Free Vicente by Kathi S. Barton Page A

ranting. There was no other word for it.
    “I haven’t a fucking clue what’s going on with her. All I know is I get this fucking call from the bastard telling me she’s been hurt and that they doubt she’ll make it through the night. Then after I clear my calendar for her, cancel appointments that I had set up for weeks, I get here and she tosses my ass out of her room. Even my wife was upset about that one, and she was not happy I left her at home this time either. And that fucking bastard Vinnie is back in her life. He’s who called me. I’d kill him if I thought I could get away with it.” Woodrow started taking notes when he talked about her near death. He had no idea who this Vinnie person was, but it was worth checking him out. “I told him once before if he came back I’d expose him.”
    “Expose him?” Graham told him it was between him and Vinnie. “Where is your sister now? She’s not called into work if she is that much better that she’s left the hospital. We need to know her plans.”
    “Plans? Good luck with that. And how did you know she left the…? You know, I don’t really care. All she’s told me is that she’s going to do things her way and for me to back off. I’m her brother and it’s my responsibility to care for her. When she lets me. I’ve never seen a woman who needs a keeper as much as she does.” Woodrow wondered if they were talking about the same woman. The Abbie that worked for them was the most organized, independent woman he’d ever met, and she could whip a department into shape better and faster than most men he knew. And she’d done so without doing it on her back as most would.
    “Do you think you can get a message to her to call the office? We’d really like to see about her coming back to work.” Graham snorted again and Woodrow thought about how immature he sounded. Not to mention a world class prick.
    “I’ll try. But as of now, I’m going to stay for a few more days, a week at the most. Then I’m going back home. She’s not seeing the bastard as far as I know, and right now that’s a priority in my book. He’s an animal, and I want him away from my sister. If she can’t make good decisions about this, then I’m going to do what I threatened them with.” Woodrow decided he’d dig a little deeper into the brother as well. He’d bet his last dollar that he was a lawyer of some sort. And a man who was used to getting his own way. “I just called to see if you guys knew where she might be. The staff at the hospital told me that she just checked out about an hour ago, but they won’t tell me where to.”
    “As I’ve said, we didn’t know either. Last I heard she was in an accident and, like you, I thought she was near dead.” Woodrow made another note to see if he could find out about her release to another hospital and underlined it twice. She was out there somewhere with knowledge enough to cause them a little bit of trouble. And if her brother was an attorney, he would have to be bought off as well. Maybe he’d look into that as well. It might be a way to find her quicker. “I believe if you give me until the end of business tomorrow, we might have something here. Would you like to meet for dinner somewhere and discuss it?”
    “Sure. I’m writing this entire thing off anyway, so I might as well have some fun while we’re at it. I don’t suppose you know of a girl who might like to party hard, do you? While the wife is away, the mouse might as well get some fun in, right?” Woodrow decided that despite this man’s faults, he thought he might like him. “I like it rough.”
    “I’ll see what I can find.” Woodrow hung up a few minutes later after giving Graham Sable’s number. He called her to let her know that he had a client for her. While he was on the phone with her, he decided that he might need just a little of her voice to jump start his night. It was the tone of her sleepy voice that had him freeing his cock and taking it