‘Why?’ Shane whispered hoarsely, still directing his questions at Meredith.
Meredith slid down the wall to sit on the floor next to Shane. ‘Why us? Why is . . . whoever is doing it . . . killing people to get to us – you and me? I don’t know. But I know these two guys.’ She gestured to Trip and Adam. ‘And I trust them to find out. I trust them with my life. At least we know that we’re . . .’ She hesitated.
‘Targets?’ Shane supplied bitterly.
Meredith shrugged, understanding his bitterness all too well. ‘Yeah, for lack of a better word. Now the police can protect us, and everyone we love will know to be careful.’ Because the thought of anyone she loved ending up like Tiffany and her mother . . .
She had to do some serious yoga breathing to keep her panic from taking over. Papa’s in a safe house. Under guard. Her friends were mostly cops or married to cops. She’d have to warn them. They couldn’t be caught alone. Nobody was safe right now.
‘Like Linnie.’ Shane aimed a furtive glance at Kyle, whose sobs were losing steam, but who still clung to Adam like a life preserver. Meredith knew the feeling. She wanted to cling to Adam and absorb his strength, because her panic still pushed at the edges of her control.
Shane bit his upper lip. ‘Did they . . .’ He looked at Kyle again, then back at Meredith to mouth the rest of his question. ‘Was Tiff raped?’
Meredith looked at Trip who shook his head. ‘No indication of that,’ he said.
Shane slumped against the wall. ‘Thank God,’ he whispered, in relief.
For several long moments no one said anything. Kyle’s sobs had become shudders. Shane fixed his gaze on Meredith. ‘What happens next?’ he asked.
Kyle pushed away from Adam, sinking into one of the chairs at the table, his face ravaged. ‘I have to go home. I have to be with her.’
‘We’ll work with Chicago PD to make that happen,’ Adam said. ‘When we’re sure it’s safe. Until then, we’ll find a place for you here. We have a place lined up for the night. We should get over there. It’s almost dawn.’ He sat next to Kyle, laid a hand on his back. Even from where she sat on the floor, Meredith could sense the gentleness in the gesture and somehow that made her panic recede until she was no longer shaking inside.
‘Is there anyone we can call for you, Kyle?’ Adam asked.
Kyle shook his head, but Shane said, ‘His parents are in Michigan. I have their number.’
‘Did they know Tiffany?’ Meredith asked.
‘Yeah. We were going there for Christmas, Kyle and I. Tiff was coming up the day after. Tiff and Kyle . . .’ He sighed heavily. ‘I was gonna be best man.’
Meredith’s eyes stung. ‘Shit.’
Shane’s laugh was bitter. ‘No kidding.’ With a huff, he rolled to his knees, but his movement stalled there. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been so tired. Not in my whole life.’
Trip extended his hand. ‘You just need to find a little more juice. We’ll get you settled and you can sleep. Maybe eat something.’
Shane took Trip’s hand and slowly came to his feet. Trip then helped Meredith up and she met Adam’s eyes. You okay? she wanted to ask, but didn’t. He’d been a pillar of strength for the young man who’d needed him. Now, he looked completely spent, but she knew how important it was that he maintain the illusion. She was doing the same.
Adam gave her a small nod and stood up, back ramrod straight. He extended his hand to Kyle, who sat at the table, head bent. ‘Kyle,’ he said quietly.
Kyle took his hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. ‘They should have taken me,’ he muttered. ‘It should have been me.’
‘No,’ Shane said, exhaustion weighing his words. ‘It should have been me. I should never have let you get involved.’
‘No,’ Adam said, his voice strong and clear. ‘It shouldn’t have been anyone. And we’re going to do everything we can to make sure it’s not anyone else.’
Meredith curved her lips in a smile just for him, her heart swelling with pride even though it physically ached. He’d been magnificent. She’d make sure he knew it as soon as she was able.
Cincinnati, Ohio,
Sunday 20 December, 7.15 A.M.
‘Kyle and Shane are as settled as they’re going to be,’ Kate said, joining them at the condo’s kitchen table where Adam and Diesel sipped coffee from sturdy mugs. The scent of fresh coffee had welcomed them as they’d staggered into the condo half an hour earlier.
Adam was grateful to whoever had made it because it was really strong. Not strong enough to offset the overwhelming craving for the ‘something stronger’ that still clawed at his gut, but it would have to do.
The bar had been conspicuously emptied of anything remotely resembling booze. It had to have been Diesel, Adam thought, beyond grateful, because – God help him – the bar was the first corner of the room his eyes had sought.
Because . . . shit. This has been a godawful night. Holding Kyle as he’d sobbed his horrified, guilt-stricken grief . . . Adam had been shaken, inside and out. He might have fallen apart without the smile Meredith had given him at the end. It was pride and Adam drank it in because he finally felt like he might actually deserve it. Still . . . if there had been whiskey at the bar he wasn’t sure he would have been able to stop himself.
‘Papa must have been tired,’ Meredith said as she followed Kate in. ‘He slept through all that. He’s snoring away.’ She didn’t sit with them, though. Pouring a cup of coffee, she took it to the officer standing watch outside the door to the room the two young men shared.
Small kindnesses, Adam thought. Even running on the autopilot of exhaustion, Meredith had a seemingly unlimited well of kindness. I want her kindness. I want her.
They’d all been exhausted by the time Adam had gotten them to the condo. He and Trip had loaded Shane, Kyle, and Meredith in the back of a windowless CPD van, pulling the curtain separating the front seat from the back, and taking an extremely circuitous route so that the boys would not know exactly where they were going.
Kyle and Shane had been fine with that. They had, however, balked when Adam had taken their phones, to be stored at the police station. Once again, Meredith had smoothed the waters, reminding them that they were in danger and that their phones could be used to track them. She promised she’d get them disposable phones as soon as she could.
Luckily, Diesel was at the condo. And luckily, he always carried burner phones. Which made Trip sigh with a muttered, ‘Of course he does,’ but made the young men calm down, the cell phones their tether to reality.
But the most calming factor had been Cap, Kate’s old dog. He’d immediately latched onto the boys, pressing his big, hairy body against their legs, one, then the other. Neither could resist him, even in their zombie state.
‘Where’s Cap?’ Adam now asked.
‘In bed with Kyle,’ Kate said, her smile sad. ‘Cap’s clean, but I’ll wash the sheets.’
‘Don’t worry about it,’ Adam said. ‘The owner of the condo has a laundry service.’
Meredith returned from her coffee errand and busied herself making tea instead. ‘Did Trip leave?’
‘He took the van back,’ Adam said. Isenberg would be having a department car brought over that Adam would be driving later today. ‘He said he was going home, but I heard him calling Kendra. I think he may be headed her way.’
‘Good. I was worried about him,’ Meredith said as she reached for the bright blue kettle on the stove, then faltered. ‘My kettle from home?’ she asked, her voice small.
Kate nodded. ‘I know you like to have your things, so I packed your favorites. Your teacups and pots are in the cupboard. Your loose teas too. The chocolate one smells good.’
Meredith cleared her throat, clearly overcome at the gesture. Interesting. She did similar things for everyone around her every day, but was surprised to be the recipient. That’s gonna change.