Vanished (27 page)

27

Someone knocked at the hospital door and then pushed it open. Mason hopped up and tugged at the wrinkled shirt he’d worn all night, trying to sleep in the uncomfortable hospital chair.

ASAC Duncan peeked around the door and met Mason’s gaze. “All right if I come in?”

Ava’s boss was more than welcome because Mason wanted some answers. The agent practically tiptoed into the room, eyeing Ava sleeping in the bed. “How is she?”

“Good. They got her out of surgery at about midnight. She was awake in recovery for a while, but she slept all night long. No telling how doped up she is.”

“Her surgery went fine?” Duncan asked.

Mason suspected he’d already had a full report from the surgeon himself. “Yes, her upper arm will be setting off metal detectors for the rest of her life, but she should recover nearly all range of use.”
Over time. And after lots of therapy.

“That’s good.” The two men stood in silence, watching the sleeping agent.

“We went through Kent Jopek’s apartment overnight,” Duncan stated.

Mason’s listening skills shot to optimum. “And?”

Duncan shook his head. “He practically had a shrine to you.”

“What?” Mason tasted bile in the back of his mouth. He eyed the plastic bowl on the table next to Ava’s bed.

“He had a binder with every newspaper article you’ve ever been mentioned in. Printouts from the Internet and all his legal documents from his civil case and the inquiry into the shooting.”

Dizziness swamped Mason. He sat down and rubbed his face.

“He had Jake’s school schedule, and we found receipts for his plane tickets to North Carolina. A memory card full of pictures of Jake on campus, Henley at her bus stop, your home, and you on the job in various places. He also had a homemade kit for transferring fingerprints. I assume the ones we found in the kit will be yours. I don’t think you’ll be on leave much longer.”

Holy shit.
“He told me he killed Josie.”

Duncan went on. “The stolen minivan was in his garage, and his Chevy sedan was in the Safeway parking lot.”

“I can’t believe this,” Mason muttered.

“Besides you and Jake, he also had a ton of photos of Wyatt everywhere in the house. There was even a bedroom done up for a young boy. Kent lived in this place for three years, so Wyatt obviously never slept there. I’m wondering if it’s a replica of his old room. It looks like Henley was kept in a small locked room down in his basement. We found some food, water, and bedding. Even some books.”

Mason blew out a thankful breath. He’d imagined the girl had been kept in a much worse location.

“Sanford was there when Henley and her parents were reunited at the emergency room. He said there wasn’t a dry eye in the hospital. All the nurses and cops included. Henley was just dehydrated from her ordeal. They didn’t even keep her overnight.” Duncan’s expression turned grim. “And she wasn’t sexually abused or abused at all. Everything checked out fine with her.”

“Thank God. That could have gone so many different ways.”

Duncan nodded. “Amen to that. Oh, and I’m supposed to tell you that the woman from Search and Rescue took your dog to her home until you can pick it up.”

“Bingo,” said Mason, remembering Henley’s name for the dog. “I don’t know if it’s really my dog. I think it belongs with Henley,” he said slowly, realizing he’d become quite attached to the furry black mutt.

“I don’t think that’s an option,” Duncan said. “Sanford told me that Henley’s mom started sneezing up a fit at the emergency room because the girl was covered in dog hair. The nurses were about to inject her with an antihistamine,” he said with a smile. “Looks like you’ll have your dog back.”

Mason bit back a smile. Bingo had earned a place of honor in his home. He’d even buy him the expensive dog food.

“Jake says there’s still law enforcement at the Fairbankses’.” Mason had been at the Safeway store for several hours after the shooting and then had gone straight to the hospital to sit in the waiting room while Ava had surgery. Now it was nearly 8
A.M
.

“Yes, we still have a team in the house, and they’ll stay there until all the chaos settles down. Probably a day or two.”

Jake had texted him a few times last night, asking for Ava updates. Mason hadn’t liked how impersonal the texts felt. He planned to get a phone that could do that video-calling thing. That way when he wanted to see his son, he could. And Mason would always know who was on the other end of the line.

“We also discovered that Kent had closed out his bank accounts. He also left a couple of farewell letters to his exes.”

The man had been suicidal.

“I think we got real lucky that he didn’t take anyone else down with him,” said Duncan. “I believe that was his original plan. He was either going to take you or Jake out and then take his own life.”

“He said he wanted to see his son,” Mason stated. His brain whirled.
How close had he and Jake come to death yesterday?

“Ava did a good job talking him down.” Duncan looked at the woman sleeping in the bed.

“Yeah, and then I came in and pissed him off.”

“It ended well.”

“That depends on your definition of ‘well,’” Mason argued.

“Henley’s home safe and sound. So are Jake and you. Ava will be soon. I call that a damned good ending.” Duncan stole another look at Ava. “I’m headed home to shower and then back to the office. Let me know later how she’s doing.” He strode to the door and opened it, stopping to smile back at Mason. “Merry Christmas.”

Mason blinked. It
was
Christmas. “Same to you,” he replied automatically.

Duncan vanished.

Mason pulled his chair up to the side of Ava’s bed and clasped her good hand as he sat down. “Merry Christmas,” he said softly.

The first of many to come, he decided. He wasn’t letting Ava McLane walk out of his life any time soon. She’d pushed her way under his heart, and he intended to keep her there. Her eyes opened, and she looked directly at him, giving a small smile.

“Is he gone?” she whispered.

“Were you awake?”

“I woke up while he was talking. I didn’t want to deal with bureau business,” she said.

Mason chuckled. “You fooled both of us. I doubt he would have grilled you this morning.”

“You don’t know Ben Duncan very well. Being unconscious is the only way to avoid his questions.” She yawned and flinched as the movement stretched her bandaged shoulder. “Am I in one piece?”

“Yes, thanks to the grace of God and Kent’s poor aim. Now you’re part cyborg. The surgeon seemed very pleased with himself, so I think you’ll be in good shape.”

“Sounds like I’ll need some help for a while,” she said, blue eyes staring straight into his.

“I’ll give you whatever help you need. Getting dressed, bathing, eating.”

“It could be a big job. I’m rather demanding,” Ava stated.

He stared at her. “Why do I not believe you?”

“I can be difficult. I’m very particular about how I like things done.”

Mason smiled and leaned closer. “Then I’m your man. Anyone who has discerning taste wants me to help them get dressed.”

“What are you suggesting, detective?”

“I’m suggesting that you rely on me for a while,” he said softly. “Catch your breath, heal, and see if you enjoy seeing me every day.”

Her eyes widened as his words sank in.

Were they on the same page?

“Ava? Are you in here?” The door burst open without a knock, and Jayne swept into the hospital room, blond hair flowing behind her. She had two bandages on her face from her car accident, and her hand was in a fabric brace.

Mason shot to his feet and stepped in front of Ava’s twin before she rushed the bed. “Slow down!”

“Jayne? What are you doing here?” Ava asked, surprise on her face.

“The hospital notified me. This is quite a switch,” Jayne said with a wide smile. She scanned the bed, the room, the window, and Mason within two seconds. The woman seemed wired for a hospital visit at eight in the morning.

Her pupils were huge.

Shit. What’s she on?

“Usually I’m the one in the hospital bed.” Jayne laughed as if it were the cleverest joke in the world. “I’m so lucky that my injuries weren’t too serious from that stupid car accident.”

Mason kept one hand on the twin’s good arm. Energy vibrated under his fingers. This wasn’t espresso overload. Jayne was blinking too often, and a twitch shook her shoulders, painfully reminding him of Josie on his last visit before she was murdered.

Meth?

“Merry Christmas, darling!” Jayne squealed and tried to pull out of Mason’s grasp to hug her sister. “Let go.” She tugged at her arm, a scowl deepening the lines between her brows.

“No,” said Mason. “Don’t touch her shoulder. She’s had surgery.”

“I’ll just give her a kiss on her forehead.”

Mason slowly let go, and Jayne dropped a peck on Ava’s forehead. Ava’s expression didn’t change. She simply watched her sister.

“I need to run. I could only spare a minute. I’ll call you later.” Jayne waved her bandaged hand at Mason and practically skipped to the door. “Ta-ta, darlings.”

Silence filled the room.

Ava watched the door shut behind her twin. Tears burned at the back of her eyes. She blinked hard.
I won’t let her make me cry.
She wiped her face.

Mason seemed dumbstruck. He turned brown eyes to her, his lips slightly open in shock. He shook his head, a scowl turning down the corners of his mouth. “And I thought I couldn’t be any more surprised after meeting her the first time. She didn’t ask a single question about your injuries.”

Ava tried to shrug, and pain shot up the left side of her neck.

“She was on something,” Mason stated.

“She usually is.”

Mason carefully sat on the edge of her bed and took her good hand, rubbing her fingers in his grip. “You are nothing like her.”

“I know.” Ava fought to keep the tears back.

“No. Listen to me,” Mason said, leaning forward and emphasizing each word. “You are plumb full of caring. Every damn cell in your body cares about the people around you. Even the ones who are crazy and treat you like crap. It makes you an amazing agent. When I heard you talking to Kent yesterday, I could hear genuine concern in your voice.”

“I didn’t want anyone to get hurt,” Ava whispered.

“Do you think Jayne cares if anyone gets hurt?”

Ava rubbed her nose, searching for a different answer instead of the one that was screaming in her brain. “No,” she finally admitted.

“That woman thinks only of herself. Maybe it’s the drugs, but I believe they only enhance true character.”

He’s so right.

“She’s always been like that,” Ava said. “I’m surprised she didn’t ask me where her Christmas present was.”

Mason’s eyes lit up as he smiled.

Ava’s heart lurched at the handsome sight. Mason Callahan was very special. Honorable. Reliable. Steady. Caring. Definitely old-fashioned, but she loved that about him. She even loved that damn cowboy hat that was always within reach. His offer to stay with her while she recovered had made her nearly cry. Jayne had interrupted an important moment.

“You’re very good for me,” she said.

His smile grew broader. “I feel the same way.”

“I was afraid he was going to shoot you if you came in the store yesterday. I didn’t want to let you in.”

His smile faltered. “Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to let you walk alone into that den with the lion? I wanted to throw up when the doors closed behind you. Duncan was about to handcuff me so I wouldn’t rush the store when Kent started yelling at you.”

“We have tough jobs,” Ava said slowly. “Time-consuming. Sometimes dangerous.”

Would he hear what she was asking?

Mason’s gaze flickered from one of her eyes to the other. “I’m well aware of that.”

“Can we do this?” she whispered, laying her heart open and bare for him to see. “Can we make it work?”

His hand tightened on hers. “Do you remember asking me if I’ve ever loved someone where the emotion was totally out of my control? Where someone physically feels the other person moving about in the world? That
exact
feeling is growing inside of me. I’ve felt precisely what you described, and I want to continue to experience it every day with you.”

My words. He was listening to me.
Her throat tightened.

“I’m willing to do my damnedest to make that happen between us. There was another motive behind my offer to stay with you while you healed. I was sorta hoping you’d get addicted to having me around,” Mason continued. “You’ve dug out a whopping-sized piece of my heart, Agent McLane. I’d appreciate it if you handled it with care. And I promise to do the same.”

Love for him surged through her.

“Kiss me,” she begged. “And don’t let me go, okay? Promise?”

“That’s a deal I’ll never back out on.”

He kissed her.

ALONE
BY KENDRA ELLIOT

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Vanished
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