Chapter Nine
Brianna liked Kenny. She was mad at him, not her dads, for not being able to see him (outside of the hospital) anymore. She thought what he had done was stupid and he was smarter than that. But she didn't want anyone in her family hurt, either. When Drew had explained things to her she understood and he didn't need to explain to her what "loan sharks" were. She had seen enough movies. The big reason she told Kenny had been such an idiot the last time she saw him at the hospital. Neither dad had admonished her because she wasn't wrong.
Hearing the sentiment from someone younger just might put things in more perspective for him.
There was extra security in the hospital since the bar shooting, even in the form of plain- clothes cops with concealed weapons roaming the ER posing as waiting patients or hospital visitors. The staff knew who they were so these people cause suspicion and said officers went through the new metal detector (set up because of the shooting) without alert. The notion that the first responders on the screen might targets for the shooters because "they might have seen something" wasn't strange to anyone. This added to the stress of the work environment right now. With no progress in the case, Rick worried every night that Drew was on shift. He tried not to let this on to Brianna but he knew he probably wasn't being so good at it. Drew couldn't afford to be distracted by fear with the job he had to do. He had confidence in the beefed up security though he hoped it didn't have to last that long. But it wasn't lost on him that his husband became a nervous wreck every time he went to work, as was Brianna. Even if baby Avery didn't know what was happening, she could sense something wasn't right. Drew hated that.
In a seedy part of city in a biker bar there was laughter.
Shooting the doctors and paramedics? Please. That would be like sending a flare. San Antonio Memorial beefing up their security so much was a big joke to them. It was dark and they stayed out of sight when they shot into the crowd. They hadn't expected doctors and nurses to run across the street to treat the wounded. But their mission had been accomplished. The man who owned them twenty grand had paid the ultimate price and the rest was collateral damage. The other people in the parking lot before the doctors arrived might have something to worry about but the rest? Shooting them wasn't worth it. The notion was entertaining nevertheless.
ER nurse Kenny Fournette had owed them money too. But he paid up his debt in full immediately after the incident across the street from his work place. The ruthless group had others to track down and shake up. Unless Nurse Kenny crossed them again he was safe from their crosshairs.
Kenny was more concerned with gaining the trust of his friends again. Especially Drew Alister. He missed their friendship and he missed Drew's daughter who he had become close to during her lengthy stay at the hospital. He wanted to get to know the new baby girl Drew and his husband recently adopted. He was missing a lot because of his mistake.