Foundation for Three Read Online Free Page A

had time to find out much about him. He’d intrigued her, though. She’d hoped he’d call after that, but he never did.
    “Zoey?” The nurse held out the wet cloth for her to take.
    She’d spaced out. “Sorry.”
    Zoey wiped her chest and arms the best she could while Sarah cleaned her back. Then she changed into the clean scrubs. Even if Zoey could get the blood out of her clothes, she didn’t want to be reminded of this day. Ever. She dumped everything but her shoes in the trash.
    After waiting another hour, a technician showed up to escort Zoey to get the MRI. By the time the image was taken, her stomach was growling something fierce. She’d missed lunch, but she still had to wait for the results of the scan before she could leave.
    After what seemed like forever, the doctor stopped by. “Good news. The MRI shows no damage.”
    “Fantastic.”
    “Physically, you’ll recover, but you’ve suffered quite an emotional trauma. I’m no shrink, but you should consider seeing someone for it.”
    “I will. Thank you. Am I free to go?”
    “Yes, but check back with us in a week.”
    Finally . “I will.” She was a little shaky and a lot achy, but on the whole, she was good. For the sake of closure, she needed to thank Thad. First, though, she needed to go home and change.
    As soon as she walked out of her room toward the bank of elevators, she expected the relief to help calm her. Only it didn’t. Now that the adrenaline had left her body, reality was seeping in. She could have died.
    Zoey pressed the elevator button to go up to her office, but it appeared to be stuck on the fifth floor, so she hit it a few more times.
    “There you are,” Cade said, striding across the hallway. “Remember anything else?”
    “No. I’m still processing.” Or else she’d shoved the incident to the back of her mind.
    He nodded, looking as if it was commonplace for a person to need time. “That’s understandable.”
    “I’m surprised you’re still here.”
    “I had to check on Thad.”
    “Check on him? Why?”
    “You don’t remember? Thad was shot.”

Chapter Three

    U pon hearing the terrible news, Zoey’s stomach tumbled and the blood rushed from her brain. As her knees started to buckle, Cade grabbed her shoulders. “Zoey?” The hard pressure brought her back to awareness.
    She inhaled and locked her knees. “I’m okay. I was a little light-headed for a moment.” She ran her hands down her thighs to dry her palms. “Thad was really shot? I thought he was wearing a vest.”
    Why didn’t she remember him getting hit? Perhaps having the gun go off so close to her head had splintered her memory. Or else the event had been so traumatic, she’d chosen to block out the horror. She prayed once the adrenaline left her body, everything would come flooding back.
    “He was.” Cade nodded to the padded bench across from the bank of elevators. “You want to sit down?”
    “No, I’m good.” She drew on her professional demeanor and straightened her shoulders, but her neck sent out a rebellious ache. “How is he? Will he be okay?” She worked hard to keep her voice even, not wanting to admit she wasn’t in the best of shape.
    “He should be out of surgery any time now.”
    Guilt swamped her that he’d taken a bullet for her. “Where was he hit?”
    “About here.” Cade placed a hand right below her elbow.
    While an arm injury wouldn’t be life threatening, it could affect how Thad did his job. If the bullet hit his elbow, though, the recovery time could be long and painful. She prayed he’d heal quickly.
    “Let’s find a seat in the waiting room.” Cade led her down the hall. “How about you rest here, and I’ll see if I can find out when Thad will be out of surgery?”
    “Okay.” Her head pounded and chills raced through her as the images of what happened briefly surfaced.
    Before Cade had taken more than a few steps, his partner Ethan, who she’d met once before, rushed toward them, waving