Page 10 of Knight's Journey

“It’s a place to start at least,” Cole said. “Until we can talk to Zane, it’s the best lead we got.”

“Rock, was there any evidence at the scene?” Jay asked.

The Delta Team had been dispatched to the warehouse not long after Zane was transported to the hospital. Tristin had wanted them to search the space for any clues to help the case.

Rock moved where Jay could see him. “Nothing helpful. There was some blood at the scene, most of which we already know probably belongs to Zane. There were some spatter and directional drops suggesting someone else in the room was hurt, but we don’t know who or how. There’s nothing in the recording indicating Zane gave as good as he got before he went down.”

Kat regarded Jay. “Could one of you have hit someone during the breech?”

Cole was the one to answer. “It’s possible. We got off a few rounds when they were escaping. I didn’t think we were close enough to get any of them, but who knows?”

Jay released a growl of frustration. “I want this case closed for good. We’re not letting them get away with hurting one of our own. We work it until we take them down.” Jay’s tone broke no argument, and Tristin nodded his agreement.

“We’ll work in shifts. Brick,” Jay called for KSI’s lead investigator. “You and Rock coordinate the shifts. We need protection on Zane while he’s here, and just in case, let’s put a detail on his mother and sisters. Let’s run down De la Peña’s known enemies and match them up with the names we got on tape. Let’s narrow down the identities of everyone who was at the meet and start investigations on each one. If Kat’s right and Zane suspected one of them of being the leak, I want all the intel on them we can get. Kat, you and Sydney are going to need some help, so see if you can recruit Travis to pick up the slack.”

As Tristin’s twin brother, Travis Knight often used his skills as a computer analyst to fill in at KSI when the need arose. Though he owned his own business, the Knight and Day Fitness Center, his background in law enforcement made him an asset in working difficult cases.

“He’s already offered and has been working at the command center the last few hours. He’s supposed to check in with me soon,” Kat confirmed. The command center was more than the place where KSI’s computer analysts worked. It was the base of operations during critical missions.

Jay continued. “Everyone check in with me, Tryst or Brick every hour with updates. If you’re not running down a lead or working protection, I expect you to be getting rest. I know we all want to work this case for Zane, but he deserves us at our best. Which means we take breaks, eat, get some sleep, and then cover for each other. I know Tryst got us access to this conference room, but let’s keep the investigation outside the hospital. We don’t want to draw unwarranted attention. De la Peña may have suspected Zane, but he never used anything but his alias when talking to him. If he’s looking for him, he’s going to be searching for Cane Black. Zane is listed as a patient under his first and last name, Daniel Wilder, so he should be harder to pin down.”

Brick raised an arm to get everyone’s attention. “Let’s regroup at KSI in 20. We’ll sort out assignments and shifts then. Lex, you and Gennessey have the first protection shift, so you’ll stay behind.”

Lex Bishop and Gennessey Croft muttered a “copy that” and slipped from the room to take up posts close to the ICU. Lex had been one of the original investigators with KSI before joining KSI’s Delta Team, but Gennessey was new. She proved herself to be a valuable member of the family when they were tracking Oscar De la Peña to stop his threat against Payton and Davi.

Jay sent Tristin and Kat with the rest of the group as they left the hospital en masse. He made his way back to the waiting room to take his place beside his wife as they tried to offer support to their teammates’ family.

Chapter Four

“Will you marry me, sweetheart?”

Bridget bit back a smile as she examined the flow on the IV bag and checked the vitals on the heart/BP monitor. She’d been warned about her frequent flyer patient, 71-year-old Marvin Stutler. Over the years of being treated for everything from the flu to kidney stones, he’d managed to propose to every doctor, nurse and tech in the hospital — more than once. She had been officially indoctrinated to the staff at Lenfield Medical Center when she’d been assigned Marvin’s nurse on her first twelve-hour night shift.

“You’re breaking my heart. I can give you a good life, sweetheart. Anything you want. Ask and it’s yours.”

She made a fuss of straightening his bed covers where they stretched across his chest. “Well, now, you make a tempting offer, but I can’t accept unless this proposal is for me and my children.”

The wide smile dropped from his face, his sagging skin making his face appear long and gaunt. “Children?”

“That’s right. A girl and a boy. Thirteen and sixteen. We’re a package deal.”

Marvin grunted. “I don’t believe you’re old enough to have two teenage children.”

Bridget grinned. “You’re half right. I am definitely old enough to be their mother, but I’m not. They’re my niece and nephew. They’re pretty great kids, but I can’t accept a marriage proposal without including them.”

Satisfied she shut down his flirtations, she moved to fill his water pitcher and straightened his bedside tray so he would have all he needed within reach.

“You’re raising your niece and nephew?”

Her smile was soft as her thoughts shifted to the two waiting for her at home. “I guess it’s more like we’re raising each other, but yes, I’m their guardian.”

She was aware of his eyes thoughtfully watching her, but since she ran out of busy work to keep her in his room, she made for the door, tossing out one last question before she left.

“Anything else you need, Mr. Stutler?”

“May I ask what happened to their parents?” His tone was gentle, but she took a moment to push past her surprise at his question.

She was used to being asked about her sister and brother-in-law, and she never shied away from talking about them. But sharing about them didn’t make the grief easier.

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