She spun to see Basuto in his sergeant’s uniform striding toward her, hauling a short man with him. The sergeant was five-nine, so the man with him had to be five-six or seven. Stuart was closer to six feet.
Basuto looked down, his eyes widening for a second.
Her body flinched and she stopped herself from looking down at her hands. She already knew they were covered in the chief’s blood. She didn’t need to see that again.
“I’m taking this guy in. You need a ride—because I want you at the police station ASAP.”
She nodded.
“I’ll drive you.” Ted squeezed her shoulder.
Kaylee tried not to flinch. Stuart was now approaching as well. All of them determined to rally around her. As though she might fall apart at any second.
She sucked in a breath through her nose. No way. I won’t fall apart. It didn’t matter what anyone thought. She wasn’t going to do it.
“Okay?” Stuart’s eyes darkened, his gaze seriously unhappy.
She nodded.
He turned to Ted. “Anyone else around?”
The younger man shook his head. “I was in the bank, looking at surveillance.”
“What about the man from inside?”
He answered Basuto’s question, saying, “Dead before he hit the ground.” Ted motioned to the man Basuto had in cuffs. “This guy killed him before hitting Conroy.”
Before either of them could ask, Kaylee said, “Dean got him stable, and he went with Mia in the ambulance.”
A muscle in Basuto’s tanned jaw flexed. “How bad is it?”
She bit her lip. Ted said, “The bullet passed through him, but he’s going to need surgery.”
The sergeant nodded. “I’m taking this guy in. Ted?”
The younger man said, “I’ll bring Kaylee.”
“Get Jess, too. Kaylee needs to be under protection until we figure this all out.”
She frowned at the sergeant. There was something he wasn’t saying, but he didn’t explain what it was. He simply walked the sniper off to his car.
She spun to Ted, about to ask him what that was—why she needed protection—when a woman cried out. Not a word, more like a noise of distress, Trina flew toward them, colliding with Stuart in a sort of tackle. He stepped back with one foot to steady her, so they both didn’t go down at the force.
Kaylee spotted a flutter and saw a piece of paper land on the sidewalk next to him.
“I was so scared!” Trina made the same distress noise again and continued gushing over Stuart, glancing at Trina out of the corner of her eyes. “And then you were there, striding in like some hero.” She fluttered her eyes adoringly at him and then glanced around, seeming to just now notice they were all standing around, even the guy in cuffs. “Is that him?” Her voice raised to a shriek and she yelled, “That’s the man who killed Conroy!”
Kaylee’s whole body flinched. Ted moved close so their arms touched.
“He’s not dead.” Stuart patted Trina’s shoulder awkwardly, looking like he’d rather be anywhere than right there.
That was the only thing that redeemed him at that moment. Kaylee saw it in him. This experience with Trina’s emotional outburst was no more enjoyable than torture. Given the fact she’d seen the scars on his arms, and under his collar, she knew he’d suffered firsthand. And yet, this ranked right there at the top.
“Trina, please let him go.” Kaylee folded her arms. She didn’t need Trina to see her hands and freak out even more.
“I was so scared.” She didn’t know who Trina was talking to at this point.
Kaylee walked over, picked up the paper Stuart had dropped, and something caught her eye. Her stomach flipped over.
She took a step back, bumped into Ted, and wound up dropping the paper.
Kaylee spun around. She found who she was looking for and made a beeline for where Jess stood talking to Savannah. Two cops are better than one, right?
They broke off their conversation as she approached.
I need a ride to the police station. But that wasn’t what she said. When Kaylee opened her mouth, she blurted out, “He has a picture of me.”
“Who?”
She was about to answer Jess’s question when Ted said, “It was from the sniper. That’s what Stuart said.”
She saw Stuart detach Trina from his arm in a no-nonsense way the woman couldn’t argue with. Kaylee had no intention of talking to her friend right now. For one thing, she didn’t believe Trina’s over-the-top reactions were sincere. And as much as she wanted to have compassion and empathy for her, Kaylee couldn’t descend into that or she would fall apart.
Something that would take her far too long to come out of.
“She needs protection, and Basuto wants her back at the office.”
Savannah, the detective, nodded. “Ted, Jess, you guys take Kaylee.”
“I’ll come too.” Stuart jogged over. “I’d like to speak to the sergeant.”
She didn’t look at him. Kaylee stared straight ahead as they moved to the car. She wrestled with her mind. She didn’t want to remember the trauma that happened the last time they’d tried to go to a car and then back to the office.
Her mind flashed a picture of herself, pressing Stuart’s sweater into Conroy’s chest for far too long while she waited for help.
The crack of that gunshot echoed in her head. Her whole body flinched.
Stuart took her hand. He held it in his as they crossed the street. He seemed to know and understand what she was going through at that moment. She still didn’t look at him, though. She didn’t think she could handle it. Tears blurred her vision, but she sniffed and stared at the clouds, willing them to not fall. Once they came, it would be hard to stop them.
Please don’t let Conroy die.
Mia didn’t need to finally find the man she loved, only to lose him before they could even start their life together.
There was plenty in the world that was senseless. But Kaylee couldn’t lose her hope. Things had been fine for years, ever since she’d gotten the word from the state police that the man who’d destroyed her life was dead. Since the night her brother showed up at her back door, bloody, and told her it had been done.
She was silent all the way to the police station, sitting with Stuart still holding her hand. When Jess parked outside the police station, she and Ted got out. Kaylee tightened her hold on Stuart’s hand. He didn’t get out and neither did she.
Jess leaned back in the open driver’s door and handed Stuart keys. “Lock up when you get out.”
Then the police officer stood on the sidewalk out front, hand on her gun. Watching.
Protecting them.
“We should go inside.”
Stuart shifted on the seat beside her, turning so he was partially facing her. “Are you okay?”
Kaylee squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t want to talk about it. If I do that, then it’s real. And that would mean Conroy is really hurt. Mia’s life could be destroyed. Conroy’s niece and nephew could lose their uncle.”
“No one wants that.” His voice was gentle. So gentle, it hurt to listen to.
Kaylee pulled in air, but it didn’t make it past the lump in her throat.
Stuart groaned and tugged her against him, sliding his arms around her. It occurred to Kaylee that she didn’t know him. Like, at all. Now she was hugging him in the backseat of a car like they were on a middle school date. It should feel weird.
There were plenty of worries in the back of her mind. But the fact was, Kaylee felt safe. She hadn’t felt safe for years.
She wanted to tell him what had happened to her the night her whole world ripped apart. But she needed to ask a different question first.
So she took a few deep breaths to help get a handle on her emotions. Enough to ask, “Why did you have a picture of me?”
“The sniper had it.” He gave her a squeeze, then shifted back. “You were the target of that shot.”
“But Conroy…”
/> Stuart shook his head. “You’re the one in danger here.”
“Like, with the Homeland agent?”
He nodded. “I need to lay it all out for the cops, so they understand. Your safety is our priority. I also need you to tell me what you know. All of what you know.”
“What does this have to do with you?” She wanted him to tell her, straight out, what connected him. Even though she suspected what it was from all she’d gathered so far.
He studied her for a minute, then said, “Okay. Fair enough.”
“I know this has something to do with you. After all, that fake agent was at my house, and then he arrested you.”
“I figure they tried to implicate me. But he wanted both of us, as well as something from you to take back with him when he left town.”
“They know Brad sent me a package.”
Stuart worked his mouth side to side. “I knew your brother.”
“Knew? Like past tense?”
“I don’t know where he is. I can’t all the way remember what happened to him after I saw him last. Neither of us was in a good way. Things had gotten hot.” Pain lanced through his gaze, and he winced. “We were betrayed.”
“Can I ask who you both worked for?”
“You can ask, but I don’t have clearance to tell you.” He paused, thinking, and then said, “I’m sorry about all that with Trina, if you thought she and I had history. Which we definitely don’t. I honestly don’t know what her deal is, or why she seemed so intent on making sure you saw her hanging all over me.”
“She’s my friend.” Kaylee said, “Only why does that not ring true when I say it out loud?”
“How about I make sure you stay safe, and then you’ll have time to figure out the answer to that?”
“Why would you do that?”
What reason could he possibly have for wanting to protect her? They’d barely spoken to each other before. This was probably the longest conversation they’d ever had.
Stuart looked away. “I have my reasons.”
Honor. Because he was a nice guy. This was a small town, and people looked out for each other here.
Several couples had gotten together over the past few months. Conroy and Mia were the first. Then Tate and Savannah, who had headed to the city to elope last weekend, Tate’s sister and brother-in-law in attendance. Lately, Dean had found Ellie, Jess’s big sister. Kaylee wasn’t interested in the crazy drama that accompanied those stories. She liked her quiet life.
Only now there was a fake agent, a conspiracy to drag Stuart into it, and a sniper all in the mix. Conroy had been shot and now fought for his life in the hospital.
“I’ll give you what Brad sent me.” She glanced at him, wondering if he’d been the person Brad meant her to give it to. He’d written that someone would show up. She would know to give it to them.
She couldn’t shake the niggle of disquiet in her heart. Maybe Stuart wasn’t the one. He was supposed to know the code word. So, it might not be him after all. Despite her wanting it to be.
“I just want this to be over.”
“I know,” he said.
“I don’t want to be in danger. I don’t want to see blood anymore.” She looked down at her hands and sucked in a breath.
The EMT had given her a couple of wet wipes, but Conroy’s blood still stained her hands.
“I can’t do this again.”
Stuart cracked open the door on his side. “Let’s go in and get you cleaned up. You can tell me what Brad sent you, and we’ll get all this figured out.” He was back to that gentle voice again, but it didn’t make her feel any better when by all accounts, it should. “I promise I’ll do my best to keep you safe. Okay?”
He held out his hand to her.
Kaylee stared at it.
Was he the right choice, or the wrong one? And how could she even tell? Her focus had been all about the flash drive lately, and for good reason. Stuart may be the intended recipient with a better idea of what to do with what was on it than she would. But Kaylee knew full well this was no longer just about the flash drive. And trusting him was a whole other challenge.
She wasn’t going to risk her heart.
Eleven
The minute they got out of the car, she’d started to pull away from him. Jess was the one who’d taken her into the bathroom and helped her wash her hands. Sergeant Basuto had ordered Stuart into the conference room, as though he was one of Basuto’s underlings.
“Talk.” Basuto dropped a paper file on the table.
“That my file, or the one you’re starting on the man you have in custody?”
“I should have two men in custody. Now there’s only one and the first one is dead. How long will this guy last before he’s gunned down or we find him dead in his cell?”
Stuart lifted his eyebrows. “You think he’ll commit suicide?”
“I think there’s a whole lot more going on here than anyone knows, and I’m not planning on taking any chances. So, you best start talking. Because I’m in charge right now, and my chief is in surgery fighting for his life.”
Stuart pulled out a chair and sat.
The door opened, and Ted stuck his head in.
“Come in.” Basuto motioned with his hand. “I need you to take notes so we have a plan.”
Stuart thought taking notes was a misuse of Ted’s extensive computer skills, but maybe that was code for something else. After all, he hadn’t brought a pen and paper. He’d brought a tablet.
“First things first,” Basuto said. “I’d like a rundown of everything from your point of view. Start with why you were in the woods outside Hope Mansion.”
Stuart told him what’d happened with the fake Homeland agent. In return, Basuto gave him some answers about what the man had been doing at the bank. Then the sergeant asked, “Do you know who he was?”
“The fake Homeland agent—though that’s not been entirely confirmed, yet—has no ID. He had a driver’s license on him, but even I saw through that.” Basuto shook his head. “Worst ID I’ve ever seen. He wasn’t even trying to pretend it was legit.”
“Which means he wanted you to know he wasn’t who he said he was.”
Basuto nodded. “I assume so. Ted?”
The computer tech said, “I’m running his photo and fingerprints the medical examiner collected. Nothing yet, but I’ll let you know when the search concludes.”
“And the man in custody?”
“Same thing.”
Basuto said, “What about our friend here?” He motioned to Stuart with his pen.
Stuart said nothing.
“Same. No ID yet.”
Stuart said, “Have you tried looking up Bradley Caldwell?”
Ted lifted one dark brow above where hair drooped down to his eyes. “Kaylee’s brother?”
Stuart nodded.
Basuto shifted in his chair. “Does her brother have something to do with this?”
“He and I worked clandestine operations together.” Stuart was going to have to tell them who he was eventually. Might as well do it now and save them the trouble of running a search that would come up with nothing.
“CIA?” Basuto asked.
“Not officially.” Stuart sat completely still in his chair so as not to give away his discomfort. “It was more…off-book than hiring college graduates to spy on other countries.” Their job had involved high levels of foreign governments, mercenary groups, and international organizations they could get in with in order to gain access where tourists could not.
“So, this is about you and Kaylee’s brother?”
Stuart couldn’t help remembering Brad’s face. “He had told me about her...something important that I can’t seem to recall...so I moved here with the goal of recovering from my last mission and regaining cognitive recollection. My hope is that I remember what she has to do with all this. Now it seems clear they know he sent her something. Once I figure out how that package plays into all of this, I’ll have a better idea of who
these people are and what secret they’re protecting.”
“Her brother put her in jeopardy.”
Stuart didn’t like Basuto’s tone. “Her brother was a good man, the best operative I’ve ever worked with.”
Then why did you cause him so much pain?
Stuart shut off his thoughts. He couldn’t get sucked down into the past again. Not when Dean wasn’t here to monitor him. If he thought about the last time he’d seen Brad, then he would get sucked back there and end up stuck in his trauma, unable to function.
Basuto said, “No man worth his salt puts a delicate, fearful woman like that in danger.”
Stuart nodded. He knew Kaylee had suffered, too. She understood what it felt like to see someone you love hurt.
Brad’s face flashed in his mind. Stuart massaged his temples, trying to remember past the last point. The feel of that knife in his hand.
Brad had cried out.
Stuart didn’t know what happened next. Did he even want to remember? He’d been out of his mind with pain, considering everything they’d been subjected to. But did that excuse the fact he might’ve hurt Brad?
He would have to tell Kaylee what he knew.
Basuto leaned forward in his chair. “She needs protection. They’re trying to eradicate loose ends, right?”
Stuart nodded.
“So, safe house it is.”
Stuart didn’t want to think about her being taken away, and or that he would be denied access to her. They had things to talk about. “You’re right to have the sniper under close guard.” He didn’t want anyone here to get hurt. The cops were motivated to see justice done since their police chief had been shot. “Any word on Conroy?”
Basuto’s face paled.
Ted said, “They’re going to let us know when he’s out of surgery. Dean’s with Mia, as well as a lot of folks from the church. Which means it’s our job to figure this out.”
Stuart had to wonder if he was just regurgitating the explanation he’d been given for why he couldn’t be with his brother, Dean, right now, waiting for word about his boss. Stuart had only lived with Ted for a few months, sharing the house with a group of men, some of whom were a private security team. It had seemed to Stuart that Ted held a lot close to his chest. He didn’t let people in easily, something Dean had said had to do with their father and the way they’d been strung along by him.
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