“Watch out, Reed, or she’ll have you wrapped around her little finger,” Austin said.
“Something tells me your warning is too late.” Vivian picked up her purse from a chair. “I’m hungry, and I’m sure Emma is, too. Why don’t I go across the street to the diner and pick us up something for lunch while we wait for the discharge paperwork?”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go outside the hospital,” Emma said. The memory of the grenade rolling out into the road made a shiver run down her spine.
“I have to eat sometime. And so do you. We can’t stay in here forever. Besides, the attacks have been solely focused on you.”
“I know, but it doesn’t hurt to take precautions.”
“There’s a café in the lower level of the hospital,” Reed said. “They make the best roast beef sandwiches. I’ll stay here with Emma, and Austin can escort Vivian.”
Vivian shot a glance at the chief deputy. A blush stained her cheeks. “I’m sure Austin has better things to do than babysit me.”
“I’m not babysitting you. I’m protecting you. There’s a difference.” Austin winked. “And if you’ll buy me a cup of potato soup to go with my sandwich, then we’ll consider it a good trade.”
Vivian’s blush deepened, and Emma smothered a smile. It seemed she wasn’t the only one struggling to resist a handsome lawman. They all placed an order for food and Vivian and Austin left.
“How are you feeling?” Reed asked, his gaze scanning her head.
“I’m fine. A bit anxious to hear what you found out from Cooper.”
He shifted Lily in his arms and picked up the baby’s favorite stuffed lamb from the bed. “He was able to confirm Vernon was hired to target you.”
“How?”
“They located his girlfriend at a local bar, and she spilled the beans. She also confirmed that he wasn’t working alone, although she doesn’t know who hired him or who his partners are.”
“Partners? More than one person was hired to kill me?” She wrapped her arms around herself. “The man in the woods holding the flashlight wasn’t the killer after all. He was another hired gun.”
Reed nodded. “That’s my guess. But there’s more, Emma. It wasn’t an accident that Vernon waited for me to come back to the cave. Or that the grenade was launched at my vehicle. Vernon’s girlfriend said he would get a bonus if he took me out as well as you.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. “But...that doesn’t make any sense. Why would anyone target you and me?”
“There’s only one reason I can think of. This is about Bonnie, Emma. This is all about my sister.”
Reed grabbed Emma’s arm. She’d gone pale, and he silently berated himself for the blunt delivery of his theory. She’d survived a grenade and shooting attack only yesterday.
Emma’s long hair hung down her back, hiding the lump and stitches he knew were there. The silky strands brushed against his skin. “Maybe you should sit down.”
She backed up until her knees hit the bed. “I don’t understand. How is Bonnie’s disappearance linked to these attacks?”
“This is going to sound far-fetched, but I think she’s alive and being held captive somewhere. It’s common knowledge in town that I’ve never given up on finding my sister.”
Her eyes widened. “Sadie and I are a threat because we could make it possible to find Bonnie.”
“Before you moved to Heyworth, the closest SAR canine was three hours away. It’s the only thing that makes sense and explains why both you and I are being targeted.”
His shoulders tensed as the silence stretched out between them. Reed half expected her to say he’d lost his mind, that grief was causing him to wish for things that weren’t true. After all, he didn’t have evidence proving Bonnie was the link. Nor could he prove she was alive. Not yet, anyway.
Emma lifted her gaze to meet his. The color had returned to her cheeks and there was a determined tilt to her chin. “I think it’s time you tell me what happened to Bonnie.”
He let out the breath he was holding. “When my sister initially went missing, the former sheriff believed she’d merely left town for a while. He had good reason to. A suitcase and clothes were missing from her apartment. Her purse and cell phone were gone, and so was her car. Our mom had died six months before. My sister’s best friend, Margaret, confirmed Bonnie wasn’t taking it well.”
“But you didn’t believe she’d run off?”
“No. The day she went missing, Bonnie called me and left a message. She wanted to talk about something important.”
“Did she say what?”
“No, and when I tried to call her back hours later, she didn’t answer.”
Bonnie had already gone missing by then. Reed’s stomach twisted painfully. He would give anything to go back to that moment and answer his phone when she called, but he’d been questioning the suspect of a double homicide at the time.
“Twenty-four hours went by and she still wasn’t answering. I knew immediately something wasn’t right. Bonnie would never ignore me. Especially after leaving a voice mail that asked me to call her back ASAP. I came straight to Heyworth and started digging into the case myself.”
Lily stuck her thumb in her mouth and rested her head against Reed’s shoulder. He ran a hand down her back and swayed. “I questioned several of her friends and found out Bonnie had been having a secret relationship with Joshua.”
Emma’s eyes widened. “Joshua Lowe? My neighbor?”
He nodded. “Bonnie hadn’t told me about it. Probably because my sister knew I wouldn’t approve. Joshua is bad news. He’s done time for theft. Supposedly, he cleaned up his act and is on the straight and narrow path, but that’s a recent turn around. Still too early in my opinion to know whether it’s true or not.”
“Do you think he had something to do with Bonnie’s disappearance?”
“I think it’s a
