Page 29 of Complicated Past

“Doesn’t look like it. There were only men’s clothes. We’re running down the LLC that owns the house. Whoever rented it for him may have also rented one for Tawnya.”

“Have you ID’d the guy?”

“Heath Malloy. He’s got a pretty lengthy rap sheet. Mostly drug-related. Some assault charges. We questioned him a few months ago but didn’t have enough evidence to make charges stick.”

Evidence usually wasn’t a problem with drug and assault arrests. A chill ran down Linc’s spine. “What kind of charges?”

“Attempted kidnapping. It could have been a similar situation. I’m headed over to the hospital. I’m guessing you’d like to meet me there while I question Mrs. Feldman. Even though we got Malloy, you should keep your nephew someplace safe. Based on the clothing, there were two men living in the house. Right now, we don’t know anything about the second’s identity or whereabouts. We’re running a list of his known associates and getting prints from the house to determine who else was staying there and their current location.”

Shit. “Got it.” He’d thought they’d caught a break learning the location where Regina was being held. Instead, they might have killed their best shot at getting Bri out of Mexico.

FOURTEEN

Since she could practically feel the tension rolling off Linc’s body from the moment he’d entered the house, she opted to come along to the hospital for support. He filled Kendra in on the details he got from Clara as they drove across town.

“Did you want to pick up Jalen and take him to see his great-grandmother?” she asked.

“Not yet. I need to know what kind of condition she’s in before he sees her. I can’t risk her saying anything when Jalen thinks his mother is coming home in two days.”

“That’s a good call.”

While they waited for a red light to change, his right hand tapped impatiently on his thigh. She placed her fingers on the back of his hand to calm him.

He looked into her eyes with a trace of a smile forming. “Thanks for coming,” he said, interlacing his fingers with hers.

The simple touch ignited a longing for more contact. A lot more. In just a matter of days, Lincoln Porter had imploded the wall she’d erected for her protection. Even with a kidnapper potentially still on the hunt for her, she’d never felt safer than she did with Linc by her side.

Outside the ER, they found Clara seated in the waiting room.

“You didn’t need to bring her here,” Clara said, giving Kendra a hug.

“I volunteered.”

Clara raised an eyebrow at that.

“It was come or stay at his friend’s house all by myself.”

“Is Jalen still with your friends?” Clara asked Linc.

“Yeah. I asked him to text when they get out of church to see if they can keep him a little longer.”

“They’re examining Mrs. Feldman now. They gave her a mild sedative, but I asked the nurse not to knock her out until I get a chance to speak with her.” Clara sat back down, and Kendra took the seat next to her. Linc studied the waiting room before sitting on the other side of Kendra.

It took several minutes of sitting there with a home makeover show to distract them before Linc’s leg bounced enough to shake Kendra’s chair. She gently touched his arm and met his gaze.

“Sorry.” He placed his forearms on his legs.

As he scrolled on his phone, she saw he was checking flight schedules to Acapulco. So much for letting authorities handle things. With the kidnapper being shot, that didn’t surprise her.

He angled to stare Clara down. “You said she wasn’t hurt. What’s taking so long?”

“She was a little out of it, so they were going to do an MRI. They wanted to make sure she didn’t have a TIA.”

“She had a stroke?” His posture shifted.

“We don’t know that. It’s just a precaution,” Clara assured them.

Linc took a deep breath and leaned back, resting his head against the wall as they waited. A few minutes later, his phone chimed. He got up. “I’m going outside for better reception to call Walt.”

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