Kaely opened and closed her eyes several times, trying to make certain the world was normal again. For the most part, the patterns and colors were gone, but furniture in the room wiggled and moved when she looked at it. How long would that last? She turned her head the other way and found Alex sitting in a chair near her bed. His eyes were closed.
“Alex?” she said softly.
Immediately, his eyes shot open. “Are you okay?” he asked. He stood and walked over to her. Kaely almost laughed at his worried expression.
“I was drugged,” she said. “It’s temporary.”
“You were in bad shape when we brought you in,” he said. “Then a few hours ago you finally calmed down. You’ve been sleeping.”
Kaely looked toward the window by her bed. “It’s morning?”
“Yes. A little after ten o’clock.”
Kaely took a deep breath. “I’m so glad to feel almost sane again.”
“I’m sure it was terrifying. Especially for someone who likes to be in control.”
She nodded. “It was scary, but I knew I’d be okay.” She reached out and took his hand in hers. An IV dripped into her other arm. “God was with me, and I knew you’d come.”
Alex smiled. “I wasn’t the only one who rescued you. I had help from the SWAT team and Noah. Without them, I’m afraid we both might have died.”
“Where is Noah?” Kaely asked. “I remember seeing him.”
Alex hesitated for a moment. “I have to tell you something about Noah.”
Kaely gasped. “Is he . . . is he okay?”
“He was shot, but . . .”
“But he’s fine,” a familiar voice said from behind them.
Alex let go of Kaely’s hand and moved back. Noah maneuvered his wheelchair next to the bed.
“I thought . . . I thought . . .” Her eyes filled with tears.
“I was dead?” Noah said. He scowled at Alex. “Great bedside manner.”
“I was getting to it,” Alex said.
“Gee, thanks.” Noah smiled at Kaely. “Richard shot me, but even though the bullet pierced my vest, it didn’t reach my heart. Stung a bit. Bled like crazy.”
“I told him it was because he doesn’t actually have a heart,” Alex said, “but he didn’t seem to appreciate that.”
Kaely laughed. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” she asked Noah.
“I promise. I’m doing great.”
“He’s got a couple of broken ribs,” Alex said. “And he’s gonna be sore for a while.”
“See?” he said to Kaely. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
“I don’t want to get rid of you,” Kaely said softly. “Thanks, Noah. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“I’m not sure you need much help. What was that move? Counting to three?”
She smiled. “Something Alex and I used in another case. A drugged-out dealer with a knife. I counted to three then hit him. Knocked the knife out of his hand. Alex took him down.”
“It was pretty dangerous,” Noah said, “but it worked.”
“It got you shot,” Kaely said. “I’m sorry. If I hadn’t been drugged, I probably wouldn’t have taken the chance.”
Noah shrugged, wincing at the movement. “Hey, I’ll recover, and we got Richard. This minor injury is worth it.”
Kaely looked back and forth between him and Alex. “I’m very blessed to have you both in my life.” She fixed her gaze on Noah. “What’s happened to Richard?”
“He’s under arrest. And he’s talking. He’s admitting to everything. Every killing.”
Kaely looked away. She’d trusted someone, and once again she’d been let down. Richard had used information she’d shared with him to create a scenario intended to end her life. After a few seconds, she turned back. “I never suspected him. I didn’t read him because . . . well, because I trusted him. It’s hard to think you can never relax around anyone. That you always have to be suspicious.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I learned a lesson. I should never trust anyone completely.”
“I don’t think that’s healthy,” Noah said. “We all have to trust someone.” He paused for a moment before saying, “I trust you.”
“Do you?” Kaely asked. “Even though it’s obvious I knew about my father, but I didn’t tell anyone?”
“Look, I wasn’t there for the whole thing,” Noah said, “but it seems you saw something when you were a kid. It traumatized you. You weren’t trying to hide it on purpose. Your mind did that by itself. It was fighting to protect you, but the truth kept knocking at you in your nightmares.”
“I realize that now,” Kaely said, “but still . . .”
“Stop it,” Alex said. He reached for her hand again. “God let you see the truth. At least some of those nightmares should stop now. You need to trust Him and quit trying to bury yourself in guilt. You know that’s not what He wants. He’s trusting you to face this now—without condemnation.”
Kaely nodded. “You’re right. Thanks.” She smiled at him. “You’ll do great in your new gig.”
Alex’s eyebrows shot up. “How do you know what my next gig is?”
“I may not have read Richard correctly, but I know you. I should have realized immediately why you left the Bureau. You’re going to the Philippines, aren’t you?”
“What’s in the Philippines?” Noah asked.
“My parents. They’re missionaries there. They’ve wanted me to join them for a long time, and I finally realized it’s what I want too. What I’m called to do.” He looked down at Noah. “You can see why I didn’t want to tell my SAC the reason I needed a leave of absence. He wouldn’t have understood.”
Noah wasn’t sure he did either, but he didn’t say anything. Obviously, Kaely and Alex had this religious stuff in common.
“I have a question,” Noah said. “And not a special question.”
Alex’s mouth dropped open. “Oh no. You got three questions too?”
Noah nodded. “I’m only through question two.”
Alex frowned. “Hey, I don’t think I ever used my third question.”
“That’s because you learned to trust me,” Kaely said. “You didn’t need to ask your third question.” She cast a quick glance at Noah.
“I plan to use mine someday,” Noah said, grinning. “But maybe not for a while.”
“So what’s your not special question?” Alex asked.
Noah hesitated a moment. Then he decided to spit it out. “You called Alex to back you up with Richard. Why didn’t you call me?”
“It wasn’t because I didn’t trust you, Noah. Alex knew Richard. I felt he would be more helpful in that particular situation. Besides, you would have called for backup. I didn’t want that.”
“Why?”
She sighed. “Believe it or not, I had to know for certain it was Richard. And if it was, I didn’t want him to die. I felt if it was just Alex and me, we could talk him down. Get him to surrender.” She hesitated and sought his eyes. “It’s the truth.”
“You still care about him?” Noah asked. “After everything he’s done?”
Kaely nodded. “It’s hard to stop loving someone. It will take some time for me to really understand what happened. I mean, I realize Richard pushed back his anger about Bella for years, but it never left. Then when he found out . . . well, he discovered something disturbing about her. The past made itself known. It screamed for attention, and Richard listened. He had to blame someone. He couldn’t blame Bella, so he picked me.”
“I’m not an expert,” Noah said, “but you’re the only person in his life still connected to your father. You were the closest he could get to the person he really hates.”
Kaely gave him a small, sad smile. “And you say you’re not a profiler.”
Noah chuckled. “And I stand by that.” He frowned at her. “How did you figure out Richard was our UNSUB?”
“I didn’t until last night. Richard came over for supper. He mentioned the second letter to the newspaper, but I hadn’t told him about it, and of course, the letter hadn’t been printed yet.”
“Believe it or not, it’s in the paper today,” Alex said. “I guess a bomb going off and killing the editor doesn’t stop the news from going out.”
“I’m really sorry about Jerry. And surprised. Why him?”
Alex shook his head. “We’ll have plenty of time to try to figure out why Richard did what he did and to try to understand the choices he made.”
“There will be a lot of stories in the media for a while,” Noah said.
Kaely exhaled softly. “I hope the Bureau won’t decide to transfer me again,” Kaely said. “I like it here in St. Louis.”
Noah shook his head. “That won’t happen. Solomon is behind you, even if Reinhardt isn’t.” He grunted. “For a hot second, we thought he was our UNSUB.”
“Reinhardt?” Kaely said. “Why in the world would you think that?”
“We found out he got here three days before the first killing. Then last night he disappeared.”
“What really happened?” Alex asked.
“Reinhardt came to town to do a training session with the local police,” Noah explained. “That’s how he knew what was going on and made the decision to stay. He wasn’t trying to hide anything. He just didn’t give Solomon details about his trip. Solomon assumed he’d flown in after the letter and the murder in the park.”
“Where was he last night?” Kaely asked.
Noah laughed. “He didn’t really disappear. He dropped his phone in a puddle. We couldn’t get through to him for a while. He thought his phone would dry out and work again. When it didn’t, he called in on another phone to let us know what was happening. For a while there, I thought we were going to have to arrest him.” He shook his head. “I wasn’t looking forward to it.”
“He dropped his phone in a puddle,” Alex said, clearly amused. “Seems Mr. BAU is just as human as the rest of us.”
Kaely grinned. “Not sure he’d admit to that.”
“I think you’re right.”
Noah heard the door swing open behind him. A nurse came into the room. “Sorry to interrupt, but Agent Quinn has a visitor. Is it okay if I let him in?”
Kaely nodded. “The more the merrier. Who is it?”
“He says he’s your brother.”