Page 115 of The Last Close Call

Turning his back, Bryan pulled his phone from his pocket and texted the team.

Candy wrapper. Heidi made the grab. U record it?

They needed a video, or some defense lawyer someday was going to be screaming about chain of custody. Bryan stared down at his phone, clenching his teeth as he waited for an answer from Jack.

Affirmative. Got it on vid.

TWENTY-FOUR

A dull thumping noise roused Rowan from sleep. Thump thump. She tried to lift her head but then dropped it back on the bath mat.

Thump thump thump.

Where was Oscar?

Was he pawing at his cabinet again, trying to get to his food?

Rowan squeezed her eyes shut. God, how long since she’d fed him? She couldn’t remember. She didn’t know how long she’d been in here, drifting in and out. Her stomach clenched, and she pulled her knees closer.

“Rowan?”

She hunched her shoulders at the voice.

“Rowan? Are you—shit.” Boots appeared in front of her eyes. Then Jack crouched down in front of her.

She covered her face with her hand and curled into a ball.

“What the hell happened?”

“Go away,” she croaked.

She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could melt through the floor. She heard cabinets opening and closing and then the faucet running.

“Here.” A cool, wet towel pressed against her forehead. “Can you sit up?”

“Please go away.”

Miraculously, he did.

But a minute later, he was back again. His hand slid beneath her and lifted her shoulders off the floor.

“Can you sit? You need to drink something.”

The instant he said it, her mouth felt dry as dust, and she squinted her eyes open.

Jack knelt in front of her. He wore his leather jacket and a black baseball hat she’d never seen before.

She closed her eyes to keep from crying. She looked disgusting. She had vomit in her hair. It was spattered on the floor around the toilet, too.

“Can you drink something?”

She nodded a little, and he held a glass to her mouth as she took a sip.

The water felt cool on her parched throat.

She waited a moment and then took another sip.

“When did you get sick?” he asked.

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