Gavin shook his head. “Not much gets past you, does it?”

She huffed a laugh. “More than I would like, I suspect. Don’t they need to sleep?”

“They’re staying together and sleeping in shifts. Just in case.”

“Got it.”

“Nothing’s going to happen to you, Sarah, not while I’m still breathing. And that’s a promise.”

CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO

Max stepped out of the bathroom, wiping his freshly shaved jaw with a white towel. Another towel circled his waist, the corner tucked in near his navel. “I knew this was too good to last,” he said. “What gave me away?”

“A little birdie named Wilmont,” Caden said.

“Sam?”

“The one and only.” Elliott tossed him a shirt, boxers, and a pair of jeans. “Get dressed, we’ve got some questions for you. You can use the bathroom to change, but leave the door open.”

Max didn’t seem inclined to argue or attempt a disappearing act, but Caden wasn’t taking any chances. He stood in the doorway, his foot blocking the door from fully closing.

Max changed and Caden handed him his shoes. “What’s all this about?” the man asked.

Caroline gave a short laugh. “We’d like to know how a dead man is working . . .”

“. . . and living . . . ,” Elliott said.

“. . . at a hospital without getting caught,” Patty said.

“But you did catch me.”

“Not very quickly,” Elliott muttered, then scrubbed a hand down his cheek. “Let’s find a conference room.”

The security officer led the way out of the closet and down the hall to stop in front of a closed door. He swiped the key card and held the door while they all filed in, with Max in the middle and Caden bringing up the rear.

Elliott turned and pointed to Heather. “You don’t need to be in here.”

Caden cleared his throat. “I think it might be helpful to have a physician’s ears on this. I know her and I trust her one hundred percent.”

Elliott and Caroline exchanged glances and frowned. Then Caroline gave a slight nod. Elliott shrugged.

“I’ll be right out here if you need anything,” the guard said.

“Thanks.”

The door shut and Caden took a seat at the end of the table. Mr. Xia sat opposite him, with Caroline and Elliott bookending him, one on each side of the table. Patty Boyer leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. Heather perched on the edge of her seat next to Elliott.

“That was you in the wreck, right?” Caroline asked.

Max nodded. “I managed to get out of the car shortly before it exploded.”

“Why play dead?”

“Because the accident wasn’t an accident. Someone tried to kill me.”

Caden raised a brow. “By planting a deer in the road?”

“There wasn’t a deer. There was another car. It cut across in front of me and I went down the embankment.”

Elliott leaned forward. “Who?”