Page 64 of Knight's Desire

The Command Center was silent, all eyes on Tristin as they waited for his response to Kat’s outburst. He stared at the phone for a long minute before his shoulders slumped in defeat.

“Alright, Kat. What else did you find?”

“Thank you,” she said, sounding calmer. “Now I know Leonard has an alibi—”

“Zane’s running it down. We suspect it’s not as solid as we thought,” Brick explained.

“It’s not. I found a flight manifest for the day before Hope was taken. The reservation was under Amos Leonard, David’s father, only Amos Leonard never left Martha’s Vineyard. He was playing in a country club golf tournament that day. There’s a picture of him on the country club’s social media page posing with the other winners. He finished third.”

“So that could very well have been Leonard on that plan. Good work. Thanks, Kat,” Brick said.

“I’m not finished. Listen I tracked down his first wife’s sister, and I sent her information to Gennessey. There might be a lead there. And Leonard owns a lot of property in Grayson Cove, Martha’s Vineyard, and well, in a lot of places. I haven’t had…Ahhhh…oooohhhh.” Kat’s heavy pants came through the phone, and Tristin’s eyes widened.

“Kat? Talk to me, baby. Are you alright?”

“Y-yeah. I’m…okay. It’s just that one was…rough. But I’m okay. It’s gone now. Anyway, I haven’t had a chance to run down all of his properties, but maybe there’s a lead in there somewhere too. I looked at his financials when Travis pulled them up, and there was nothing unusual there, but I did pull up the financials for Stella Leonard. Or I— oooowwwww!”

“Kat!” Tristin cried.

“Yeah, I think it’s time to call that ambulance. This isn’t Braxton — ahhhhhhhh! Oh my God, these damn contractions hurt like a son of a bitch! Hold on. I think it’s passing. Yeah, I’m good now.”

Sydney looked up at Tristin knowingly. “I’m putting in the call for that ambulance.”

“Yeah, okay,” Kat responded, not realizing Sydney wasn’t speaking with her. “Thank you, Syd. Now, while I’m waiting on the medics, I need you to listen to what I’ve found. Or didn’t find. Stella Leonard comes from a family of influence, but she has nothing in her name. It all belongs to her husband. And Sydney, I need you to pull up headshots for the wives and show everyone. This was the clencher for me.”

“I’m on it,” Sydney called.

Travis stood and walked over to where his brother stood starting at the phone like a zombie. “I’ve got Tristin, Kat. We’ll meet you at the hospital. Just promised you’ll stay on the phone under the ambulance arrives.”

“No p-problem, Trav. I want to k-know what’s h-happening. If — whew! — if these babies will let me.”

“Here are the photos,” Sydney said before tapping a command on her keyboard. “Kat, if you still have your laptop up, you should see them too.”

All eyes turned to the larger screen in the Command Center. All three pictures may have been of different women, but the women all had enough similarities to make their connection obvious. Brunettes with long hair, hazel or brown eyes, curvy figures, and beautiful faces.

“The bastard has a type,” Brick murmured. “It’s him, Jay. I know it. We have to find him.”

“We will, man. It’s coming together.”

“Owwwww! I’m sorry, Brick. I wish I could do more, but the medics are here. I have to go deliver my baby girls now.”

Despite his worry for Hope, Brick had to smile at the anticipation he heard in Kat’s voice. “Thanks for your help, Kat. I feel like we’re closer to finding Hope. Go.”

“Yeah, okay. Look, somebody keep us updated, okay? I won’t be able to focus on the babies until I know Hope’s safe.”

“We’re on our way, Kat,” Travis called. “I’ve got Tristin with me, and we’ll meeting you at the hospital.”

“I’m on my way. I love you, Katarina,” Tristin called.

“I love you too! Bye.”

“That woman is going to be the death of me.” Tristin’s voice was low, like he was saying the words more to himself than for the others in the room. “Damn, my girls are coming. I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”

Travis nudged him out of his daze. “You don’t have to do shit, man. Kat’s doing the hard part. You just need to show up and be there. Now come on. We’ve got to get going if you want to be there in time for the babies.”

Tristin nodded. “Right, right. Sorry, Brick, man. I…”

“We’ve got this. Go be with your woman. That’s where you need to be.”

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