He blinked twice. Hard. Then closed his eyes and willed himself to relax. She stroked his forehead again and relaxing became much easier.

  ‘What?’ Kate asked sharply. He opened his eyes to see her and Novak glaring at each other.

  Novak shrugged. ‘I didn’t say anything.’ But he wanted to, Decker could tell.

  He waited until Novak looked down at him to narrow his eyes. Back off, boy.

  Novak grimaced. ‘Wow,’ he said sarcastically. ‘I didn’t need any blinks or letters to understand that, Davenport. Message received, loud and clear. Ceasing and desisting.’

  Decker had time to nod before a nurse came through the door and pushed Novak aside. ‘You two have to leave,’ she said, forgoing any preamble. ‘You’re upsetting my patient.’

  Novak pulled his badge from his pocket, but the nurse waved it away. ‘I know who you are,’ she said, not budging an inch. ‘Who you both are. And I don’t care. You have to go.’

  Decker’s shoulders came off the mattress in mute protest, but Kate gently pushed him back down while the nurse took his vitals.

  ‘Ma’am,’ Kate said quietly. ‘He’s a federal agent with something he needs to share. If you make us go, he’ll become more agitated. Let him get it out and we’ll go so he can rest. All right?’

  The nurse frowned at all of them. ‘I know he’s a federal agent out there, but in here he’s my patient, and I’m here to make sure he survives to get back out there.’ She huffed a frustrated sigh. ‘Five minutes, and that’s only because he’s managed to calm himself down. But if his pulse rises again, I’ll throw you both out if I have to drag you out myself, and don’t you think I can’t. I raised four sons who were as big as Mr Davenport here. I have skills you do not want to experience for yourselves. Am I clear?’

  ‘Yes, ma’am,’ Kate said respectfully, her lips curving in a genuine smile. ‘Thank you for making him your priority. We won’t make you throw us out.’

  ‘All right then,’ the nurse grumbled. ‘I’ll tell his doctor he’s awake.’

  Novak looked over his shoulder to make sure she was gone, then rolled his eyes at Kate. ‘Suck-up,’ he muttered.

  ‘Yeah, and who bought us five more minutes, huh, hotshot? You don’t fuck with the nurses. They will own your ass.’ She met Decker’s eyes. ‘And you, mister, you keep it together. We’ll talk about the night you were shot later. For now, what am I looking for on the CDs?’

  The CD. The kids. Decker closed his eyes for a moment, trying to remember where and when he’d heard that. He sequenced locations and dates until he figured it out. Okay, right. Opening his eyes, he began jabbing at letters the moment Novak put the chart within his reach.

  TU AUG 4. He paused a second. 7 8 9 PM?

  ‘Tuesday, August fourth?’ Novak asked when he was finished. ‘So somewhere between seven and nine that evening?’

  Decker nodded, dropping his hand back to his side.

  ‘That was the day before you were shot,’ Kate said. ‘Hold on.’ He shifted his body so that he could watch as she turned away, but then she bent over to retrieve a bag under her chair and Decker’s mind temporarily shorted out.

  Kate Coppola had a very nice ass and her slacks were just snug enough to show it off. Hunger rose within him, feral and blistering hot, and the fingers of his free hand flexed and tightened into a fist as he imagined touching her, praying that she’d let him.

  ‘Watch it, asshole,’ Novak warned next to his ear in a near-silent growl.

  I am, Decker thought, following every move Kate made. Don’t you worry ’bout that.

  Novak’s fingers grabbed his chin none too gently, forcing him to look away from Kate and up at him. ‘She’s not yours,’ he mouthed silently.

  Decker lifted his brows, returning the man’s stare. Not yet.

  Novak’s glare became glacial. He released Decker’s chin and straightened to a rather impressive height only seconds before Kate returned with a plain canvas bag with a picture of kittens and a ball of yarn printed on the side. ‘My knitting,’ she explained, setting it on the mattress beside him. ‘What now?’ she asked Novak, exasperation in her tone.

  Novak shook his head. ‘Your knitting bag’s not very secure,’ he grunted.

  She blinked, surprised by his tone, not understanding that Novak’s sour attitude was directed at Decker. ‘No less secure than my computer bag. I kept both bags secure.’

  ‘Unless you’d fallen asleep in that chair,’ Novak snapped.

  ‘Shut up.’ Kate shot Novak a quelling look that left Decker feeling smug, then pulled out a ball of camo-green yarn from the bag with one hand and dug around with the other. ‘I have five CDs with me. Hopefully it’s one of these. I’ve already listened to Outer Office I, II, and III.’ She produced the CDs in the sleeves in which he’d stored them and held them up, one at a time. ‘Outer Office IV? Kitchen? Garage? Master Bedroom? Home Office?’

  He blinked hard and she put the four rejects back under her yarn. ‘Home Office, then. I’ll check it ASAP. Now Novak and I are going to let you rest.’

  Decker grabbed her arm when she moved to leave and, ignoring Novak’s growl of disapproval, tapped her wrist where a watch would be if she wore one. ‘What time is it now?’ she asked, and he shook his head. Her eyes registered understanding. ‘When will I come back?’

  He let go of her arm with a nod.

  ‘It’ll be a few hours,’ she said.

  ‘At least,’ Novak grunted. ‘She’s going back to her hotel to sleep. Right, Kate?’

  Her mouth tightened in annoyance. ‘Yes. God. But first we are going to find out what’s on the damn CD, okay, Novak? We’ll get the info to Zimmerman and then I’ll go to sleep.’ Her jaw clenched when Novak didn’t respond. ‘Back off, Deacon,’ she said very quietly, and Decker could only hope she never used that tone on him. ‘I don’t know what bug has crawled up your ass, but evict it. Now.’

  Novak nodded, lips thinly pursed. ‘Got it. You ready to go?’

  ‘Wait for me at the elevator, please. I’ll be right out. Go,’ she barked when Novak didn’t immediately move. ‘Our five minutes are almost up.’

  Novak left without a backward glance, and Kate looked at Decker, still annoyed. ‘I don’t know what that was about, but I suspect you do.’

  Decker widened his eyes and blinked innocently, but she wasn’t fooled.

  She rolled her eyes. ‘I had four brothers, ace. Don’t even try.’

  Had? Who was Jack? He had too many questions, but only one answer that was important at the moment. He grabbed the chart Novak had left behind and began to point. KIDS. Then he pointed to the CD in her hand and watched her pale, the freckles on her nose standing out in stark contrast.

  ‘What kids?’ she asked urgently.

  He shrugged helplessly, because he didn’t know their names. He didn’t know who had them. He only knew two things – first, that they were in danger. He tapped her wrist again, then, with his forefinger, he mimicked the ticking of the hand of a clock.

  ‘Whoever they are, their time is running out,’ she said grimly.

  He nodded, closing his eyes. That was the second thing. He’d done what he could for now. He was going to have to trust her to take the baton and run with it. For now, at least.

  He heard her gathering her things, then felt her fingertips on his face, stroking down the side of the mask, sending a shiver racing across his skin. ‘Rest now,’ she murmured.

  He opened his eyes, staring up at her stubbornly, and one side of her mouth lifted. ‘Yeah, I get it. You don’t want to rest. You want to be out there, doing your job. Tough shit. For now anyway,’ she added when he narrowed his eyes. ‘The doctor said that once they get you off the ventilator, you’ll bounce back pretty quickly. A week, tops. You’ll get up and you’ll walk out and you’ll go back to work. But not
today. Today your job is to pass the breathing tests so that the doctor takes out that tube. I’ll be back later when I have something to tell you.’

  He traced a cross over his heart, clumsily, and the other side of her mouth lifted.

  ‘Yeah, I promise.’ She cupped the side of his face, sliding her fingers into his hair, and he wanted to sigh. But he couldn’t, so he gripped her wrist lightly and turned his head into her hand. Heard her breath catch. But she didn’t pull away. Not for another few seconds that he greedily hoarded, not knowing when she’d be back.

  Someone cleared a throat from the direction of the door.

  ‘The nurse is giving me the evil eye, so I’ll say goodbye for now.’ Tugging her hand free, she wrote a phone number below the printed keyboard before folding the paper and slipping it into his hand. ‘That’s my cell. Call me if you need me, but rest now.’

  Cincinnati, Ohio,

  Thursday 13 August, 6.30 A.M.

  Dr Meredith Fallon loved her peeps. But she respected them almost as much, if not more. The women she called her friends had been through the crucible, had come out so damn strong. But their strength was tempered with compassion and a commitment to making the world a better place for everyone around them. Not a selfish heart in the bunch.

  Unless it came to pancakes, especially when Bailey Beardsley wielded the spatula. Then it was every girl for herself. At the moment eight women were crowded around the prep island in Bailey’s country-style kitchen, arguing about what filling should go in this morning’s batch.

  Meredith stayed out of it, preferring to watch her friends interacting from the quiet comfort of the Beardsleys’ kitchen table while she sipped from a large mug of coffee.

  ‘Are they always like that?’

  Meredith turned to the young woman sitting next to her, flashing her a quick grin. This was Audrey O’Bannion’s first introduction to Meredith’s growing circle of friends. Meredith had met Audrey through Dr Faith Corcoran and Detective Scarlett Bishop. Faith had joined Meredith’s counseling practice nine months earlier and Scarlett worked with Faith’s fiancée, Deacon.

  Audrey and Faith were step-cousins, their family tree just a little bit warped. Okay. Really warped, Meredith allowed, because Scarlett was now dating Audrey’s oldest brother. Meredith, Faith, and Scarlett had taken Audrey under their collective wing.

  The O’Bannions were wealthy, but Audrey struck Meredith as incredibly lost. She’d already been arrested three times for her involvement in protests ranging from animal rights to the plight of the homeless. She also worked tirelessly to raise funds for those causes, so she did good things. Still, she seemed rudderless. And so lonely.

  Meredith was all about changing the lonely. ‘They’re just having fun,’ she told Audrey. ‘At least there’s no wine involved. Movie night with wine? Choosing which flick we were going to watch once took three hours. By then I’d run out of wine and all their men had come to get them.’

  Audrey’s smile was small, but real. ‘That sounds like fun, too. Maybe more fun than the actual movie. Do you always meet here, at Bailey’s house?’

  ‘Movie nights are at my place, but breakfasts are always here because Bailey is an awesome cook. In fact, Bailey and I are step-cousins too, just like you and Faith. Bailey’s stepsister, Alex, is my cousin. Bailey and Alex grew up near Atlanta, but Alex came to live with my family when her mother . . . well, she was murdered.’

  Audrey’s smile faded. ‘How horrible,’ she whispered.

  Meredith knew Audrey understood, because her younger brother had been murdered nine months before and she’d nearly lost both of her older brothers just a week ago. There was a lot of pain happening behind Audrey’s polished facade. Which was why Meredith had mentioned it. Audrey needed to know that she wasn’t alone.

  ‘It was horrible,’ Meredith said. ‘For Bailey, too, because she loved Alex’s mom. You would never guess it to look at her now, but Bailey became an addict. Heroin.’ Meredith nodded at Audrey’s shocked gasp. ‘Alex went back to Atlanta a few years back to help Bailey and her daughter, Hope. Alex fell for a cop down there and stayed. Bailey met her husband, Ryan, down there too, but she needed a new start after finishing rehab, so they came up here to live with me until they got this house. Bailey finished her nursing degree and is now a substance abuse counselor. She works for Wendi Cullen, the blonde who’s currently shoving berries into her mouth like a rabid squirrel. Sometimes it’s hard to believe Wendi is the director of a halfway house for adolescent girls and not one of the residents. But the girls love her.’

  Audrey chuckled. ‘Wendi is why I’m here, right? Her halfway house needs funds.’

  ‘No, sweetie. You’re why you’re here. I think you’ll like this group of ladies. We’re an amazing support system.’ Something Audrey desperately needed. ‘You should totally hang out with us. Second Thursday is breakfast, fourth Wednesday is movies. You’re invited.’

  Audrey eyed Meredith with wary gratitude. ‘Thank you. But when you invited me to breakfast you said the house Wendi uses was being taken away from her and she needs funds for another property.’

  ‘Her house is getting knocked down, actually. It’s targeted for demolition in six weeks – a new road’s going through. But we can’t afford to lose the services she provides.’

  ‘She takes in young women who’ve been forced into prostitution. She gives them a safe, nurturing environment where they can heal and be reintegrated into the community.’

  Meredith was impressed. ‘Somebody did their homework.’

  ‘I always do when I’m asked to do a fund-raiser,’ Audrey said a trifle defensively.

  ‘Then that explains why you’re so successful at it.’ Meredith smiled and watched Audrey’s ire visibly recede. ‘I get the feeling that people underestimate you, and dismiss you as flighty or silly or maybe even dumb. I won’t be one of those people.’

  ‘Thank you. But I read Wendi’s bio, that she was a victim too. That her abuser took obscene photos of her and distributed them back in the early days of the Internet. I’m impressed that she’s made something so positive out of something so horrific. I want to help with that.’

  ‘And we will gladly take your help. We really wanted you to join our group, but you kept blowing off our invitations. And don’t tell me that you’re busy. We’re all busy. Faith, Wendi, Bailey, and I are all counselors or therapists. Dani’s a doctor. Delores runs an animal shelter. Corinne is a college student and interns with me, doing art therapy with the really little ones. And Scarlett and Kendra are cops, so they only join us when they’re off duty.’

  Truth be told, Scarlett Bishop hadn’t joined them very often at all, even when she’d been off duty, and the few times she had, her guard had been up, as if she’d been afraid to show her true self. That Scarlett had shown up this morning had been a very pleasant surprise. That she was openly laughing with the others was a development that made Meredith’s heart happy – and one she attributed directly to the detective’s new relationship with Audrey’s oldest brother, Marcus. Whatever you’re doing, Marcus, keep it up. Please.

  Kendra’s presence, while not a surprise, was troubling because she wasn’t laughing with the others. And she kept throwing furtive glances at Meredith over her shoulder when she thought no one was looking. Something was wrong.

  ‘Is Kendra a detective too?’ Audrey asked.

  ‘Oh no, not yet. She’s just out of the academy. She and Wendi are sisters, by the way.’

  Audrey blinked, but her good manners allowed her to say only, ‘Oh?’

  Meredith chuckled, because Wendi was five-two, blond, and rail-thin, while Kendra was nearly six feet tall and muscular, her skin ebony. ‘Foster sisters,’ she explained. ‘They love getting a reaction, so when they tell you, pretend to be surprised again, okay?’

  ‘O-kay. So . . . should I bring wine to movie night?’


  ‘Sure, but nothing too expensive. It just has to taste good with chocolate.’

  Kendra abruptly broke away from the larger group to join them at the table. ‘I didn’t get a chance to say hi and welcome, Audrey. So hi.’ She smiled. ‘And welcome.’ She put the bowl of berries on the table. ‘Wendi was gonna make herself sick. Woman needs a frickin’ keeper.’

  Meredith popped a berry into her mouth. ‘You do a good job of it, Kendra.’

  Kendra smiled fondly. ‘I know. I’ve had a lot of practice.’ Then her smile dimmed. ‘I have a small confession. I came specifically today because there’s something I wanted to talk to you about, Mer, if it’s okay. I didn’t mean to interrupt if you two are talking serious stuff. I waited until it sounded like you were done.’

  ‘No,’ Audrey said with a genuine smile. ‘You two talk. I think I’ll dive into the fray.’

  Meredith waited until Audrey had joined the noisy group around the island, then turned to Kendra, quickly sobering because she looked upset. ‘What’s up, hon?’

  Kendra opened her mouth. Closed it. She looked down at her clenched fists. ‘I’ve been having fantasies. About doing things to perpetrators. Especially the ones who do the sex crimes.’

  Oh. Poor Kenny. ‘Violent things?’ Meredith murmured.

  Kendra nodded grimly. ‘Oh yeah. So violent that if I admitted them to anyone in the department, I’d be in a shrink’s office so fast my head would spin. I’d end up on traffic detail for the rest of my life. I’m a little scared myself. I have a trigger temper sometimes.’ She turned beseeching eyes to Meredith. ‘I don’t want to ruin my career. I don’t want to end up in jail. I should say I don’t want to hurt anyone, but I can’t make myself go that far.’

  ‘I’d have called you a liar if you had,’ Meredith said mildly. ‘I want to strangle them with my bare hands, eviscerate them and feed them their own guts. I want them to die a thousand painful deaths for every child whose life they’ve ruined. I’m glad I don’t have direct access to the DMV license plate database. It would be too serious a temptation to get their addresses.’