Page 140 of Long Road Home

“You shouldn’t have to give up your career!”

Jax shook his head, half smiling. “Let me worry about my five-year plan.”

“Are you going to share what it is?”

He motioned closing his lips and turning a key. “Need to know.” She was totally going to get Maizie to find out.

“Fine.” Kenna squared her shoulders. “Keep your secrets.”

“It’ll be the most interesting case you ever solve.” Jax kissed her again and stood. “See you soon.”

She waved. “I hope so.”

He looked like he wanted to give her an ultimatum, but just settled for a wink. And then he was gone. Taking all the flirty banter with him. Off to go back to his job, keeping his obligations to the FBI—the same agency that had burned her.

Then again, she worked with the man who had betrayed her. Kenna would never consider Stairns to be a bad guy. Otherwise, she never would’ve left Maizie with him and his wife.

If he wanted to maintain his loyalty and have his career, she wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize it for him. They could be partners in life but not in work, and that would be fine.

For now.

The doctor paid her a visit and ordered another X-ray on her still swollen wrist. How she’d managed to come through everything without a concussion was a miracle. She watched the marathon of a terrible soap opera on TV for a while, then begged the nurse for coffee. It was terrible, but she drank it anyway.

A while later, Kenna was just dozing off again when her phone buzzed on the side table. She managed to twist and reach far enough to grab it, keeping her head tipped to the side so she could lay her phone on her ear and not have to hold it. “Hello.”

“It’s just me,” Maizie said. “How are you feeling?”

“Obviously, I’m fine, or you’d be sitting next to me, worrying in person.”

“Stairns made me ask. After I told him it would be a waste of gas to drive up there.”

“Jax wants me to go to California,” Kenna stated.

“If you do, I think Stairns will volunteer to drive the RV for you so you can rest.”

That wasn’t a bad idea. “Don’t tell him I’m interested. Make him ask me himself.” She wanted to spend a couple of days with Forrest, and make sure Betty and Theo—and Alonzo and Charlayne—were all right. Last she’d heard, Alonzo was supposed to be waking up from his second surgery, to resolve complications from the first one.

Maizie chuckled. “Good to know. Heaven forbid I just tell either of you something straight.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Kenna’s humor bled away fast. She needed more energy if she was going to convince the doctors that she could leave. Hopefully later on. “Can you ask Forrest if she’ll pick me up when they release me?”

“Sure. I also sent you some information that came in from someone called Jim? It’s got a password on it that I don’t know. It was sent anonymously through the website, and I can’t figure out where it originated.”

“Don’t worry about chasing it down.” She had no idea about a password, but if it came from Jim, then it was likely about Cecelia Warren. “I’ll figure out what it means.”

“Okay,” Maizie said.

“Anything else?”

“I was looking into Jennifer’s mother. I found birth record for another child, about four years before Jennifer. She had a son by another man who ended up being one of the first victims.”

So they’d been telling the truth about being siblings. Half-brother and sister whose lives had diverged after birth and gone on two different paths, while they had remained connected.

Maizie continued, “The state police have logged the nameof every victim Marion Wells buried in that field and made all the death notifications. So they’ve officially released the information.” She paused. “Our friend likely knows we found his sister.”

Usually, when someone saidour friend, it was her or Jax protecting Maizie’s identity. This time she was referring to Ramon, the former FBI agent Kenna had met in Mexico. He’d disappeared and had yet to resurface. When he did, she could actually tell him that they’d finally solved the mystery of what happened to his sister who had gone missing years ago.

“There’s one more thing I need you to look into.” Kenna didn’t even want to say it. Months ago, she’d found an autopsy file in a safe belonging to Sheriff Joe Don Hunter. And when her van burned down, she’d lost all the information. Maizie probably couldn’t find anything, but Kenna needed to ask anyway.

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