She pondered that through the next several hours. The small town ER was quiet, small, but seemed to be extremely well operated. They confirmed what she’d known already—the arm was definitely broken, but they didn’t think she’d need surgery. Josh’s first aid had stabilized the bones enough that they would most likely heal ok.
She’d been lucky, again, and she knew it.
Her father stayed with her, hovering like he did any of his children when they were hurt. It helped. Reminded her of what was important.
And when they finally gave her a shot of some pain relievers and she started feeling the rest of the tension leaving her body, it was nice to know she was safe with the person beside her. Her dad wheeled her out of the ER and to the Bureau issued vehicle. The instant he closed the door, Kelly closed her eyes and drifted off.
There would be time later to worry about everything else.
Chapter 12
The FBI tracker that met them a few moments after Dan had whisked Kelly away was one of the best Josh had ever seen. And it was obvious Hell and the others were equally impressed. It wouldn’t surprise Josh at all if Hell offered the man a position with PAVAD when all of this was over.
The tracker led them straight to where the killers were holed up. Josh didn’t know why the two men hadn’t kept going, but they hadn’t. Not their brightest move.
And when faced with the local agents’ guns surrounding them the two men had surrendered without incident. Josh didn’t care—he just wanted it over.
It took him eight hours, but he finally got the sons-of-bitches in police custody. More specifically, the bastards were in CCU custody.
Hell led the smaller of the two men toward the waiting Bureau cars. With the attack against him and Kelly, the case would remain in a federal jurisdiction until the higher-ups hashed it out. Yes, he and Kelly were victims, but so were the national forest rangers, and the civilian victims.
Everyone would want a piece of the pie. But first…
Josh walked over to the larger man and looked at him straight on. He turned toward the two agents escorting him. “A moment, guys.”
Chalmers nodded, his fingers tightening on the guy’s arm. “As long as you need. I suddenly feel like the sun is blinding me. I can’t see a thing.”
Zeke, on the guy’s other side, smirked. “And I can’t hear a thing.”
Josh knew they understood. He looked over his shoulder at his boss. Hell watched him, and Josh wondered if anyone else saw the small nod the man gave him.
Not that it would have mattered in the least. He drove his fist into the other guy’s face, satisfied only when he saw the blood spurt from the man’s nose. “That’s for scaring Kelly.”
Chapter 13
Ally was trying to mother her. She always had done that, and sometimes Kelly let her. Ally liked to fuss when she was worried, and there was no doubt her friend and step-mother had been freaked out.
It was nice to have people worry about her. “I’m fine, Ally, I promise.”
“Sure you are. I see the cast. The bruises. You were lucky.”
“I was. If Josh hadn’t been there…” After she’d slept, they’d flown back together, courtesy of the PAVAD jet. But she wasn’t ready to think about what had happened yet. She needed time to step back and process all of it. “I’m just going to sleep for a while.”
“Sleep as long as you want. I’ll wait for your dad to get all the gory details about how Josh broke the one guy’s nose.”
“I don’t remember that.” He hadn’t mentioned it on the plane. No, they’d both spent most of the short flight dozing. The warm blankets had been so welcoming. And her father had sat between them, anyway. It hadn’t made for easy talking.
Not that there was really that much to say, was there? They’d survived, both of them. And that was what mattered.
“He was wonderful, from what I understand.”
“He was. He kept us both alive.”
“I’m sure you had something to do with it, too, sweetie.”
“Somehow I don’t think so.” He’d been there, right beside her, big and strong and warm. She would never forget about that. Right there when she’d needed him—how many men could she say that of in her experience? Not too many.
Josh was one of a rare few.
But she wasn’t going to think about that now…whatever they had given her at the hospital was making her very tired…Sleep sounded like the most heavenly idea in the world…
Chapter 14
He tried going home, but it somehow didn’t feel right. Josh found himself knocking on the door to the apartment in Dan’s basement. Kelly had taken it over a few weeks after the previous tenant had moved in with her fiancé. He hadn’t been there since Kelly had redecorated it with a mix of more her style—not that that style was too different from Paige’s, come to think of it. The two women were quite a bit alike.
The door opened, and Dan’s wife Ally stared at him. “Well, no visible broken bones, but that bruise on your forehead’s going to get you some attention. Still very handsome, though.”
He touched the bruise. He’d figured he’d gotten it when they’d initially dove behind the rocks. “Yes, I suppose it will. Is Kelly here?”
She stared at him for a moment before answering. “Safe, thanks to you. She’s sleeping. I don’t think you should wake her, though.”
“How is she? I know the ER cleared her.” But Ally was a doctor with a lot more invested in Kelly than some random country hospital. He’d trust her opinion more. “Her arm?”
“Definitely broken. But no surgery required. Mostly shock and bruises. Broken ribs and a concussion.” She looked at him for the longest time until he began to feel more than a bit awkward. Finally, she stepped aside. “Go on in; there’s a chair in there. She shouldn’t be alone when she wakes up.”
He’d definitely never been in Kelly’s bedroom before; it was surprisingly less dark than he expected. Kelly preferred purples and greens and black in most of her color choices. The fresh cast resting over the blankets was a deep purple. But her room was done in a variety of greens, blues, and whites. Someone had left the lamp on, and it bathed the room in a soft glow.
It was definitely a basement apartment, and there was no window to let some of the remaining daylight in. But he didn’t mind. Josh settled into the chair and looked at the woman sleeping.
Someone, probably her stepmother or her younger sister Gracie, had braided Kelly’s hair into two long red-and-purple braids. It made her look younger, though he knew she was twenty-eight now. She wore a filmy nightgown that definitely didn’t fit the image he’d always had of her.
She looked different than he expected. Still beautiful—you couldn’t look at one of Dan Reynolds’ daughters and not be shocked at how beautiful they were—but not as tough as she tried to think she was. Vulnerable. She wasn’t just one of the most beautiful women he knew, but one of the most vulnerable.
But she was safe now.
She shifted on the bed, her uninjured hand slipping off the pillow. Josh wrapped his fingers around hers before he thought.
So very vulnerable.
Did she even realize it?
Chapter 15
Something felt different, and Kelly pushed her way out of sleep to see what it was. Someone was by her bed. For some reason, the idea of that didn’t frighten her as it would have a few years ago. Someone was always in and out in this house.
She fully expected to see one of her younger sisters, Emma or Gracie. It took her a moment to remember that Emma was on her honeymoon, her and J.T. having delayed the trip after he’d been pulled away on a case right after their wedding five weeks ago.
Instead, hazel eyes in a handsome face stared back at her.
“What are you doing here?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t feel like going home. Figured I’d check on you first.”
“Well, consider me checked?” She tried to sit up but had to pull her hand away from his. Why had he been hol
ding her hand? Had he been sitting there freaking out? More likely he’d been blaming himself for something. “I’m fine, Josh. I promise.”
“Just humor me, will you? I’ve had too many of my friends in trouble in recent times for me to sleep easily tonight.”
One thing she’d always admired about Josh was that he was able to easily express his concerns. And how he was feeling. He always had, and she suspected it had to do with his chosen career path. Josh’s field of study had been in victimology and psychology. He was already very well respected in the academic world for papers and theories he’d developed.
If he ever decided to quit the CCU, he’d be able to cherry pick any career he wanted. “So what do you do now?”
“I can head home.”
His face showed her exactly how he felt about that. She didn’t blame him; she wasn’t quite sure she wanted to be away from him yet either.
Somehow it didn’t seem like what they’d gone through in Tennessee was truly over.
“Want to watch a movie? Nothing lost in the woods-ish though, okay?”
He turned the chair, dragging it closer to her bed. “Is that a word?”
“Hey, it works.” He was the first guy to be in her bedroom since moving to St. Louis, wasn’t he?
She’d been in his before. Several times; when she’d stopped by his apartment for whatever reason.
She’d spilled something…borrowed.
But he’d not been in there with her. And her room seemed so much more intimate.
With him right there…she had never been more aware of anyone than in that moment.
Chapter 16
The body was beautiful, posed perfectly against the trash bin.
Normally she dropped her victims in less grubby places, but this woman had deserved the trash. She had been the foulest mouthed victim ever seen. She’d been one of the ones most deserving of death, and the last breath had come far too quickly for this woman.
Her work and her technique were improving. The head of PAVAD would regret denying her application to work in the forensics department directly. She’d applied six months after meeting Josh, but had been denied for lack of experience. Experience. There wasn’t anything she didn’t know about crime scenes.
Thoughts of PAVAD brought thoughts of him, didn’t it? And it probably always would. She’d heard through the grapevine that he was back. But after six days she hadn’t seen him anywhere. And that concerned her, mostly because the rest of his team was on mandatory leave or something. At least that’s what she’d heard discussed at Smokey’s bar. So if they were all on leave, why hadn’t she seen him anywhere?
She’d driven by his place a few times, but the place he’d been living was vacant with a For Rent sign in the window.
Maybe she needed to move in? That would mean leaving the place that had been her parents’. She’d lived there her entire life, and it was extremely economical.
She didn’t think she could honestly afford to move. So that wasn’t going to be a way to catch his attention, was it?
No, it would have to be through her art.
This woman was chosen exactly for that very purpose.
And if she squinted, the woman looked almost exactly like Agent Cody, didn’t she? Although Agent Cody was quite a bit heavier. Thank goodness.
She wouldn’t want to have to manipulate Agent Cody’s dead weight, that’s for sure. As it was, she used her father’s old wheelchair when necessary. It gave her quite a kick to imagine the formerly dedicated police officer rolling over in his grave if he’d ever learned she was a serial killer. She folded up the chair in question and shoved it in the trunk of her father’s old car, then climbed behind the wheel.
She had to be at work in less than an hour.
Who knew? Maybe she’d see Josh today.
Chapter 17
The one place she didn’t want to be was in the backwoods of Missouri sleeping in an RV with her father, Ally, and the kids. Not to mention Emma and J.T. But it was one of the few things her father wanted for his birthday, so Ally had asked.
Kelly hadn’t protested too much though her stepmother had taken the time to make certain the idea of being out in the woods wouldn’t bother Kelly after everything that had happened in Tennessee. And it didn’t.
Right?
Still, she could feel the wind against her skin, and it felt like needles. Like the Tennessee rain. The sun burned against her forehead, and she just hoped she’d brought enough sunscreen for the entire weekend.
The entire family, except for J.T. and Ally, who were both blondes, were typical redheads.
They’d fry like lobsters if they weren’t careful. J.T. and Ally, too.
Kelly so did not do the outdoors well.
“You used to enjoy camping.”
Kelly turned and looked at her father. “I was a little girl then. Bug bites didn’t really matter so much back then.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t take you more. That’s one of my big regrets. You know that, right?”
He had her younger brother cuddled in his arms. His wedding ring shone where he wore it proudly. There wasn’t as much worry and strain around the green eyes so like her own. Like the ones staring at her from the baby’s sweet little face.
Sometimes the connections and the changes of everything overwhelmed her. “Things happened the way they were supposed to. Not much we can do about it now, is there?”
“No. I guess not. And I’m going to do better this round. But that doesn’t mean I have to forget the first, now is there?”
Sometimes his direct gaze was too much to handle. This was one of them. Kelly hid her nerves by looking at the baby in his arms. DJ looked like her, Emma, and Gracie. His twin favored Ally and Aislin more. He was a serious baby who loved to study the world around him. She couldn’t help herself—she held her arms out for the brother she loved beyond anything.
His warm little body felt perfect in her arms and for a moment she could almost imagine just holding him forever. She made a point to hold him and his sister every single day.
“No. I guess it doesn’t.” She’d make the most of this trip, enjoy the rare time with the entire family together while she had it. Between her father’s career, Ally’s and her own—she’d taken on a great deal of responsibility at the lab since Ally’s maternity leave—she had so little time with the family all together.
Her, Emma and Gracie, Ryan and Aislin—Ally’s children from her first marriage—and the twins, plus Ally and their father and Emma’s new husband—they would all be stuck in a single RV that her father had borrowed for the weekend. Well, most of them. Emma and J.T. had opted for a small tent, fifty feet away from the camper. Kelly couldn’t blame them—it was going to be extremely difficult getting any sleep in three hundred square feet of space with so many kids around.
She was definitely not looking forward to much of it, but there were some parts that were well worth the sacrifices. The twins were definitely worth it.
Her father was happy. Her best friend was happy. And most importantly, her siblings, all six of them, were happy.
And they were all going to enjoy themselves this weekend. Well…if they all got there.
Emma and J.T. were nowhere to be found. They’d chosen to drive up after the end of J.T.’s shift.
She couldn’t wait for her sister, the one person on the planet she’d always counted on, to get her ass up there and help Kelly suffer through this.
She held her brother against her chest and took the bottle her father handed her. She loved this part of being an older sister. Spending time with her youngest siblings was the one thing guaranteed to make her feel all right with the world again.
“You always slacking when there’s work to be done?”
Kelly’s hands tightened on her brother, and she turned around. She definitely wasn’t expecting him. She hadn’t seen him in a week. Since the morning, he’d left her apartment. After Tennessee. Why did she suddenly feel like her life could be divided in t
wo? Before Tennessee and After Tennessee. “What are you doing here?”
“Your father invited me. Apparently I needed a break. He said he’d have me forced on mandatory leave if I didn’t cooperate.” Josh’s tone told her exactly what he thought of that. He was dressed in his version of camping-wear. Jeans, which he rarely wore, and a plaid shirt. It made his shoulders look wider than usual, and the way he had it rolled up showed the muscles he’d developed working in the world of construction so long ago.
Josh was definitely an attractive man. Why didn’t he ever have a girlfriend? “Why you always hanging around my family?” She smiled at him as she said it, but she doubted he saw. His attention was already on the baby in her arms.
Josh adored the twins, all the kids really, and he made a point of engaging with them whenever he was around. He finally looked up at her and smiled; there were small dimples in his cheeks, and they surprised her every time he smiled. Which was getting rarer and rarer, these days. “So?”
“It’s the food. I love campfire beans.”
“You’re a stranger man than I thought.”
His expression turned serious, and Kelly’s stomach tightened. “We need to talk.”
“Why?” She couldn’t help recalling their last serious talk. It hadn’t been a great experience; that was for sure. “I thought we were good.”
“I thought so, too. But apparently not. We’ll talk later, Kel, I can promise you that. I’m going to go help your dad with setting up the RV. Then…you and I will talk. First chance we get.”
Chapter 18
Josh knew she was worried. She kept darting little glances his way while he moved around the RV her father had borrowed. He knew her so well, after all.
After the RV had been set up, he seized his moment. There was a lot he wanted to say to her, and that was the main motive for tagging along with J.T. and Dan’s family on this little jaunt into the wilderness.
Ghosting (PAVAD: FBI Romantic Suspense Book 10) Page 4