Chapter 20

CHAPTER

TWENTY

Tori watched in horror as the sedan stopped behind the SUV where she hid.

The door opened, and a man stepped out.

As soon as she saw him, she sprang into action. She lunged from the back seat across the center console and grabbed the steering wheel. Then she lay on the horn.

She slammed the heel of her hand into the horn several more times, making sure she'd be heard.

What if that man pulled out a gun? If he shot her through the glass?

She almost didn't want to look behind her. But she couldn't stop herself.

The man came into view. Mid-thirties. Stocky. Military-style buzz cut. Square face.

He wore black utility pants and a black shirt.

A gun bulged at his side.

Their gazes met.

The man froze.

He stood beside the SUV just long enough for her to get a better look at his face.

Had she seen him before?

She wasn't sure, but he looked vaguely familiar.

She continued slamming on the horn, desperate to cause a scene.

Suddenly, the man turned on his heel. He darted back to the sedan and hopped inside.

In the blink of an eye, the car squealed away.

Someone darted by, moving so quickly they were like a flash.

Kai, she realized.

He passed her, gun raised as he went after that car.

But he was a few seconds too late.

He paused behind the SUV, watching as the sedan pulled away and muttering something beneath his breath.

Tori knew it was no use trying to catch the driver.

Kai jogged toward her and knocked at the window.

She opened the door.

Only then did she realize how badly she was trembling.

Kai peered at her, concern on his face. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, fully aware that the situation could have turned out so much differently. "I'm fine."

"I'm glad. I was worried. When I heard you honking . . ."

He didn't finish his statement, but Tori could fill in the blanks. His mind had also jumped to worst-case scenarios when he'd thought that something had happened to her.

His concern touched her. They hadn't known each other long, but their experiences over the past twenty-four hours had bonded them.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and reminded herself not to get too attached. That was always a bad idea.

Instead, she asked, "Did you catch the guy? Alfie?"

Kai seemed to snap from whatever heavy thoughts he carried and nodded. "We did. Gage is talking to him now. I'm going to bring him over here so we can talk in private and be close to you, okay?"

Tori nodded, her mind still racing. She wasn't going to argue with that. A part of her still feared the guys in the sedan might come back again.

She slid across the center console to her place in the back seat and rubbed her arms.

This situation wasn't going to get any better, was it? Not unless they were able to stop these guys. Stop these men who were chasing them. The ones who might have been responsible for her brother's death. For Landon's death.

Kai stepped away but remained close enough to reach her quickly if needed. He motioned to someone just out of sight.

A moment later, Gage appeared, gripping Alfie's arm. He escorted the man to the SUV and shoved him in the front seat. Gage climbed behind the steering wheel, and Kai slid into the back beside her.

Alfie sent her a look of confusion as he glanced back. He clearly had no idea who she was or why she was in the SUV. She didn't have the same "security/tough guy" vibe as Kai and Gage. For all she knew, Alfie might think she was being held captive—kind of like him.

"I don't know why you guys are treating me like a criminal," he muttered. "I'm just a normal guy who was hanging out in my apartment after work."

Silence stretched a moment.

"Now do you want to tell me what's going on?" Alfie's gaze shot back and forth between all of them.

Tori glanced from Kai to Gage, trying to figure out their next move.

Did they believe this guy?

Because she wasn't sure if her instincts said he was trustworthy or not.

"Like we told you earlier, Landon is dead," Kai said. "Murdered. And your name came up during the investigation as a possible suspect."

Alfie's face went pale.

Kai was usually pretty good at reading people. But he was having a hard time with Alfie.

The guy seemed sincere. But there was just something about him . . . Kai didn't know if he could trust the man.

"Look, I didn't kill anyone, okay?" Alfie scowled. "Am I free to go and continue my day?"

"Let's say you're telling the truth," Kai said. "How well did you know Landon?"

"Pretty well. We liked to shoot the breeze while we teed off." Alfie rubbed his neck, his hair disheveled and his once-neat shirt now untucked.

"Then tell me about him," Kai continued.

"I don't know how much there is to say." Alfie let out a quick, nervous chuckle. "He was originally from Albany, New York. He was dating a new girl he just met two or three months ago. Said he really liked her. What else do you want to know? I think he told me the name of his favorite pizza place if that would help."

Kai glanced at Tori who nodded, confirming that everything he'd said was true.

Had they gotten this wrong? Had their measures been too aggressive?

Kai wasn't ready to concede.

"Did he ever say anything about any enemies?" Gage asked.

"What?" Alfie's eyes widened. "Who are you guys? Cops?"

"Private security agents," Kai said. "We're looking into what happened to Landon."

Alfie shook his head before running a hand over his face. "I didn't expect that question. But now that you mention it, Landon did say he had a patient upset with him."

"Tell us more," Kai said.

"This guy's wife came to see him with a migraine," Alfie said. "Landon prescribed her some meds. But she had a terrible reaction to the pills, which then led to an aneurism. She died. The husband blamed Landon and filed a wrongful death suit against him and the drug manufacturer."

"That's rough," Gage said.

"Landon seemed kind of freaked out," Alfie said. "He talked to me about it since I'm in the pharm world. But this guy—the husband—was over the top. Landon even caught the guy following him a few times and considered hiring personal security or filing a police report about it."

"Why didn't his girlfriend tell us about this?" Tori asked.

Good question, Kai mused.

"He didn't want to freak her out. So he decided to keep it quiet and see if it would blow over. He mentioned something about that once when we were playing golf."

"Then why'd he tell you about it?" Gage asked.

"I don't know, man. Maybe he just wanted to talk about it with someone." Frustration rose in his voice.

The theory seemed viable.

Kai had never considered that the killer could be a patient.

The theory gave him something else to think about . . . but if that was true, then Landon's death would only slow down their investigation—something they couldn't afford.

They let Alfie go—after getting his full name and number. But Tori noticed Kai didn't quite apologize for chasing him down. He did, however, seem to soften toward the man the longer they talked.

She wasn't sure if that meant Kai thought Alfie was innocent or not.

She gave him time to sort his thoughts as they drove to a barbecue restaurant.

They hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, and they were all hungry. It had been a long day, and it wasn't going to get any shorter. They still had things they needed to do.

The three of them sat at a corner booth and ordered sandwiches, fries, coleslaw, and drinks.

It wasn't until they got their food that they talked about anything of substance.

"So what do you think?" Tori started before raising her straw to her mouth and taking a long sip of iced tea.

"That's a hard one." Kai lifted his sandwich. "I want Alfie to be our guy. We need to do some more research into him now that we know his last name."

"I have to admit that if he's a liar, he's a good one." Gage shrugged and grabbed a handful of fries.

"I agree," Tori said. "He seemed truly shocked by everything."

"He did." Kai nodded.

Tori shifted in the booth. "But what about this patient he mentioned? The one who's suing Landon? Should we look into him?"

"If one of the doctor's patients did this to him, then this has nothing to do with Nathan or our investigation," Kai said. "It would just be a terrible coincidence."

Why did she find that so hard to believe? Even though she knew they had other pressing matters, the thought of dropping this caused a swell of disappointment inside her.

"Landon's death still seems like maybe something we should look into," Tori said. "It just seems weird to not pursue it anymore. Don't you think?"

Compassion flickered in Kai's gaze before quickly disappearing. "If we run out of other leads, then we can see what we can find out. But I don't think it should be at the top of our priority list now. Let the police see what they can figure out first."

Tori picked up a fry and tapped it against the side of her plate in thought. "I really wanted Landon to examine you both. To really examine you and take X-rays."

"He may have been compromised," Kai said softly.

Her throat tightened. "He wasn't that type."

"Then why didn't anything show up during Nathan's examination?" Gage asked.

She dropped the fry. "I have no idea."

She couldn't deny something was amiss. But Landon was one of the good guys . . .

She swallowed hard. She'd think more about that later.

Clearing her throat, she turned back to Kai and Gage. "I think it's important to find out as much information as we can about what's going on inside your bodies."

"Now that you mention it . . ." Kai pulled some keys from his pocket and dangled them in the air. "I snagged these at Landon's house."

Her eyes widened. "Are those . . . ?"

"Keys to the doctor's office, as well as his security badge."

Tori's eyes widened. "You want to break into the office?"

"Break-in sounds harsh." Kai shrugged nonchalantly. "I just want to use the equipment. You know how to, right?"

"How to use the X-ray machine? I mean, yes . . . but?—"

"Then tonight? After hours?" Kai stared at her as he waited for her answer.

She blew out a long breath. She wasn't sure what she thought about this idea. But did they have any other viable choices right now?

Not really.

She licked her lips, apprehension brewing inside her. "I suppose we could do that. But if we're caught . . ."

"We won't be caught."

Tori stared at him a moment, hoping another idea would hit. None did.

Still, she could lose her nursing license they were caught.

But Kai insisted they wouldn't be. Still, how could he know that for sure?

He couldn't.

Was the risk worth it?

It would mean possibly saving Kai's and Gage's lives. Their well-being was more important than her career.

She swallowed hard and nodded. "Then, okay. I guess we have our solution. We'll go and take some X-rays. What do we do until then?"

Kai let out his own breath. "Thank you. I know you have a lot at stake."

"I just have to focus on what's more important right now."

He nodded and glanced at his food, his appetite seeming to wane. "I got the license plate of that car that pulled up behind you at the apartment complex. I would like to run it."

Gage pulled out his laptop from the backpack he'd brought with him. "I can do a quick search."

"How?" Tori asked.

"Thanks to our job, we have access to tools that the average everyday person doesn't—including running license plates," Kai explained.

Kai called the plate out to Gage, and Gage typed it in.

"This will take a moment," Gage murmured.

"Could you look up Blackstone on this program also?" she asked. "I did an internet search, but I couldn't find anything."

"I already tried," Kai told her. "There's not footprint that the company even exists."

Her lip twitched in a frown. "Go figure."

While the program did its thing, they continued to eat.

Tori had to admit that the food was good. Really good. She'd been hungrier than she'd thought. The iced tea, as it flowed over her tongue, brought her a surprising delight—something she welcomed amid everything else that had happened.

She'd take whatever small pleasures came her way. They were like gifts in the midst of walking through fire.

"I've got something." Gage's eyes lit, and he straightened.

Tori set her tea down and turned toward Gage, holding her breath as she waited to hear what he had to say.