Chapter 26

TWENTY-SIX

PRESENT DAY

Kenzie stepped through HQ's door and went straight for her locker, then the showers. She usually waited to get home to shower, but Dolly was her ride and the guys would be with her. So she'd have more privacy here than her home. Which was weird.

When she exited, she went to the kitchen to find the team gathered around the table, laptops open and working on their reports.

She grabbed hers from her bag. If they were going to work, she might as well get her stuff done and out of the way as well.

James walked into the room rubbing his chin, looking at his phone. She could hear Butler in the other room having a low-voiced conversation on his phone. She wished she could hear what he was saying.

"What is it?" Cowboy asked James.

"Badami said Charlie had definitely been living there," James said, "and had been for a while. The bomb took out a nice chunk of the building, but the ceiling was mostly still intact. He'd built an entire network of tunnels and ways to navigate through the ceiling. He had to do it that way in order to not set off any of the motion sensors in the warehouse—and keep his key card from setting off alerts every time it was swiped."

"So, where is Charlie now?" Cowboy asked.

"Not sure. They're trying to track him down. The latest word is when he was fired, he started living out of his car, then moved to the ceiling once he got it the way he wanted it."

"And no one noticed the little exit he carved into the side of the building."

"Nope. He did an excellent job with that. Worked construction with his dad, so it wasn't hard for him at all."

"And somehow," Kenzie said, "this is all connected to me. Someone set him up—or convinced him the whole thing was a good idea for whatever reason—and got us there with the intention of blowing us all up."

"The connection is Harmony House," James said. "And Oscar. And we need to anticipate that Oscar's said something to Butler, so be prepared for that."

"Great. Another reason to hate me."

"Hopefully, he'll realize we're just doing what he would do. Following the evidence and chasing down all the clues."

"I'm not holding my breath."

"I guess I can't blame you for that. So ... time for another conversation with Oscar." He looked at Kenzie. "In the meantime, you ready to head home?"

"No."

"What?"

"Cole—Garrison's—at the hospital giving blood for his niece. I think I'd like to go keep him company for a bit. Should be safe enough if we alert security to keep an eye on his area."

James smiled and nodded. "He'd probably appreciate that. We'll both go."

"Aw, you just want to catch a glimpse of Lainie."

He grinned. "I'm not even going to try and deny it. Come on. My Jeep's out back. The guys can follow to make sure all goes well in getting there."

Kenzie frowned. "I hate to inconvenience them like that."

"Not an inconvenience at all," Cowboy said. "Let's roll, guys."

Butler walked into the kitchen, tucking his phone into his pocket. "I've got something to do, sorry. I'll catch up with you guys a little later."

Kenzie sighed and kept her scream of frustration tucked away. Would she never win him over? He left in a hurry, and she seriously considered following him. If she'd had her own vehicle, she might have done just that, but ... she didn't. And there was no way she could demand he stay without either looking like an idiot or tipping him off that she suspected he—and Oscar—were possibly behind the attempts on her life.

She waited for James to finish a phone call—sounded like he was talking to his dad—and then followed him to his Jeep.

Dolly fell in behind them and they started the trek to the hospital. In the meantime, she pulled the journal from her bag and opened it to a page near the middle.

I'm home. I'm out of that horrid place, but I've exchanged one terrible prison for another. At least this one has hot water and clean sheets, but it's still a prison. I do hope I'll be able to pretend well enough and long enough to convince Father to let me have visitors. I doubt Betsy will be on the approved list. However, Dr. King will come. I know he will. This is all his idea and while part of me is terrified he'll abandon me, another part of me knows he's a good man, a godly man, who sincerely cares that my father tried to murder me.

Kenzie gasped and James shot her a look. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just learning a lot about my family history—and Cole's. I knew our families were entwined all the way back to the late 1940s, I just didn't have all the details. Reading them is fascinating. And shocking."

She flipped the page.

Dr. King came to see me today. I knew he would, but it was an incredible relief to see him in the flesh. Betsy wasn't allowed to come, but he slipped me a note from her. They're engaged! But the best part is, they have a plan to get me out from under Father's thumb and into William's arms. If only it will work.

"We're here," James said.

Kenzie snapped the journal shut and followed James inside.

COLE WOKE WITH A START, the feeling that someone was watching him sending a rippling shudder through him. He looked around but only saw a figure in a lab coat putting something in his IV. Wait, what?

"Hey, what are you doing? I just gave blood. I'm not here for anything else."

"Just flushing the IV with saline before I take it out," the man said. He sounded familiar.

A strange lethargy started to work its way through him.

"No. This is wrong. Stop." But the words came out weak, slurred, and darkness approached the edges of his vision. He grabbed his phone and tapped a message to the first person his messages app opened to.

Drugged. Fake doc. Need help.

With a shaky finger, he hit send, then lost his grip on the phone.

"Don't worry," the figure said, turning back to Cole and capping the syringe, "I know exactly how much to give you. You'll wake up in a few hours."

"But—"

"You've been a huge thorn in my side, Detective Garrison. It's past time that I remove it."

"Who are you?" He could barely get the words out even as he tried to force his eyes to stay open to see the man's face.

"All in due time. We'll have a nice chat when you wake up because I need you to do something for me before you die. But for now, I've got to be clever and get you out of here."

Cole struggled to watch, to take in every detail.

The man shrugged out of the white lab coat to reveal a blue-and-green transport T-shirt many in the hospital wore. The bed started to roll and panic grabbed at Cole. He was helpless. Couldn't move, couldn't call out for help. Nothing.

Riley . She needed the blood. Please, God, get that to Riley. And then he gave in to the drug that pulled him under.