“I’ve at least earned the last blueberry yogurt.” Wheeler clapped me on the back as he walked past, on his way to the kitchen.
“Good luck with that,” I said.
He shook his head at me. “Bastard.”
I checked the last three videos. Not sex tapes of Cami or anyone else. I marked them on my thumb drive and handed it to Kat.
“Anyone notice what we didn’t find?” Lang asked.
I knew where he was going with this. “Kompromat on the general’s son. But did we really expect the son to be stupid enough to deal with a low-life like Riker?”
Kat folded her hands together, deep in thought. “No, but Riker’s apprenticing with someone. He’s not just setting up a drug ring. He’s learning the ropes on kompromat.”
“If there’s a lead to the person training him in these files, I’ll find it,” Pasco promised. He rubbed his hand over his eyes, looking exhausted. “But it might not be any time soon.”
“If we round up Riker, maybe he’ll tell us himself,” Isaid. “I heard a rumor once that HEAT has connections with organizations running black sites.”
“Not the way we operate,” Kat said, not appreciating my dark humor.
“Sorry, I guess that wasn’t very funny.” I stood. “On that note, I’ll get the hell out of here. Kat, walk out with me?”
I waved goodnight to the rest of the team, and left the conference room with her. I leaned against the wall beside the exit. “How do you assess Cami’s threat level with Riker on the loose?”
She sighed. “He’s also on the run and on the radar of nationwide law enforcement. You know I can’t say for certain, but if I had to guess, I’d say she’s slightly more at risk than the general population, but a hell of a lot less than many.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. It was so damn tight. “I think it’s time to relieve her of protective custody.”
“Everything okay between you two?”
“Never better,” I said. “And I’d like to keep it that way.”
“I’ll defer to your judgment, Rogers, and hers. She should be cautious, though, until we catch him.”
“I’ll remind her,” I said. Regularly. Incessantly. Until she was sick of hearing my voice telling her to remain on high alert, and probably still after that. Protective custody or not, I wouldn’t stop worrying about Cami until Scott Riker was behind bars.
And if I concentrated hard enough on that, it would help me ignore the thought of her leaving my house to go home, because every time it crossed my mind, the pain of letting her go tightened around my heart.
32
CAMI
For someone who hadn’t actually been imprisoned, I was loving every minute of my freedom. On Monday morning, Kyle dropped me off at the The Thirsty Horse after only two mentions of safety precautions. I bought coffee for Doc and me and walked to the clinic on my own.
At lunchtime, Gina and I walked to the smoothie shop a block away. That evening, Kyle dropped off dinner—left over from his grilling extravaganza—for my staff. He told me they had scrubbed the blackmail material Scott had used against me from his computer. I threw myself into Kyle’s arms and asked if—now that the danger of the videos ruining my life was over—we could agree to never speak of it again. He agreed enthusiastically. He stayed for half an hour longer and we shared dinner in my office, then he kissed me goodbye.
And late Monday night, after more than two weeks, I climbed the stairs to my apartment by myself. Sleeping alone was no great treat, but I even enjoyed missing Kyle.
Tuesday night after work, Gina, Darla, and I took Allyout to dinner. Her bruises were already fading, a perk of youth. Understandably, her peace of mind wasn’t recovering as quickly. After my three companions reminded me that Ally was twenty-one and not a minor, we stopped by The Thirsty Horse for a nightcap.
By the time we walked back to the clinic parking lot, it was well past dark. We hugged, and Gina and Darla headed for their cars. Ally hesitated. I didn’t blame her for disliking the thought of driving home alone on unlit back roads, after her ordeal.
“Hey.” I linked my arm in hers. “I have it on good authority that my sofa is very comfortable, I have a T-shirt you can borrow to sleep in, and I always have new, unopened toothbrushes on hand for emergencies.”
She smiled. “I’ll bet you do. But I should go. I can’t be afraid forever.”
“You won’t be. But you’re allowed to be a little bit scared for a while.” I took a step toward the building. “Come on. I’ll open some wine, you’ll call your mom so she doesn’t worry, and we’ll catch up, just you and me. I can tell you about all the fun stuff you have to look forward to in vet school.”
“Okay.” She agreed. “But I don’t need to hear the story about the cow who crapped on you.”
