just this one time.”
That nice nurse was an FBI agent with a camera hidden in her ID tag. Somehow the Keeneston connection had gotten a quick team assembled to cover things in Charleston. FBI Agent in Charge Peter Castle was dressed as a doctor and would also come into the room to video Penn. He’d deliver the news that she was to stay in the secure ward for a couple more days.
They had Savannah looking worse than she felt with some fake blood and some makeup for bruising. They needed to convince Penn she would be there for a while. So when he walked in with the FBI nurse, Savannah pretended to be asleep.
Lasting Shadows: Shadows Landing #3 Page 17