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Thank You.
She had the God-given will and the skills to do this—and she thanked Him that Kart was here, not where Maizie was.
Kenna lifted her free hand. She switched her gun to her other hand, making it look like it was purely so she could pull out her phone. He didn’t need to know she wouldn’t be able to hold up the gun much longer.
She hit the middle button and held the phone to her ear, listening to it ring.
Kart stared at her like he couldn’t believe what she was doing. Jax might be smirking, but she couldn’t let that smile distract her right now.
Maizie picked up. “Hello?”
“Everything good?” Kenna kept her expression passive, so Kart wouldn’t see the fear that had frozen her solid.
“Yes.” The teen sounded confused.
She could’ve collapsed on the floor from sheer relief. “Just checking.” Kenna cleared her throat. “I’ll call you back.”
They needed to develop some code words.
She snapped the phone shut and stowed it back in her pocket. This wasn’t a ruse, or distraction, so someone could hit back at her by attacking Maizie. If it was, then maybe Stairns had been the target instead of the teen. He could take care of himself, and she would call him as soon as she could.
Did Kart have others working for him, or with him?
Kenna said, “Let’s go, Kart. Leave the fed, and let’s go.”
He chuckled. “Leave your gun. Then we go. Together.”
Kenna was done stalling for help that was apparently not even coming. Trying to figure out what this was, and whether it had even worked to convince Kart that killing Jax wasn’t worth the risk. He wanted her, but he could table tying up the loose end of a conscious Jax. For now, anyway.
She side-stepped slowly. “I’ll be leaving my gun with Jax.”
Kenna handed off her gun to the man in the hospital bed. Then she gave him her phone, since that was better than it ending up in Kart’s hands. The last thing she wanted to do was hand the guy all her personal contacts. But Maizie could still track her with the necklace.
Jax held on to her hand a little longer than he needed to. “Do you know what you’re doing?”
“Always.”
She shivered, and it had nothing to do with the chill air pumping out of the vent in the ceiling. The air-conditioning at max in order to beat the heat outside just rose goosebumps on her arms and legs. The shiver was more about leaving him. She wanted nothing more than to sit with Jax and talk. Find out why no one had responded to the quiet on this floor of the hospital. Find out where the closest able-bodied fed was right now.
To Kart she said, “Let’s go.”
She wanted to give Jax some parting words. A “take care” last word or a joke that was just between them. Her mind stayed traitorously blank. She couldn’t think of anything that would lighten the mood or ease his worry or pass on some kind of message.
Neither could she tell him how to contact Stairns and Maizie—hopefully he would just call the last number she dialed. There definitely wasn’t the chance to tell him that he should be cautious of Ramon Santiago. Or that the man was even here.
All she could do was glance over her shoulder and try to put everything into her expression instead. So that he understood she knew what she was doing.
At least, she hoped so.
Jax must have caught something of her intention—or her frustration. He nodded.
The trust in his gaze was something she always wanted to see. The respect of a good man. She would never be anything like Kart if she had the choice. She needed to button up the part of her that would go scorched earth if anything happened to her friends and be the person that still small voice wanted her to be.
The part of her that couldn’t be an FBI agent anymore because she didn’t fit the bill. She would never make the cut. Didn’t need to end up like Ramon Santiago, walking the dark side.
She wasn’t good like Jax. He didn’t need to know she would never measure up. Maybe he knew and didn’t care. But she could have integrity anyway.
Kart shoved her shoulders. She nearly stumbled, jogged from her dissonant thoughts by his jerky move. Her thoughts probably made no sense, anyway. Maybe the only person she was kidding was herself, and her ability to be in denial was back in full force.
