Page 24 of Rogue Survivor
“Nope. Not this time. Just need to make sure all the machines are doin’ their jobs.” With a quick glance back at me, she adds, “I heard about you, Mr. FBI Agent. Makin’ such a ruckus to keep her safe. You’re one of the good ones, I think. If you give me ten minutes after I’m done here, I’ll have a more comfortable chair brought in for you. The labor and delivery ward is across the atrium. They have recliners.”
“Much obliged, ma’am. But what I could use more than anything? An ice pack for my knee. And it’s Connor. Connor Davis.”
“Got one of those too. I’ll set you up, Connor Davis.” With a smile, she turns her focus to Veronica, checking all the monitors and making notes on a small tablet. “Be back in two shakes with that ice pack, hon.”
Nurse Rebecca leaves, and Veronica opens her eyes to meet my gaze. “Ice pack?”
“Got a bad knee. Nothin’ for you to worry about,” I say, steeling myself for the trip back to the uncomfortable chair.
The teenager darts a quick glance at Isabel, who didn’t stir the whole time. “Is Mom okay?”
“She fell asleep the second her head hit the pillow. She’s fine. Just tuckered out.”
“I never should have left Mitzi,” she whispers, tears gathering in her eyes. “What if they kill her? Or…hurther. This is all my fault.”
Leaning down and bracing my hand on the bed next to Veronica’s shoulder, I keep my voice low. “If you hadn’t run, they would have killed you both. Mitzi’s alive because you escaped. They’re not gonna kill her until they know you ain’t gonna talk. She’s their leverage. I know that’s fucked—err, messed up—but you did the exact right thing.”
“You’ll find Mitzi? The FBI, I mean?”
Hope is a dangerous thing. Too much, and you’re bound for disappointment. Too little, and you’re hard pressed to keep fighting. Veronica needs a healthy dose of hope right now, and while I won’t lie to her, I can’t tell her the whole truth either.
“I’m workin’ on that. We’ll have a whole team out lookin’ for her real soon. ”
Nurse Rebecca wasas good as her word, though decidedlynotpleased when I insisted on rolling the reclining chair in myself. I wasn’t gonna let the maintenance guy within ten feet of Veronica. But being able to put my leg up with an ice pack over my knee makes what I have to do next a hell of a lot easier.
My brother texted me the moment I sat down and confirmed my gut instinct about AJ was spot on.
Quinton: AJ Stone is one of the good guys. Graham says he and his brother are friends with Austin Pritchard. The former JSOC commander? Austin runs his own company now. A lot like Hidden Agenda, but more focused on protection than rescue. You want his number?
Want? No. Need? That’s a definite yes. I have all his contact information in under a minute, but before I can call AJ, my brother sends one last message.
Quinton: You okay?
Life was easier when I could ignore questions like that. But keeping my brother at arm’s length almost got both of us killed, so I thumb out as honest of a reply as I can muster.
Not entirely sure. Don’t worry. I’m being safe. I’ll call you in a few days and let you know what’s going on.
The scowling emoji he sends back tells me if “a few days” is longer than forty-eight hours, I’m going to get an earful. From himandGraham.
I scroll through my contacts and bring up AJ’s cell.
“You have some nerve, Connor,” he snaps when the call connects. “I’ve been tryin’ to get in touch with you for a month now.”
“I’m an asshole. Tell me something I don’t know.”
AJ snorts. “Belle is chasing squirrels in her sleep.”
The ice pack falls to the floor and I almost drop my phone. “Belle had better be a dog. Because if she’s not, I don’t think your relationship’s gonna last.”
His laugh is loud enough, I’m worried it’ll wake Isabel or Veronica—even through my earbuds. “Y’know, if you’d bothered to return my calls, maybe you’d have met her by now and you’d know for sure. Because I ain’t tellin’.”
“Done fucking with me? A kid’s life is at stake.”
AJ clears his throat. “Sorry, man. What do you need?”
He listens as I recount everything Veronica told us earlier. “That dirty good-for-nothin’ cop, Milton, had them both tied up in the abandoned mall down off the interstate. The kid managed to get free, grabbed her phone, and ran. But it wasn’t with her things when she got to the hospital.”
“And the car accident?” AJ asks.
