“No.”
“They said that probably would happen. I guess it’s areaction to extreme trauma like that.” He blew out a breath. “Iwish I could forget it.”
She moved her fingers across the back of hishand.
“Zimmerman is here, too.”
Her whole body twitched. A wave of pain moved throughher.
“No. Sorry. He’s in ICU.”He ducked his head, then lifted it. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m no goodat this.”
She wrinkled her nose. “You’re doing fine.”
“You have to say that.”
Megan rolled her eyes as much as she could.
“You say plenty, for someone who doesn’t have muchstrength to speak.”
She smiled.
“I guess I learned your expressions.”
They stared at each other for a while. Her bodywanted to sleep, but she refused to look away.
“The doctor will be here soon. And I have to check inwith the bureau.” His mouth twisted in a wry smile. “I hitZimmerman with my car, and they’re not too happy. I guess I shouldhave gotten out and arrested him, but I think your mom would havedone it if I hadn’t. Either way, it didn’t stop the plane fromcrashing.”
But he had saved lives. And Zimmerman had beencaught. If he pulled through from his injuries, he’d be arrested.Right?
“Another thing we need to go through.” Adrian ran ahand over his hair. “There’s going to be a lot of unpacking onthis. And maybe we still won’t know who the blackmailer is, evenwhen we tear this whole operation apart.”
Remy hadn’t given him the information? Megan tried toremember what account she’d have used to send that email. What hadshe gotten messages from before…
“Eckhart…” She paused togarner the strength to say, “Industries.”
Adrian’s head jerked back a fraction. “I got an emailfrom them a couple of days ago with an attachment. I assumed it wasa virus.”
A couple of days ago?
Megan pushed aside that question and got to theimportant thing. “Remy.”
“It was her?”
She nodded, just as the door opened. Her mom cameback in, followed by an older man in a lab coat.
Adrian leaned down and touched her cheek with warmfingers. “I’m going to go look at what she sent me.”
Megan nodded.
“Don’t go anywhere, yeah?”He smiled, then touched his lips to her forehead. Kind of likeSteve had done the first time she wokeup. That soft pressure on her head. It better mean a whole lot morethan that coming from Adrian.
He frowned. “What is that look about?”
Megan grasped his tie and pulled his face closeragain. She tipped her face up, and he got the message.
Touched his lips to hers.
She heard her mom sigh.
Adrian said, “I’ll be back soon.”
**
The door clicked shut behind him and both Bradley andMint approached.
“Is she okay?”
“What did she say?”
Alexis and Emma were with them, looking as worried astheir men sounded.
Adrian lifted both hands and took a breath. Beingclose to her, pretending there was nothing to worry about, had beenharder than he’d thought it would be. And he’d thought it would bepretty hard.
Alexis put her hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”
He nodded to the woman he’d hauled into the FBIoffice for interrogation. The woman he had accused of beinginvolved in her best friend’s kidnapping.
Now that he knew her, and fully understood the scopeof everything happening, there was no way he could believe she wascapable of that. It was embarrassing to think he’d ever believedit.
Alexis’s eyes softened.Bradley put his arm around her, and pulled his wife against hisside.
Emma slipped her hand into Mint’s, and Adrian noticedthe ring on her left hand. They’d gotten engaged, even in the midstof everything swirling around them. No time to waste. Not when lifewas so short.
Adrian said, “She thinks Steve visited her. She saidhe was here, in her room.”
“Someone would have seen him, wouldn’t they?” Emmaglanced around.
Mint shook his head. “If he didn’t want to be seen,no one would have noticed.”
“The feds are closing in on him,” Adrian said. “Or,they think they are.”
Alexis frowned. “And we’re just going to stand here,doing nothing, pretending like our friend isn’t being wronglyaccused of being a blackmailer and a terrorist? We can’t just liedown and let Steve take the fall for all of this. It’s notright.”
“Of course we’re going to fight,” Bradley said. “Butif the real blackmailer thinks we’re going to come at him, thenhe’ll double his efforts to pin it all on Steve.”
Adrian sighed. “I need toget to the Denver FBI office. Megan says Remy sent me something.”Plus there were more debriefs to give. Moredetails to go over. Every part of Hank Cromwell’s life andcareer were being taken apart. The same was being done with DanielZimmerman. The FBI had been torn apart in the media, and the wholebureau was reeling.
If they took down the blackmailer, they could provethey still had the ability to bring justice.
Too bad they were looking at the wrong man.
Steve.
Alexis said, “We can stay with Megan until you getback.”
He nodded. It would take some time but as soon as hegot all the paperwork straightened out, and then turned in hisbadge and his gun, he’d be back.
When this was all over, maybe Steve would hire him onat Double Down. Because wherever Megan was, that was where Adrianwanted to be.
“That doesn’t look good,” Mint said, studyingAdrian’s face. “Then at the end, it gotbetter.”
Adrian wanted to laugh over the man psychoanalyzinghim just from the look on his face, but there was no humor rightnow. Inside he felt the same cold since he’d seen the plane Meganwas in, falling out of the sky.
He was lucky the bureau hadn’t decided to bringcharges against him for what he’d done to Zimmerman. Adrian hadargued the timing. He’d had to act as quickly as possible, and he’dused what he had on hand. Still, he figured it was Megan’s mother’spull that had smoothed out the repercussions.
The doctor came out of Megan’s room and walked bythem.
Emma said, “What can we do for Steve that will helphim?”
“Not much,” Bradley said. “I put a few kits ofsupplies—gun, money, etcetera—together. Left them in places I thinkhe might go.”
Mint nodded. “I put out some feelers to a few peopleI think he might contact.”
“So we just wait?” Emma glanced between
