“She goes nowhere without me,” Reyes stated.
Crosby accepted that, then moved to look in the car. “Jesus.”
One of the officers removed his coat and held it out. Thanking him, Reyes tucked Kennedy into it and then said to Crosby, “A word?”
Scowling, Crosby moved away from the car as paramedics reached them.
Reyes, keeping Kennedy with him, stepped closer to Crosby so no one else would hear. “That’s Delbert O’Neil, scumbag trafficker.”
“O’Neil,” Crosby murmured, and a heartbeat later, his gaze shot to Kennedy. “That’s how you’re involved?”
“Medical care first,” Reyes insisted. Then he asked, “You can clean up this mess?”
That earned Reyes a snort. “I can follow the law, yes.” His gaze again went to Kennedy, who stood there shivering despite the layers she now wore.
She was too damn miserable to care how much attention she drew.
Sympathetic, Crosby said, “Give me the bare bones first so I know what I’m working with.”
“We’d just pulled into the diner. Soon as I stepped out, someone tried to run me over. While I was diving for cover, O’Neil cracked her in the head, stuffed her in his car and took off. I was right behind him, but when Kennedy came to, she attacked him and the car went off the road.” He gestured at the wreck. “This is how I found them. You saw O’Neil, with the results of the wreck.”
“You didn’t touch him?”
“Wish I could take the credit, but no.”
As if he knew Reyes had skipped a lot of pertinent info, specifically about Jodi, Crosby frowned.
Kennedy thought he’d say more, until he again looked at her.
His expression eased from doubt to concern. “We can talk after you’re feeling better. I’ll be along to the hospital shortly.”
“Thank you,” Kennedy said, glad for the reprieve. At the moment, all she wanted was to close her eyes...after she got warm.
“Thank Madison,” Crosby said. “She clued me in enough that I’m giving you some leeway now, as your father requested. Don’t abuse it.”
“I’ll be in touch.” Reyes guided her toward the hill. “Can you walk, babe?”
“Yes,” she said, though she wasn’t sure if that was true.
“Good. The fewer people I have to trust, the better I like it.” After waving off the paramedics who had started toward her, he casually asked, “Did you know my father is a doctor?”
“No.” Yet she wasn’t surprised. She’d already learned to never underestimate the McKenzie clan.
“He was a renowned surgeon, actually. He’s retired now, but still one of the best.”
Unsure what that meant, she asked, “Why are you telling me this now?”
He steered her toward his truck instead of the ambulance. “Because we aren’t going to the hospital.” He opened the door to get her inside. “That’s what Dad really wanted me to explain to you.”
“But Crosby—”
“Will figure it out soon enough.”
* * *
HE HOPED DELBERT was dead. It would save him the trouble of hunting him down and torturing him to death, the cowardly worm. How dare he interfere? It was because of him that Jodi got away once again.
Oh, how he’d wanted to grab her. There’d been enough chaos in the parking lot, combined with the snowstorm, that it probably would have been easy for his men to accomplish.
That is, until the other big man had shown up. That one looked as if he chewed thugs for breakfast. He had to be related to the one watching Kennedy. The size and overall facial features were the same.
Perhaps he needed a bomb, something that would indiscriminately destroy them all.
Everyone except Jodi.
When she’d killed his brother, she’d sealed her own fate.
He would always remember finding his brother broken, stabbed and bleeding in that dank basement cell, murdered by a worthless tramp.
Yes, it would be better if Delbert was dead. Then he could put all his considerable concentration on Jodi.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
NEVER IN HIS life had he been in such a killing rage.
Once his dad had started to examine Kennedy, he’d found severe bruising everywhere. Earlier, she’d stood there in the freezing snow allowing him to prioritize everything and everyone—except her.
“She’ll be fine,” Parrish said as he moved Reyes out of the way yet again.
Fine, although she continued to shiver uncontrollably, wore a perpetually pained expression on her face and had obviously taken a battering when the car crashed.
Walking around the exam table, Reyes tucked the blankets over the side of her that his father had finished checking. His heart hurt. His eyes burned.
He seriously wanted to kill some bastards.
And he wanted to comfort Kennedy.
The conflict of two such disparate emotions made him shake.
He took her hand in his. She looked so small and delicate on the hospital bed, wearing no more than a loose, sleeveless gown that tied in the back.
With her eyes mostly closed, Kennedy gave him a wan smile. “Other than my ears ringing, and the pain in my head, I really am okay. I was hardly aware of the bruises.”
Hardly aware. That was her being brave again. “I’m so sorry, babe.”
“Not your fault,” she whispered. “In fact, I should be apologizing. I brought this whole mess into your lives.”
Parrish spoke before Reyes could react to that nonsense. “She has a concussion for sure, and she’s going to be incredibly sore as the aches and pains sink in, but I don’t think there are any fractures.” After gently prodding the worst of the bruises on her thigh, he stared down at Kennedy. “How did you hurt your leg?”
Her eyes sank shut. “I don’t remember.”
“Hmm.” Parrish gently examined her wrist and forearm. “And this?”
“I tangled my hand in the seat belt when I realized we were going to wreck.”
Ever so carefully, Parrish manipulated her fingers and then her hand. “No pain?”
“Nothing too bad. Mostly my skin.”
“It’s like mat burn,” he explained, and he put a light wrapping over it. With that done, he covered the rest of her with the blanket, all the way to her chin, then pulled up a rolling stool and sat near her. “Can you tell me what you do remember?”