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“Finally.”
“What’s up?” She had her boots on, and she was ready to go. She just didn’t want to leave Maizie here alone—and unprotected.
“Word in the hospital is your boy woke up.”
Jax was awake.
“Friend of mine is a nurse, and I had her switch to that floor so she could keep me apprised.”
“Thank you.” Kenna sank back onto the end of the bed, more relieved than she could find words for. But there were more things than just Jax to discuss right now. “What about Javier? Anything on finding him?”
“Nothing. No one matching his or Kart’s descriptions have been admitted to the hospital. No one’s seen either of them on the street. I called the doctor, but I’m waiting for a call back.”
“You really think Kart might actually have reached out to him?”
“I think it’s worth asking everyone,” Ramon said. “He ain’t invisible, and three-year-olds make noise. Someone will see them eventually.”
Kenna winced. “Thanks for updating me about Jax. I appreciate it.”
“See if he knows where Kart might be.”
That was a long shot. “Right.” Kenna hung up and stood. “I need to—”
“I know.” Maizie sat back in the chair. “I’ll deadbolt. This room can’t be accessed through the window, and there’s no adjoining door. I’ll wedge the door with a chair and keep my gun close.”
Kenna blinked.
“Stairns taught me how to shoot. And a bunch of self-defense moves, but they’re more like ‘how to do serious damage’ than actually escape someone. He showed me some of those, too.” Maizie motioned to a backpack on the floor. “I also have a knife and pepper spray.”
Kenna stared at her.
“I’ll be scared, but I’ll also be okay.”
She wanted to hug the girl.
Maizie’s expression softened. “Go. I’ll survive.”
That made her want to repeat what she’d said before to the girl. That the goal here, for both of them, wasn’t simply to survive. The goal was to live and thrive.
Kenna gripped the door handle.
“Go.”
“Get the weapons out. And get that chair.” She didn’t want anyone coming in uninvited.
Maizie came over to the door.
Kenna waited in the hall until the deadbolt clicked into place. The sound of Maizie wedging a chair under the handle. Since Stairns had the rental car she walked to the hospital, formulating a plan to get past the agents at the door.
Thankfully it was early still, so the heat of the day hadn’t built to full force. But it meant a night Javier had been scared.
She wanted to be out finding him, but seeing Jax might give her mind a break from trying to push for an idea. Then her mind might come up with something while she thought about other things. Not exactly a hardship, even if it sometimes made her feel guilty. She should have one-hundred-percent focus on the search regardless of if it was unrealistic to avoid sleeping or eating. Or the fact they had no leads.
She snuck in a side door and took the stairs to the second floor. Two FBI agents outside the room sat in chairs—no, they were slumped over. She didn’t see any wounds, or blood.
Kenna stepped out into the hall and let the stairwell door click shut behind her.
It was too quiet.
