Page 113 of Well Aware

Apollo gave me a chin jerk from the hallway and disappeared, leaving us ignoring the cops and talking to the doctor. “If it’s okay, we’ll take her right now.”

“It is,” she said. “We’ll get the paperwork to you in an email with instructions.”

The cop tried to step in front of me, but the sheriff’s deputy stepped in front of him, blocking his way.

“You have no right to detain them,” the cop said.

I read his name badge and it said “Q. Carter.”

“Thank you,” I said stiffly. “For your help, Officer Carter.”

He jerked his chin. “There’s a car out front waiting for you.”

I picked Iris up and caught Magnolia’s hand and led them out of the hospital and to the black SUV that was waiting for us.

Apollo was inside, along with a booster seat for Iris.

“Got all your things,” he said. “What a mess.”

“Agreed,” I grumbled as Magnolia said, “Thank you so, so much.”

“Anytime,” he said. “And I do mean it. Quincy was able to get them under control?”

“Yes.” I blew out a breath. “Thank you for bringing him with you. He was a big help. The other officers seemed to be intimidated by him.”

“A few years ago he was working for Dallas PD,” he said. “But something happened that had him wanting a bit slower of a life than what Dallas Police Department could offer him. So he ran for sheriff of a small town about fifteen miles outside of Dallas and won. Now he gets his slower life, a bump in his pay, and still gets to live where he built a house years ago. I like him a lot, and he doesn’t always color between the lines. Which works really well for me.”

I’d bet it did.

Iris’s hand caught mine from her booster seat, and we held hands all the way to the airport.

“Did the team plane make it back in time?” I wondered aloud as Dallas passed us by.

“Nope.” Beau’s eyes twinkled. “We’ll be going back a different way.”

I had many questions, none of which he answered as we arrived at Dallas Fort Worth Airport, but didn’t go to any of the main terminals we would’ve used for commercial flights. Instead, Apollo took us to a small area with even smaller planes.

“What…”

Apollo pulled right in and stopped next to a plane the size of a thimble.

“What…”

“Meet Bessie,” Beau said. “She’s a Cessna 172 Skyhawk.”

“Hmmm…”

Beau shot me a boyish grin.

“Wow!” Iris cried.

“Now that’s what I wanted to hear.” He looked at me. “You can sit in the back since I don’t think you’ll quite appreciate her like Iris will.”

As he started getting everything in the plane, then got Iris situated literally in the front—sometimes I think he only liked me for my daughter—Apollo came to stand next to me. “I’ll get everything covered on my end. You won’t have to worry about any real DNA getting out. I’ll have everything wiped that shouldn’t be there by the end of the day. And I’ll deal with the cops. They won’t be bothering you again.”

I gave him a quick hug. “Thank you for all your help.”

He winked, then jerked his head toward Beau who was showing Iris all the dials and electronics in the plane.