‘Killed the rest of us,’ she finished quietly. ‘Got it. So we’re all targets. Wonderful.’
He met her eyes. ‘So we all have to be careful. We were lucky today. Except for Troy. He’s been admitted to the hospital. He underrepresented his injuries.’
Her eyes widened. ‘He lied?’
‘Big-time, the asshole.’ But his tone wasn’t angry. It was actually almost fond, and that made her smile. ‘Make sure Kate knows, okay? I don’t think he told her, either.’ He pressed another hard kiss to her mouth. ‘Get some rest. I’ll call you when I can.’
But he didn’t let her go. He stood there staring at her with such need that she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close when he dropped his head on her shoulder. She could feel his erection, hard against her abdomen, but he wasn’t insistent. He didn’t push, didn’t thrust. This wasn’t about passion or sex. This was about comfort.
So that was what she gave him. Stroking his hair, she held him. It was just the two of them. No work, no boss, no murder.
Finally, he stepped back, his eyes calmer. ‘Thank you. I needed that.’
She smiled up at him. ‘So did I.’
He cupped her chin, brushed his thumb over her lips. ‘You look exhausted. Get some sleep. I’ll come to you as soon as I can.’
‘If I’m asleep, please wake me up.’
His lips curled, his dark eyes sparkling with something wicked. ‘Count on it.’ He took a final kiss, smoothed his tie, then left with a wink that was so playful that she laughed. He jogged to the briefing room, but she kept her pace more sedate. The kisses had been lovely, but now her head hurt again and she was starting to feel a little sick.
Kate wore an irrepressible grin and puckered her lips teasingly when Meredith got back to where she, Clarke, and Mallory waited. Until Meredith told her that Troy had been admitted to the hospital.
Kate’s grin became a scowl. ‘I think I need to visit my partner in the hospital and let him know that he was supposed to have informed me – his partner – that he’d been injured. I mean, it’s not like he’s my partner or anything.’ Cap whined at her distress and she sighed, giving the old boy a scratch behind the ears. ‘It’s okay, boy. But I can’t take Cap into the hospital without all kinds of special fuss and I have to get you back to the condo and then drive Mallory to Mariposa House. I’ll have to rip Troy a new one tomorrow.’ She paused to stare at Meredith. ‘What’s wrong with you? You look . . . off.’
‘I have a headache,’ Meredith confessed.
Her grandfather stood, sobering quickly. ‘Since when?’
‘Since the van this afternoon. My head hit the floor kind of hard. I figured it would go away, but it hasn’t.’ She touched the back of her head. ‘Right here.’
‘Meredith!’ Clarke’s tone was scolding, but his hands were gentle as he lifted her hair away from where it hurt. ‘You’ve got a goose egg, all right. Dammit, girl, I thought you had sense. We could have been icing it. You should have been resting.’
‘Clarke,’ Kate said quietly. ‘Not helping.’
‘You’re right.’ He drew a breath and let go of Meredith’s hair. ‘You’re probably fine, but we’re not taking any chances. Let’s go to the ER and get you checked out.’
She turned to protest, but his jaw was hard, his eyes determined. She knew that look. It was no use arguing. She sighed. ‘All right, Papa.’
‘I’ll tell Adam where we’re going,’ Kate said, then shook her head. ‘No, he’ll just worry. I’ll text Isenberg and let her decide if she tells him or not.’
‘Don’t I get a say in that?’ Meredith asked, knowing she sounded petulant.
‘No,’ Kate said flatly. ‘He’ll just worry and then he won’t be paying attention. You want that to happen?’
‘No,’ Meredith muttered.
‘Thought not.’ Kate sent one text, then another. ‘That takes care of Isenberg and I just told our FBI escort, also handpicked by my boss, that we’re heading downstairs and that we have a change in plans. Mallory, you’re just gonna have to hang tight till we figure this out. I’ll get you back to Mariposa, I’m just not sure when.’
Mallory bit her lip. ‘I’m sorry, Kate. I should have just stayed at the house. I wouldn’t have caused you to have to make the trip back out there tonight.’
‘Nonsense,’ Kate said briskly. ‘You saw Meredith nearly killed yesterday. Today you needed to see that she was okay. And she is . . . mostly. You were all hunkered into yourself, and now you’re not. So it’s all good.’ She grinned at them. ‘And it’s about to get even better.’ She lifted her knitting bag, a larger tote than usual, and pulled out three wigs.
Meredith gaped. ‘I’m not wearing one of those.’
‘Never say never,’ Kate rebuked mildly. ‘I planned on disguising us on the way back to the condo. You and me? Our hair stands out. Let’s make it a little bit harder for the bad guys to figure that you’ve left the building.’
Meredith winced. ‘You think they’re watching for me to leave?’
Kate gave her a look. ‘How hard did you hit your head, girl? Have you forgotten that you’re a target?’
Meredith grimaced. ‘No.’
‘Then hush and put on the damn wig. I’ve got blondes and brunettes.’
Meredith sighed. ‘Blondes have more fun, right? Let me be a blonde.’
The wig wasn’t really so bad. It felt like real hair, not like the cheap Halloween wigs. She turned to ask her grandfather how she looked, but the words never left her mouth because he was staring at her, his eyes wide and suspiciously bright. ‘What, Papa?’
‘You look just like your gran,’ he murmured. ‘I was just surprised.’ He drew a breath, shook his head slightly, then focused on Mallory. ‘You look lovely. As do you, Kate.’
Kate had chosen to be a brunette and Mallory had gone with blonde.
Mallory studied her reflection in Kate’s little mirror. ‘Nobody’s after me, but I’m wearing one too. I’ve been wanting to change my look. I think I like it.’
Meredith instantly understood. Mallory had once been a victim of child pornography, her abuse streamed worldwide by pedophiles for years. And it was all still out there because nothing was ever truly deleted from the Internet. She constantly worried that she’d be recognized by a pervert who’d seen her online, because she had been in the past. Looking different might give her the confidence she so desperately needed.
Kate’s expression softened as well. ‘I think we all look mahvelous. Clarke, you’re gonna have to just be you. I don’t have anything in my bag that wouldn’t draw too much attention to you. Let’s get your noggin checked out, Mer, then you can be you again.’
Cincinnati, Ohio,
Sunday 20 December, 7.20 P.M.
Adam ignored Isenberg’s glare when he got to the briefing room. He’d taken five minutes for himself. Five minutes of respite that he’d desperately needed. He hadn’t known how much until he’d let himself be held. Trip, Deacon, and Scarlett were already seated and Nash Currie sat in the same place they’d left him, hours before, still bent over his laptop, typing furiously.
‘So glad you could find the time to join us, Detective Kimble,’ Isenberg said sarcastically.
Without apology, Adam sat next to Trip and smoothed his tie. He tilted his head in Nash’s direction and Trip nodded, indicating that they’d already met. ‘Do we have a warrant?’ Adam asked Isenberg.
She checked her phone and frowned. ‘Not yet,’ she muttered. ‘Should be soon.’
‘Meredith talked to Penny?’ Trip asked. ‘I just met Adam and the others coming up the elevator,’ he told Isenberg when she arched her brows in question. ‘We were talking about the latest body, but didn’t discuss the Voss girl.’
‘Do we have time to see the video of Meredith talking to Penny?’ Adam asked.
Isenberg glared at her phone a few seconds more. ‘Where is Hanson? Bringing in Broderick Voss is why he was brought onto this team.’