Page 39 of A Shot at Love
The room was a windowless cubicle used for interrogations. A single desk and a few metal chairs surrounding it were the only furniture. Gemma sat, an irritated scowl gracing her face, in one of the chairs. She had her camera in front of her and looked as if she were flipping through the photos.
The moment Ky walked in she vaulted up from her seat. “Where have you been? What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry you had to wait so long,” he said. “I had to brief my boss on what’s happened, plus I had a meeting with the State’s attorney in charge of the case.
“Any news on Jon?”
“He’s still in surgery. That’s all I know.”
“Oh.” She glanced down at the camera she held.
“I’ve been making arrangements for you to be moved, as well.”
“What do you mean moved? I thought we came here because you said it was safe. We’re not staying?”
“No. I need to get you out of here and someplace where you can’t be reached until I locate Ritandi.”
“Wait”—she put up a hand—“what do you mean until you locate him? You’re not staying with me?”
Was that regret in her voice? Or was she happy she’d finally be rid of him. Ky couldn’t tell from her tone.
“With Jon out of commission, no one else on my team knows Ritandi as well as I do. I need to coordinate the search for him and I can’t do that and keep watch over you. I’m sorry, but I promise, I’ll make sure you’re safe and secure. I’ve handpicked the agents being assigned to you.”
She didn’t respond at once, but a moment later her shoulders dropped. “So I still can’t go home?”
“Not until the threat against you is eliminated. I’m sorry. I wish there was some other way.”
She nodded.
“I need another few minutes to get everything coordinated and then we’ll leave. Okay?”
When she just nodded again, Ky was struck by how exhausted she looked. And more: worried. She bit down on the corner of her bottom lip and sat back down in her chair, an air of resignation about her that pulled at him.
It killed him to leave her safety up to another agent, but at this point he didn’t think he had any other choice. Ritandi had to be located. It was obvious the security of their investigative team had been compromised. Someone had been able to discover the safe house and get word to the mobster. Ky needed to focus all his attention on apprehending the man. The quicker he did, the quicker he knew Gemma’s nightmare would be over.
*
“Stay close to me,” Ky said as he walked her out of the elevator and into the underground garage. He had that familiar grip on her upper arm again—strong, hard, and secure —as he propelled her to a waiting vehicle. The giant black SUV was surrounded on all sides by armed men.
Ky removed his hand once he’d helped her into the SUV, and for some strange reason, she missed the contact. Two agents slid into the front passenger and driver’s seats. Once the doors were closed and locked, Ky handed her the black backpack he’d been holding.
“I thought you’d like to have these back.”
Gemma zipped open one of the pockets and found her laptop and her spare camera .
For the first time in hours she smiled. “Thank you,” she told him. It was a kind gesture, one she appreciated more than she could put into words.
Ky nodded. “They were cleared at the scene, so there was no reason we had to keep them in storage. Just FYI,” he said as they started out from the garage, “the computer techs checked the wireless capability on your computer and the internal tracking system. Both are still disabled. When this is all over, the systems can easily be reactivated. But at least you’ll be able to work where you’re going and I’ll know no one can track your location.”
“Thank you, again.” She tucked the camera she’d brought with her next to the spare and re-zipped the pack.
They moved into the metropolitan DC midafternoon traffic. Not familiar with the area Gemma couldn’t tell in what direction they were heading.
“Where are we going?” Gemma asked.
“Alexandria. I want you out of the city. My men have already arrived and they’re getting the safe house set up for you.”
