“Count on it,” Lynch said quietly. “You don’t need to be involved with minor details.”
Then Kendra was out in the hall and taking a deep breath.
“Okay?” Jessie had come out in the hall and was standing behind her. “I thought you might try to escape being caught between Lynch and Kelland. There might be a little tension. Lynch can always read you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said curtly. “There’s nothing to read, and if there was, it wouldn’t apply to this situation. I was just shocked and didn’t want to deal with past history when there were more important things on the agenda. We both know I won’t miss anything by leaving now. Lynch will make it his business to come after me and clarify and convince me he was right all along.”
Jessie made a face. “I admit he can be very controlling, particularly when he’ll be having those FBI guys agreeing with everything he says before the morning is over. But I can take it, so I’m going to go back and stick it out. I want to make certain I won’t miss anything since Lynch won’t be running after me with answers when this is over.” She gave her arm a quick squeeze. “And you should go away somewhere you can forget all this for a few hours. It’s been a rough couple days. Clear your mind and maybe you’ll come up with something brilliant that will bring Dee back to us. Will you do that for me?” She didn’t let her answer but turned back to the conference room. “Get out of here. I’ll see you later, Kendra.”
Then she was gone, leaving Kendra to stare after her.
Clear her mind? Come up with something brilliant? Forget for a few hours? How was she supposed to do any of those things?
But Jessie had asked her to try and she would do it. Forget Lynch. Forget everything else and let herself drift away for these few hours…
* * *
The FBI meeting didn’t break up until midafternoon and Lynch was in the center of everything. But if Jessie thought she was going to be able to slip away without a confrontation, it wasn’t going to happen.
“Jessie! Wait!” She stopped at the door to see that Lynch had broken away from the other agents and was striding toward her. “No ducking out for you,” he murmured as he took her arm and pushed her gently out of the room. “You hardly spoke all day in that meeting, and that’s not like you. So I might have to mend fences with you before I even get to Kendra. Let’s go pick her up at your place and I’ll take you both out to lunch and we’ll talk.”
“I could hardly get a word in edgewise if I’d wanted to,” she said dryly. “Between you and Kelland, you managed to dominate the conversation. Not that I felt left out. You saw that everyone who wanted a voice had one. But I wasn’t there to chime in. I just wanted to make certain that I had a grasp on what was going to happen tomorrow.” She added wryly, “And that you had control of the ransom drop. I don’t want anything to go wrong and get Dee killed.”
“Neither do I. Then I take it that you trust me to do my best for her?” He grimaced. “I know my showing up like this looks like an ego trip, but it was the only way I could do what I needed in the fastest possible time frame. After I was free to leave Tibet, I had to scramble to find out all I needed to know. I tapped as many sources as I could to bring me into the picture so that I’d be of value.”
“I could see that by the way you were interrogating everyone in that room today. I don’t believe anyone else realized that you weren’t totally knowledgeable about every facet of the case, and by the end of the session they thought you could walk on water.”
“Except Kelland.”
“Of course, you caught that. He might have a few issues on a personal level with you. Two alpha males who instinctively gravitate toward the desired female.” She added dryly, “I even told Kendra it would amuse me to see you go up against such an attractive, intelligent guy who could give you maximum competition.”
“Oh, did you? What did she say?”
“She said for me to mind my own business.”
“Excellent idea.”
She shrugged. “That sounded edgy. But I knew you’d be able to handle him. And he won’t let it interfere with getting Dee back.” She said coldly, “If it does, then I’ll expect you to step out of the way and let me take care of him. I like him, but not enough to take a chance on losing Dee.”
“I believe you can rely on me not to let that happen.”
“That’s what I’m counting on. I told Kendra that I wouldn’t object to having you around to spread a little of your razzle-dazzle if it meant you’d help Dee.”
“That’s all I want to do, Jessie.”
“I could see that today, and I wasn’t sitting there judging you.” She smiled. “If anything, I was admiring your technique. So I’m not one of the obstacles you’re going to have to jump over to get to Kendra. That’s her business. The only problem you’re going to have with me is if you get clumsy and rush in and hurt her more than she’s already been hurt by trying to help me find Dee. That would royally piss me off, Lynch.”
He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“The fact that you had to hurry so much that you might have gotten all the facts, but you didn’t have time to examine them and realize what they meant.”
“It wasn’t that bad. Go on.”
“Adrian.”
He made the connection instantly. “The man who was killed when you went after him.”
“Very good. Did any of those efficient FBI agents mention that we’d made a deal with him to try to get Dee back? That Kendra had promised to protect him? Did they tell you that she was still trying to resuscitate him even though I told her that the back of his head was blown away?”
“Oh, shit.”
“I didn’t think so. It wasn’t something that would be important to the case. But it was important to Kendra.” She stared him in the eyes. “And you know how it would affect her.”
“Hell, yes.”
“Because Kendra’s not like either of us. She didn’t go through two tours in Afghanistan as I did. And everyone knows your kill record is a complete cipher. Kendra can be tough. She’s even had to kill the bad guys every now and then. But it was always the very bad guys, and there were no promises involved. Adrian was flawed, but very human. She thought she’d persuaded him to save Dee by making him that promise. It hurt her to realize that in the end she wasn’t able to save either of them. It’s still hurting her.”
“And you couldn’t talk her out of it.”
“You know I couldn’t. You won’t be able to, either. She has to get over it on her own. Just don’t be clumsy, and if you can find a way to make it easier for her, take it.”
“I hear and obey.” He smiled crookedly. “Now can we go to your place and pick up Kendra? I can hardly demonstrate my lack of clumsiness if I’m not allowed in the same room with her.”
“You can go to my house if you like. But I’m sure she won’t be there.” She got on the elevator. “I asked her to go somewhere she could relax and clear her mind of all this business and maybe get some fresh ideas on the case. Since your appearance had obviously disturbed her, I believe she probably took my advice and is doing just that.”