Anger stirred fresh behind Hannah’s ribs. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. I actually know how to use this gun.” She reached for her cell phone and dialed 911. “Oh, and I quit.”

Two hours later, Hannah sat in a plastic chair in an NYPD chief’s office with a cold cup of coffee cradled in her hands. The police had her recording of her conversation with Royce. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, and there was only one person she wanted to talk to. She dialed Brody’s number.

Rain misted Hannah’s face as she stared at the front door of the nursing home.

“Are you all right?” Brody reached around her and opened the door.

Hannah let out the breath she’d been holding. “I don’t know.” Her nerves were as frayed as a worn end of rope.

“It’ll be OK.” Brody put his hand on the small of her back and steered her into the lobby.

Hannah breathed. Her lungs had felt inelastic since the nursing home had called her thirty minutes before to tell her that the Colonel had had difficulty breathing. She’d planned to visit this afternoon but had come immediately instead.

She checked at the reception desk. “How is he?”

The nurse smiled, but her eyes were sad. “His breathing was labored earlier this morning, but he seems a bit better now.”

Hannah swallowed and nearly choked. Brody took her hand, his body heat burning hot against her icy skin. She led him to the acute care wing and paused outside her father’s room. Through the open doorway, she watched a young male medical tech check the Colonel’s vital signs. The young man jotted the readings on a clipboard. Leaving the room, he nodded to them on his way out. Grant was sitting in a chair by the bed. Seeing Hannah and Brody, he joined them in the hall. He and the family had returned home the day before, and he’d been furious when she’d told him everything that had happened while he was away. But his eyes held no anger this morning.

She looked around him into her father’s room. “How is he?”

Grant lifted a hand. “Maybe a little better. Hard to say.”

“Forgive me yet?” she asked.

“No.” Grant gave her a small smile. “But I still love you. I haven’t heard from Mac. Do you know where he is?”

Hannah shook her head. “No. I haven’t heard from him since I picked up the dog at his place on Saturday night.”

Grant’s mouth tightened as he stepped aside so she could enter the room.

Hannah let out a smooth breath. Channeling Grant, she left her expectations at the door. Go with the flow.