“Why is she so special that Justice sent a top agent like you to protect her? Why would anyone want to hurt her?”
“Special? For one thing she has an IQ that’s way above Einstein’s number; it got her accepted in Mensa while she was still a toddler. For another, she evidently has the drive and initiative togo after what she wants until she gets it. That combination can be big trouble for a kid her age.”
“So you’re going to save her from the bad guys?”
“That’s my job,” he said quietly. “I didn’t realize until I was in the middle of it that there was a good chance they’d go after you, too. I did what I could to find a way to balance the odds for both of us.”
“Not a good way. You just vanished and left me to worry. It wasn’t fair to me. If it was that important a case, you should have brought me into it right away. I should have been shouldering some of the load from the beginning. What game were you playing with me?”
“Suppose we discuss that later.” He was striding ahead of her toward the front door. “No game, Kendra. You have a right to be angry, and you’ll have to decide for yourself if you want to forgive me. All I can do is tell you the truth. That’s why we’re here. I made you a promise and I’ll keep it. But it’s probably better if I start with Stevie. There are still many tales to tell in Neverland.”
“I didn’t like this one,” Kendra said as she followed him toward the door. “I hope that can be improved by—” She stopped, her gaze on the back of his shirt. “Wait!” She walked quickly toward him. “I believe there’s blood on the back of your shirt. Are you hurt?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“The hell it’s nothing. It’sblood.” She was looking at the back of his shirt. “What happened?”
“I told you, it’s nothing.” He shook his head as he took her hand away from the small patch of blood. “You’re not going to give up, are you? Okay. I was wounded before they threw meinto that blasted gas station for a few days of interrogation. The bullet wound was almost healed before I managed to escape. But when I tackled you tonight, I must have scratched it or opened the scar tissue on my back a bit.”
“So I did it?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. We both did it, if you want to split hairs. As I recall, we were on top of each other in a perfectly exuberant fashion. But no real harm was done. After you later drifted off to sleep, I checked out the wound, and it had already stopped bleeding.”
“It should be looked at.”
“No,” he said flatly. “It’s fine. Now we’re going to go inside and you’ll get your answers. I made you a promise. By the way, the friend I sent to get Jessie was Stevie Nolan. And since she usually has to have an escort, I imagine Jessie is going to have some tales of her own to tell.” He opened the door with a flourish. “After you, Kendra.”
CHAPTER
11
Hi.” Stevie Nolan came forward to greet Kendra with a warm handshake and a perfectly lovely smile. “I’m so glad to meet you and I’m sorry that my problems have become your problems. Lynch has told me how generous you’ve been when you’ve worked with him before. He said he expects the same dedication when you’re giving your time to me. All I can say is that I’m grateful for your kindness. I can’t thank you enough for going to this risk to help my father.”
“I’m afraid I’ve walked into this with only sketchy information.” Kendra gave Lynch a poisonous glance. “Sometimes it happens like that. But I’m really here to thank you for bringing my friend Jessie. I hope you and your escort had no trouble picking her up.”
“None at all. She was very cooperative. And she’s so great on that motorcycle. I asked her if she’d give me a few lessons.” Sheturned to Jessie, who was coming into the sunroom with a cup of tea in her hand. “Here are your friends, Jessie. I’ve been telling them I’m trying to persuade you to give me lessons.”
Jessie nodded. “Whenever we both have the time and inclination.” She turned to Lynch. “Hello, I’m glad to see you. You look to be in excellent shape for a dead man. I can’t tell you how surprised I was when Stevie started to chatter about you on the drive back here. She seems to think that you’re Superman incarnated.” She paused. “I admit this whole setup here threw me for a loop. Particularly Stevie’s friend who drove the car.” She glanced at Kendra. “I can’t wait to know what you think.”
“I believe there’s a lot I still have to learn about the situation,” Kendra said dryly. “Right, Lynch?”
“We’re getting there, Kendra,” he murmured.
“Not fast enough. I should be the one to thank you, Stevie,” Kendra said. “There might have been considerable risk connected to the service you just did me. I’m surprised that Lynch would even ask you to do it. I’ll find a way to return the favor.”
“It’s my debt, Kendra,” Lynch said quietly. “Stevie knows that I’ll pay it.”
“Yes, I do.” Stevie smiled brilliantly. “We trust each other. That’s a very good thing. You’ve promised to save my father, and that’s all I could ever ask.”
Lynch chuckled. “Just listen to her, Kendra. I’m the one who should be worrying about reparations. I’d probably still be a prisoner if Stevie here hadn’t mounted her own rescue mission.”
“Wait just a minute,” Kendra said. “I thought you were here to save her.” Then she made the connection. “But she’s the daughter of Palmer Nolan, and that has everything to do with this situation, doesn’t it? Tell me what?”
“Stevie was the target,” Lynch said, “but my presence by her side had a dampening effect on Korkil’s plans.”
Stevie smiled at Lynch. “He saved me twice from Korkil’s men before they decided to change tactics. It’s no wonder I did everything I could when he was wounded and taken prisoner.” She chuckled. “I needed him around to save me again.”
Lynch nodded. “But after I was wounded, I lost quite a bit of blood and I wasn’t in a position to save anyone, not even myself.” He added, “Also I had six heavily armed guards watching my every move. I had to humbly rely on Stevie and company to get me out of there.”
