A lengthy pause gave him time to reenter the kitchen before Kennedy finally said, “Just a woman I know.”
Having helped herself to coffee, Madison surveyed Kennedy while sipping. “Hmm. I’d say it’s more than a mere acquaintance.”
Still slumped in her seat, Kennedy shrugged. “We share a similar background, that’s all.”
“Both of you were trafficked?”
The bald way his sis tossed that out there made Reyes want to muzzle her.
Kennedy, however, merely gave her a long look. “Is this a show of your research skill?”
Pinching the air, Madison said, “A tiny example. There’s more.” Opening her laptop and quickly typing, she spun it around to show a shadowy figure next to a car.
Breathing a little deeper, Kennedy lost her relaxed posture. “That’s Jodi.”
“Yup.” Touching the screen in the far right corner, Madison said, “And there’s your fire.”
“Jodi was there?” As if clearing away her shock, Kennedy scowled. “How and where did you get that photo?”
“There’s a security camera at the all-night diner on the corner. It picked up the image.”
“They gave you their footage?”
“Ah, no.” Madison checked a nail. “Not exactly.”
Reyes rubbed a hand over his face. Ignoring his sister, he sat down and took Kennedy’s hands. “Remember, I told you that Madison is the researcher? Well, she’s better than good.”
“You didn’t say she hacked private businesses.”
Not at all bothered, Madison stated, “I hack anyone—when I think there’s a good reason.”
“You,” Reyes said, shooting her a look, “need to pull back a little.”
“No.” Adamant, Kennedy freed her hands and squared her shoulders. “I want to hear it all. I need to know what I’m up against.”
“Well, as to that,” Madison said, “you, alone, aren’t up against anything.” Munificent, she spread out her arms. “You now have some of the best backup you’ll ever find, short of calling out the military.”
So many emotions stole over Kennedy’s features. Shock, resistance, horror... And hope.
Clearing her throat and making a wild grab for composure, she asked, “Why would you want to help me?”
“I don’t mean just me, since my siblings will most certainly be involved.” Madison elbowed Reyes. “Now would be a good time for you to say you’re in.”
He held up his hands. “I’m in—but I had already told Kennedy that.”
“As to why I’d help, it’s because you’re eyeball deep in a huge conspiracy, and I can’t quite sort it all out. Jodi had something to do with it, but maybe not everything.”
“Jodi is a very nice person,” Kennedy insisted. “She’s also a victim, and sometimes misguided.”
“Yes, I have it all in my notes. Is she capable of killing two men? I believe so.” She waited for Kennedy to confirm it, and when she didn’t, Madison continued, “Do I think it was her? Not necessarily.” Rapidly switching the photos, she pulled up another that showed a dark, ancient sedan. “I tracked your friend by the plates on her car. No such luck on this one, but notice the person returning to the car? Dressed all in black. Hand inside his jacket—as if returning a weapon to a holster.”
No way could Reyes miss the relief on Kennedy’s face. “So you don’t think Jodi shot them?”
Madison’s smile showed her triumph. “Obviously, you know she’s capable, which puts to rest the issue of whether or not she could. But did she?” Madison shrugged. “It’s also possible she was working with this other person.” Again she watched Kennedy.
With no reaction at all, Kennedy waited.
“Or not. We’ll have to sort it all out.”
Chugging the rest of her coffee, Kennedy stood. “I need to shower, dress and figure out where I’m going, so if you two will excuse me.” She didn’t wait for a reply, just skirted around the table and headed into the guest room, closing the door with a firm click of the lock.
“Huh.” Madison sat back. “Will she scurry out a window?”
Hell, he didn’t know if that was her intent. “Not without setting off an alarm.” His sister had done exactly what he’d feared. She’d come on too fast, too strong. Sometimes Madison forgot that not everyone lived in a cutthroat world of murder, mayhem and retribution.
Reyes rubbed his eyes, then dragged his hand down his face. “How bad is it?”
“Scale of one to ten? I’d say an eight or nine.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah. She’s in deep doo-doo.” Madison did a few more page scrolls. “Many of these places she went were innocuous enough. I was even able to find a few of her recorded speeches.” She glanced up. “I sent those to you, as well as a digital copy of her book.”
“Her book?”
“A memoir of having been trafficked. Tragic stuff, but she’s sold really well.”
“What do you title something like that?”
“No One Is Safe: The Sad Truth of Human Trafficking. There’s a whole chapter on monsters among us. Very insightful stuff. I could almost feel her terror in some of those chapters, but she’s also very plainspoken on how she’s dealt with it.”
His stomach cramped. Yes, he should probably read it to get a better understanding of what Kennedy had gone through. Not that he didn’t already know the worst of it. He’d saved enough women and kids, as well as some men, to understand the harsh impact trafficking had on a person.
For that person to be Kennedy? Whole different thing.
“She’s a terrific speaker,” Madison said. “Very down-to-earth with workable info. She doesn’t look like a celebrity, doesn’t dress like one, either.” Madison brought up an image of Kennedy onstage in jeans, with a nice blouse and blazer. “Because she seems like one of them, young people listen to her. They can relate. On this last trip, she got a lot of questions. Twice, after a lecture, she agreed to meet privately with students.”
He’d listen to at least one of the speeches as soon as he could. “Anyone sketchy?”
“I don’t think so, at least not obviously so. She also went to dinner with one of the professors at the college.” Madison glanced at him. “A man.” She went back to her laptop.
Everything masculine in Reyes went on alert. “What man?”