Kellie flinched at the verbal reminder that walking was something he could no longer do. She glanced at Blake, and he winked like it was just another day. With a roll of her eyes, she hurried to catch up with Christian.
* * * *
Charlie ignored his question—not for the first time—and handed him another beer. MacGyver took the bottle, twisted the cap and sucked down a third of the brew before he set it on the coffee table in front of the couch, where several empties already waited.
The house Kellie had shared with her stepdad since returning from Iraq was spacious and open, with living room windows facing west, where the current sunset splashed across the horizon. Kellie had apparently stayed long enough to help Charlie clean up the mess Palazzi had left when he’d tossed the place, looking for clues to their location. Then she’d taken off with God-knows-what-kind of a plan.
Kellie had refused to return his calls for seven straight days—ever since he’d been released from the hospital. He was going nuts not knowing where she was or what had caused her to disappear after the firefight at the airport. He needed to see her—hold her—make things right.
A road trip had seemed in order, two broken ribs and all, but when he arrived at Charlie’s house, Kellie had been long gone.
“She had some thinking to do,” Charlie had said, and the stubborn old man wasn’t giving up anything else.
Meanwhile, not knowing what kind of trouble she was getting herself into was making MacGyver crazy.
Shit! This is getting me nowhere…except closer to a DUI.
“I know what you’re trying to do, Charlie. Getting me drunk won’t make me forget why I’m here. I need to know where she is. What if she’s off on another scheme to right some wrong? Do you really want her out there with no one watching her back?”
“I’m sworn to secrecy, Son. I’d tell you if I could, but I won’t break that trust. I have her promise to be back in a week or so, when Jeremy brings Anna home for a visit. Until then, she checks in every couple days. You’ll be the first to know if there’s trouble.”
“Jesus, Charlie! You’re killing me here. Whatcanyou tell me? Do you know why she won’t return my calls? Why she didn’t come or at least call when I was in the hospital?”
“No, but she’s been through a hell of a lot in the last couple weeks. It’s going to take some time.” Charlie stood and motioned toward the kitchen. “I’m hungry. How about you?”
MacGyver would probably choke on anything he tried to swallow, but common sense told him he had to keep Charlie talking. “I could eat I guess.”
“I’ve got some steaks thawed. Why don’t you start the gas barbeque out back while I get them ready and pop some bakers in the microwave?” Chip was right on his heels as Charlie headed for the kitchen.
MacGyver scrubbed his hands down his face, the rasping of whiskers reminding him he hadn’t shaved or showered in a few days. The bullet he’d taken had broken one rib on the way in and one on the way out. Between the discomfort every time he moved wrong and worrying about Kellie, he hadn’t been sleeping either. After dinner, he’d find a motel room, clean up and try to get some sleep. Maybe a brilliant idea would strike him if he wasn’t so damned tired.
He shoved up from the couch and turned toward the back of the house, eventually locating a door that led outside onto a redwood deck. A tiled patio table sat under an umbrella surrounded by four padded outdoor chairs. The barbeque was against the railing to his right. The metal cabinet beneath the grill held a propane tank and cooking utensils. As he opened the gas valve on the tank, his cell phone vibrated.
With two fingers, he lifted the device from his back pocket, hoping against all odds it was Kellie. He should have known better.Blake’s name and number appeared on the screen. He’d been at the airport shoot out, but MacGyver hadn’t spoken to him since they’d patched up Kellie in the woods after they found her. MacGyver shook his head. Seemed she was damned hard to keep track of.
“Hey, Blake. How’s it going? Listen, I should have called and checked in with you a week ago. I owe you big time, pal.”
“I figure we’re just about even, MacGyver. Call me anytime you need a hand. Obviously, you need someone to keep you out of trouble.” Blake laughed, but it lacked his usual enthusiasm.
“I’ll remember that. You should fly down to San Diego. I’ll give you the five cent tour of our new offices. Private security is where it’s at in this day and age, Blake. You should consider applying for a job.”
“Yeah…yeah, maybe I will.”
Concern for his friend piqued MacGyver’s curiosity. “Everything okay when you got home?”
“Actually, I called for a reason, MacGyver. What’s up with you and Kellie? Did you have a fight?”
His relationship with Kellie wasn’t any of Blake’s business, but his friend’s unusual seriousness concerned him. And why the hell was Blake asking if he and Kellie had argued? What other tidbits of information did he have?
“What’s going on, Sorenson? Do you know where she is?”
This time Blake’s laugh was genuine. “Does that mean you lost heragain?”
MacGyver heaved a frustrated sigh. “You could say that.” Silence for the space of three long seconds met him on the other end.
“I know where she is.” When Blake finally spoke, his voice was a notch above a whisper.
For a moment, MacGyver stood open-mouthed. Surely he’d misunderstood. Blake was the last person he would have thought to ask. His association with Kellie was cordial at best—outright hostile at its worst. Sure, Blake had come around in the end, but Kellie still didn’t trust him.