by Red Phoenix
Brie had taken her purse, but the laptop remained where it had been. That meant she’d purposely left the hospital, but was planning on returning soon. Without a car, however, she couldn’t have gone far.
The sickening feeling in his spirit increased as he scrambled to open the laptop, hoping she’d left a tab open with directions to where she’d gone, but found none.
“Where are you, Brie?” he cried in frustration as he slammed the laptop closed.
Just as Tono was rushing out of the room, he felt the overwhelming impulse to look back. His gaze landed on the tray beside Sir Davis’s bed. He rushed over and noticed a notepad and pen. The top page had been ripped off, leaving only a torn section behind. Tono studied the pad closer and saw light indentations on the paper.
Heading directly to the nurse’s station, he asked Abby for a pencil. With light strokes he shaded over the entire paper, and the indentations transformed into words.
Ruby’s Jewel
“What is Ruby’s Jewel?” he asked Abby.
“Oh, it’s an old bar just down the street, five blocks down and one to the right. It’s been here for years off the main strip.”
Tono didn’t waste any time waiting for the elevator. He raced down the stairs and out the doors of the hospital. The ominous feeling was smothering him now. He feared his dream was about to become reality and started running even faster, ignoring the ache in his side.
He pulled open the old wooden door of the bar and entered. It took several seconds for his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. He didn’t see Brie sitting at the bar counter, and quickly scanned the room. When he didn’t spot her, he started checking the booths individually.
Just as he was beginning to lose hope, he saw her in the corner seated across from an unfamiliar male. He snuck up to listen in on the conversation, believing Lilly was somehow involved and hoped to glean information that he could then pass on to the police.
“…yeah, I was worried you’d be too scared to meet. Lilly Meyers is dangerous, but you already know that.”
Brie nodded in answer.
“But I couldn’t stand back and let her destroy another person for a mistake she made.”
“Mistake?”
“Look, I don’t have time to explain.” The man looked at his watch and turned his head, looking at the back of the bar nervously as if he were expecting Lilly to appear any second.
Tono stared at the man intently, memorizing every detail from his voice, the cut of his hair, the features of his face, down to the type of shoes he was wearing. Anyone associated with Lilly was suspect.
“Who are you again?” Brie asked, sounding a bit confused.
“Reese. You know, like the peanut butter cup.” He clinked his glass against hers and took a drink. “But who I am isn’t important. It’s what I’ve got.”
“You have it on you?”
“The proof of the paternity? Hell yeah, I do, but I left it in the car—just in case.” He glanced at the entrance door.
“Thank you…for…doing this.”
He clinked her glass again. “Anything to right a wrong.” He took a big swig and confessed, “I think I’m in need of more liquid courage. How about you?” He kept glancing at the door anxiously as if he were expecting Lilly. “Fuck, if she knew I was here, who knows what would happen.”
“It would be…bad.”
“I’m headed to the airport and skipping the country as soon as I hand you the document. Can’t take a chance she’ll find me once she realizes the document is missing.”
“No…”
He held up his glass to her. “So here’s to giving a bitch exactly what she deserves.”
Brie picked up her glass slowly and clinked it against his. The man winked at Brie as she took another drink.
Something felt very wrong.
Tono approached the table, purposely making his presence known. As soon as Reese saw him, the man’s eyes grew wide and he froze mid-drink.
The disquieting feeling suddenly increased exponentially when Tono turned to look at Brie.
She stared at Tono oddly, as if she were disoriented. Her voice slurred when she tried to say his name. “Tonnno?”
Tono glared at the man. “What have you done to her?”
The guy put up his hands in surrender. “Hey, look, I only came to help Mrs. Davis.”
Reese glanced at the door nervously, but Tono moved closer to prevent any escape. Out of the corner of his eye, Tono saw Brie sway slightly as if she were about to pass out. Without warning, she fell sideways in the bench seat, banging her head against the edge of the table.
“Brie!” Tono cried, moving to help her.
Reese used the opportunity to make good his escape.
A feeling of foreboding clouded Tono’s senses as he held on to Brie, fumbling to get the phone out of his pocket. He watched Reese rush to the door and was horrified when he caught a glimpse of what looked to be Thane’s mother on the other side—it had to be Lilly.
Tono dialed and put the phone up to his ear.
“9-1-1, what is the nature of your emergency?”
Tono asked the bartender for the address, and informed the emergency operator that Lilly had been spotted and was still in the area.
Brie made a muffled cry beside him as she struggled to sit up.
“What’s wrong with you?” he asked in concern.
Brie couldn’t keep focused on him, looking as if she were extremely intoxicated.
Tono yelled at the bartender. “What the hell did you give her to drink?”
“She just asked for ice tea, no sugar.”
Tono sniffed her drink and caught a bitter odor. He looked at Brie, realizing now she’d been drugged. “Get me some water!” he ordered as he shouted into the phone to send an ambulance.
Tono forced Brie to drink water while they waited as he held her. “Take big sips of the water. That’s it.”
“My baby…” Brie mumbled.
Tono felt panic set in as he waited for the paramedics and could only say, “Drink more water, Brie.”
Thankfully the ambulance crew arrived quickly, being only blocks away, and the police joined them a few moments later. Tono pointed to her tea, telling them he suspected it had been drugged.
Tono stayed behind to answer questions while Brie was rushed off to the hospital. The entire time, he was haunted by the thought that Brie had had the same disoriented look as Sir Davis had in the pictures. He could only hope the unborn child hadn’t been harmed by this.
“Mr. Nosaka, we believe if you hadn’t arrived when you did, it’s likely Mrs. Davis would have been taken to a second location. There’s no telling what might have happened after that.” The officer patted him on the back. “You’re a hero.”
Tono shook his head. “No hero here. I left her alone to take care of—” A horrifying revelation came to him. “Officer Ryan, I was called away by hospital security because my car was involved in a hit-and-run in their parking garage. I’m now beginning to suspect it was a ploy to separate me from Brie so that Reese could make contact and convince her to leave the hospital alone.”
“How did you know to come here?”
“She wrote the name of the bar on a piece of paper.” Tono shook his head, thinking how close it had been.
The officer replied, “I will speak with hospital security. It’s possible there may be surveillance video of the accident. I’m headed there now, would you like a lift?”
“I would. I need to check on Mrs. Davis.”
When Tono finally made it to Brie’s bedside, he found her fast asleep. Needing to know what was going on, he left her to find the ER doctor in charge.
“Will Mrs. Davis and the baby recover from this?”
“We don’t know what the drink was spiked with. Nothing showed up on the standard drug screen, so I sent her blood to be analyzed. However, she’s been treated with activated charcoal and intravenous fluids. We won’t know for certain until we get back the test results, but I
have every expectation Mrs. Davis will be released in a few hours.”
Tono leaned against the wall after the doctor left, the feeling of panic slowly receding.
The first call he made was to Master Anderson.
“How could you let her leave the hospital alone, Nosaka?!”
“Look, I was called away by hospital security. My car was involved in an accident in the parking garage. I had no idea Brie had left the hospital until I returned.”
“Was I not clear enough about how dangerous Lilly is?”
“I’m very aware,” Tono replied angrily. “However…” The reality of what had almost happened washed over him, and he faltered. “I failed to protect her.”
Master Anderson growled his agreement, but after a few moments added, “You shouldn’t have left her, but…who would guess Lilly is capable of staging an accident and bringing another person in to do the deed. I’ve failed to appreciate how cunning the witch is.”
“The thing that struck me was how disoriented Brie was when I found her. Reese could have led her outdoors and she would have gone freely.”
“Oh hell, that sounds exactly like what happened to Thane in China.”
“That’s what I’m thinking. Brie’s confused expression matched the look on Sir Davis’s face in the photos.”
“What photos?”
Tono closed his eyes, knowing he had said too much. “Obviously, this is not news I should have shared, but I respect you too much to leave you in the dark if you want me to explain.”
“I genuinely appreciate the respect but…I do not need to know.”
“Very well.”
“Did they catch the witch at least?”
“I have not received any word about Lilly.”
“How the hell can she keep eluding the police?”
“She is as astute as Sir Davis—able to think steps ahead of most. I was lulled by her silence, but now I realize she was simply biding her time.”
“I now understand why young Brie is deathly afraid of the woman. If you hadn’t found her…”
“I must concentrate on what is and not dwell on what could have been.” With that resolve set in his mind, Tono told Master Anderson, “I need to return to the ER and let the staff know the drug used may be of Chinese origin.”
“Hey Nosaka, before you hang up, I just want you to know my anger was misplaced earlier. I would have walked right into that ploy to separate you from Brie. We didn’t know. We couldn’t have known how devious that woman is.”
Tono was not convinced. He’d played right into Lilly’s hands—was there really any excuse for that?
To his relief, Brie was awake on his return.
The first words out of her mouth were, “Tono, I shouldn’t have left.”
He shook his head as he pulled down the railing and sat on the bed, taking her into his arms to hold her, needing the connection. “Why did you?”
She let out a strangled sob. “The man said he had the paternity test that proved Sir’s innocence, but he only had a few minutes before he was headed off to the airport to leave the States. I shouldn’t have gone, but I was so desperate to clear Sir’s name that I’d do anything—and Lilly knew that.”
Brie buried her head in his chest. “The man was acting so strange when I got to the bar, all nervous and flighty. He even had me check out the back window to make sure Lilly wasn’t outside waiting for him in the parking lot. When I returned, he suddenly became animated, insisting we toast to his victory over her.”
Groaning, she explained, “I only took a couple of sips of the tea because it tasted so bitter.” She began weeping. “I don’t remember much else after that. Everything started getting fuzzy.” Brie looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “I don’t even remember you being there.”
She lay back down on the bed, her face twisted in pain. “My head won’t stop pounding.”
“I’ll get the doctor,” Tono told her.
“No, he said it will hurt for a while. Knowing the baby is fine, I can handle it.”
Tono looked down at Brie, finding it difficult to breathe. “I’m sorry I failed you.”
She opened her eyes. “No, Tono. This wasn’t your fault. I knew better than to leave the hospital, but I wanted so badly to end this power Lilly has over us.” She looked away from him. “I need to beg for Sir’s forgiveness.”
“Why?”
Her voice broke when she answered, “I could have lost our baby…this is on me.” She stifled another sob. “Sir must be worried because I told him where I was headed when I wrote down the name of the bar.”
Tono thought about the pad of paper and suddenly realized something…
“Brie, it’s important I go now to let him know what’s happened.”
“Yes,” she agreed. Please tell him the baby is okay and how sorry I am.” She covered her eyes with her hands, trying to combat the pounding pain in her head.
Tono left her and rode up the elevator, still numb from the day’s events.
As soon as he walked into the room, Tono said, “Sir Davis, Brie is safe.” There was a momentary spike on the heart rate monitor. Although Sir Davis stared blankly ahead, it was clear he was aware and obviously relieved to hear Tono’s news.
As he approached the bed, Tono explained, “The baby is safe as well, but Brie is still recovering from the effects of being drugged. I promised you I would protect her and I almost failed you both.”
He took a moment to collect his thoughts before detailing everything that had happened. Afterward he added, “Thank you for your help, Sir Davis. I would never have found Brie if it weren’t for the unexplainable urge I felt to look on the tray table.”
He moved in closer and said, “I know it was you.”
In Another Life
The test results returned with inconclusive results, but the doctor was certain the chemicals were out of Brie’s system and her vitals were normal so she was released into Tono’s care.
Although her body had recovered from the trauma, Brie was not okay emotionally. Lilly had succeeded in terrifying her on a level previously unknown. It didn’t surprise him when she came to him and asked, “Tono, do you mind sleeping with me tonight? I don’t think I can face being alone.”
“Let me bring my sleeping mat,” Tono answered, grabbing his jute mat from the guest room. He didn’t feel comfortable lying on Sir Davis’s bed, although he appreciated Brie’s need for human contact.
Tono walked in and rolled out the mat on the floor. Noticing the dead flowers on her nightstand once again, he was suddenly struck by how disturbing they were. “Do you mind if I throw these out?”
She glanced at them sadly and nodded her permission.
Tono picked up the vase and nodded to her before leaving the room to toss the flowers out. When he returned, he turned off the lights and lay on the mat. “It’s been a long day, Brie. Don’t try to think, just get some rest for you and the baby.”
He closed his eyes and after a long time he finally heard her steady breathing. It brought him comfort as he fought off the guilt, second-guessing everything that had happened that day.
Partway through the night, Brie woke up screaming.
Tono called out to her, “You are safe here with me.”
Rather than going back to sleep, she crawled off the bed and lay down on the mat, curling up beside him. “I don’t think I can sleep peacefully without a strong arm around me.”
Tono embraced her trembling frame, his heart aching for her. Shadow joined them on the mat, snuggling against her belly.
He kissed the top of Brie’s head and whispered, “Go to sleep now, toriko. I will watch over you.”
Tono insisted Brie return to the routine they’d established, wanting her to concentrate on the future and not dwell on the horrors of what might have happened. He drove her to the hospital and they spent the day working on their various projects.
“Mrs. Davis?” Abby said, peeking her head in. “There’s a gentleman downstairs who
wishes to speak to you.”
“Who?” Tono asked, suspicious of strangers now.
Abby assured him, “I was informed he works for aviation investigation.”
Brie was still leery, so Tono insisted on going with her.
The man stood waiting for Brie in the main lobby of the hospital, holding something in his hand. “Ma’am,” he said in a respectful tone, “I came to deliver this.”
Brie took the beat-up cell phone from his hands and stared down at it. She said in shock, “It’s his.”
“Yes. Mr. Davis’s phone was found near the beach next to the airport. Unfortunately, it was far enough from the crash site that it wasn’t discovered until now.”
Brie gazed at the phone in stunned silence before pressing it against her chest.
“It still works,” he informed her, “which is why we were able to quickly identify it and return it to you.” He looked down at the floor self-consciously. “I know how important something like this is to the family members, which is why I chose to deliver it to you personally.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He nodded curtly. “I hope your husband is doing better.”
Brie managed a smile. “He’s getting better every day.”
“Glad to hear it. I wish you both the best, ma’am.”
She stared at the phone as the man walked off, the pain and joy of seeing the familiar item written on her face. “Tono, I’d like a moment alone.” She wandered off to a secluded table in the corner and pressed the phone to her ear as the tears started to fall.
Tono watched over her, his heart aching for Brie. Although it hurt now, he knew she would cherish being able to listen to Sir Davis’s voice whenever she needed to.
After several minutes, Brie dried her tears and walked over to him with a look of concern. “I’ve wondered why Rytsar never came after hearing the news. I’m afraid he doesn’t know.”
She held up the phone so Tono could listen to the message.
“Moy droog, why haven’t you called me back? I cannot reach radost moya and you aren’t answering your calls. It is not a funny joke anymore. Call me.”