Page 38 of Their Frozen Bones

The two men were like bulls ready to lock horns. Wolfe could imagine having these two working alongside him in the team. He’d really need to speak to Jenna. This man was an asset they could use in an emergency. He moved toward them and looked at Kane. “I’ll tell you later. Did you bring the spare satellite phone and charger from my truck?”

“Yeah.” Kane fished it out of his pocket, but his gaze was still locked on Raven. “Julie and Emily are like my sisters.”

“Hey, he saved both their lives. If he wasn’t there, Oberg would have grabbed Emily.” Jenna squeezed Kane’s arm. “He’s one of the good guys.”

“Maybe.” Kane let out a snort. From his expression, he’d need more convincing.

Wolfe took the phone from him and handed it to Raven. “Take this. One day you might break your leg and need help. My number is on speed dial.”

“Thanks.” Calm as a lake on a summer’s day, Raven took the phone and walked into the kitchen with Ben close to his side. “Now who wants coffee and who’d prefer hot chocolate?”

FORTY-SEVEN

As the Beast roared back to the office, Jenna stared at Kane. “Okay what’s stuck in your craw?” She sighed. “I’ve never seen you take an instant dislike to anyone in all the time we’ve been together… well, apart from a few serial killers.”

“IknowJohnny Raven. This is why I didn’t want him as a suspect.” Kane’s fingers gripped the steering wheel and he stared straight ahead.

Astounded, Jenna turned in her seat. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You know why.” Kane shook his head slowly. “He flew an evac chopper during one of my missions. He wasn’t supposed to be behind enemy lines but he risked his life to save me.” He flicked her a glance but his expression was hidden behind his mirrored sunglasses. “The chopper was hit and somehow he managed to put it down. We spent ten days avoiding the enemy. He’s very good at his job. Yeah, he’s a doctor but he’s a damn fine soldier as well. Special ops would have taken him in a second. He’s smart and has a brilliant memory for details. He’s younger than me but not by much and he made it through from medic to doctor and was still flying missions.” A nerve in Kane’s cheek twitched. “He’ll see through the surgery I’ve had. My eyes arethe same. Sure the scars and tattoos are gone, but although my accent is slightly different, he’s no fool. I can’t disguise my size or my skills, and if he runs my prints, I’ll be relocated.”

Horrified, Jenna gaped at him. “You had tattoos?” She caught his mouth twitch into a smile and then fade. “Why didn’t Wolfe mention him?”

“Because Shane doesn’t know.” Kane drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “It was around the time his wife first got sick. I had another handler during that mission. That’s probably why I came close to being captured. Trust me, I’m alive because of Shane. He thinks one step ahead all the time. If he’d known Raven, the moment his name came up he’d have shut him down.”

Astonished, Jenna stared at him. “You mean kill him?”

“If he’s a threat to national security, yeah. It happens all the time.” His shoulders hunched. “That was one of my jobs, in case it slipped your mind.”

Trying to grasp the enormity of the situation, Jenna stared at him. “What can we do?”

“He can’t use a retina scanner on me if he suspects something. I mean, he might consider me a security risk, as in, I faked my death to spy for a hostile country, for instance. If he reports me and they run my prints, all hell will break loose. My DNA isn’t on file anywhere. Wolfe was able to pull that, but my prints will be under my real name because if they suddenly vanished, it would send up reg flags in the military.” Kane sucked in a breath and shook his head. “This guy isn’t going away now, is he? I’ll ask Wolfe about altering my fingerprints.”

Swallowing hard, Jenna stared at him. “That’s practically impossible. Burning them off with heat or chemicals doesn’t work for long. Eventually they grow back.”

“It’s okay. Shane will have a way. There are all types of new technology now. He’ll come up with something.” Kane slowed asthey reached Main. “I’ll be sore for a week, maybe less. I’ll wear gloves and tell people I got frostbite. It’s the only way, unless you figure killing a man who saved Julie, Emily, and me is the only way out of this mess.” He sighed. “Personally, I believe that’s a little harsh, but we need to do something before the shit hits the fan.” He drove into the parking lot behind the office. “I’ll unhitch the trailer and you go inside in the warm.”

Fear clenched Jenna’s belly and she closed her hand around his arm, feeling the tension in his muscles. “They’d take you from me and our kids? Would they really do that?”

“To keep you safe, yeah, they would.” Kane slipped from the truck and came around the hood to wait as she climbed out. He held out his hand. “I’ll take whatever steps to make sure that doesn’t happen.” He pulled her close. “You are my world, nothing else matters. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my family.”

Holding back tears threatening to spill, Jenna walked carefully to the back door and scanned her eye. The door clicked open and she hurried inside, glad of the warmth and familiar smell of the office. Rowley met her as she walked into the ground floor. Although panic for Kane ripped into her, she must act normal and she smiled at him. “I’m glad to see you up and around. How do you feel?”

“A little sore but I’m okay.” Rowley scrutinized her face. “You look exhausted. Oberg is safely locked away in interview room one. He wants to talk to the DA. Rio called him and he is waiting for you. He said, to speak to Oberg, make sure you give him his Miranda rights on video and then he’ll do his thing. He’ll watch the interview from the conference room.” He frowned. “First, you need to get out of those wet clothes. Sit down and I’ll get you something to eat and drink. Is Kane on his way? I just had a delivery from Aunt Betty’s and the peach pie is still hot.”

Jenna smiled at him. “Oh, that will be wonderful. I’ll go and change.” She headed for the stairs.

Twenty minutes or so later Jenna and Kane walked into the interview room. Rio had searched Oberg and relieved him of a few personal items, but what was interesting was the Glock, a roll of gaffer tape, a hunting knife, a lipstick, and his phone. The most interesting was his phone, complete with images of the women he’d murdered. All items had been entered into evidence.

“Jenna.” Kane pulled her to one side. “This guy is a jerk. He has no respect for women. I figure we do the good cop, bad cop ploy with him.”

She stared at him. “What do you mean?”

“Look, I need to get inside his head and find out why he’s doing this, so I might need to sink to his level and say some pretty derogative things about women. It will be as offensive to me as it is for you, but it’s for a good reason. These guys often trash-talk if they believe they’re getting sympathy. So if I say anything disrespectful against women, you know darn well that’s not what I really believe. Will you be comfortable with this line of interrogation? It’s used all over with success.”

Nodding, Jenna understood cops used every means of legal persuasion, even lies to get a prisoner to talk, and if this worked, she’d swallow her distaste. Her husband was a good and respectful man, and if he needed to sink to the level of a monster to get him to confess, well, so be it. “Okay, I’ll grit my teeth because I know you’re only doing your job. Let’s get at it.”

Jenna switched on the video, which fed to the conference room, and gave the date, time, and who was present. She readOberg his rights and sat down beside Kane. “Are you waiving your rights to have a lawyer present?”

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