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“You’re overwrought, ma’am,” Randall said. “You should go home and rest.”
Instead of calling Spencer, Katrina continued to watch. As she tucked her cell back into her pocket, she looked up and encountered Randall’s gaze. The glare he gave her let her know he had recognized her, and it made her feel uncomfortable. Keeping her head down, she walked briskly away.
Chapter 4
Although Spencer wasn’t close with the Colton Oil branch of the clan, he liked them well enough. Certainly, most of the board members had been cooperative during the investigation into the shooting of Payne Colton; only Ace had really seemed volatile.
To be fair, Spencer couldn’t blame Ace for not wanting to help the police. Not only had he recently discovered that he wasn’t a Colton by birth, it was also obvious that he was likely the chief suspect in Payne’s attempted murder.
Now, Ace Colton was proving to be a problem when it came to setting up his sting operation. Technically, he didn’t need the family’s permission to proceed, but it would be smart to work with them, and the idea had come from a suggestion Asher and Jarvis had made. Since he would be moving Payne to another room, the Coltons could claim the police had been affecting their injured relative’s care. With that in mind, he wanted to strike a balance. He wanted to keep the plan secret from Ace, who had been lying low since being labeled chief suspect—while making sure the rest of the family was well informed.
“You’re absolutely sure that this sting operation can’t backfire and place our father in danger?” Ainsley Colton asked. An attorney for Colton Oil, she glanced at her half sister, Marlowe, Colton Oil CEO, and seemed to be seeking her approval to question the police tactics. Marlowe gave an approving nod.
They were seated in Spencer’s office and he had outlined the final details for the plan.
“As you know, I have a story ready to be put out to a few local busybodies and media outlets that Payne is recovering,” Spencer said. “Once that news is out there in the public, we have to be on high alert. I’m counting on the fact that the shooter, assuming Payne will be ready to talk and reveal his identity, will want to finish the job.”
“That’s what we’re worried about.” Marlowe looked concerned.
“Before I even release the story, I’ll have Payne moved to another floor of the hospital. He’ll have a police guard.” He looked around the table, making eye contact with each of them in turn. “The family can be involved in guarding him, as well, but there will always be a police presence.” He didn’t explain his reasoning. So far Ace had stayed away, but, if he was the shooter, there was no way Spencer was giving him a chance to be alone with his father.
“There will be an officer acting as a decoy in the original hospital bed with other cops hiding in the room. If and when the shooter arrives, we’ll let him get up close before arresting him.”
“You make it sound easy,” Ainsley said. “Are you sharing these details because you need our permission to move him?”
“I’d like to think I have your agreement to this plan.” He didn’t want to get into a fight with Payne’s family over this. “We’re all on the same side and we want this guy caught as fast as possible. Which is why I need you to keep these details secret.”
The siblings exchanged a glance and he knew what they were thinking. If the attacker was someone connected to the family, they needed to make sure he, or possibly she, didn’t know about the intended sting.
Ainsley nodded. “You can rely on our discretion.”
When they’d gone, he called Kerry into his office and relayed the details of the meeting to her. “Tomorrow we’ll go ahead and inform our sources that Payne Colton is recovering.”
She scribbled in her notepad. “I’ve contacted the technicians about the security-camera images from the night of the shooting. So far, they haven’t had any more success with enhancing them.”
“It feels like this shooter has either been very lucky or very clever. Either way, we don’t have any firm leads.” Spencer pushed away the case file and got to his feet. “We have to hope this plan to flush him out is successful.”
After Kerry had gone, he plowed on with his backlog of administrative tasks, working through the morning until his stomach told him it was time to call a halt. When he paused and checked the time on his cell phone, he experienced a pang of disappointment that there were no calls or messages from Katrina.
It’s a good thing. It means she hasn’t had any further trouble.
For some reason, the reminder didn’t make him feel any better. He’d told her to call him if she needed him. He said that to all victims, of course. But in Katrina’s case, he just wanted her to reach out to him. And that was a problem. Because no matter how attracted he was to her, he would never act on it. He knew how it worked. First came an emotional pull. That was followed by the sweet, heady rush of falling in love. Finally, there was the jagged, knife-edge pain of loss. Spencer had been there before and he was never going back again.
He was just about to place his cell in his pocket and go in search of some tasteless but necessary food, when the display indicated an incoming call. Almost as if his thoughts had conjured up her name, he saw it was from Katrina.
“Is everything okay?” He already knew the answer. She wouldn’t be calling him if it was.
“There’s something I need to talk to you about. It may be nothing, but...” There was a note in her voice that told him it wasn’t nothing. “Is there a good time to come to the station?”
“Have you eaten?”
“Um... No.”
“Nor have I.” Spencer got to his feet and clicked his fingers at Boris. “I’ll pick up some food and come to you.”
Alongside his concern for her, the pull of excitement at the thought of seeing her again was more intense than anything he had ever experienced. For the first time, he wondered what would happen if he ignored his natural caution and explored his feelings.
Never going to happen.
