Chapter Fourteen
Cam grabbed two bottles of water out of the refrigerator and handed one each to Makena and Shane along with pain pills. “You two need to work on the concept of date night.”
“We like adventure.” Makena appreciated Cam’s attempts to lessen the tension. Not that it worked. To be fair, an entire comedy team working round the clock couldn’t restore a sense of calm at this moment.
She’d been a shaking mess at the crash site a few hours ago. It had taken two people to shoehorn her out of the car. The slam into the sidewall had caved it in. When the fresh air hit her, she’d thought her control would come whizzing back. Then she’d seen the black skid marks along the bridge walls and realized how close they’d come to being trapped in an underwater grave. It was a miracle she hadn’t thrown up her lunch.
Connor and Cam buzzed around the safe house. They’d come with medical supplies. Connor insisted they visit some doctor she’d never heard of. Shane refused. She figured she’d go if he did. And truth was, he’d sustained the most injuries. She’d gotten thrown around and her insides jumbled, but except for the knock to her head and a sore elbow, she was okay. She’d be a bruise from head to toe tomorrow, but now stiffness was the main issue.
From Shane’s scowl she guessed he wasn’t happy about his injuries. “This isn’t funny.”
Nothing about the last week rose to the level of funny, but if she didn’t laugh she might cry, and she could not tolerate the idea of curling up in the corner. She glanced over at Connor. He hovered over his laptop. Was on his phone. Asked question after question. Seemed like overkill to her.
“His neck hurts,” she said, referring to Shane.
“I’m fine.”
“He will be.” Connor nodded in her direction. “What about you?”
“Everything aches. I should be one throbbing pain by tomorrow morning.”
Cam laughed. “Sounds like fun.”
“We need to focus.” Shane got off the barstool, probably too fast, because he grimaced the second he moved. “This last attack went too far.”
“Getting hit by a car is worse than being shot at?” Not in her book. It all mashed together, making every hour dreary. She watched Shane pace around the small space in front of the stove and realized there had been a few nonawful hours.
Shane scowled at her. “I’m serious.”
So was she, but she didn’t belabor the point. “Do you think we were followed from Tyler’s house? If so, we should let him know.”
Silence greeted her question. She’d expected more. A noise of some type. Agreement, maybe. Sure, they didn’t know Tyler and Shane clearly didn’t like him, but they protected. That was what the Corcoran Team did. They rushed in when others ran away. They didn’t leave people behind or put them in harm’s way.
Finally Cam spoke up. “Know what?”
“That the people launching these attacks know where he lives.” It seemed simple enough to her. Tyler could walk into a trap or be the newest victim of a shooting.
They all looked at each other this time. Men frowning and acting confused—not her favorite thing and certainly not expected.
“Don’t we already know that?” Connor shifted in his chair, leaning back as he delivered the question with measured words. “He claims someone broke into his house. You saw the aftermath.”
She caught the doubt. Connor’s tone never changed, only his word choice. The fact that neither Cam nor Shane jumped in to correct him couldn’t be good. “Claims?”
Shane started to shake his head, then winced. “Let this topic go.”
She sensed he was talking to Connor, but she didn’t care. “I want to know what you guys are thinking.”
“You don’t,” Shane said without giving her eye contact.
She sure did now. Inhaling as much air as possible, she tried to calm her flaring nerves and concentrate. “I have been shot at and almost drowned. The least you guys can do is not treat me like a little kid. I’m in this, so tell me.”
Shane glanced at Connor, who nodded. It took another few seconds of silence for Shane to start talking. “His military record doesn’t match the story he tells. Nothing he says makes sense.”
She sat down hard on the barstool next to Cam. “What?”
“We’ve been checking into the past of everyone on the website and all the files Tyler turned over.” Connor turned his laptop around to face her. “On the surface, Tyler is clean. On the surface, Jeff is dangerous and Frank is contrite.”
Cam took over. “The men you’re researching, that the site is researching, are mostly frauds. A few are clean. They embellish their records but nothing so extreme that it’s worth calling them out and humiliating them.”