“I love you, Ford,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“I love you, too, Lucy, and don’t worry, baby. We’ll figure this out.” He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine in a promise that we had some catching up to do later tonight. “Come on, and let me show you where the keys to the cars are kept.”
An hour later, I was sipping my second cup of decaf coffee at a table in the café. Gabby waved when she walked in and strode straight to the counter, to order. She paid and headed my way with a bright smile lit on her face.
She slid onto the seat in front of me. “Sorry I’m late.”
“It’s fine,” I said and grinned. “How are you doing?”
She lifted a brow and pulled the lid off to blow on the dark brew. “Don’t you know? Can’t you just tune in to my daily life and find out?”
“I can, but that’s so personal. I don’t want to be rude,” I teased.
Gabby knew about my abilities and my blood connections. I’d come clean with her because her blood had saved, and complicated my life after the explosion.
“Oh well, work is good. Great actually. I’m up to my chin in paperwork trying to finalize all the files.” She leaned in. “Do you know how hard it is to leave out the part about the ghosts and the blood connections?”
I grinned, glad that I wasn’t responsible for any reports. “That’s got to suck.”
She shrugged. “You know what didn’t suck? Giving those families the closure, they deserve. That didn’t suck one bit.”
“I’m glad,” I said and meant it. I’d witnessed what it was like first-hand for a family not to have closure. Ford’s family, to be exact. The pain radiated like a living breathing thing and would linger long after the funerals were attended and goodbyes were said. “Sebastian Elliot destroyed a lot of lives.”
The State’s-attorney-turned-serial-killer had abducted and killed more women than I could count. He’d terrorized each woman before turning them loose and then hunting them like animals. How did I know? He’d been one of my blood donors too.
Gabby cupped her coffee as if letting the cup warm her soul through her hands. “You know he’s dead, don’t you? He was found hanging by a white scarf.”
I sat upright. “I didn’t know about the white scarf, but I figured Sebastian didn’t have much time left, not after he was put in the same prison as one of the victim’s brothers,” I answered.
“Billy Fairfield, Morgan’s brother?”
“Yep, he was related to the barista.”
She shook her head. “Billy Fairfield didn’t do it.”
My mouth parted. “You sure?”
“Uh, yeah,” she answered. “He was in solitary for an attempt earlier that day. He didn’t have access. There was no way he did it.”
“Only a handful of people knew about the scarves. It wasn’t on the news,” I reminded her. “Unless you added it to your reports.”
“I had to add it since it was evidence, but I marked it as classified. No one knew, but the people and families involved.” Gabby sat back in her chair as if contemplating who else might have killed the psycho, but really, what did it matter? The evil was eradicated. “I’ll make some calls and see if I can find out the details surrounding his death. He was in prison for God’s sake. There has to be some footage or something.”
“You’ll let me know?” I asked, worried he might have blabbed about my special gifts. I couldn’t afford for that to get out, now that I was part of a super-secret federal team.
“Of course.” She rested her elbows on the table. “So, now are you going to tell me why you’re here and quit giving me this bull about just checking in on me.”
And so I did. I told Gabby everything. She was the only person who wouldn’t judge that wasn’t part of my life or inner work circle. Had I tried to talk to any of the team members, that would have been putting them in an awkward position having to work with both Noah and me. Had I tried to talk to my twin, she would have a conflict as well. I didn’t want her to have to keep secrets from Grant, her husband.
So, I used Gabby and her analytical mind to spill the dirty secrets that the leader of my group had been keeping from me. He’d known about the governmental experiment long before recruiting me for his team, and yet he’d felt compelled to keep the secret and, worse, he knew my tracker abilities put my unborn baby and me in danger.
“Is it really that big of a deal that he knew about the program long before signing you on?” Gabby asked. “I mean, he did have a life outside of your group. It’s possible he ran across others that had participated.”
“I’m not knocking him for knowing about others even if it was before my time. The way my brother-in-law tells it is that Noah didn’t have a clue. So, which one of them is lying?”
“Okay, well, if you’re not mad about that, then what exactly?”
“I’m mad he’s never shared that little detail that someone in the program was murdered and he was hiding her child.”
“What’s Noah’s motive for keeping it a secret? What did he have to gain?” Gabby asked minutes after she sat there lost in thought.
“Keeping Justice safe is my guess,” I answered.
“Are you sure about that?” Gabby asked. “What was his motive for pulling you onto his team?”
“I track killers, and I’m damn good at my job,” I answered.
“He knows someone that was killed, and you track killers, not to mention you were in the same program with Justice’s mother. I’m seeing a connection here. I’m surprised that you aren’t.”
I sat back and huffed. The connection was obvious, even though Noah had never asked for help.
“You would have helped Noah if he’d told you about Justice. I think the real question is, why hasn’t he put you on the scent to track Justice’s mother’s killer? The one that matters most to him.”
Gabby was right. If Noah had confided in me about Justice’s inherited abilities, I would have helped. If that was all this was about, I’d already proved he could trust me, time and time again. If he’d been worried about Justice, why not let me find her mother’s killer? “He hasn’t had me hunt for the killer because he would have had to come clean about Justice.”
“The little girl he’s been hiding since the tender age of two,” Gabby said. “When you figure out his role and his motive, you’ll get to the heart of his reasonings.”
Ford was waiting for me just inside the lobby at Glendale Memorial. He pulled me into his arms and gave me a tight hug and a quick kiss before leading me to the elevators.
“Where’s your dad?”
“He already went up to Mom’s room,” Ford said, pushing the elevator call button. “How was Gabby?”
“Good,” I said with a smile. “She’s up to her chin in paperwork trying to close case files for all the missing girls. She did tell me something I didn’t know.”
The elevator dinged, and Ford held his palm against the sliding door while I stepped inside.
“Elliot was found hanging from a white scarf in his jail cell,” I said.
“Well, you knew the brother would get to him eventually,” Ford said with his gaze on the rising floor numbers.
“It wasn’t him. He was in solitary confinement, and you know that the scarves were a closely guarded secret. Gabby is going to see if she can find out what actually happened.”
We spent the next hour visiting with Ford’s mother until his sister showed up. Ford’s mom was still in a lot of pain. She looked pretty beaten up, but the woman had the strength of a mother trying to homeschool for the first time.
Ford drove me back to his parents’ house after a quick bite to eat, and we called it an early night.
I was snuggled into his side, tracing one of the tattoos on his chest he hid from the world. “You know I have to go back, don’t you?”
“You’ve got a doctor’s appointment,” he reminded me.
“It’s just for blood work. You won’t be missing anything important.”
“No. I have to go back and help figure things out. If only for my peace of mind concerning the baby.”
“I kind of figured you would,” he answered, stroking my hair. “I’m going with you.”
I rose on my elbow and stared down at him. “Your family needs you.”
“You’re my family, too,” he answered.
I cupped his cheek and kissed him nice and slow. “I’m going back for intel. If or when we decide to find the people after Justice, I’ll call you. You can stay here and help your dad and look after your mom until then.”
“You promise not to jump into danger?” Ford’s eyes searched mine for the truth.
“I promise.” I smiled.
“And if danger finds you like it normally does?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I’ll take precautions.”
Chapter Six
I dropped my keys in the dish on the foyer table and set my purse beside it before rolling my luggage back to the bedroom. My doctor's appointment wasn’t until later in the afternoon, so I had a few hours before Grant would be here to pick me up.
I’d kicked off my shoes and was headed for the kitchen when a knock on the door waylaid my direction. I pulled it open. “You’re early…”
The rest of the sentence died on my lips. It wasn’t Grant. Three strange men in suits stood on my stoop, and my closest gun was in the foyer table drawer.
“Can I help you?” I asked.
“Dr. Lucy Bray?” the tall guy in the middle asked. He looked like an undertaker; tall, dark, and lanky in his black suit.
“Who wants to know?” I answered.
The Undertaker sighed.
“May we come in?” Stubbles standing next to him asked. His newly growing beard looked prickly to the touch. His pencil mustache looked fake beneath his nose. I fought the urge to give it a little tug to see if it was real or glued on.
“No,” I answered, crossing my arms over my chest. “The last guy that showed up at my door without warning almost killed a friend. Now, if you aren’t going to tell me who you are, then get the hell off my property.”
The Linebacker on the left took a step before the Undertaker held out his arm, stopping him from entering. The big guy looked like the buttons on his white shirt were barely hanging on by a thread and ready to pop. The muscles beneath his shirt were barely restrained. I bit my tongue from telling him he needed a larger shirt. Did they even make them bigger than that?
I pulled out the pen that was holding my messy bun in place. If he took one more step, I’d be cleaning blood off my foyer tile for days.
“Sorry, ma’am. We’re with the FBI,” The Undertaker said as he pulled out a wallet and flipped it open. I recognized the badge and the ID. Not that anyone couldn’t buy an identical one off the internet. Of course, I’d never admit to maybe having one tucked away somewhere.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“We want to ask you some questions about your participation on Noah Roth’s team.”
My fingers tightened around the pen. “I’m sorry, that’s classified. If you have questions, go ask Noah.”
I started to close the door, only to have the Linebacker stop it with his big beefy fingers. “We weren’t done asking you questions yet.”
“We can do this here or at the office,” Stubbles added.
“You should know that intimidation tricks don’t work on me.” I searched each of their faces, debating which one was the ring leader and the one I needed to worry about most.
“Let’s start over,” the Undertaker said. “We just want to ask you some questions. That’s all. Can we come in?”
“No, I don’t think so. I was just on my way out,” I said, grabbing my purse and keys off the table and shoving my gun into the waistband of my jeans.
“You’re leaving without shoes?” he asked.
“I have more in my trunk.” I locked my house door and slammed it shut. Popping the trunk of my car, I pulled out some spare shoes and had another gun within reach as I slid them on.
I could take out two of these guys should the need arise, assuming aim with my left hand was any good. I cursed. How in the hell did the guys in the Old West shoot like that? I should look into lessons assuming I didn’t die right here and now.
The Undertaker followed me while the others stood off in the distance, talking to each other.
“We believe he’s harboring a person wanted for questioning in several murders, and we’d like your help.”
“Noah?” I laughed. “Noah isn’t a rule breaker. He’s kind of a stickler about stuff like that. You must have the wrong fed. Now the Linebacker over there, he looks like the type of fed that breaks the rules, not to mention I bet he’ll take pleasure in shooting someone’s eye out when the button on his shirt pops.”
The Undertaker pulled a picture out of his pocket and flipped it around to show me. It was a picture of me performing CPR on Justice on my stoop.
“Seriously? If you guys were in the SUV? Why didn’t you help? I shook my head and slammed my trunk closed.
“Do you know this girl or not?”
“Sure,” I said. “She’s a stranger who dropped dead on my steps. I gave her CPR and saved her life. Why are you asking?”
“Where did the ambulance take her?” The Undertaker asked.
I leaned against the car. “That’s an odd question. Where do ambulances normally take people?”
He didn’t reply. His piercing gaze deepened as though he were trying to read my mind while waiting for an answer.
I rolled my eyes. “We were taken to the hospital, of course.”
He looked over my head at the others. “There are no records of what she was treated for.”
“Sounds like a clerical error to me.” I huffed. “Maybe you should talk to the EMTs that took her in.”
The Undertaker pulled a photo out of his pocket. The female EMT driver’s uniform was bloody. Her vacant eyes coupled with the deep slash on the throat and the puddle of blood under her neck told me she was dead.
My stomach lurched and my heart tightened.
“She was killed within the last twenty-four hours,” his tone was flat. His eyes deceptively watching for any hint of a response.
“I hope you catch the asshole responsible.”
“The other driver was found in a similar capacity,” The Undertaker said.
My mind raced with the implications. How far was Noah willing to go to hide Justice’s identity from the outside world.
“That’s horrible, but I still don’t see what that has to do with that little girl or me.”
“Where were you for the last twenty-four hours?”
I rested my hand on my hip and relaxed from the need to pull my gun. “I was with Ford Rain, my fiancé, in Glendale. His mother is in the hospital. You can verify my whereabouts with the Glendale PD. Just ask for Gabriella Graves. She and I had coffee. Now, if you’ll excuse me, you’re going to make me late for my appointment.
The man pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to me. The Undertaker had a name. One I wouldn’t soon be forgetting. FBI Special Agent Steven Kemp. “Call me if you remember anything else.”
“Will do.” I tucked the card in my back pocket and opened my car door. At the last second, I turned. “What’s so special about the girl?”
He shoved his wallet back into his pocket. “She’s a witness to the killing of three federal agents.”
“Wow, three of you guys. I’m sorry for your loss. But let me get this straight…you guys watched me give her CPR. Why the hell didn’t you help?”
The Undertaker remained silent.
“Okay, don’t answer, but why didn’t you just follow us to the hospital? That would have been the logical thing to do.”
The agent’s neck turned a flaming red. “We drove down the block to get out of the way of the ambulance, and the electrical in the car flickered and then gave out. Our engine wouldn�
�t restart.”
I laughed, and when he didn’t join me, I cleared my throat. “Oh! You aren’t joking?”
“I don’t joke, Dr. Bray.” He crossed his arms over his chest and pegged me with his gaze. “We just want to talk to the girl. If you hear from her, please let me know.”
“Sure, and, hey, Mr. Linebacker,” I called out and pointed from my eyes toward his. “Next time you try to stop a girl from closing her door, you might lose a finger or an entire hand.” I winked.
“You do know threatening an FBI agent is against the law,” he said. His voice was deep and gravelly like he smoked fifteen packs a day.
“That wasn’t a threat, but if you need me to educate you on what one is, I’d be more than glad to show you.”
He’d taken a step when Stubbles grabbed his arm, stopping him.
I didn’t like these guys. Not one bit, and not because they were FBI but because they rubbed me the wrong way. Like an itch on the bottom of my foot when it was in a cast. The type of annoyance wouldn’t go away.
I climbed into my car and started the ignition, backing out of my driveaway and leaving those guys standing in my yard.
I used my car’s phone system to call Sam. He answered on the first ring. “Where the hell are you?”
“Just leaving my house. Listen, do me a favor and pull up the feed on the security cameras outside my house and show it to Noah. Ask him if these FBI dipshits with badges are friend or foe.”
“I’m on it. I’ll call you back,” Sam said before hanging up.
I glanced one last time in my rearview mirror to find Agent Kemp staring at my taillights while the others were climbing into their SUV.
Something told me that out of all the three, including the Linebacker that Kemp was the man that I was going to have the most trouble with. The one with the cold, calculating stare that didn’t seem to get riled no matter what I said. Yep, he was the one that I needed to worry about.
Guarding Justice (Fractured Minds Series Book 7) Page 3