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“I’m fine. It’s just a headache.” Mac wasn’t lying. Itwasa headache, the biggest, baddest one she’d ever had, but still just a headache. She needed to get out of there so she could get on with her investigation.
Rutledge sighed. “Mac, just see what the doctor says. I understand you passed out at the scene.”
“For a minute. I think that was less about the bump on the head and more about the shock of the explosion.” She swallowed. “I didn’t expect the place to blow up.” Her stuff. All of it was gone now. Shit. She closed her eyes.
“Sorry, am I tiring you out?” Rutledge asked.
She opened her eyes. “No. I was just thinking about my stuff. Did any of it survive?” She looked around Rutledge at Cass.
Cass shifted in her chair. “I’ll ask.” She pulled out her phone and clicked away at the screen. A second later, it went off. Cass stood and walked over to the door. “I’ll be in the hallway right outside.” She sent a look at Rutledge. It was a warning if Mac had ever seen one. Cass was fierce with her different colored eyes and the ability to make her face go steely, scary cold. She was glad Cass was there to protect her. Mac did not like the odds if she had to go up against the other woman.
Rutledge dropped his voice and moved his chair closer to her bed. “What’s with her?”
“What do you mean?” Mac shifted so she was sitting a bit more comfortably. She was realizing it was more than her head that hit the wall. Bruises were starting to appear all over. She was a hot mess.
“She won’t let you out of her sight.”
“Maddox assigned her to stay with me.”
“Why? What’s it to him? This is CGIS business. Not whatever the hell his team does.” Rutledge narrowed his eyes. “Unless you’re not telling me something.”
Mac weighed what she could say and what she couldn’t. She wasn’t ready to tell him about Casper yet, nor about Owens being involved. “Dane and the team are working the drug angle on the Owens thing. We’re working the murder. I’m sharing resources a bit since we only have the two of us and they have a whole frickin’ team,” she said in a voice just above a whisper. “I was with one of them last night when I found out that someone had been in my apartment. We think it was one of Owens’s team. We went back this morning to see what the situation was and that’s when the whole thing blew up, quite literally.”
“Why the hell didn’t you call me?” Rutledge demanded. His eyes flashed.
She immediately felt guilty. In reality, it had never occurred to her to call Rutledge. Dane had been there and had a logical course of action. Calling Rutledge could have opened up a big can of worms better left sealed up.
She could beg off and say she had a headache and didn’t want to talk anymore, but that wasn’t fair. “Because calling you would have meant calling the forensic guys, which would have meant calling Casper.” She sighed. “I don’t trust him. I don’t want him anywhere near this. He already screwed up once. Plus, it was a good thing I didn’t call you. If we’d opened that door, we’d both be dead.”
He paled slightly when that sunk in. “I guess, but still. I thought you trusted me.”
“I do.” And she did.Mostly. “But they”—she angled her head toward the door and immediately regretted it when pain shot through her temples—“don’t, and we want their help. Or, at least, I do. I think they know more than they are saying, and I want some answers.”
Rutledge gave a grudging nod. “Have you found anything out so far?”
She grimaced. “I haven’t really had a chance to get any questions answered. The only thing I know for sure is Owens was dirty. He had way too much money for being in the Coast Guard. He had a secret apartment on Waikiki Beach. I saw it last night, but then I hit a bit of a snag. A lot is going on. The list of who would want to kill him is growing. Drugs? Maybe his team members? It could all be about money.”
The doctor breezed in the room. He was a tall, thin bald man with frameless glasses and a serious bedside manner. “How are you feeling?” he asked as he read her chart.
Mac glanced at Rutledge. “I’ll fill you in more later.”
Rutledge nodded and stood. “I want to hear about this apartment.”
“The info should be on my desk.”
He nodded. “Well, I will leave you to it. I’m glad you’re okay.” He gave her a pointed look, and she knew he meant it. She’d given him the apartment. That should keep him happy for a while even though it would piss off Dane. Couldn’t be helped. She had a job to do, too.
The doctor came around to the side of the bed. He checked her eyes and took a look at the cut on her head. “I think you should spend the night in the hospital.” She started to protest but he cut her off. “I know it’s inconvenient and you have things to do, but trust me when I tell you death is even more inconvenient. We need to make sure there’s no brain bleed or any other underlying issues.”
“Listen to the man,” Cass said as she re-entered the room with a small paper bag. “I promise to keep you up to speed.”
Mac wanted to argue, to fight and say she was fine but, in truth, she was pretty beaten up and exhausted. A night in the hospital wouldn’t be so bad. She could use the sleep. Besides, it wasn’t like she had a home to go to. “Fine,” she agreed.
“Good.” The doctor gave her a pinched smile. “I’ll have a nurse get you some meds for your headache, and I’ll be back to check on you later.” She nodded again and he left.
“You hungry?” Cass asked.
She was about to say no when the smell hit her nose. “Cheeseburger?”
