Chapter Eight

Once inside the police station, an officer led them to a waiting room with couches and chairs lining the walls. An assortment of magazines covered the top of a coffee table, and a television in the corner played a muted infomercial for some kind of skincare products. Declan did a double-take, his eyes narrowing on the screen. The woman looked familiar. He’d swear he met her before and recently. The shot panned out, and he definitely recognized the woman hosting the program.

“Are you in need of some Harmony in your life?” Kenzie teased.

“What? Oh, no. I know those two ladies.”

“Well, of course.” With the tone of her voice, she might as well have added a big, fat duh. “Everyone knows Juliet LaRue. She’s an Oscar winner.”

“Jade Bradley.”

“The other woman is Jade Bradley?”

“No, Juliet LaRue is Jade Bradley. She’s married to one of my new bosses.”

Kenzie’s brows winged up. “Really? And you met her?”

“I did,” he confirmed.

“Wow. She’s my favorite actress.” Her attention focused on the television. “Don’t tell me you know the woman who created the line of skincare products I use too.”

“Melody Colton.” When she turned to him in jaw-dropping awe, he shrugged. “She’s married to a coworker.”

“Are you sure it’s a security company and not some kind of front for the rich and famous?”

She was teasing, but she wasn’t wrong. Several celebrities called the COBRA Securities compound home.

The cop who led them to the waiting room returned. “Mr. Elliot, I’ve notified Detective Fuller, and he’ll be here as soon as he can, but it might be a couple of hours. If you want to have a seat, I’ll let you know when he arrives.”

He thanked the detective and dropped to one of the couches. Jamal plopped down beside him. Kenzie took the sofa next to them.

“How are they finding us so easily?” she asked.

“They’re tracking us somehow.” It bothered him that the gang found them first at the motel and then at the lot where they met the Uber driver.

“We destroyed my phone,” Kenzie pointed out.

“Then they’re doing it some other way.” He stood. “Empty your pockets.”

Declan dumped Jamal’s backpack on the floor and rooted through the contents while Kenzie and Jamal checked their clothing. He didn’t need to instruct Kenzie to search her bag. She was already checking it out.

“What are we looking for?” Jamal asked as he shoved his hands inside his pockets.

“Something that doesn’t belong. Most likely, it will be small and round.”

Jamal held out his hand for Declan to see the tiny black disk no larger than a fingernail. “I found a button.”

Declan took it from him and flipped it over in his palm. “That’s not a button. It’s a tracker.”

“They slipped it in his pocket at the diner,” Kenzie guessed.

“This is my fault?” Jamal’s panicked gaze bounced between Declan and Kenzie.

Declan crouched down until his face was level with Jamal’s. “It is not your fault. You did nothing wrong. We’re going to figure out what your brother’s gang wants, and we’re going to put a stop to this.”

Jamal sniffed. “Promise?”

“Promise.” He gave him a quick hug and then stood. “Keep looking. There might be more than one.”

They searched through the rest of their belongings but only found the one tracker. Declan would give it to Detective Fuller when he arrived. He didn’t think Blaze and Boomer were stupid enough to approach them in a police station, but you never knew with ruthless killers.

After replacing the contents of the bags, they retook their seats. Jamal promptly fell asleep with his head on Declan’s leg. Kenzie stood up and walked away, and the urge to follow her was so strong it nearly overpowered him. She was probably going to the ladies’ room or looking for something to drink. It wasn’t like she was walking out of his life. His reaction was way out of line for someone he had just met, but she threw him off-kilter. He didn’t know her, but he sure wanted to.

She returned, and he released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d held. She shook out a blanket and placed it over Jamal, and his heart squeezed at the caring gesture. She hadn’t been looking for a bathroom or coffee. She’d gone in search of something to cover Jamal while he slept.

Totally oblivious to the swirling emotions churning inside him, she settled on the couch beside him. She lowered her voice to keep from waking Jamal. “If they tagged him at the diner, why did it take so long for them to come for us? We were at the motel all day.”

“If you injured them, they might’ve needed time to recover.” He flipped the device over in his palm. It didn’t look high-tech, more like something you’d find online or pick up at a surveillance store. “Or this might have a limited range. They might’ve had to drive around all day to pick up the signal.”

“If we hadn’t had to come to the station to sign our statements, I’d have gotten him out of town,” she muttered.

“Same here,” Declan echoed. He glanced over at her. She looked tired but still so lovely. “If there’s somewhere you need to be, I’ve got him now. I won’t let anything happen to him.” He hated even to make the offer. He’d just met her, but he felt a powerful pull toward her. He wasn’t ready to part ways.

A blush crept up her cheeks. “I don’t need to be anywhere. Is it okay if I stay with you two until these guys are caught?”

“Absolutely,” he assured her. “I wasn’t trying to get rid of you. I wanted to give you an out if you needed one.”

She nodded as if she understood, but he feared he’d hurt her feelings when that was the last thing he meant to do. “Besides, it would be best if you stayed with us if they know your name.”

The blush drained from her face. “I hadn’t thought about that. Do you think they’ll come after me?”

He wanted to lie and tell her she’d be safe, but he couldn’t. “Honestly, I don’t know. We probably won’t know until we figure out why they’re trying so hard to get to Jamal. If they thought you could lead them to him…” He didn’t want to finish the sentence because he didn’t want to consider the possibility of one of the gang members getting their hands on her. He’d kill any who tried.

#

Kenzie tried not to shudder at Declan’s words. The same thoughts crossed her mind, but she tried not to dwell on them. She felt safe with him. When it was just her and Jamal, she had to be strong for him, but she was so out of her league. She took self-defense classes and could fire a gun, but coming up against hard-core gang members was an unfamiliar experience. Shiloh Storm would’ve been able to handle them, but as she’d said many times over, she was no Storm.

She felt pathetic, practically begging Declan to let her stay with them. Kenzie hadn’t been lying when she told him she had nowhere to go. She could head back to her tiny apartment in Tribeca and decide if she wanted to return to her old job or find a new one, but she’d always be looking over her shoulder. She’d wonder if every man she passed on the street or sat next to on the subway was after her. Would the Eighty-Sixers follow her to New York City?

She glanced over at Declan as he adjusted the blanket she’d coaxed out of the young police officer working the front desk. Declan was so good with the boy. He’d make a great guardian. She wondered if he would formally adopt him. Having met Declan, she understood Jamal’s hero worship. He was Superman and Hulk, and all those things rolled into one, only better. When she first heard Jamal talk about him, she was convinced no one could live up to the hype. She’d been wrong. She was developing a severe case of hero-worship herself.

He glanced over at her—probably from the weight of her stare—and smiled. Her heart flip-flopped in her chest. It wasn’t his outside looks or that he was incredibly fit. It was his cool competence, his calm strength, and his unmatched abilities that drew her to him. His gentleness and compassion toward Jamal was another factor. Oh boy, she was in so much trouble here.

Rearranging herself on the sofa, she stretched out and used the armrest to cushion her head. Though she’d slept most of the afternoon, she was still wired from her rental car exploding, the gang firing at them and their subsequent escape, not to mention the unassuming Uber driver holding them at gunpoint. She felt physically drained. There was no safer place for them to be right now than a building filled with men and women packing heat. She let her guard down, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.