Chapter 10

TEN

Kenzie glanced behind her, the feeling that someone was watching her creeping up the back of her neck and settling at the base of her skull.

"Hey." Cole placed a hand on her shoulder and narrowed his eyes at her. "What is it?"

"Just a feeling. I may be a little sensitive after what's happened."

He nodded. "It would be weird if you weren't."

The market was busy but not overly crowded. People pressed past and went about their business while she and Cole examined the area around them.

Kenzie spotted a man wearing a hoodie, his hands shoved into the pockets. He wore tattered jeans and hiking boots that had seen better days. She couldn't get a good look at his face. She nudged Cole and nodded toward the guy. "I don't want to profile, but—"

The figure had his back to them but seemed to be trying to look over his shoulder unobtrusively—and honestly, Kenzie probably wouldn't have noticed him if she hadn't been looking at every single person in the market.

"Should we see what he's up to?" Cole murmured.

The man turned once more and met her gaze. It was then she noticed the rag tied across the bottom of his face. He hunched his shoulders and looked away. Well, that wasn't suspicious at all. She had a hard time seeing him dressed up in a SWAT outfit, paying a twelve-year-old to throw a hand grenade at the team. Then again, criminals came in all shapes, sizes, abilities, and surprises. Who knew what he was capable of? And Micah had mentioned he'd kept his face covered.

She and Cole started walking toward him. He moved away and seemed to exhibit an interest in the display in front of him. A case of knives. He picked one up, and Kenzie tensed, her hand going to her weapon that her sweatshirt covered. Cole did the same.

Their suspect looked at the knife, then set it back down to move a few more steps to his left. Kenzie picked up the pace a bit and Cole stayed with her.

Her target turned, met her gaze once more, then hurried toward one of the side exits, which would lead him to the sidewalk and then down to the riverfront. Kenzie bolted after him and Cole was right beside her.

"Fire!" The shout echoed from the fleeing man. "Fire! Run!"

Panic stirred. People who had only moments before been a relaxed group of shoppers were now a desperate, writhing mass, pushing and shoving in their desire to escape the building.

"Fire!"

Smoke billowed from the store and into the rest of the market. Screams mingled with shouts.

"Kenzie!"

She whirled to see Cole hunched over a woman who had fallen, protecting her from the stampede of feet. A lightning bolt of pain stabbed her side just under the edge of her vest. Before she could spin back around, a hard shoulder shoved her. She bounced off an older man, who fell against a younger woman who let out a harsh cry and tried to keep the old man from tumbling to the ground.

The screams continued to echo around her while smoke stung her nose. Another hard push sent her and the other woman, still gripping the man, to the cement floor. Kenzie ignored the pain sweeping through her and searched for the one who'd started this amid the panicked people trying to get out.

She caught a glimpse of him, aiming his way to one of the side exits, shoving people out of his way to create a path.

Once he reached it, he would be in the parking lot and could easily disappear. Kenzie pushed herself to her feet, slightly lightheaded but wanting to go after the guy. She started forward and stopped when pitiful cries reached her. A young girl no more than four years old stood in the middle of the chaos, weeping.

Kenzie snatched her up, wincing at the pain the action caused. "It's okay, baby. We'll find your mama."

She shook her head. "Granny."

"Okay. Granny."

"Mia! Mia!"

The little girl's eyes went wide and her head whipped toward the voice.

"Mia! Where are you?"

The panic in the woman's voice was clear.

"I have Mia," Kenzie called out. "Keep saying her name!"

"Mia!"

"Granny!"

In less than five seconds, an older woman took the little girl from Kenzie's grasp and held her, tears dripping off her cheeks. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you."

"Yes ma'am. You're welcome. Now, y'all head for that exit right there." She pointed to the open door behind one of the vendor stalls. "You got it?"

The granny nodded and fell in with the crowd, clutching her granddaughter tight. Kenzie stood still while the last of the crowd slipped out the door. The smoke hovered in the air, but it wasn't too bad. Not like a fire raging out of control.

She spotted Cole helping another frightened older woman to her feet. "Cole!"

She hurried to him, and he shot her a relieved look. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Get her out. I'm going to see where the smoke is coming from and make sure no one else is in here."

"Got it. I'll be back to help you clear it."

Black dots swirled in Kenzie's vision for a moment, and she stayed still, waiting for it to pass.

"Kenzie?"

"Yeah. I'm good. I'll be right back." Her side throbbed just under her rib cage and she pressed a hand to it, the intensity of the pain taking her by surprise. A sticky wetness slid between her fingers, and she hissed a breath through her teeth while she hurried to the back of the store, looking for the source of the smoke. She wanted to stop and check out whatever wound she'd managed to acquire, but needed to make sure the store wasn't going to burn down around them or anyone else in the place.

Sirens screamed into the parking lot while Kenzie cleared the bathrooms. Empty.

Squinting through the thin layer of smoke, she hurried toward the row of freezers against the back wall. Smoke rolled from underneath them. A short in the wiring?

Maybe. But no flames in sight.

Her lungs protested the harsh treatment, and she pulled her sweatshirt up around her nose and mouth while she squinted, searching for the source of the smoke.

It dawned on her that there was no heat, and the thickness of the smoke was concentrated in one area now. Under the last freezer. Kenzie hurried to it, wondering why her side hurt so bad, but had no time to stop and check it. She dropped to her knees and, using her phone's flashlight, looked underneath the freezer.

"A smoke bomb," she muttered. "Of course." Thankful that the place wasn't in danger of burning down, she turned and gasped at the sudden appearance of the firefighter next to her. Then choked on a lungful of smoke.

She pressed a hand against her chest, her heart pounding a triple-time rhythm against her palm.

"Ma'am? You okay?"

"Yes, it's a smoke bomb. I have to call it in." She fumbled for the radio that wasn't there. Right. All she had was her phone. In her hand. When had she grabbed it? Whatever. Grateful for instincts, she lifted it, then stopped when she noticed the coating of red over her palm. She'd known she was bleeding, but that much?

The firefighter grabbed her while her head swam. She blinked, feeling the hard grip on her bicep even as she studied the blood covering her fingers.

"Where are you hurt?" he asked.

"I don't know." Her side? Had to be.

"Come on," the man was saying, "we need to get you out of here."

"Kenzie!"

Cole's voice came through the fog that had invaded her mind.

Weakness hit her. Why was there blood on her hand?

She allowed the firefighter to help her to her feet and guide her toward the exit. And truthfully, without his support, she didn't think her legs would have held her up much longer.

At what she guessed to be the halfway point, the smoke had thinned to a faint mist.

Cole appeared, rag over his face, eyes squinting. When he spotted her, relief flashed across his features. "You okay?"

That was going to be the question of the week. She could hear it now. "I'm good! Fine!" Okay, that was stretching it, but she pulled away from the firefighter's grasp, not wanting Cole to see her leaning on the man. Her lungs burned, her eyes leaked tears ...

... and her knees buckled.

Cole swept in and grabbed her up into his arms before the firefighter had a chance to act. And while she hated the outward appearance of weakness, it was better than falling on her face. She closed her eyes, coughed, and allowed Cole to hurry her out of the building.

Once outside, she noted the abundance of law enforcement, firefighters, and medical personnel. Cole headed toward the waiting ambulance.

"Hey, put me down. I'm fine."

"You're bleeding."

"I know. I figured that out, but it's probably nothing. I must have caught my side on a metal shelf or something."

"There's more blood than that would cause. You're not fine and you're going to get checked out."

The order rankled, but the tight-lipped concern registered. As well as his narrowed eyes and flared nostrils. The bystanders parted like he was Moses at the edge of the Red Sea.

He set her on the stretcher, his actions careful and gentle, yet she couldn't suppress the low groan at the arc of pain that swept through her.

"What happened?" She ended the question with a hacking cough. One of the paramedics slapped an oxygen mask over her mouth, and she noted Cole trying to stay out of the way yet not going far.

When the paramedic peeled her shirt up from the bottom hem, Cole gasped.

Kenzie's gaze flew to his and she pulled the mask off. "What?"

"Uh, I think you got sliced." He looked at the wound, then back to her, his face pale. "Kenz, I think a knife got you."

SHE BLINKED, shock written on her face. "Stabbed? What? By who?"

Cole ground his teeth for a brief second to ward off the alarm racing through him. "Think back to when you first felt pain."

"Um ... it was when we were heading to exit the store. I looked back and you were helping an elderly woman who'd fallen. So ... couldn't have been a metal shelf. I was in the middle of the aisle when I felt this pain in my side."

"All right"—the paramedic shooed Cole back—"sorry, but we're going to get her to the hospital. You can meet us there."

"No, wait." Kenzie tried to sit when another wave of coughing left her gasping, and the paramedic attempted to put the mask back on. Kenzie shoved the woman's hand away with a glare. "I can't go to the hospital. I'm supposed to take my dad—" More coughing cut her off, and when she caught her breath, her gaze bounced between Cole and the frowning paramedic. "Fine," Kenzie muttered. She took the mask back and covered her face before the woman could do it for her. Then she took a deep breath.

Cole nodded. "I'll call your dad for you and let him know what's going on." She frowned but didn't protest. "I'll be right behind you."

The ride to the hospital was smooth and quick, and Cole soon found himself pacing in the waiting room while the rest of the team arrived one by one.

He'd honestly wondered if they'd show up and squelched the shame at his doubt. Greene walked in—moving carefully, but moving—with Otis at his side, followed by James.

Even Cowboy had made it. He was dressed in his trademark blue jeans, boots, and Stetson since he wasn't on the job at the moment.

The only one not there was Butler, who'd driven Dolly and said he'd wait in the vehicle. Cole found himself pushing aside his anger with the man. Commander Hill had called, and once he was assured Kenzie was going to be fine, he apologized for not coming due to a previous engagement with the mayor. "She'll understand, sir," Cole had told him.

"Yeah, she will. Thanks."

As soon as he hung up with the commander, he tapped a message to Esther Hemingway, their analyst who could find information at the drop of a hat. A former independent hacker, she now used her skills to catch the bad guys.

I need security footage from the Coleman's Farmers' Market today.

He gave her the approximate time range and tapped send.

Urgent tasks done, Cole now waited with the others. And waited. And paced a little.

Finally, James caught his eye and nodded for Cole to look behind him.

He spun to see Lainie headed toward him. She had her stethoscope wrapped around her neck and her scrubs had seen better days. She'd had a busy time in the ED over the last few hours, but she was the best physician assistant he knew. Better than some doctors. Having her taking care of Kenzie lowered his blood pressure considerably. "I know she's okay, technically, but how is she? For real?"

"Ornery. Ready to get out of here."

He let out a slow breath. "Good. Then ... normal."

Lainie smirked. "Yes. The wound isn't deep, more like a bad graze instead of a stab. I stitched it in a couple of places—refusing to let her do it herself—but it shouldn't hold her down for long, so that's good."

"Yeah, very good." Of course she'd offer to do it herself. He shook his head.

"You can go on back and see her if you want."

"I want."

"Room 3. You know the way. But tell her that I'm going to keep a room reserved for her if she keeps showing up like this." She let her gaze roam the rest of the guys in the unit. "In fact, I may need to rope off a wing."

"That's the one thing I'll be sure not to tell her."

Lainie laughed. "I'm going to hang here for a minute." She had her eyes fixed on her fiancé. And since James could put aside his concerns about Kenzie, Lainie now had his full attention.

Cole refrained from rolling his eyes. He couldn't picture himself that gaga about someone. Not after the number Tracy Rochester did on him. Trusting someone with his heart again would take too much work. Too much effort.

Nope, he was done with romance. For now anyway. But if the right one came along, he might not argue the idea.

"Hey, tell Kenzie we're thinking about her and glad she's okay," Cowboy said.

The others echoed the sentiment, and Cole aimed his footsteps toward Kenzie's room.

"Come in." A cough followed the words and he pushed into the room.

"Hey."

She raked a hand over her dark hair and shook her head so the mass tumbled around her left shoulder. He'd rarely seen her with it down, and he realized how stunning she was. Maybe not fake beautiful in a photoshopped-magazine-cover kind of way, but her intellect, professional skills, and personality were so big that he found himself fighting the attraction.

And just like that, his whole "I'm not trusting my heart to anyone ever again" vow scattered like ashes.

Because he was falling for her. And had been for a while now.

Put the brakes on, man, that's not happening.

She snapped her fingers at him. "Hello? Cole? You in there?"

He blinked and cleared his throat, thankful she couldn't read his thoughts. "Yes, I'm here. I was just thinking."

"Obviously."

"I asked Esther to see if she could round up some security footage from the market. Maybe we can piece together the events, see who set off the smoke bomb—and who stabbed you."

She pressed a hand to her side and winced. "I'd like to know that too."

"I'll let you know when she gets back to me. How many stitches?"

"Just a couple and some glue. The wound isn't that deep."

"I'm glad. Could have been a lot worse."

"Yeah." She chewed her lip for a second, then waved him to the chair. He pulled it up to the bed, then settled on the edge of the cushion while she narrowed her gaze at him. "What's going on, Cole? Are we all being targeted, or is it just me, and the others are collateral damage?"

"Good question, one that—"

A knock on the door interrupted him. She frowned, but called, "Come in."

The door opened and her father rolled in. Cole stiffened, knowing the relationship between the man and Kenzie wasn't the best, but pasted a benign expression on his face and nodded. "Hello, sir."

"Dad?" Cole didn't miss the shock in her voice. A younger man followed. "Paul?" The door swung open again and a third man about Cole's size stepped in. "Kash? What in the world are you three doing here?"

Kash raised a brow at her. "Really? We get word that you've been injured and are in the hospital, and you think we're not going to show up?" His eyes flicked with hurt that Cole wasn't sure Kenzie caught.

"Well, I—" She snapped her lips together and cleared her throat. "Well, thanks, but it wasn't necessary. I'm fine."

"Sure you are." Paul stepped closer and took her hand. "What can we do for you?"

Kenzie gaped and shot a look at Cole that he could only describe as a plea for help. Unfortunately, he was blanking at what to do. "Thank you, Paul, for offering," she finally said, "but I should be out of here before long. I really don't need anything."

"Of course not," he murmured. "You never do."

She blinked at her brother. "What?"

"Nothing." He turned to the others. "She's fine. I'll let Logan know he doesn't need to bother coming, then I'm going back to work." He ruffled Kenzie's hair. "Glad you're okay, kid." And then slipped out the door.

Kenzie sucked in a breath like she'd been sucker punched and looked at Kash, then her father. "What was that all about?"

Kash shrugged and caught Cole's eye. "Guess we'll get out of your hair." He gripped the handles of their father's wheelchair and had the man out of the room before Cole could do more than offer a small protest.

Once the door shut behind them, he turned to find Kenzie sitting up, hand pressed to her wound, eyes wide with massive amounts of confusion. She looked at him, her deep frown creasing her forehead. "What just happened?"