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It could be...
It could be Colton, and if it was, he wouldn’t stop until he found Violet. And if he did, and she was in danger, what better place to hide her but in the house of a dead man?
Her heart raced. Could Colton actually be alive?
No. No, he wouldn’t do that to her. Lex wouldn’t do that to her. She’d blamed herself because she hadn’t been in town to watch his back. She blamed the FBI for outing him, Lex for benching her, the world for the unfairness of his murder.
She’d gone to his funeral. She’d cried.
Yet...something was off. Maybe...maybe he wasn’t alive—the thought seeming ridiculous now. Maybe he left his house to Will, and Will was hiding Violet there. And she didn’t get word about his bike and badge because she was out of state...
But she didn’t know. She didn’t know if Colton was dead or if he could be alive. She had to know for certain.
Kara almost left then and there, but Matt would be furious.
She felt very uncomfortable. Colton had once been her lover, now Matt was her lover. She and Colton were friends with benefits, but they were still friends, and they shared a lot of benefits. Matt was...more. She didn’t know what yet, but more, because she felt different with Matt than with anyone else she’d been with. She wasn’t certain how Matt felt about her previous relationship with Colton. He was very old-fashioned about some things.
Yet...she didn’t know what she was going to face, and she needed backup. She could ask Michael, but she wanted Matt.
She dressed all in black, left her room, crossed the living area of the suite and knocked on the door of the room Michael and Matt were sharing.
“Matt, it’s Kara. We need to talk.”
It took him a minute, but he got up, opened the door. He’d obviously been sleeping hard—his face was still splotchy from where he slept on his cheek. “Sorry,” she said.
He glanced behind him, closed the door, looked at what she was wearing. “What’s going on?”
“I think Colton’s alive.”
He blinked once, twice, still waking up. “Why?”
“A lot of little things, but tonight I found the obituary for Violet’s mom. She was a drug addict, died of an overdose this summer. I fell asleep and woke up remembering Colton’s will. He had one, and he left me some things. We had this conversation a few years ago... Anyway, that’s not important. No one contacted me about his will. And then I looked up his house—it’s never been sold or even listed, not since he bought it. And Will Lattimer has been avoiding me. Will was Colton’s best friend. He was at his funeral...but then I remembered the funeral. Will was there, but he left early. He said all the cops were making him antsy. Will doesn’t have issues with cops, so that didn’t really make sense. But I dismissed it because I was in shock—and Lex got me out quickly because he was afraid Chen would come after me.
“And then, the final tipping point—one of Colton’s last cases. A killer was targeting homeless men. Colton went undercover and tracked him, found him. I remembered how seamlessly he had disappeared, how he had worked closely with Will...and how they always met at Echo Park Lake to exchange information. That’s where I found Will on Tuesday—at the lake. I didn’t put it together then, but now? It’s all I can think about.”
“Why would LAPD fake his death?”
“That’s not the question I have. I know why—they want him so deep that no one knows he’s looking. This explains why Elena wouldn’t tell me anything, not even a hint about the undercover operation. And if everyone thinks Colton is dead, he’s the best to do it.” She paused, considered. “I don’t think they faked the shooting—that was real. I think he lived—maybe he was injured, maybe he had a vest—but I think they took advantage of the opportunity. I don’t know! Maybe I’m wrong about everything.”
“Kara—” Matt reached for her, but she stepped away.
“Matt, I appreciate your support, but I need to do something. I’m going to go to Colton’s. He lives in Echo Park. It’s not far.”
“I’m coming.”
“I have to do this by myself. But that’s because of me, not you. I don’t know how to explain. I’m sorry if this makes you mad, I don’t want to make you mad. I trust you. This is just...it’s my past, and I have to know the truth.”
Matt stared at her. “I appreciate you coming to me, and I understand that you think you need to do this alone. I don’t know that you’re right, but there is definitely something going on with your boss and your lieutenant. We’re a team, Kara—you, me, Michael, the others. You need to use your team even when you want to be a maverick. You have always had my back, every case we’ve worked. You have to know I have yours.”
“If I’m right about this, my judgment about everything is wrong. And if my judgment is wrong? I’ll never be able to do this job because I’ll always doubt myself.”
“No,” Matt said. “Whether you’re right or wrong about Colton, your judgment has never been in question. Don’t start now.”
“I won’t be long,” she said. “I’ll call you—”
“No.”
“Matt, I have to! Please understand.”
