Page 20 of Reclaiming Chaos
Chapter 9
Ridge
After I made sure forensics showed up, and the medical examiner took Reyes’ body, a tiredness like no other settled into my bones. But I wasn’t even close to being done.
I pulled up at the hospital and grabbed my weapon, badge, and the burner phone and headed inside. I had just passed through electronic doors and stopped in my tracks. A familiar woman was leaning against a pillar in the lobby while sipping her coffee and staring at me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as I approached my cousin.
“Carlee has some amazing foresight.”
“Yeah, and that still doesn’t explain why you’re here,” I said as Gwen handed me an extra coffee cup she’d been holding.
“She’s smart too,” Gwen said. “And she has a pair of balls the size of—”
“Gwen. What are you doing here?”
Gwen smiled. “She called. She needed help, and you were understandably busy. She asked me for a favor.”
“How the hell did she even know about you?”
“That’s her thing, right? She knows stuff. Anyway.” Gwen waved her hand and gestured back outside. “She called because she knew there was going to be another attempt on Melony’s life.” Gwen nudged his shoulder. “She came out of surgery just fine, by the way.”
“Why the fuck didn’t Carlee call me?” I growled.
“We were better prepared,” Gwen said. “Five minutes after my team and I arrived, two men entered the OR while your agent was on the table. My two operatives in the room took out the threat. You can thank Carlee for that. She knew it down to the minute. That was a really useful gift.”
I glanced back at the hospital. “Is Melony guarded now? Is Carlee safe?”
“Of course, they are. You’re family, and if she saved your life, then we owe her,” Gwen said. “Melony was moved to a more secure medical facility that FDG owns. She’ll be safe and well cared for until this is over or until she’s recuperated.”
“And Carlee?”
“She’s in a safe house, waiting for you. No matter how many times I tried to talk her into leaving town with Melony or myself, she said she couldn’t. She said, and I quote, ‘His life depends on me being nearby.’ How corny is that?”
I didn’t answer. The smart and safest thing for her to do would have been to leave. My heart warred with my head. I wanted her nearby regardless that I barely knew her. Deep down in my soul, I knew it wasn’t just because of her ability to predict the future. She’d said it herself. She was important to me and I was starting to acknowledge the truth of her words. If Carlee’s other predictions hadn’t come true, I might argue the merit, but she was batting a thousand.
“Considering how right she was about the gunmen, I figured I’d let you handle that. You can drive, and I’ll navigate.”
I slid behind the wheel, and Gwen climbed in on the other side.
“I can’t believe she did all this,” I said, glancing in Gwen’s direction.
“She’s a little odd, but I like her.” Gwen grinned. “You do realize if only half of what she said is true, then that company won’t stop sending people after her to bring her back.”
I swallowed hard. “They didn’t think twice about killing one of my agents and trying to kill my entire team, and all we did was ask more pointed questions.”
“Any leads on who pulled the trigger?” Gwen asked.
I pulled out the picture of the shooter's face and handed it to Gwen. “This guy. I didn’t get a look at the driver.”
“That’s a decent picture. That should make things easier,” Gwen took out her phone snapped a picture of the man, saving it to her camera roll. “I’ll run him through FDG’s facial program. With any luck we’ll get a hit.”
“Thanks for helping me. Thanks for believing her. You saved my partner’s life.”
“I’d never hear the end of it, if my sisters thought that I’d let down a family member. They’re mean like that.” Gwen winked and gestured to turn at the next light.
Family. Mine would be pissed if I was late for the wedding. My days were numbered. My brothers might be sent to check in on me if I didn’t call them first. They worried about me even though I had heightened intuition. It was barely viewed an ability compared to what each of my siblings could do.
She pointed, and I turned down a long and winding road into a suburban street of cookie-cutter houses where each looked the same as the one next to it—red brick, with various cars parked in the driveways. Lights glowing through the windows of a handful of the houses we passed, but most were dark. It was after midnight.
Gwen gestured into a drive with two other cars parked in the driveway. It wasn’t an old house, but it wasn’t new either. The driveway had a crack that bisected the concrete. It lacked flowerbeds, and the paint on the shutters around the window looked worn, but the one thing this place had going for it was the state-of-the-art cameras perched on each corner of the home and the front porch. No one was coming or going undetected.
Simultaneously, the front door opened as a woman stepped around the corner of the home with a gun held tight in her hand, proving my point.
I spared a look at Gwen. “They yours?”
