“They won’t tell us anything,” she said as he hugged her tight, almost crushing her ribs. “I’m okay. Lex, I’m fine. Check on Douglas.”
Reluctantly, he let her go, exchanged a look with Dom, and went to the nurses’ station. Jillian had no idea what he told them, but the nurse took him inside to see Douglas. She kept her eyes on the door he’d disappeared through while Dom grilled Troy.
When Lex came out, more guests from Parq were being wheeled into the ER. The man with the pregnant wife glared at Jillian. Why the hell was he taking out his anger on her? She hadn’t known his wife was pregnant.
“They’re running tests, and he seems to be doing better,” Lex said, his eyes not leaving her face. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m fine. I just want to make sure Douglas is okay. Can I see him?”
“Sure. After I talk to the doctor.”
“I need to get the chopper from their helipad,” Dom said before Lex could leave. “Keep us updated.”
Lex nodded and went to the nurses’ station. Within minutes of saying something to a nurse, a doctor came out to talk to him. He waved Jillian over and introduced her to Dr. Jeffries. Then the three of them went inside to see Douglas.
Douglas looked bad. He was attached to machines and they were pumping fluids into him, but his face was still puffy. “Can’t you do something, doctor?”
“We’re dealing with a toxin of unknown origin, Ms. Finnegan,” Dr. Jeffries explained. “As soon as we get the toxicology results, we’ll know for sure what he ingested and start him on the right treatment. We’ve admitted about ten people with the same symptoms. For now, all we can do is give them epinephrine and steroids to help with—”
A nurse entered the room and whispered something to the doctor. He turned to leave the room.
“What’s going on, Dr. Jeffries?” Jillian asked, following them.
“The toxicology results just came in. We’ll have answers for you and your uncle as soon as I know what we’re dealing with, Ms. Finnegan.”
Jillian stared at the door, completely confused. Uncle? She moved the curtains aside to peer outside. The doctor was issuing orders, but he was too far for her to catch his words. The urgency in his gestures and the way the nurses dove for the phones said something was wrong. Lex appeared beside the doctor, and the two spoke briefly before he whipped out his phone. He took a picture of something on the piece of paper the doctor was holding and started thumbing his phone.
Jillian blew out air, frustration setting in. She hated not knowing what was going on. A quick glance over her shoulder and she went back to Douglas’s side and took his hand. He squeezed it. Or at least she thought that was what he was trying to do.
The doctor entered with a nurse, and Jillian looked up. Immediately, he checked Douglas’s mouth and nodded.
“What’s going on?”
“The pomegranate tea at Montage was laced with snake venom, Ms. Finnegan. Viper venom.”
“Is it fatal?”
“Not when ingested,” he said. “The digestive system breaks it down. However, if you have a cut, sore, or an ulcer in the mouth or stomach, the venom gets absorbed into the blood stream. Your uncle must have an open wound somewhere.”
“He had his tooth removed a few days ago.”
“Then the poison got into his system through it.”
“So you can treat him?”
“We will as soon as we get the antivenin. Most hospitals don’t stock antivenin for all vipers.”
Her head was starting to spin. “What are you saying, doctor? You can’t treat him because you don’t have the antivenin?” Panic made her voice sharp.
“That’s correct. But we’ve contacted Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, and the American Association of Poison Control Center. One of them should identify the viper we are dealing with and provide the right antivenin.”
They still had to identify the viper? Jeez. Jillian squeezed Douglas’s hand. “I’m so sorry, Douglas.”
“Not. Your. Fault.” He spoke slowly.
“Don’t speak, please. Lex and I are here, and we’re not leaving until the damn treatment gets here.” She glared at the doctor.
The curtains moved, and Lex stormed in looking furious. The gray in his eyes was now silver. He jerked his head, and the doctor followed him outside. What the hell was going on? Minutes later, he returned and sat beside Jillian. He leaned on his elbows, the fury that had been on his face replaced by deadly calmness. Somehow, that was scarier.
“What is it, Lex?” she hissed. “Because you’re beginning to scare me.”
He took her hand, pressed his lips to her knuckles, and then exhaled. “It’s nothing. We know what viper we’re dealing with.”
“And?”
“We’ll get the antivenin. Douglas is going to be okay.”
Jillian nodded. She reached out and squeezed Douglas’ hand. “Did you hear that? Everything is going to be okay.” He didn’t respond. In fact, he seemed to be getting worse, not better. Frowning, she turned and caught Lex’s expression. She hated the cold look in his eyes. She’d rather have them blazing. “What are you not telling me?”
“Jillian.”
“Don’t Jillian me. I know you, Lex. You’re pissed off about something, so whatever it is, I need to know,” she whispered.
“The venom came from a viper indigenous to Eastern Europe.”
Jillian’s stomach dropped. “Where in eastern Europe?”
“Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, and”—he hesitated—“Armenia. But several local aquariums in L.A. carry them,” he added quickly, but Jillian was already thinking ahead. Armenia. Her grandmother. Did he think she did this? It explained the fury she’d seen in his eyes, but that was an illogical conclusion. Alin Petrosian had gone through too much to find her just to try to kill her. Besides, she never left her side this afternoon.
“Did you say you always ordered pomegranate tea with lemon myrtle?” Lex asked. “Except today.”
Oh God. The poison had been meant for her. And the only Armenians at the hotel were her grandmother and her people. No, she refused to believe it. “I know what you’re thinking,” Jillian whispered. “My grandmother didn’t do this.”
He shot her an unreadable look. “The person responsible for this is not going to escape unscathed,” he ground out.
“I know how this looks, especially after the media circus of the last couple of days, but you haven’t talked to my grandmother like—”
“We’ll talk about this later,” he said with a quick glance at the hospital staff moving in the halls.
Jillian watched him as he grew pensive. Whoever did this had known what she always ordered at that restaurant. Zorah and Narek never joined them during tea. That left her grandmother and the chef.
Maybe this wasn’t about hurting her but cancelling her wedding. If someone wanted to do that, they’d have the venue cancel the booking. The Montage was the venue for her wedding. Accusing the hotel of poisoning its guests, and the ensuing investigation, could shut them down. But where could they have gotten the poison? Locally? Possibly. Or someone could have brought some from Armenia, a tiny voice at the back of her head whispered. She hated herself for thinking it, for even remotely suspecting her grandmother of wanting to harm her. But the person who’d brought her family heirlooms—a tiara and bouquet—could easily have brought a vial of snake venom, too.
Jillian’s eyes flew to Lex. “Oh, God.”
“What is it?”
“I think I was the target. Someone brought my grandmother family heirlooms from Armenia. A tiara and bouquet she used at her own wedding. They’ve been passed down for generations, she said. And she wanted me to have them, so I could pass them on to our children and grandchildren. What if… What if they brought the poison, too?”
~*~
Lex hated the pain in her eyes. He’d seen her wear that exact expression when she’d thought her father had abandoned her. He ref
used to let her go through the same heartache because of something Warwick probably did. Getting to know her grandmother, learning about her birth father’s family, his people, and her history was important to her. She’d talked of nothing else the week before she left for Vancouver. He refused to let her believe they were out to hurt her.
He took her hand. “Come with me.”
She patted Douglas’ hand. “We won’t go too far.” Then she allowed Lex to lead her back to the waiting room, where Troy was flipping through a magazine.
“How is he?” Troy asked.
“He’s going to be fine,” Lex said. “They’re flying in the treatment.” He led Jillian away from other people in the waiting room. Troy followed them.
“I’m going to call her and tell her someone in her family... my family did it,” Jillian ground out.
He wanted to tell her about Warwick, but he couldn’t with Troy around. Another couple planted themselves a few chairs from them.
“We don’t know that for sure,” Lex said gently.
“What?” She stared at him with annoyance. “A few minutes ago, you acted like…” She growled. “Never mind. Someone did it, Lex. Maybe it was to scare me.” A nurse walked past and stared at them with wide eyes. Jillian glared at her until she looked away. “But the bottom line is that tea was meant for me.”
Lex gripped her arms and peered into her eyes. “Look, there is an explanation for the poison. But until we know what it is, no one is confronting anyone. I think someone else did this,” Lex continued.
Jillian stared at him with hopeful eyes. He could tell she wanted to believe him.
“My grandmother has two employees. Narek stayed with us during the tour, but Zorah could have easily slipped downstairs to the kitchen and added the poison to the tea. Alin told her to call the chef.”
“Don’t make assumptions. I’ll find the person responsible.”
“No, we will find the person responsible,” she corrected.
Instead of arguing with her, he made a call. “Tell me you have something.”
“San Diego has some,” Cade said from the other side of the phone. “We are using a delivery service Aiden trusts. It will be here in an hour. How’s your man holding up?”
“You know Douglas. Nothing holds him down. Thanks, man.”
Jillian was wringing her hands and chewing on her lips when he hung up.
“The right antivenin will be here in an hour.” He gripped her hand. “Douglas will be fine and yes, we will figure out who did this.”
She nodded, but her eyes were haunted. “Do you need me here now?”
He knew she planned to speak with her grandmother. “Yes, sweetheart. I need you here.”
She shot him an annoyed glance. “No, you don’t. You’re just saying that because you don’t want me to leave.”
“Don’t you mean I don’t want you to go to the Montage and accuse your grandmother’s employees of something they may or may not have done? We don’t have proof. Chances are this is the work of some deranged lunatic playing mind games.”
“Yeah? Like who?”
Warwick. He lowered his voice. “I have an enemy who might try to hurt me through you.” She shot him a disbelieving glance. “I’ll explain later. Now, I need to tell Jeffries the good news.”
The next hour dragged. Jillian’s grandmother called, but Jillian barely said two words to her. Her father called, too. That conversation lasted a little longer.
The delivery company came through as promised. By the time they left the hospital, Douglas and all the other victims were responding to the treatment and Jillian was smiling again. The doctor wanted to monitor Douglas for the next forty-eight hours.
Dom had flown Lex to the hospital, so they took the Escalade and dropped Troy off at his place. Lex got out of the car to speak privately with him.
“I want you with Jillian at all times, so be ready to drop whatever you’re doing whenever she calls. If you need help while Douglas is in the hospital, call the school and recommend one of your guys.”
“That won’t be necessary, sir. I have this covered. She’s going out tonight with your cousins and sister.”
“No, she’s not.” Lex glanced back at the car, but Jillian wasn’t staring at them. Her eyes were closed, yet he knew she wasn’t sleeping. Her smile had disappeared once they left the hospital. He hated seeing her so tense. They were getting married in two days. She should be euphoric, not miserable. “But if she’s going, I’ll make sure she calls you. When she does, get back up.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Goodnight.” Lex went back to the SUV. Jillian didn’t even ask about the conversation he just had with Troy. She rested her head on his shoulder as he drove them toward the Montage. The guys were throwing him a party tonight, but Lex wasn’t going. If he could change the venue, he’d have the wedding at his family’s mansion and have security check every gift, purse, and bag, and do body searches.
He glanced at Jillian. He hated seeing her like this. Quiet. Sad. Shutting him out. He loved to listen to her voice. It didn’t matter what she said. Something about the cadence of her voice pleased his senses.
“You okay?” Lex asked.
“No,” she said. “I’m pissed. I couldn’t afford to be earlier because I was worried about Douglas. I mean, who in their right mind dumps snake venom in tea at a restaurant? What if the pregnant woman lost her baby or that little girl had drunk it? Whatever happened to poison at the tip of a shoe or an umbrella and targeting one person?”
Namely her. Lex chuckled even though he wasn’t amused. Only she would reference a technique used by eastern Europeans in old spy movies. “We still don’t know you were the target.”
“Yes, we do. If someone wanted to scare me, snakes would have done the trick,” she mumbled and shuddered. “Everyone knows I hate snakes.”
“Why? I thought you were invincible,” he teased, hoping she’d stop talking about the attempt on her life. Warwick was behind this. His hands tightened on the wheel. If he wanted her cooperation regarding her security and safety, he’d need to tell her about the bastard.
“I’m serious about someone hurting you to get to me. I testified in the trial of a guy from college, and he’s now on death row. He has friends who could easily be behind the poison incident today.”
Jillian’s jaw dropped. “You put a guy on death row? I thought you said your enemies were white-collar criminals.”
“Warwick is different. He is a serial rapist and a murderer. He’s been sending us threatening e-mails for years, but we just ignored him. He’s the reason I asked Douglas and Troy to stay with you when you leave the house.”
“Us? Who?”
“Dom, Sloan, and the others too. We all testified at his trial, and he’s never forgotten or forgiven us. He has people who watch our every move and report to him.”
“But he’s in jail, right?”
“Yes. As long as he was just watching, we never cared. I think, this time he went too far.” He pulled up outside the Montage.
“What did he do?”
A valet smiled at them. “Let’s discuss this later. Now promise you will behave.” She made a face. Lex waited, his gaze steady. She was unpredictable, which was great in the bedroom, but not so when he wanted her to behave.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she said. “I’m not going to cause a scene. Remember what I told you when we first met? I’m a stuntwoman. I improvise when things don’t go according to plan and become anyone I want to be. I’ll get my things, pretend I adore everything Armenian, and leave.”
Except she looked heartbroken. Lex wanted to buffer her from the world and hurtful people. “You adore everything Armenian.”
“No, I don’t.” Then she made a face and groaned. “Yes, I do. Come on. Let’s do this and get it over with.”
“Not yet.” He cupped the back of her head and kissed her. When he lifted his head, she wore a loopy expression. “You have me. Others may come and go, but yo
u’ll always have me.”
Her eyes grew shiny. “That was…” She swallowed. “If that was meant to distract me and make me do things your way, it’s not going to happen. I’ll smile until my jaw hurts, but that’s it.”
It was business as usual at the Montage, guests checking in and out. As soon as they entered the foyer, the desk manager from earlier hurried around his station to meet them.
“Good evening, Mr. Fitzgerald.” His focus shifted to Jillian. “We apologize for what happened earlier, Ms. Finnegan. We pride ourselves on ensuring the safety of our guests and their friends. Is your friend okay?”
“He will be,” she said.
“Did the police find the person who poisoned the tea?” Lex said.
The manager looked around and lowered his voice. “No, sir, but there’s an investigation, and the restaurant will be closed indefinitely.”
“Are there any surveillance cameras in the kitchen?” Lex asked.
“The police took them. I’m sorry I don’t have copies.”
“Keep us updated.” Lex led Jillian to the elevators. He waited until they were in the elevator before asking, “Why do you hate snakes and reporters?”
“A snake killed my mother. Sort of. It escaped its cage and curled around a pole. She panicked when her hand closed on it during an act. Reporters hounded me for days, asking stupid questions and making my life miserable. Both are bottom dwellers. They are worse than vultures. My brothers and cousins beat the crap out of one persistent reporter who stalked me for days and even came to her funeral.” She shuddered. “I hate reporters as much as I hate snakes.”
No wonder she didn’t want to talk to reporters. He took her hand just as the elevator opened and a couple entered. He angled his body so he was between them and Jillian. “You don’t have to talk to them unless you want to.”
“I don’t intend to,” Jillian said. “If I must, I’ll just give Rod an exclusive. At least he seems nicer.”
Lex groaned. “Don’t tell him that. He’ll go out of his way to prove you wrong by being a total jerk. Then you’ll want to kill him, and I’ll be forced to take your side and lose a dear friend.”
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