“Well, we know all about that too,” he said.
“I need an address for the brother. The good guy. For Horton.”
Hudson pulled out his phone because he had been sent a message earlier. “Here it is,” Hudson said, holding up his phone.
“How far away is it?” Baylor asked.
“Just a few blocks, so let’s go take a look,” Hudson said. “Let’s see if we can ditch a tail on the way. I’m afraid this guy will come after us.”
“I don’t know,” Baylor said. “I don’t think he wants anything to do with us at this point.”
“If he’s smart, he won’t,” he said. “Enough shit is about to hit the fan without more of that.”
“I hear you there.” Baylor sent a quick message to Dane, who was watching the apartment. Any movement on the apartment?
Dane immediately texted back. Nope. All is well.
Baylor looked at Hudson. “Let’s go.” And they slipped away to the new destination.
Chapter 8
Gizella slept fitfully on the couch. When she felt hands slide beneath her and lift her, she opened her eyes to see Baylor, carrying her into the bedroom.
“So you made it, did you?” she murmured. He chuckled, the rumble that rippled under her ear making her smile. “Don’t do that,” she said. “It tickles.” The rumble repeated. She chuckled. “Well, I’m glad you had fun. But was it successful?”
“Very,” he said.
Something in his tone of voice had her shifting in his arms, her eyes open, staring up at him. “Tell me more.”
“Why don’t you go back to sleep?” he said.
“No,” she said, “that’s not happening. At least not now. You’ve just given me enough to keep me awake.”
He rolled his eyes at her. “I haven’t given you anything.”
“True enough. I’ve had to drag every bit out of you,” she said in exasperation. She yawned, as he placed her on the bed. Then she yawned again.
“See? You’re tired. Just try to sleep.”
“No,” she said, “I’m not that tired. Besides, you’re just dying to tell me what you found.”
“I am not,” he said, with a gentle laugh.
“Sure you are,” she said. “You want to show me how smart you are.”
“No, I really don’t,” he said, chuckling still.
“Fine, but did you figure out where and what?”
“Yes,” he said, “although the cops would have to verify.”
“So was it him?”
“Well, it was his brother, so now we’re looking for whoever killed him.”
“And you don’t think it was the brother?”
“I do think it was the brother. I think it was your captor.”
“Ugh. He’s just the kind who would kill his own brother to save his ass. Although I’m not at all happy to know that he’s still alive. I thought I was somewhat safe, and now that’s out the window.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. That’s why I had to figure it out, so we’d know for sure what we were up against.”
She stared out into the early morning light. “What time is it?”
“Five.”
Her eyes opened wide. “Wow,” she said. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?”
“Well, we’re working on it,” he said. “I will be soon.”
“I don’t get it,” she asked. “You must be exhausted.”
“Not just yet,” he said, “but soon.”
“Do you have to report in or what?”
“Something like that.” He looked over at her bed and then back at the living room.
She immediately shifted to the side and said, “I’d sleep better if you were here.”
He snorted at that. “I’m not quite ready to crash.”
“Says you,” she said, curling up on the side. “I think you’d sleep much better right now.”
He looked at her, as if considering his options. Finally he sighed and laid down beside her and said, “Now go back to sleep.”
“Only if you do first,” she muttered. But she felt her eyelids starting to close again.
He reached over, gently squeezed her shoulder, and said, “I’m fine, and nobody died tonight.”
She twisted on the bed, so she could look up at him. “Nobody?”
He shook his head. “Nobody. I didn’t kill anybody.”
She smiled up at him. “Okay. Now I’ll sleep better.” With that, she closed her eyes, curled into him, feeling sleep overtaking her. When he relaxed by her side, he dropped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. She snuggled in and fell asleep.
When she woke the next time, she was alone on the bed again. She wondered how that worked. It’s like she could wake up for the darndest things, but then somebody could actually get up and leave the bedroom, and she didn’t even wake up once. It was so stupid. But it was what it was.
She got up, found the change of clothes and, delighted, stepped into a hot shower. After dressing in the jeans and t-shirt, she brushed out her hair, and rebraided it, before walking back out. She smelled coffee in the kitchen and followed the scent to find Baylor sitting at the table with his laptop, working away.
“Did you get any sleep at all?” she asked.
He looked up, smiled, and said, “I did. I got four solid hours.”
“Wow,” she said, with an eye roll.
He chuckled. “Hey, that’s often all I get on a mission. Sometimes less.”
“You can’t work like that,” she said.
“We’re used to it, and it’s typically fairly short durations.”
She shrugged because there was no point in arguing with him. “Are you also used to working with no coffee?”
“Nope,” he said, “if I have to, I will, but I much prefer having my coffee.” He pointed at the coffeemaker and said, “Help yourself.”
She refilled his cup at the same time and then sat down beside him at the laptop. “Did you get anywhere?”
“Well, we’ve got a list of known associates, and we did check the dead brother, Horton’s, apartment last night, but actually quite a few people were in there. So we’re waiting for it to be empty.”
“People, as in police?”
“As in family mostly,” he said thoughtfully. “No sign of your perv, the presumed killer.”
“Ah, so did this poor dead brother have a
