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Ayelish nodded and smiled. “Then keep looking for answers. Find the clues you need to prove one way or the other. Find closure however you need to.”
“Thank you for understanding.” Rainy smiled, noticing Ayelish trying to cover a yawn. “Go home and get some rest. He’s your brother, and it can’t be easy for you, either. Take care of yourself and that baby you’re carrying. That’s Meyer and Jolie’s cousin in there.”
Ayelish and Wit exchanged looks.
“I’m fine, really,” Rainy assured.
Wit stood and offered Ayelish a hand up. “Get some rest, sis. I put some soup in the fridge for ya in case you get hungry. Comfort food. Call if you need us, and we’ll be here in a flash.”
Rainy followed them to the door. “I won’t need to call, but thank you. Besides, it’s only an hour or so before Hen and Ash drop by, then Cane and Charlie… Finn usually gets the last shift.”
“Alright, alright. You’re on to us. I get it.” Wit chuckled as he hugged his sister. “We all love you and those babies. We’re here for y’all.”
“I’m fine,” she said one more time.
“For now,” Wit said. “But if you’re not…”
Rainy playfully shoved him out the door. “Got it, I’ll call. Now get out of here.”
“Love ya, sis,” Wit said, taking Ayelish’s arm and heading for the elevator.
“Love y’all too,” Rainy said, waving as the elevator doors closed, and they were on their way.
She returned to the office and watched the babies sleeping in their bassinets and got lost in thought. She’d continue sleeping in the office with them as a safety precaution since they were alone. Just because Killion was gone didn’t mean the threats were.
Rainy took a seat at the computer again and pulled up a spreadsheet she’d populated by running data on Killion’s system –– just like he would do. With one foot up on the chair, the other was planted on the floor as she swiveled from side to side and stared at the information on the screen and took it all in. Reading the data, she also considered what Wit and Ayelish had shared with her. How everyone was worried about her. Sounded like they were afraid she was going to go rogue and do something foolish, compromise Killion’s case, or put herself or the babies at risk. She’d never expose her children to danger. She was too smart for that. A trained operative herself and able to handle her own in the world of technology, she simply knew better. There were other ways to get the answers she wanted, so she picked up her phone and dialed, waiting for someone to answer on the other end.
“Hi, it’s me…” she said. “Let’s do it. Got it, see you in a few.”
26
It was dark and shadowy in the blink and you’ll miss it town of Ponderosa Peak, but that’s how she’d planned it. Arrive in the small mountain town just as they rolled up the sidewalks for the night after supper and sit in the shadows where nobody would notice you until the sun came up the next morning. Rainy had plenty of time sit and watch the nondescript brick building that sat at the edge of town at the end of Main Street and wait for answers.
The businesses on Main were dark –– the only light came from the handful of rustic streetlights and most stars she’d ever seen in a night's sky. She’d always loved that about Ponderosa Peak –– the clearest skies lived there like they were closest to heaven. But tonight, she wasn’t stargazing. That would have to wait for another time. Tonight, she wondered who sat inside the dimly lit building she knew as Safe Haven.
It wasn’t just dim. It was eerily so with a tint of blue like a computer screen or tablet was the light source. Someone could’ve left one on, but she knew better because she used to work inside that building, often, when she was under the protection of Safe Haven and Brody O’Reilly. Everything was shut down and locked up at the end of the day because what they handled there was far too fragile.
According to her deep dive into data, compliments of one of Killion’s many programs, Safe Haven wasn’t running at the moment. Not in Ponderosa Peak, anyway. Since her brothers, Wit and Hen, had inherited the operation, not much had occurred there –– it was all handled at Watermark until their worlds settled down and they could reorganize. The entire town was part of Safe Haven, or at least in on it. To the average passerby, it was another charming little mountain town. To an insider, it was the epicenter of a nationwide rescue operation that had expanded internationally.
So who was in there and why? She had her suspicions, but they weren’t showing their cards, which meant they likely already knew she was there. Her phone buzzed, and she was quick to answer, never taking her eyes off the building.
“Yeah,” she said, waiting for a reply. “You confirmed it?”
The corners of her mouth quirked up as she listened to the caller on the other end of the phone. “Excellent. How are the babies?”
Her smile grew wider. “Good, I’m glad. Anyone stop by or suspicious yet?”
Rainy nodded, squinting her eyes when she noticed the blinds move ever so slightly. She’d been made.
“Okay, good. Sounds like my text to Wit and Hen worked. All I had to do was tell them I was finally grieving and exhausted, and they got on the gossip line.”
She reached for her weapon and checked it while holding her phone with her shoulder. “I agree. We’ve only got a handful of hours before someone gives in and stops in. Hopefully, I’ll get to the bottom of things by then. They’ll eventually find you and the babies. You know what to do. I’m going in now. I’ll check in as soon as I can.”
Rainy hung up the phone, silenced it, and tucked it away in her pocket after syncing it with her watch and holstering two more weapons under her jacket. Though she tried to manage a stealthy approach, she already knew it would be difficult to get into the Safe Haven building, or even close to it, undetected. As planned, the streetlights went out, and she heard the power running to the building die too. She wasn’t doing this entirely solo and was receiving help remotely. If whoever was inside that building didn’t already know she was coming for them, they did now.
There wasn’t a single vehicle on the road, nor had there been since she arrived. The tree line was her cover as she approached the building and reached the entrance. With one deep breath, she barged inside, weapon drawn, and immediately solved the mystery of who was sitting inside waiting for her.
“Hello, Rainy,” he said.
