Page 27 of Rogue Survivor
As I’m about to close the bathroom door, it hits me. Veronica doesn’t have anything to wear out of here. Dropping the bag on the counter, I rejoin Connor and AJ, who stop talking the second they see me. “Veronica is going to need clothes before she’s discharged. Everything she was wearing was destroyed when they had to operate. Except her shoes. But those…” I wrinkle my nose. “There’s blood all over them.”
Connor rests his hand on the small of my back, and the heat of his palm centers me. “Now that AJ’s guys are here, I can go to your place and pick up whatever you need for the next few days. Just tell me where to look and I’ll pack a bag for both of you.”
Can I really let Connor dig through my underwear drawer? Are wethereyet? And how can I possibly make a list of everything Veronica will need to feel comfortable in an unfamiliar place?
“You’re absolutely certain she’ll be safe here for a couple of hours?” I ask, my gaze pinging between the two men.
“If it’ll make you feel better, ma’am, I’ll stay in the room with her.” AJ unbuttons his jacket, exposing a leather holster on a thick belt and giving the gray metal handle of the gun at his hip a gentle touch, like he’s checking to make sure it’s still where he left it. “No one’s gettin’ past Billings and McGrath, but I brought my tablet with me. I can run the investigation from here for a couple of hours.”
I don’t want to leave Veronica. Not for a second. But I believe AJ when he says she’ll be safe. “Then I’m going with you,” I say, meeting Connor’s hazel eyes. “It’ll be a lot easier than trying to make a list and realizing later I forgot half of what we needed.”
“Fair enough, darlin’. As soon as you’re ready, we’ll head out. You all right makin’ a stop at my apartment on the way? If not, I’ll take care of that right now and come back for you.”
“Your—?”
“AJ’s not the only one I called last night,” he says, keeping his voice low. “Got some help that’s off the books, and if you’re comfortable with me bein’ around a little longer, I’m gonna stay at the safehouse with you tonight. Zephyr—she’s part of the team I called—might have questions for you or Veronica, and it’d be a hell of a lot easier for me to get answers if I’m there.”
Warmth gathers in my core, a totally inappropriate response when my daughter’s sleeping three feet away. But I can’t help it. Every minute, I half expect him to run away. We went from coffee and kisses to oh-my-God-this-woman-is-more-trouble-than-she’s-worth in under twenty-four hours. Yet, he’s still here. Doing all these sweet things like remembering my coffee order and guessing my clothing sizes.
“Isabel?” Connor asks. “Gonna need an answer, darlin’.”
“You can stay. I…I’d…like that.” If AJ weren’t here, I’d kiss this amazing man who has his arm around me, but then I remember I haven’t brushed my teeth in two days, and my cheeks catch fire. “I’m going to clean up now. I’ll be ready to go in fifteen minutes.” Fleeing to the bathroom, I shut myself inside, wondering how the hell I got so lucky to find Connor right when I needed him.
Connor
“What’d you think of Pritchard?” AJ asks. He leans against the window, giving the parking lot a quick scan before returning his attention to me.
“He’s…somethin’. I’ve never met the man, and he was ready to fly out here until I told him I wouldn’t hear of it. He has this new hacker on the payroll—Zephyr something or other—and she’s working on getting the security footage from the eleventh floor. The asshole who tried to kill the kid was wearing scrubs and a mask, but I doubt he walked in that way.”
“Have her check the cameras in the parking lot too. Guy had to get away somehow.”
“This ain’t my first rodeo.” A flare of light in my periphery makes me wince. Staying up most of the night was all kinds of stupid, even though I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Thanks to the ice pack the nurse dropped off, my knee isn’t quite the size of a softball, but it’s close, and every step sends stabbing pains up to my ass. All I need is for this migraine to take hold and I’ll be in a world of hurt.
AJ snorts. “Didn’t say it was. But you’re not firing on all cylinders either. Those bags under your eyes could fit enough horse shit for the whole corral.”
“Now who’s the asshole?” Despite my words, I know he’s right, and I owe him big time for dropping everything to take this case. “Listen, I know this is a big fucking deal. Rearranging your whole division on a few hours’ notice.”
“Missing kid…missinganyoneis worth it,” he says quietly, turning to stare out the window again.
I don’t know all the details, but his brother, Jasper, told me AJ’s wife disappeared a spell ago. Went out for a run and was never seen again. In this bright, sterile room, the weight of his grief looks like it’s about to crush him. “You ever need—”
“Don’t.” The edge to his voice warns me he’s wound tighter than a guitar string, and I hold up my hands and take a step back. “Sorry,” he mutters. “Been two years.”
Awkward silence stretches between us, and I pull out my phone to text Zephyr, giving AJ the space he clearly needs.
Connor: Probably don’t need to ask, but you’re checking the parking lot cameras too, right?
She replies in seconds.
Zephyr: I will. Once I get past the hospital firewalls. HIPAA makes this a hell of a lot more difficult. It was easier to hack the Boston National Bank.
I apologize for the distraction and shove my phone into my back pocket just as Isabel emerges from the bathroom. Steam wafts from the doorway, carrying the scent of industrial soap along with it.
“A shower hasneverfelt so good,” she says, crumpling up the shopping bag and throwing it into the trash. “But if I were home right now, I’d burn that dress.”
“That’s a shame. You looked damn good in it.” I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her against me.
“You should get your eyes checked. I could have gone trick-or-treating as a zombie. Or a goth witch, at least.”
