Page 46 of Avenging Angel

“Grace arrived with the rest of the team and is at the campground fielding media questions,” Jeremy adds. “The story being told is that the two of you were trespassing and got caught in an unfortunate accident. The good news is that the explosion was strong enough to register a 2.1 on the local seismometer, allowing Grace to spin the story of a minor earthquake causing an already unstable environment to become even more unstable. Hemlock Mining has agreed not to press charges for trespassing in return for us not filing a lawsuit against them.”

“Seems fair,” I say. “It’s not as if we would have sued them since they had nothing to do with it.”

“True,” Jeremy says. “We just needed you to know so you can corroborate the story. There is speculation from some media outlets that you entered the mines as part of an ongoing investigation because of Daisy’s affiliation with the Southern Knights. We can’t allow them to run with that story until this is all over, so as far as anyone is concerned, the two of you are here on a honeymoon hunting trip.”

“The truth will get out,” Daisy says, opening her eyes and shifting in my arms. “Rumors spread like wildfire, and there only needs to be a grain of truth for them to flourish.”

“Let Grace handle all of that while the rest of us do what we do best,” Owen says.

Faith, Jaxon, Roger, Jeremy, and Jack all touched down shortly after the explosion occurred, so I doubt there’s been much time to track any leads while they were helping the townsfolk pull away the rubble. “Where is everyone else?”

Jeremy points toward Scott and Jack keeping guard on the other side of the door. “They’re keeping nosy people at bay for now. Your sister and Jaxon are in the waiting room, filling in Angel’s family on the details of our investigation.”

A pained look crosses Owen’s face as he delivers the bad news. “When I hacked into the park’s reservation system, I noticed that there’s a large group arriving in two days under the name Northwyck Academy for Girls.”

Daisy sits up at the news, no longer cuddling with me. “How many girls are we talking about?”

He does some quick math in his head. “Assuming four girls to a tent, seventeen campsites booked, just over two dozen tents listed on the reservation, and accounting for a ten-to-one ratio of girls to counselors, there should be between eighty and ninety people. I don’t have the data for their ages or names.”

“It would be like a buffet!” Daisy exclaims. “Even if you exclude girls with blonde or red hair, or dark-haired girls with eye colors other than brown, you’re still looking at nearly two dozen girls who could potentially be targets. Maybe less, maybe more.”

Daisy shifts off the bed, kisses my lips, and heads for the door. “I need to go!”

Owen chases after her, catching his sister before she goes off the rails. “Wait! Faith and Jaxon have it covered for now, and the group isn’t supposed to arrive for two days. We weren’t telling you all of this so you could go off half-cocked.”

Daisy blows a strand of hair out of her face and places her hands on her hips, a position I’m learning means she’s annoyed but willing to listen. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Rest,” I tell her. “Get your strength back and be ready. You aren’t in this alone, yet every time you learn something new, you act as though no one has your back. We all do, and we’re trained for this. Let your team, me, and everyone else help you.”

Owen grunts. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

Daisy narrows her eyes at her brother. “No, you couldn’t have. You would have added some snarky remark to punctuate your point.”

Suddenly, Scott’s voice bellows behind her, loud enough to be heard through the door. “You cannot go in there. Friends and family only. There’s a line in the waiting room, so I suggest you wait your turn.”

With a quick peek out the window, Daisy turns to me with her jaw dropped as she backs up against the door. “It’s Brad.”

“What does he want?” I ask.

Owen looks away, as does Jeremy. “Brad was on one of the rescue teams. Angel, he worked alongside your parents and brothers to start clearing the rubble in the north-side tunnel. He hauled rocks for eighteen hours, only stopping to take water breaks, then slept in a sleeping bag outside and started up again as soon as the sun rose.”

Daisy and I stare at one another because none of what Owen just said sounds like the actions of a kidnapper. Then again, Uri’s warning that Daisy’s captor knows she is Sadie could mean Brad only wanted to play the hero to get close to her. “Send him in. I want to hear what he has to say.”

“What about your family? They’ve been waiting all night,” Jeremy asks.

As much as I love my family, I know what’s coming. My dad will be proud of my actions, while my mom will be tempted to smack me upside the head for nearly giving her a heart attack. Jordan will ask me a thousand questions because the detective in him can’t help it, while Ben and Seth will want to know where they can find the guy who rigged the explosives so they can break down his door. As S.W.A.T. officers with the Portland Police Department, it’s in their nature.

“They can wait a few more minutes.”

Reluctantly, Daisy opens the door and stretches onto her tiptoes to be seen behind Scott. Jack steps aside so she can invite Brad in. “It’s okay. We’d like to thank him for his help with the rescue.”

“I didn’t do much,” Brad says as he hands Daisy a bouquet of bright yellow peonies. “You managed to free yourself. It shouldn’t surprise me, though. From the moment I met you, I sensed a strong and resilient person behind that beautiful face of yours.”

Daisy takes the flowers graciously, giving them a quick sniff before saying, “Thank you for these. They are quite lovely.”

“They’re rare,” Brad says. “That’s why I didn’t come sooner to check up on you. I had to drive to Portland to get them.”

“I didn’t take you for a horticulturist,” Daisy tells him.