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“And oxygen, if I remember EMT training.”
John said, “I’ll turn off the main gas line.”
He went around back.
The ambulance arrived shortly after John returned. The paramedics gave both Tom and Ryder oxygen. Ryder insisted he felt better. Tom had come around, but was disorientated and complained of a headache. He was put on a gurney to be transported to the small island hospital.
Ryder insisted that he was fine. “Matt, don’t make me go.”
“You need to have your vitals checked.”
Ryder looked at the paramedic. “You can do that, right? I’m fine. I was an Army medic. I know I’m okay.”
“It’s up to you,” the paramedic said.
“It’s up to me,” Matt said.
Ryder scowled, and Matt didn’t think he’d seen his analyst so irritated.
“Check him out, give us both the stats, and we’ll make the call.”
Kara and Deputy Anderson pulled up then. Anderson went to talk to John, and Kara came over to Matt. “What the fuck happened?” she said. “We were almost to headquarters when Marcy heard on the radio that a deputy and agent were down here. I recognized Neil’s address.”
Matt always appreciated Kara being straight to the point.
“Gas company is on its way, but Ryder and Deputy Redfield were both passed out when I arrived. I came when Ryder didn’t answer his damn phone. Ryder thinks carbon monoxide, but that seems suspicious. Though, the house is old—it’s possible.”
“He’s okay?”
“He’s a medic, doesn’t want to go to the hospital. Says he’s fine.”
Kara glanced over at Ryder, clearly concerned. Matt wanted to touch her for support, but that would be inappropriate here, in front of others. It had become harder for him to keep his feelings for Kara locked down, especially since they’d been able to spend so much time together over the last month. He wondered if she had the same problem.
Probably not. She never talked about how she felt, what she wanted, if she was happy with their relationship. Except when they were alone, in bed, and he was her sole focus. He wanted that every night, but that just wasn’t possible, for a variety of reasons. She’d made it clear that everything about them was one day at a time. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to live that way.
The gas company pulled up. As soon as they cleared the area, Matt needed to secure the house and retrieve the computer and files Ryder had been boxing up before he collapsed.
Kara turned to Matt. That’s when he saw what he wanted to see, just a hint of intimacy. “Hey,” she said, “he looks fine. I’ll talk to him. He can’t lie to me.”
“Okay.”
“This was an accident, right? Do you think our team was targeted? Or the house?”
“I can’t make that assessment until I talk to the gas company, and I don’t know when they’ll be done with their investigation.” He reached out, brushed the back of his hand against the back of hers. “Meet at headquarters, one hour?”
“I’m heading there now. I’ll take care of Ryder.” She winked at him, her back to the crowd, and it was exactly what he needed.
He walked over to John and the head of the gas company to talk about Neil’s house. If this wasn’t an accident, they were going to have to shift the focus of their investigation. Because if Neil Devereaux was the target, they needed to know why.
9
Kara convinced Ryder to go to the short-term rental for an hour or two. “Shower, drink water, take aspirin, relax,” she said. “You still look a bit queasy.”
He agreed, and Marcy dropped him off. Kara walked him in to make sure he didn’t pass out. She didn’t think he would—but she felt a bit overprotective of Ryder. Sure, he’d been in the Army and he had gone through the FBI academy and he was a medic, but he was still an analyst and they needed to keep an eye on him. And she liked him.
“You feel up to it, I’m going to convince Matt to take us to the Fish & Brew for dinner.”
“I will,” he said. “I’ll be at the station soon.”
