Foundation for Three Read Online Free

time out of his day to come see her. “Thank you.”
    “Make sure you take off a few days and rest, you hear?”
    Then she wouldn’t get paid since she wasn’t a hospital employee. She only rented the office space at LACE. “I will.” However, trying to treat her patients with a head injury wouldn’t do them any good.
    He firmed his lips, spun on his heels, and left. She’d only seen the man at large hospital events, but he always came off as very sincere and kind.
    “Knock, knock.”
    She looked up and thought Dr. Sanchez had returned, but it was her best friend’s fiancé instead. “Cade!” Relief filled her. He might be able to shed some light on what happened after the doctors brought her down here. He was a detective for the Rock Hard Police Department, after all. “How did you get here so quickly?” He couldn’t have driven from downtown that fast. Or had more time passed than she realized? “Were you having lunch here with Amber?” His fiancée did work at the hospital.
    “You guessed it. Amber had just headed back to work when I got the call about the hostage situation.” He studied her injuries. “How are you doing?”
    Zoey pulled her soaked shirt away from her body to show him it wasn’t stuck to a wound. “It’s the other guy’s blood.”
    “Good.” Cade stepped closer. “Neck’s red.”
    She struggled to take a full breath. “He had me in some kind of chokehold.” She undid her top button to give her more air.
    “What about that bandage on your head?”
    She’d just told the story to Dr. Sanchez, but she bet she’d be retelling the series of events many more times before this was over. Her fingers shot to the wound to make sure it was real and not a dream. “He hit me with his gun.”
    Cade pulled out a pad and paper. “I’ve been asked to take the lead on this case. How about you tell me what you remember?”
    She was happy he understood she might have some holes in her story. “I was on my way back to my office from the break room when… Oh, shit.”
    “What is it?”
    Zoey glanced around, hoping she still had the information with her. “I was carrying a folder when the man grabbed me. I must have dropped it. I can’t have anyone see those files.” A rush of panic raced through her, causing her voice to rise with each word. A prominent doctor’s career could be jeopardized if anyone read the contents.
    She slipped for the exam table, but Cade held up a finger. He pulled out his phone and made a call. “Ethan, did you collect any papers on the floor next to McDonald? Good. I’m in the ER, room four. Can you bring them here when you get a chance?” He disconnected, looked up, and smiled. “All good.”
    At the near disaster, she let out a big breath and hopped back up on the table. “Thank you.”
    “Then what happened?”
    “The man was waving his gun around, and when Thad tried to get him to release me, he became more agitated. Then I heard a shot. Or maybe it was two shots. I can’t remember.”
    The nurse returned with a clean pair of scrubs. She halted and glanced between Zoey and Cade. “Oh, I didn’t know you had company.”
    He held up a hand. “I’ll catch up with Zoey later.”
    “Thanks, Cade.” Having him here, even if it was to ask questions, helped settle her.
    Sarah set the clean scrubs to next to her. “I thought you might want to wash up. These look like they’ll fit you.”
    “They’ll be perfect.” Zoey tried to unbutton her blouse, but her fingers shook too hard. She disliked asking for help, but she needed to change worse than anything. “Can you help me? I’m sorry. My fingers don’t seem to be working. They’re cold.”
    “Sure.”
    Zoey took off her shirt with Sarah’s help, and her mind wandered back to when she’d first met Thad. He’d been covered in stage makeup to look like a dying cancer patient. After the sting operation ended, he’d stopped by to thank her for her role, but he was in and out so fast she hadn’t