Hurricanes in Paradise by Denise Hildreth (web ebook reader .TXT) 📕

“Your mother.”

Mia’s eyes glared.

“This is about your mother. She pushed this, didn’t she?”

Mia would offer her nothing.

“I trusted you with everything, Mia. My job. My story.”

“You trust too easily,” Laine said quickly, as if she couldn’t keep it in.

Riley looked at her. “How did you find this out?”

Laine turned away from Mia. “I didn’t trust her. Not from the first moment I saw her. And it didn’t add up last night. Then I saw her with Christian. I knew there were all kinds of motives going on with this one. So Winnie and I set up a decoy.” She hung her head and bit her lip. “Tamyra was going to her room to fake needing Mia. But when she got there, that man was waiting on her.”

Riley let out a gasp.

“Winnie and I had no idea. So while Mia was gone to check on Tamyra, we went through her things. All of them. That was when we found a fax and the pills. We just put two and two together and I made her confess.”

Riley shook her head, blinking hard. “I can’t believe this. You made her confess?”

“I told her inmates would like her.”

Riley shook her head again. “You did all of this . . . after what I said about you last night?”

“Riley, stop it. You didn’t say it. You didn’t slip off the wagon. You’re still the incredible woman you were when you woke up yesterday morning. All of this was a horrible, despicable scheme of this woman,” Laine said, tossing her head at Mia. “Now, would you like to press charges?”

Riley’s head shifted back. “What? Press charges?”

Laine sighed. “Yes, this woman could get jail time for putting something in your drink.”

Riley hadn’t even thought about Mia’s actions being a crime. She looked at Mia. Her face registered no remorse. Jail would probably do her good. But it wouldn’t come at Riley’s hands. An officer stood silently at the front of the car. “No. No, there will be no charges.”

“Are you sure?” Laine asked.

Riley knew Laine knew she was sure. But she also wasn’t surprised she asked again. “I’m sure. Mia apparently already lives in prison. She’ll have to decide when she’s ready to set herself free.”

Riley looked at the police officer. “Officer.” He walked over to her. “You can let this woman go. I won’t be pressing charges.”

Mia’s face was expressionless.

“Are you sure, ma’am?”

“Absolutely.” Riley turned her back on Mia and walked through the automatic glass doors. Laine came up beside her. “Thank you,” Riley whispered. “Thank you so much.”

* * *

The doctor came into the waiting room when Riley and Laine got back inside. The three women huddled together as he began to speak. “We’ve done our initial evaluation and her nose is broken badly, there are quite a few broken bones in her face, a couple cracked ribs, and she will have some major bruising, but there is no head trauma, no swelling on her brain of any kind. Honestly, with the way her face looks, I thought . . .” He paused; then his training seemed to kick back in. “Well, it is far better than we ever expected.”

Laine heard Winnie exhale. “Thank you, Jesus,” she said.

“How much longer will she be in surgery?” Riley asked.

“Another hour maybe for her nose; then a plastic surgeon is coming in and he will probably be with her a couple more hours. We will come and let you know when she is in recovery.”

“Thank you so much, Doctor,” Laine said.

He nodded and turned.

The three collapsed in side-by-side chairs. “That is great news,” Riley said. “When I saw her face, I didn’t know how in the world she would live through that.”

“It’s a miracle,” Winnie said. “An absolute miracle.”

Laine nodded. Her phone rang inside the purse at her feet. She pulled it out and her eyes lit up. “It’s Mitchell.”

“What?” Riley couldn’t hide her surprise.

“I know; I haven’t gotten to tell you in all of the commotion. But I can’t tell you now. You tell her, Winnie,” she said as she accepted Mitchell’s call and walked out of the waiting room.

“Hey.”

“Hey, Lainey. Listen, if you’re not coming home, I’m coming there. I don’t want you going through that storm without me. It’s too dangerous. So I’m flying my plane out and will be there as soon as I can.”

“No!” she protested loudly. “It’s too dangerous for you to come! We’re in the middle of this thing, babe. The wind is blowing like crazy. Rain is coming down in sheets. You haven’t been flying that long, and even experienced pilots aren’t flying in this. Just stay put and I’ll be home as soon as it’s over. It’s just too dangerous.”

“I know. That’s why you shouldn’t be there.”

She shook her head. “I had to be. Honestly, if I hadn’t stayed, I don’t know what would have happened.” She filled him in on last night and Riley and what had happened to Tamyra. His final words before hanging up were “I’m coming. I’ll be there tonight, and I love you more than you will ever know.”

He was going to see her no matter what. She hung up the phone and prayed. Laine was praying.

* * *

Riley had left the hospital once Laine came back to sit with Winnie. Max had called her on the way back to the hotel, apologized, and assured her he’d get her some new help as soon as the storm passed. “Let me know if you need anything over there. I’ll be at the Towers,” he said.

She ran through the parking lot and underneath the shelter, her umbrella no longer any protection from the driving rain. She had lived through hurricanes before and respected them for the force that they were. It was time to start moving guests into the ballroom. There were only a couple dozen remaining, but she needed to make sure the workers stayed safe too. Her job was to protect them all. She grabbed the glass door to the offices and pulled with her full