Sterling stood there, arms crossed. “She wants to be with you, you dolt.”
“I know that.”
Undeterred by his dark frown, Sterling continued, “I wouldn’t let Cade leave me behind.”
“You,” he said, “aren’t natural.”
“Because I’m female? Well, look at you, being all sexist.”
Cursing a blue streak wouldn’t help anything, but Reyes did it anyway.
Kennedy touched his face. “I keep telling you. I feel safest when I’m with you.”
He glared at Sterling, hoping she’d give them a private moment. She didn’t budge. Frustrated enough to make his hair stand on end, Reyes stared at Kennedy a long minute. Best-laid plans and all that. His had just gone horribly awry. “If that’s true,” he said, feeling Sterling’s smile as she listened in, “then maybe you should plan on staying with me.”
“Yes! I knew you’d see reason.” She started to go.
Reyes stopped her. “I didn’t mean just today, babe.” Watching her closely, he saw her eyes flare. “I mean after this is over.”
“After?”
Let Sterling watch, he didn’t care. Swooping in, he kissed Kennedy, taking his time, moving his mouth over hers, teasing his tongue along her lips and then into her mouth. She clung to him, and with a soft groan she reciprocated.
When he lifted his mouth, she looked dazed.
Reyes smoothed a hand over her hair, letting his thumb lightly brush the bruise on her temple. “Stay with me.”
She bit her lips, then slowly smiled and nodded. “Of course I will. Thank y—”
Another kiss stopped her from thanking him.
“Ahem.” Grinning, Sterling said, “Not that the show isn’t great, but we’re running low on time. So what’s it to be? Want her in a vest and armed, or do you plan to lock her in a closet?”
Running a hand over his head, Reyes turned away, immediately paced back and cursed. “You’ll stay right where I put you?”
Kennedy nodded.
“You swear you know how to shoot?”
“Adequately.” She winced. “Can’t promise I’ll hit anything, but I can definitely return fire if necessary.”
“You’ll stay low, stay safe and—”
“Yes and yes.” Grabbing him, Kennedy squeezed him tight. “I’ll be right back. Don’t you dare leave without me.”
* * *
MADISON SAT IN the library, her laptop in front of her, watching all the players. Reyes, with Kennedy and Jodi, would reach the gym in the next fifteen minutes or so.
Cade and Sterling were at the back of an old house, slowly closing in on where two of Golly’s cohorts had holed up.
Golly hadn’t moved from the motel, though two men had come in to see him. It was sheer luck that a camera on the connected diner caught the front of his cabin. The picture was dim, but she made it out just fine.
When the two men left, she noted that one of them carried a heavy duffel bag. Suddenly she had a very bad feeling about things. She watched the men until they got into a car, then she wrote down the license plate number and did a quick, secure search.
Matthew Grimes.
With a name in hand, she extended her search and found that the guy had a long record, similar to Golly’s, and lived locally. Why hadn’t she known about him sooner? Was he someone newly brought into the schemes?
Her bad feeling grew.
Her dad walked in, and, being so attuned to his children, he immediately knew something was wrong.
“What is it?” Parrish asked, hurrying around the desk to look over her shoulder.
“I don’t know.” Madison skimmed all the players again. The car with the two men left in a hurry. Because her father encouraged them to share misgivings—he was a big believer in instincts—she laid out her thoughts.
“This is the first I’ve seen Grimes. Why would Golly need a new hand at this point?” She looked at her father. “Unless his plan of attack has changed?” A terrible thought, given everything was already in the works. Both her brothers were out there, Sterling, too, and now she felt like she hadn’t judged the situation well at all.
Parrish, always methodical, stared at the screen for only a few seconds before making a decision. “Call the detective. See if he knows anything about Grimes.”
Glad to have a valid reason to reach out to Crosby again, Madison lifted her phone and, with the number memorized, dialed him. Knowing her father would want to listen in, she put the phone on speaker and set it on the desk.
He didn’t answer until the fifth ring, and he sounded harried. “Detective Albertson.”
Watching the screens, Madison saw the driver of the car take an exit that would lead him to the general area of Reyes’s gym. Alarm bells went off in her head. In cases like this, she didn’t believe in coincidences.
If the gym was his destination, and she’d bet it was, he’d arrive within minutes of Reyes.
“It’s Madison McKenzie.”
Crosby missed a beat before saying, “Ms. McKenzie. I’m surprised to hear from you.”
She rolled her eyes at his absurd deference. Whether he’d enjoyed it or not, she’d kissed him. He could certainly use her first name. “You probably wouldn’t have,” she admitted, “not after that insult you dealt me.”
Her father’s brows went up.
She shook her head at him, letting him know it wasn’t anything to concern him, then forged on. “The thing is, Crosby, I have a situation and I’m hoping you can help me.”
“Hang on one second.”
She heard movement, then the sound of a car door closing, followed by the start of an engine.
“I was just on my way out. Crazy busy at the moment, but I can talk while I drive.”
“Thank you.” She considered what to say, yet knew the outcome would be the same. “Now, I don’t want you to get angry.”
“That pretty much guarantees it right there,” he growled. “What the hell are you up to now?”
He said that with so much accusation, she huffed. “Matthew Grimes. Do you know the name?”
Crosby surprised her with amped-up anger. “Damned right I know him. I’m headed to his last known location right now. How the hell do you know him?”
When Parrish gave her a nod, she confessed, “I’m keeping tabs on Golly. Grimes just left him.”