Shane covered his face with his hands. “It was that guy,” he said so quietly that Meredith almost didn’t hear him.
“Which guy, Shane?” Trip asked.
Shane’s hands slid off his face, his gaze finding Meredith again. “The guy looking for me tonight. It was him, wasn’t it?”
“Maybe,” Trip answered for her. “We’re working with Chicago PD.”
“Why?” Shane whispered hoarsely, still directing his questions at Meredith.
Meredith slid down the wall to sit on the floor next to Shane. “Why us? Why is . . . whoever is doing it . . . killing people to get to us—you and me? I don’t know. But I know these two guys.” She gestured to Trip and Adam. “And I trust them to find out. I trust them with my life. At least we know that we’re . . .” She hesitated.
“Targets?” Shane supplied bitterly.
Meredith shrugged, understanding his bitterness all too well. “Yeah, for lack of a better word. Now the police can protect us, and everyone we love will know to be careful.” Because the thought of anyone she loved ending up like Tiffany and her mother . . .
She had to do some serious yoga breathing to keep her panic from taking over. Papa’s in a safe house. Under guard. Her friends were mostly cops or married to cops. She’d have to warn them. They couldn’t be caught alone. Nobody was safe right now.
“Like Linnie.” Shane aimed a furtive glance at Kyle, whose sobs were losing steam, but who still clung to Adam like a life preserver. Meredith knew the feeling. She wanted to cling to Adam and absorb his strength, because her panic still pushed at the edges of her control.
Shane bit his upper lip. “Did they . . .” He looked at Kyle again, then back at Meredith to mouth the rest of his question: Was Tiff raped?
Meredith looked at Trip, who shook his head. “No indication of that,” he said.
Shane slumped against the wall. “Thank God,” he whispered in relief.
For several long moments no one said anything. Kyle’s sobs had become shudders. Shane fixed his gaze on Meredith. “What happens next?” he asked.
Kyle pushed away from Adam, sinking into one of the chairs at the table, his face ravaged. “I have to go home. I have to be with her.”
“We’ll work with Chicago PD to make that happen,” Adam said. “When we’re sure it’s safe. Until then, we’ll find a place for you here. We have a place lined up for the night. We should get over there. It’s almost dawn.” He sat next to Kyle, laid a hand on his back. Even from where she sat on the floor, Meredith could sense the gentleness in the gesture and somehow that made her panic recede until she was no longer shaking inside.
“Is there anyone we can call for you, Kyle?” Adam asked.
Kyle shook his head, but Shane said, “His parents are in Michigan. I have their number.”
“Did they know Tiffany?” Meredith asked.
“Yeah. We were going there for Christmas, Kyle and I. Tiff was coming up the day after. Tiff and Kyle . . .” He sighed heavily. “I was gonna be best man.”
Meredith’s eyes stung. “Shit.”
Shane’s laugh was bitter. “No kidding.” With a huff, he rolled to his knees, but his movement stalled there. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so tired. Not in my whole life.”
Trip extended his hand. “You just need to find a little more juice. We’ll get you settled and you can sleep. Maybe eat something.”
Shane took Trip’s hand and slowly came to his feet. Trip then helped Meredith up and she met Adam’s eyes. You okay? she wanted to ask, but didn’t. He’d been a pillar of strength for the young man who’d needed him. Now he looked completely spent, but she knew how important it was that he maintain the illusion. She was doing the same.
Adam gave her a small nod and stood up, back ramrod straight. He extended his hand to Kyle, who sat at the table, head bent. “Kyle,” he said quietly.
Kyle took his hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. “They should have taken me,” he muttered. “It should have been me.”
“No,” Shane said, exhaustion weighing his words. “It should have been me. I should never have let you get involved.”
“No,” Adam said, his voice strong and clear. “It shouldn’t have been anyone. And we’re going to do everything we can to make sure it’s not anyone else.”
Meredith curved her lips in a smile just for him, her heart swelling with pride even though it physically ached. He’d been magnificent. She’d make sure he knew it as soon as she was able.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Sunday, December 20, 7:15 a.m.
“Kyle and Shane are as settled as they’re going to be,” Kate said, joining them at the condo’s kitchen table, where Adam and Diesel sipped coffee from sturdy mugs. The scent of fresh coffee had welcomed them as they’d staggered into the condo a half hour earlier.
Adam was grateful to whoever had made it because it was really strong. Not strong enough to offset the overwhelming craving for the “something stronger” that still clawed at his gut, but it would have to do.
The bar had been conspicuously emptied of anything remotely resembling booze. It had to have been Diesel, Adam thought, beyond grateful, because—God help him—the bar was the first corner of the room his eyes had sought.
Because . . . shit. This has been a godawful night. Holding Kyle as he’d sobbed his horrified, guilt-stricken grief . . . Adam had been shaken, inside and out. He might have fallen apart without the smile Meredith had given him at the end. It was pride, and Adam drank it in because he finally felt like he might actually deserve it. Still . . . if there had been whiskey at the bar, he wasn’t sure he would have been able to stop himself.
“Papa must have been tired,” Meredith said as she followed Kate in. “He slept through all that. He’s snoring away.” She didn’t sit with them, though. Pouring a cup of coffee, she took it to the officer standing watch outside the door to the room the two young men shared.
Small kindnesses, Adam thought. Even running on the autopilot of exhaustion, Meredith had a seemingly unlimited well of kindness. I want her kindness. I want her.
They’d all been exhausted by the time Adam had gotten them to the condo. He and Trip had loaded Shane, Kyle, and Meredith in the back of a windowless CPD van, pulling the curtain separating the front seat from the back and taking an extremely circuitous route so that the boys would not know exactly where they were going.
Kyle and Shane had been fine with that. They had, however, balked when Adam had taken their phones, to be stored at the police station. Once again, Meredith had smoothed the waters, reminding them that they were in danger and that their phones could be used to track them. She promised she’d get them disposable phones as soon as she could.
Luckily, Diesel was at the condo. And luckily, he always carried burner phones. Which made Trip sigh with a muttered, “Of course he does,” but made the young men calm down, the cell phones their tether to reality.
But the most calming factor had been Cap, Kate’s old dog. He’d immediately latched onto the boys, pressing his big, hairy body against their legs, one, then the other. Neither could resist him, even in their zombie state.
“Where’s Cap?” Adam now asked.
“In bed with Kyle,” Kate said, her smile sad. “Cap’s clean, but I’ll wash the sheets.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Adam said. “The owner of the condo has a laundry service.”
Meredith returned from her coffee errand and busied herself making tea instead. “Did Trip leave?”
“He took the van back,” Adam said. Isenberg would be having a department car brought over that Adam would be driving later today. “He said he was going home, but I heard him calling Kendra. I think he may be headed her way.”
“Good. I was worried about him,” Meredith said as she reached for the bright blue kettle on the stove, then faltered. “My kettle from home?” she a
sked, her voice small.
Kate nodded. “I know you like to have your things, so I packed your favorites. Your teacups and pots are in the cupboard. Your loose teas, too. The chocolate one smells good.”
Meredith cleared her throat, clearly overcome at the gesture.
Interesting. She did similar things for everyone around her every day, but was surprised to be the recipient. That’s gonna change.
“Because it is good.” Meredith set the kettle to boil, then got down a teapot and cup, a matching set, both very fragile looking.
I’d break them, Adam thought dolefully. Because he tended to be as clumsy with things as he was with people.
Diesel got up to refill his mug and ushered Meredith to the chair he’d vacated, his movements so smooth that Meredith wasn’t even aware she’d been manipulated into sitting. That Diesel had been sitting next to Adam was an additional benefit, because she was now close enough that Adam could detect the sweet scent of her hair.
Meredith always smelled like delicate flowers. Yet the woman sitting next to him had proven over and over again how strong she was.
He hoped she’d be strong enough to deal with what he still needed to tell her. He’d blurted out the whole “I’m an alcoholic” thing, but there was so much more, and every time Adam thought about confessing, it made him sick. And then he’d remember that Tiffany and her mother were dead, along with five others, and he sent up a prayer of thanks that she was still alive to hear his sorry story.
“Adam?”
He blinked to find Kate snapping her fingers under his nose.
“What?”
“Diesel asked you a question,” Kate said. “You zoned out.”
“Sorry, Diesel. What was the question?”
“It’s okay,” Diesel said, pouring tea from the pot into the dainty cup, making Adam wonder just how long he’d zoned out. “I just asked who owns this place and why you get to use it whenever someone needs a hidey-hole.” He brought the cup and pot to Meredith, the items looking like toys in his big paws. He was, however, surprisingly deft as he placed them in front of her. He waved off Meredith’s thanks with a bashful blush. “But you can tell the story some other time. You’re tired.”
“I can tell it,” Adam said. “It’s not long, but it’s a good one. It was a win, anyway.”
“We need one of those,” Kate said, motioning him to continue.
Meredith smiled at him. “A story with a happy ending would be very nice.”
He hoped his cheeks weren’t turning as red as Diesel’s had, but having her smile at him like that was a heady thrill. “Well, the guy who owns this place used to live in an upscale community with gates and a guardhouse, but his daughter was kidnapped one night—taken from her bed while everyone was asleep. The guard dog had been drugged, the security system deactivated, her window broken.”
“I remember that case,” Meredith said thoughtfully. “It was at least ten years ago. Her name was Skye, right? Her face was all over the news and posters all over town. I was still in grad school and one of the profs used the case to discuss the therapy needs of the child after she was returned to her parents, safe and sound.” Eyes widening comically, she slapped her hand to her mouth, dropping it low enough to say, “I spoiled the ending. I’m sorry.” But her wide eyes were teasing.
“I did say it was a win,” he said, grinning at her, “so you’re okay.”
“Good. I hate people who spoil the ending. Go on.” She twirled her finger like a queen giving commands. “She was kidnapped out of her bed, and . . . ?”
“Yes,” Kate said, looking amused. “Go on. Were you the detective on the case?”
Adam shook his head. “Oh, no. I was still on patrol at the time. Hanson—the guy you met tonight, Meredith—was my partner. Two days after the kidnapping, the detectives working the case had nothing except the make of a car spotted lurking around the neighborhood and reported by a nosy neighbor. We spotted the car and gave chase. Finally the kidnappers ditched the car, grabbed Skye out of the backseat, and ran on foot. There were two of them. I caught up to the one carrying Skye and grabbed her. She’d been drugged unconscious and was barely breathing.”
“Bastards,” Kate muttered.
“Yes, but they had some conscience, apparently. They were taking her to the ER because they couldn’t get her to wake up and her breathing had become erratic. I think they’d planned to drop her off and then run like hell. They were after the ransom. They didn’t want to kill her and that was lucky for us.”
“Was she okay?” Diesel asked.
“Yes, but it was touch and go there for a while. We got her to the ER and they pumped her stomach. She didn’t have much memory of the entire experience. They kept her drugged up the whole time.”
“What happened to the kidnappers?” Kate asked.
“They split up when they started running on foot. The one my partner was chasing pulled a gun, so Hanson shot him. The other one also pulled a gun. Got me in the leg.”
Meredith put her cup down with a clatter. “You were shot?”
“Just that once and it wasn’t serious. I turned to shoot back, but he’d just dropped like a rock. Hanson had stopped him, too. Saved my life, because Hanson said the guy had been aiming for my head. I got Skye to our cruiser and Hanson drove us to the ER, because we were only two minutes from the hospital. Raymond, her father, was very grateful, but also very paranoid about his home security afterward.”
“Understandable,” Diesel grunted.
Adam nodded. “He bought this place and basically turned it into a fortress. It’s the only apartment here at the top of the building. And the only access is by one elevator and one set of stairs. He’s got all kinds of crazy security on both of those. It was the only way any of them could sleep at night. I kept up with them, you know, on Skye’s birthday and the anniversary of the crime, just to see how she was. How they all were.”
“And how were they?” Meredith asked, her voice warm, like a soft blanket.
Adam had to fight the need to shiver. “Doing really well, all of them. Skye had nightmares for a while, like you’d expect, but she had a great counselor and gradually she healed. She started high school this year.” He chuckled. “Raymond says she wants to be a cop. He’s not crazy about that, but he’s smart enough not to fight her.”
“Where are they now?” Kate asked. “Obviously not here.”
“Japan. He got transferred by his company on a four-year assignment. He gave me the keys. Said it was mine to use when I wanted.”
“To, like, live here?” Diesel asked. “I could get used to this place.”
“I couldn’t.” Adam laughed, startling himself. He hadn’t heard himself laugh in such a long time. “I mean, look at it. It’s too perfect. I’d track mud in or break something or spill spaghetti sauce on the carpet.” He shook his head. “Not that I could have taken him up on it even if I’d wanted to. It would be such a breach of policy. But when Faith needed a place to hide last year, I asked for permission. Raymond was happy for us to use it as a safe house.”
Meredith grew abruptly still at his mention of last year and he felt the laughter seep away, because he knew exactly what she was remembering. A pathetic mess, he’d left Deacon and Faith in the condo, then had driven straight to Meredith’s house and stumbled into her arms for comfort. She’d been like a beacon, cutting through the darkness that had all but consumed him.
She still was.
But after taking her comfort, he’d left her bed the next morning like a thief. Without a word of explanation. God, I was an asshole. And down deep, had he really changed?
Suddenly exhausted, he got up, dumped what was left of his coffee, and washed the cup. Intensely aware of the silence behind him, he turned to face the table. “I’m beat. Kate, are you staying awake to watch?”
Kate studied him with a compassion that made h
is eyes absurdly sting. “Yeah,” she said. “Grab some sleep while you can.”
Diesel checked the clock on the wall with a wince. “I gotta go. I’m late for work.”
“It’s Sunday,” Kate said with a frown.
“Newspapers have no weekends, and I took yesterday off. But I can come back later. If you want,” he added uncertainly, his eyes on Adam’s, clearly asking for permission.
Adam thought of the booze that no longer cluttered the bar, tempting him. “Any time. You’re always welcome here and anywhere we are. You know that.”
Diesel’s mouth tipped up, uncertainty giving way to relief. “Good. Didn’t want to overstep.”
Yeah, they were both talking about the booze. “You didn’t. Thanks, man.”
Meredith carefully set the fragile teacup on the table, frowning at both of them. “You’ve been awake all night, Diesel. Surely there’s room for you here. This place is huge.”
“Nah.” He pulled his keys from the pocket of his jeans. “I don’t sleep much anyway. Tell your grandpa I’ll be back when I get off work. I want a rematch.”
That made Meredith smile. “I will.” She stood and stayed him with a hand to his arm. “Thank you. For everything. You’ve been a godsend today. And a really good friend.” She leaned up to kiss his cheek, making him blush again.
“That is definitely my cue to leave,” he said. “Before I fuck up and erase whatever good thing I did. Later, guys.”
They heard him say good night to the officer on watch before the front door closed.
“Mer, I put your things in that bedroom,” Kate said, pointing.
“Thank you,” Meredith said, her weariness showing through. “I’m about to fall off my feet. I’ll get the grand tour later.” She started to rinse her cup, but Kate stopped her.
“I’ll do it. You go to sleep.” Together, she and Adam watched her disappear into the bedroom. Kate lifted a brow. “The adjoining room is yours.”
Adam lifted both brows. He knew those rooms were connected by a shared bathroom—or a secret pathway, however you wanted to look at it. “Thank you?”