Night Watch

by Susan Sleeman

  “Drop the anchor,” he commanded.

  “Here?” She couldn’t keep the surprise from her voice.

  “Yes, here.”

  “I think it’s in the back.”

  “Then kill the motor and move.” He gestured at the back of the boat with the gun and ran his hand over his polished head like a squeegee pushing the water to the back. “And no funny business. I won’t hesitate to shoot.”

  She moved toward the boat’s stern, climbing over seats and being careful not to lose her balance as the craft swayed with the current. She heard a buzzing sound above and glanced up. Something moved high in the sky. She squinted. Was it a RC helicopter?

  Erik?

  She quickly lowered her gaze, so Edwards wouldn’t notice.

  “Quit stalling and hurry up,” he yelled.

  She found the anchor and started unwinding the rope. If the helicopter was above, Erik had to be nearby. Thankfully, Edwards didn’t hear it. She’d always had sensitive hearing, and maybe the pitch eluded Edwards’ older ears.

  If she jumped now, she might be able to block the propeller, and Erik might be just downriver on his way to rescue her.

  She got the rope fully untangled and climbed up on the seat to drop the anchor into the water. She let the rope slide through her hands, careful of the injury. She kept hold until the anchor made a solid clunk on the bottom. Now, Edwards couldn’t move the boat without pulling it up, which would take both of his hands. He would need to put the gun down to do that.

  Then maybe she could strike him with a heavy branch. She would have to play it all by ear.

  Please, help me to get away.

  She clamped her unbandaged hand over her mouth so when she hit the cold water she didn’t reflexively gasp and draw water into her lungs and took the leap of faith.

  “I’ve got her,” Erik yelled. He climbed to the back of the slippery boat as Drake continued upriver so he could talk to his brother without shouting. “They stopped in the middle of the river. She just dropped the anchor.”

  He shifted so Drake could see the live feed just as Kennedy leapt off the boat and into the water. She disappeared below the surface.

  Erik’s heart refused to beat.

  “Water’s too cold for her to last long,” Drake said, his hand still on the throttle and powering their boat forward. “We need to hurry.”

  Erik had his focus glued to the screen and finally saw Kennedy battling the strong current near the motor. “She’s okay.”

  “What in the world is she doing?” Drake asked. “Edwards has a gun, and he’s making his way to the back of the boat. He could shoot her.”

  She disappeared under the water with the branch just as Edwards reached the back. He stood to survey the area, slapping the rain from his face and holding a hand over his eyes. He dropped to his knees on the seat and set the gun down to reach for the anchor rope.

  “No time to call the coast guard,” Erik said. “We have to hope Kennedy swims to shore. We’ll ram the boat. Or shoot the guy. Move.”

  Drake pushed the throttle harder, and the boat lunged forward. Erik slid back on the slippery seat and, as the boat rose in the churning water, continued to watch the screen.

  “She surfaced and is swimming for shore,” he shouted. “We can hit the boat with no problem.”

  “Roger that,” Drake said.

  On the screen, Edwards pulled the rope, hand-over-hand. He’d soon have the anchor up. But too soon for Erik and Drake to take him out?

  Erik didn’t know. Wouldn’t know until they were right up on the guy.

  The cold water threatened to numb all Kennedy’s muscles, the rain obscuring her view, but she could still save herself. She’d moved far enough away from the boat that she hoped Edwards thought she was swimming for shore, then behind him and out of his view, she cut back to the other side of the boat.

  Her injured hand ached, but it seemed like the cold and adrenaline kept the pain under control. Near the boat, she located the perfect branch and rested it under her chin.

  Choppy river waves lapped at her face and mixed with the rain. Gagged her. She coughed. Cleared her throat. Wanted to give up. The cold telling her body to give in.

  No. Not today. Keep moving.

  She fought the current. Fought the cold. Fought the desire to give in. She had so much to live for. Erik. Finley. Somehow, she would be with them both. They could figure it out. If he’d have her.

  She reached the boat. Saw Edwards pulling up the anchor as she suspected he would do to come after her. He was off balance. Perfect. She surged up on the boat and hooked her elbows over the edge for support. With her good hand, she grabbed a branch from the water. She thrust it into Edwards’ backside and sent him toppling over the edge as the force propelled her back into the water.

  She let her adrenaline fuel her and pulled herself back into the boat. She lay in the cold bottom unable to move and prayed with everything she had that God would send someone to rescue her.

  “Kennedy’s something else,” Drake said.

  Erik agreed. She’d knocked a recently armed man from a boat and had gotten back in. “Pull up alongside, and I’ll board.”

  “What about Edwards?”

  “Drop me off in their boat and check on him.”

  Drake nodded and eased their boat alongside Kennedy’s while Erik brought the helicopter in to land.

  “But be ready if we need to use this boat to take Kennedy in. With the bigger motor, we’ll get back to her place faster.” Erik grabbed an emergency blanket from the kit that Villanueva had provided and leaned over to grab Kennedy’s vessel.

  He hopped into the boat toward the bow so he wouldn’t risk stepping on her. His feet slipped on the slick bottom, but he grabbed a seat to stop his fall.

  “Honey,” he called out through the still pounding rain. “Are you okay?”

  “Just c-c-cold.”

  His heart soared at her voice, but he didn’t like how cold she seemed. He climbed over the seats, wanting to focus only on her, but kept his eyes out for Edwards. Erik grabbed Kennedy’s gun and stuffed it in his pocket, then dropped to the bottom of the boat in the middle where he could see both sides.

  He scooped Kennedy into his arms, and she snuggled against him. Her body quivered with the cold. He shook out the aluminum emergency blanket and draped it around her body, then hugged her tight, the fabric crinkling under his arms.

  Thank You, thank You, thank You.

  “You were very brave and ingenious.” He kissed the top of her soaked head. “But please don’t do anything that dangerous again.”

  “I hope I never have to.” She shuddered under the blanket.

  He wanted to say he would never let her out of his sight again. His heart shattered with the thought of her leaving him, but he wasn’t going to say anything to her without thinking about it first.

  “Yo,” Drake called out. “I’m going for Edwards.”

  Erik nodded.

  “He’s responsible for my mom’s death,” Kennedy said.

  “Her denture. I know.”

  “How?”

  “Your mom put a flash drive on Oreo explaining the denture trial and why she needed the money. Johnson gave the spare plate to Maya for examination, and she found the meds.”

  “He wanted me to help him get that plate back for him.” She shook her head. “I refused. He was bringing me out here to convince me to help him. I don’t know what he thought I could do, but maybe it was just a madman’s last-ditch attempt.”

  She shuddered again, and Erik pulled her even closer. She was an amazingly strong woman, and she’d taken it upon herself to perform her own rescue.

  “He’s connected to Jeremy Miller,” Erik said, “but I don’t know how.”

  “Edwards’ sister fostered him when he was a kid. Edwards thinks of him as a sort of nephew.”

  Foster records were sealed, so there was no surprise to Erik that he couldn’t find the link. “Hess is connected to Miller too. Aiden�
�s looking into him. Unless Edwards mentioned that too.”

  “No.”

  “Then we’ll be sure to keep digging. After we persuade Johnson to bring him in for questioning.” Erik saw Drake stop his boat and reach over to haul Edwards onboard. The guy was limp and unmoving.

  “We need to get him somewhere warm,” Drake said.

  Erik looked down at Kennedy, the rainwater rolling from her shiny blanket. “You able to transfer to the other boat? It has a bigger motor and can get us back faster.”

  “Yes.”

  “You’ll have to sit with Edwards,” he added.

  Her shoulders rose under the blanket. “Great. I’ll have a chance to glare at him and get rid of some of the anger burning in my gut.”

  Kennedy had done exactly what she’d said she would do. Glare at Edwards right up until the moment she reached her mom’s place. Wasn’t hard. The man killed her mother. Sure, it was an accident, but he shouldn’t have been doing a drug trial in secret. She’d left Erik and Drake to deal with the creep while she took a hot shower and dressed warmly. By the time she got downstairs, the police had taken Edwards away, and Erik waited alone for her by the roaring fireplace.

  “You feeling better?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “Your hand feeling okay?”

  She looked at the fresh bandage. “Seems like the cold water acted like an ice pack and let me use it more. Now it’s throbbing.”

  “Johnson called and cleared up the mystery of Hess’s involvement,” Erik said. “He and Miller are buddies. Miller couldn’t buy guns legally due to his felony conviction for drugs, so Hess was supplying Miller with weapons.”

  “So he’ll go away for being an accessory to Gordon’s murder.”

  “He will, and he’s already been arrested so you’re truly safe.” Erik’s brows drew together. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you needed me.”

  “You couldn’t know.”

  “But I could’ve insisted you stay at the condo until you left with Finley.”

  “I would’ve said no.”

  He took a step back. “Why?”

  “If I’d stayed, I might change my mind about WITSEC, and Finley needs me. You don’t.”

  He crossed the room, his expression blank, masking his emotions. He took her good hand and a flash of warmth lit his face.

  “I do need you, honey.” He cupped the side of her face, and she pressed her cheek into his hand, reveling in his touch.

  “I still love you.” His voice broke.

  Her heart stumbled at the unexpected confession and she blurted out, “I love you too, I—”

  “I know.” His hand trembled. “You need to think of your sister. If there’s one thing I understand it’s family ties. When I thought I was going to lose you, I vowed to talk to Finley. To persuade her to give up on WITSEC and stay. But now that I’ve had time to think about it, I know I can’t do that.”

  “Why?” Why wouldn’t Erik fight for her? Why would he let her go so easily?

  “I could never live with myself if I convinced the two of you to stay and then Waldron harmed you. I know it’s a longshot, but if your deputy thinks the risk is real enough to keep you in the program, what I think needs to take a backseat to his experience and judgment.”

  “Yeah, I suppose.” She didn’t know what to think now. She’d spent her time in the shower planning to come down here, declare her love for Erik, and tell him she would persuade Finley to change her mind. But what Erik said made sense, and she couldn’t be responsible for putting her sister in danger any more than Erik could. No matter how much Kennedy wanted to be with this amazing man for the rest of her life, she had to walk away.

  27

  Kennedy stood in Maya’s lab at the Veritas Center, Maya and Sierra in front of her. Twelve days had passed since Kennedy’s rescue, and she was pleased to be at the lab and not in some unknown town with a new name issued by WITSEC. All thanks to Tyrone’s cooperation.

  Kennedy had managed to change their WITSEC future, not by convincing Finley to stay in Portland, but by convincing Tyrone to give them time somewhere in seclusion while he did a comprehensive threat assessment on Waldron.

  During that time, she’d secretly kept in touch with Sierra to be sure Erik didn’t have any symptoms from the anthrax. Kennedy couldn’t talk directly to Erik and get his hopes up that she might not go into hiding, so she’d chosen Sierra as her point of contact and sworn her to secrecy. The good news was Erik was in the clear so far and odds were in his favor that he wouldn’t have any issues.

  When Tyrone declared the threat level as negligible, their WITSEC days ended. It wasn’t her decision or Finley’s, but Tyrone’s. They no longer needed the program.

  “So have you decided?” Sierra asked.

  Kennedy stowed her thoughts and looked at Sierra. “I don’t want to accept a pity job.”

  Sierra tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

  Kennedy lifted her shoulders. “Be honest. Tell me if you made up a job with Veritas so I’d stay close.”

  “First, the team would never go for that,” Sierra said.

  “She’s right,” Maya said. “It has to make sense for the business.”

  “And second,” Sierra said. “It wasn’t my idea. In fact, I was against it at first.”

  Kennedy had to work hard not to let her mouth drop open.

  “She’s right again.” Maya chuckled. “I was the one who proposed the idea. With so much water in the Portland area between the river and the coast, we get calls for water recoveries all the time. I ran the numbers and figured, if we hired you out to the agencies along with using you for other forensic recoveries, we would have a win/win situation.”

  Kennedy shifted her focus to Sierra. “But you were against it?”

  Sierra’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve been queen bee in the forensics department around here for so long that I felt threatened by your credentials.”

  “Threatened? But why?” Kennedy gaped at her. “I’m nowhere near your level. I’m in awe of you.”

  “You’re selling yourself short,” Sierra said. “Don’t do that, but you can keep on being in awe of me.” She laughed.

  She reminded Kennedy so much of Erik, whom she hadn’t seen since the night of the rescue. Just the thought of him put an ache in her heart.

  “And if travel is your thing,” Maya continued. “I’m guessing you’ll get enough regional travel to fulfill that need too.”

  Kennedy glanced between the women. “This isn’t just a whim, and in a few months or even next year, you’ll decide you need to eliminate the position?”

  “Are you kidding?” Sierra asked. “We’re expanding so fast that we can hardly keep up, and if Maya determined that we can afford you, we can.”

  “So, what do you say?” Maya asked. “Can we add you to the Veritas Center roster?”

  It just seemed too good to be true. “Are you sure I’ll be a good fit for the lab?”

  Maya nodded. “We asked about you. Everyone sings your praises, and we know you have the standards we look for in team members.”

  “Then, yes.” Kennedy wanted to pinch herself to be sure this was true.

  Sierra grabbed Kennedy in a hug and swung her around. “When can you start?”

  “I’ll have to put in my notice. At least two weeks. Maybe more.” Kennedy ran her previously injured hand over her face, thankful that the bites were healing well and she no longer needed a bandage. “I won’t leave them in a lurch.”

  “But you don’t have to do that today, right?” Sierra asked.

  “No, why?”

  “It’s Clay’s wedding, and I know Erik would want you there.” Sierra’s broad smile reminded her of Erik again.

  She was so tempted to say yes, but… “I don’t know. I wasn’t invited.”

  “Only because we didn’t think you’d be around.” Sierra’s earnest tone gave Kennedy hope. “But now you’re not leaving.”

  Kennedy looked at her watch.
“I don’t have anything to wear.”

  “We have time. Trust me.” Sierra got out her phone and tapped her foot as her call connected. “We need you, Kels. Kennedy is here and needs something to wear to the wedding. Can she borrow something?”

  A slow smile spread across Sierra’s lips, and she hung up then clutched Kennedy’s arm. “Come on, you two. Kelsey has given us free rein in her closet.”

  “Perfect,” Maya said.

  “Kelsey?” Kennedy asked as Sierra dragged Kennedy to the lab door.

  “She’s the only one of the partners here who’s a clothes horse. She’s guaranteed to have what you need, and she has impeccable taste. We’ll find a perfect dress for you.” Sierra got the elevator door open and punched the number five.

  “No offense,” Kennedy said. “But you’re starting to remind me of your mother.”

  “Et tu, Brute?” Sierra mocked pulling a knife from her chest. “Seriously, maybe a little. But I want to see my baby brother happy, and you make him happy. If I have to nudge it along a bit, I will.”

  “I would’ve called him tomorrow,” Kennedy said. “After all the festivities were over.”

  “But why wait when you can put on a dreamy dress. He’ll be in his tux, and there’ll be candlelight and moonlight and romance in the air.”

  “Erik in a tux.” Kennedy fanned her face. “I can’t think of a single reason why I shouldn’t go to the wedding.” She laughed, and when the elevator opened, Sierra dragged her down the hall past her own condo to the other unit on that floor.

  Kelsey opened the door. She was a stunning woman, about Kennedy’s height with black curly hair. She was dressed in skinny jeans and a dainty halter top and her face was perfectly made up. Kennedy suspected she would fit in Kelsey’s dresses, but they would look so much better on Kelsey.

  “I am so jealous,” Sierra said. “You had Sophia three months before I had Asher, and I don’t think I’ll ever fit into skinny jeans again.”