Instinctual 2 (18 page)

“I’m glad you did. And my favorite flowers. Who brought them?”

“Your father. He thought they might cheer you up when you woke.”

“They’re beautiful. I must remember to thank him when he returns.” Kate reached her hand out for her mother to take. “I’ve missed you, Mom.”

“I’ve missed you too, darling. I’m just sorry we had to visit under these circumstances.”

“How long are you staying?” Kate’s eyebrows rose in hope.

“Well, until we know that you’re one hundred percent. You might need some help when you return home.”

Kate hadn’t thought about that. Without Carlos to help, she would be on her own. She couldn’t hide the hurt at his betrayal as her face creased. How had she been so blind?

“You okay, honey?” Jenny squeezed Kate’s hand.

“Yeah. Just tired.”

“Well, that’s understandable. Why don’t you get some rest and I’ll wake you when dinner gets here.”

Kate’s eyes were already closed as she mumbled a quiet. “Thanks, Mom.”

Chapter Thirty

Rob found the small hospital chapel empty, so entered to make his phone call to Gary. He didn’t know what to make of his daughter’s confession. She hadn’t seemed confused at all. She’d seemed so damn sure of what she was saying. Jake in prison? Had he been found out? A ghost? What if it was all true? What if Jake was the one that had written on the mirror in Kate’s apartment and had indeed scribbled the note? Should he just keep ignoring the signs? Ignore Kate’s pleas to help Jake? What did it all mean? Maybe he wasn’t crazy after all.

Gary would think he was insane, though. Still, if there was even the slightest chance that any of it were real, he needed to act.

His gut instinct was telling him to make the call. Kate was a smart woman. He’d always believed her before. Why should he stop now?

Damn it. He dialed Gary’s number without another thought, taking a deep breath as he waited for the call to connect. Just when he thought it was going to ring out, it was answered.

“Hey, buddy.”

“Hi, Gary. How’s things?”

“Busy, but slow, if you know what I mean? Busy trying to bust this case but slow getting enough ammo to blow it open.”

“Well, I may or may not have something that could help.”

“Awesome! What have you got?”

“Kate has given me some information on our spy that I felt I needed to pass on.”

“Kate? How would she even know about our spy?”

“Well, here’s the thing. Now I know it’s going to sound like a load of baloney, but you can make up your own mind after I tell you.”

“Hmmm. Okay. I’m listening.”

“Kate believes that our spy is in her hospital room and has given her vital information about his whereabouts.”

Gary coughed. “Uh, Rob? Are you listening to yourself? She’s been in a coma, for God’s sake! Her head took a pretty hard hit.”

“I know that. I know it all sounds crazy, but ask yourself, what if? What if somehow he’s connected to her and is trying to get a message through to us? Can you just think about that for a second? We haven’t heard from him in way too long.”

“Do you really believe that his spirit is walking the halls of the hospital feeding her information? I mean, come on, Rob. You can’t be serious!”

Rob pushed the palm of his left hand against his eye, contemplating how preposterous it all was, but something was stirring in his gut. “I just think we need to keep our options open and check out any and all leads we’re given. I know my daughter has suffered head injuries. I know she’s just woken from a coma. But Gary, I tell you, there have been some unusual things happening that I can’t explain. Flowers moving on their own. Jenny and I saw them with our very eyes at the hospital. The lead I got about Kate back in Vernazza. And then there’s the fact that whenever I walk back into Kate’s room, she’s talking to the air. I mean, really talking, smiling at frigging nothing, Gary. Her eyes appear to be looking at something as she does it. How do you explain that? She insists Jake is there with her and that we need to hurry. Do I just ignore that?”

“Jesus! Look, I’m not saying I believe any of this, but for argument’s sake, let’s say I did. What else did she say about our guy?”

“She said he’s in some old prison. My guess is he’s being kept alive at the request of our dear old friend, Bernardo Lucchetti.”

“Ah hell, Rob. What am I supposed to do with this? Pull some men out and go on a search of all the islands along the Italian coast?”

“I know it’s a big call, Gary, and I’ve already asked way too much of you, but something is starting to niggle at me about this.”

“How did you get on to the subject with Kate, anyway? I thought you were going to wait a while before trying to squeeze information from her.”

“I didn’t need to ask anything. She brought it up after waking from a sleep. It seemed pretty important that she tell me.”

“I don’t know. Shit! How am I supposed to deal with this?”

Rob knew it was a risk but one that may pay off immensely. “We don’t have any other leads at this stage. Carlos Santini seems to have vanished off the face of the earth. I can’t see why Kate would make this up. Why would she even be thinking of Jake holed up in a prison? Where would that come from? There were a million other things she could have randomly picked to tell me and she chooses something that’s connected with this case. I don’t know, Gary, but I don’t think that was a coincidence.”

Gary blew a breath out. “Perhaps. Give me some time and I’ll see what I can come up with. It will be like looking for a needle in a haystack, you do realize that?”

“How many prisons can there be on the Italian islands?”

“Are you sure they’re Italian islands?”

“I can’t guarantee that but we need to start somewhere. Meanwhile, I’ll try and get more information out of Kate. If Jake truly is in the room with her, maybe he can talk to me through her. I can’t fucking believe I’m even considering that!”

“That makes two of us. Look, I’m not saying I believe in all this, but for whatever reason Kate knows the whereabouts of our spy and because your gut instinct is telling you that we may have something, I’ll do what I can to get some men on board the chopper and start searching.”

Rob exhaled loudly through his nose. “If it’s a waste of time, I’ll personally dip into my retirement fund and pay you for your time, Gary.”

“Hmmph. Yeah, well, you officially owe me now. It’s a big ask, Rob, but I’m on it.”

“You’re the best, Gary. If you find the location, I want in.”

“Let’s just locate this prison first and see if our guy is even there. I’ll call you when I can, so keep your phone charged.”

“Always do.”

Rob didn’t know why but he felt they were onto something. He could go back to Kate and tell her that they were starting the search for Jake. He hoped to God it wasn’t a wild goose chase but he had to trust his daughter and his cop instinct.

Chapter Thirty-One

As much as Kate loved her parent’s company, she wanted them to leave so she could be alone with Jake. There was lost time to be made up. It was 9 p.m. and visiting hours were over. Darla poked her head in to give them a friendly reminder that they should leave Kate to sleep for the night.

“Rob, we need to go before we get kicked out by security.”

“Okay, you just go and wait for me out in the hall. I need to have a word with Katie before we go.”

Kate noticed her mother’s hesitation.

“It’s okay. I just want a few father-daughter minutes before we head out.” He smiled warmly.

Finally her mother nodded, kissing Kate goodbye and walking into the hall to wait.

“What is it, Dad?” Kate asked.

“Katie, Gary has begun the search. He’s sending out a chopper tonight under the cover of darkness to try and locate the prison where you think Jake is.”

That made Kate beam. Even if he hadn’t believed her, he was prepared to send out a search party. “Thanks, Dad. I mean it. This means a lot to me. And to Jake.”

“Honey, um, is he here now?”

“Yes, he’s right beside me.”

Rob rubbed his face. “I need you tell me all you can about Jake’s whereabouts and situation. Can you do that?”

“I’ll try.” Kate turned to Jake and waited for his nod as he spoke to her, giving her information that he needed Rob to know.

“Tell him that they must have found out I was a spy.”

Kate relayed this and watched Robert suck in a breath. “How? What happened?”

“Dad, Jake seems to think he was shot. They’re hiding him away. He hasn’t woken up, so I don’t know what’s going to happen to him.”

Robert was talking under his breath, his hands clenching and unclenching. “What else?”

“Tell him it’s an old rundown prison. Large. Semi-circular in shape. There’s a high cliff on one side. I’m pretty sure it’s off the coast of Italy.”

Rob had sat down on the chair beside Kate and was resting his elbows on his knees so he could bring his closed fists up and under his chin. “It’s semi-circular in shape. Very old and crumbly. There’s a high cliff on one side. He seems to think it’s off the coast of Italy. Is that it? Is there anything else? Anything at all?”

Kate was waiting on Jake to respond to Rob’s request, wondering why a pained expression had suddenly crossed his face.

“Jake? What is it? Is there anything else my Dad needs to know before he leaves?”

“Yes.” He turned his eyes to Kate. Do you remember the last words I said to you before you fell asleep?”

Kate tried to pry memories from her brain but couldn’t manage it. “No.”

Jake ran a hand through his hair twice, eyeing Kate with a look of trepidation.

“What is it? You’re scaring me, Jake.”

Her dad piped up, “Kate? What the hell is it?”

Without breaking eye contact with Jake, she held her hand up to her father to stop him from saying another thing until Jake spoke.

Jake blew out his breath and spilled the beans about Carlos.

Kate could feel all the color drain out of her face as she nearly choked. “He’s involved in Jake’s situation?”

“Yes, Kate. I told you while you were out of your body and even took you to the prison to prove it to you. You just can’t remember at the moment.”

Kate turned her face away from Jake and looked straight ahead, solemnly. She tried to process it all and found herself lost. Too many emotions consuming her at once.

Her father’s voice rose in panic. “What’s he saying?”

“It’s Carlos.” Her voice came out sounding like a zombie, even though she could feel tears building.

“What the fuck?” Rob moved fast to squeeze both of Kate’s arms, hard, and was shaking her. “Tell me, Kate! Tell me about Carlos!”

At her father’s firm grip, Kate started to cry. Her head moved as he shook her. She could hear Jake growl beside her as he got off the bed and flew around to Robert, trying to pry his hands free from Kate’s arms.

“Carlos is on the island with Jake! He’s been assigned to look after him.” Kate shook, wailing loudly; partly from knowing her relationship with Carlos was a sham and partly from a side of her father he hadn’t shown her before. It was like the mention of the name Carlos had triggered a beast within him.

Rob let go of Kate and stared down at her, realizing she was distraught and he was partly to blame. “Katie Bear! I’m so sorry! Oh God! Please forgive me!” He lowered himself to her and lifted her sagging body to his chest so he could wrap both arms around her, clasping her tightly.

Kate sobbed as she relaxed into her father’s embrace. It wasn’t how she’d envisioned their first hug but it still felt good. She could feel his heart pumping as he squeezed her harder, her head nestled into his shoulder. He let her cry until there were no tears left.

“I just can’t believe Carlos is involved. I just can’t get my head around it. I can’t believe he would do something like that!”

“I know, sweetie. We’ve been doing research on the guy and it appears he does indeed work for The Organization. He’s been lying to you from the get go. I can’t tell you how sorry I am for that. After Jake left—” He stopped mid-sentence, looking around as if remembering Jake was in the room.

“You can tell him yourself, you know.” Kate sniffed, looking up at her father.

Rob pulled his arms away from Kate and lay her gently back down on the bed, eyeing her speculatively.

She nodded to him in encouragement. “Go on. He’s right here.”

Jake spoke up next. “Tell him that I want to hear what he has to say.”

“Dad. He’s interested in what you have to say to him.”