Page 114 of Priest

“Can I ask you something?” she said.

I felt the shift immediately. “You just did.”

She didn’t smile at that. “Are you having someone keep an eye on me?”

My shoulders went still. “No. Of course not. Why?”

She studied me for a second like she was measuring the reaction. Then she leaned back slightly.

“I’ve just noticed the same guy on a bike around the hospital a few times,” she said. “Across the street once. By the side entrance another time.”

My jaw tightened automatically. “Cut?”

She shook her head. “No. No cut. Just… a bike. Dark. Older model. The guy’s tall. Broad shoulders. Dark helmet. I couldn’t see much of his face.”

Something about that description tugged at the edge of my memory, but it didn’t land anywhere solid.

“He approach you?”

“No.”

“Talk to you?”

“No.”

I exhaled slowly, letting the answers settle before I gave her mine. “Blue, if I wanted someone near you, I’d tell you.”

Her shoulders eased just a fraction. “I figured,” she said. “I just… wanted to be sure.”

I pulled my phone from my pocket anyway, and her brows drew together.

“You don’t have to—”

“I know.” I met her eyes as I tapped Ghost’s name. “But I’m going to check where you can hear me do it.”

Ghost answered on the second ring. “Yeah.”

“Pull hospital cams for the last few days,” I said. “Dark bike. No cut. Tall rider. Around shift changes.”

There was a pause on the other end. “You worried?”

“Not yet. I’m sending you the windows now.”

“I’ll look.”

I ended the call and glanced back at Blue. “Give me the closest times you remember.”

She named them off slowly, thinking through each one, and I typed as she talked. Across the street after her evening shift. Side entrance before lunch. Another time near the employee lot when she’d come in early. I sent it all to Ghost, then set the phone down and kept my attention on her.

“He’s not wearing colors,” I said. “That matters.”

She nodded, though I could see the call hadn’t settled her completely. If anything, hearing me take it seriously made the whole thing feel more real.

“It could be nothing,” I added, keeping my voice even. “Hospitals get traffic at all hours. People circle, wait, come and go. But if he shows again, I want to know.”

Her fingers tightened around her cup. “Okay.”

“Not because I don’t trust you,” I said quietly. “Because I don’t like unknowns.”