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“I’ll drop you off at the store and come back to find out what’s going on.”
“No,” she surprisingly protested, her jaw clenched. “I’m worried about Wayne. If he confronted someone about using his key to enter the store, they might have retaliated.”
With a sigh, Kaden swerved to pull up behind the ambulance. He didn’t care what was happening. Or even if Wayne was involved. At least not when he was worried about Lia. But he knew she would never be able to relax and get better until she was sure her young friend wasn’t in trouble.
Rolling down her window, Lia leaned out, her gaze searching the crowd of spectators that had already gathered at the bottom of the courthouse steps. Finally spotting whoever she’d been searching for, Lia waved a hand.
“Bailey.”
A woman with a thin face and brown hair pulled into a ponytail approached the Jeep. As she neared, Kaden noticed the green scrubs she was wearing beneath her heavy coat. She must work in some sort of health care, he silently decided, although she didn’t appear to be connected with the EMTs who were closing the back of the ambulance.
Leaning her elbows on the open window frame, Bailey peered into the Jeep to inspect Kaden with a curious gaze. Then, with a faint smile, she glanced toward Lia.
“Hey, girl. No need to ask how it’s going.”
A hint of color touched Lia’s pale face, but she ignored the teasing words. Instead, she nodded toward the courthouse.
“What happened?”
“They just loaded Anthony into the ambulance.”
Lia sucked in an audible breath. “Seriously? Was there an accident?”
Bailey shook her head. “I don’t think so. Someone said he felt sick.”
Kaden leaned across the center console, a nasty premonition crawling down his spine. Had someone discovered that Anthony was helping them investigate the death of Ryan Burke?
“Was it a heart attack?” he asked, trying not to overreact.
Baily wrinkled her nose. “I think it’s more like a stomach bug. Or maybe food poisoning.”
Kaden settled back in his seat, trying to convince himself it was nothing but an unfortunate fluke. Anyone could catch a stomach bug. Especially this time of year. But it didn’t feel like a fluke. It felt like a deliberate attack.
Lia obviously agreed as she started to roll up the window, her movements jerky. “Thanks, Bailey.”
Bailey reluctantly stepped back, her eyes sizzling with blatant curiosity. “We should get together. Soon.”
“Yeah, I’ll give you a call,” Lia promised as she shut the last few inches of the window.
Kaden narrowed his eyes as he watched the ambulance pull away, the lights suddenly flashing and the siren echoing through the frozen street.
“Someone wants to keep Anthony from sharing his opinion on Ryan Burke’s supposed accident,” he said.
“Yes.”
Kaden’s attention remained locked on the emergency vehicle as it zoomed away, his thoughts consumed with who might have tried to silence the young deputy. It had only been a few hours since they saw him. It should be easy to discover who he’d been in contact with . . .
“Kaden.” Lia broke into his distracted thoughts. “I think we should go to the hospital.”
“We will, but I doubt they’ll let us in to speak with Anthony until he’s been treated. It could be hours. Until then, I think you should—”
“Take me to the hospital.”
There was a sharp edge in Lia’s voice that had Kaden turning his head to watch as she grimaced in pain, a clammy layer of sweat beginning to coat her face.
“Shit.”
Putting the Jeep into gear, Kaden slammed his foot on the accelerator, fishtailing his way down Main Street and out of town. He never slowed as he hit the highway, using every skill he developed over the years to get Lia to the hospital in Grange in record time.
