News Flash.
We’re done with that.
“Fucking-A.” Brady curses on the other end of the phone. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
“So do I.”
“Your thoughts on the previous complaints?”
“All dismissed? And there’s more than one?”
“Yes.”
“Looks like a pattern.”
“I’ll reserve judgment until Mitzy gets us intel,” Brady says. “In the meantime, we’re in full lockdown. No one in or out, except for the team. I texted Rafe and Hayes. They’re on their way and pissed. Had to talk them down. Booker is with me at The Facility; we’re training the rescues from the raid on Carmen’s father’s place. Alec’s on liberty for the weekend. We’ll meet up when you get to HQ.”
“Copy that.” I don’t like that Brady triggered on the same thing I did. We end our call. My molars grind together and my muscles tense.
I brace for what’s coming.
Unfortunately, I’ve been at this game far too long. I won’t be the least bit surprised if Mitzy comes up empty in her search for whoever submitted formal complaints on our professor. Something tells me Scott is far too practiced at manipulation, torture, and potentially murder.
My molars grind as I think how close Kaye may have come to never coming home again, and I curse myself for not recognizing what was going on sooner. With my call complete, I return to Kaye.
I knock and wait for her to answer.
“Yes?”
“It’s me. May I come in?”
“Of course.”
I enter her room with newfound purpose. She looks at me with wide eyes filled with fear, but also a sense of hope. She looks miserable and pathetic.
Lost.
Somehow, she already knows I bring good news. I love her faith in me and aim to live up to every bit of it.
“What are we going to do?” She gives a slow blink and swallows thickly.
I like this—taking action—far better than watching the light go out in her eyes from a distance.
I approach her bed, where she sits. She looks up at me with puffy eyes rimmed in red. Her cheeks glisten from new tears.
I kneel on the floor to make myself less threatening and on the same level as her. My hands grip either side of the bedframe as I take a moment to compose what I want to say.
“I called Guardian HQ and spoke with the team. We think it would be best if you and the others come down to Guardian HQ until we can figure out how to put a stop to Scott and his threats.”
“What does that mean? Put a stop?”
“Neutralize the threat.”
“You’re not going to…” Her voice drops to a whisper, and she leans in. “Kill him?”
“No.” I take her hands in mine. “No one is killing anybody.” I’m totally going to watch Scott take his last breath. “Are you aware there have been complaints regarding misconduct filed on him before?”
“No.” She shakes her head.
“More than one, and each one was summarily dismissed. It may be nothing, but it’s concerning. The tech team is looking into it.” I speak in an increasingly urgent tone and can’t help but reveal how much concern there is for them all.
“I didn’t know.” She tucks her chin.
“I need your help.” I brush the back of my thumb against her outer thigh. It’s a test of how much physical contact she’ll allow after the trauma she endured. She doesn’t pull away.
“Me?” She tilts her head, confused.
“It’s too risky for the four of you to stay here. With Scott’s threats, you need to convince Carmen and Rosalie to come back and stay at HQ. As I understand things, they were quite vocal about not staying there.”
“I can do that.” She nods and curls in her lower lip. Her voice sounds less timid. More sure about herself. This is what I hoped for. Kaye needs to restore control over her life and what’s happening around her.
“Good. Talk to them. We need all of you to get your things together. I don’t know how long this will take; a week or two for sure. Rafe and Hayes have been alerted, and you know what’s going through their minds.”
“Oh, I can imagine. I hear the I told you sos already.” The tiniest curve of her lip shows the hint of a smile.
“Exactly.”
“And this has nothing to do with Carmen’s father or our ongoing mission surrounding that. This is about…”
“Me.” She cuts me off. “It’s my fault.”
I give her hand a squeeze. She needs to hear the truth and internalize it rather than blame herself for what’s going on. Scott’s the one who carries the blame.
“You did nothing wrong. Do you know where the others might be?”
It doesn’t escape my notice that Barbi didn’t spend the night here last night, and no one is moving around upstairs. Kaye glances at her watch.
“Carmen and Rosalie are probably out for lunch. As far as Barbi? She didn’t come home last night, so I have to call her.”
“Good. We’ll need to get everyone here. You get them to agree, then we move everyone out. We need to act fast, before Scott gets wind of anything unusual happening. Is he expecting you any particular time?”
“He’s at the Decomp farm.”
“The, what?”
“It’s part of his research on human and animal decomposition?” She looks at me like I should know.
“On, what?”
“Scott and his friend, the dean of the vet school, have a research grant to study decomposition of humans and animals. They spend the first Saturday of every month at the farm. That’s why he sent me home.”
“That’s seriously gross.”
“True, but important. Especially in the field of Criminal Science.”
“If you say so.”
“Anyway, he sent me home, but I’m supposed to be back no later than five tonight. Moving Rosie and Carmen out shouldn’t raise too much concern.”
“How’s that?” I disagree on principle, but I’m interested in her thoughts.
“He knows about Carmen’s dad and how she and Rosalie are in danger. It won’t be weird for them to move back for protection. We can probably extend that to Barbi as well.”
“And you.”
“If I’m not back by five, he’ll come looking for me.”
“Can’t you tell him you’re busy? We can say Carmen and Rosalie are leaving and you want to spend the evening with them.”
“He’ll know something’s up. He always does.”
“Then we don’t give him that chance.”
I love seeing her engage. Her voice is stronger than it was moments before. She sits straighter, no longer curling in on herself, and she no longer wrings her hands, twisting her fingers.
The tears stop. She’s still overwhelmed but nods as I go over the plan.
FOURTEEN
Kaye
I call my friends and tell them it’s urgent. Unfortunately, Carmen and Rosalie went to Napa for brunch. It’s four in the afternoon before they come home. We all gather in the living room. They sit on the sofa while I pace. Zeb leans against the wall.