24. Bradyn
CHAPTER 24
brADYN
“ F irst step is finding out what’s on that drive.” I take a drink of my coffee.
“I’ve tried. It’s locked down.”
“I know a guy. Two, actually, but we can’t currently get to one of them. Elliot says the ranch is being watched. They’re working on getting rid of them, but it’s not going to be easy. Especially since Brown has deep pockets.”
I hate that I’m so far away and that there’s nothing I can do right now. Nothing but hopefully make it to my “Plan B” before they catch up to us. Something that will be immensely more difficult if I can’t find a way to Maine.
“Very deep,” she replies. Kennedy has been relatively quiet ever since we walked into the diner. Her eyes are still red from the tears I heard her crying in that bathroom. It gutted me to hear her pain, and I’d walked away long enough to wipe down the SUV before returning to find her still deep in it.
How I wish I could help her heal. There’s only One who can though, and she seems shut off from Him at the moment. My hope is that Elijah will be able to crack the USB drive when he and Jaxson Payne get here. They’re flying into Kansas City, and we’ll be meeting them at a motel down the street.
With any luck, they’ll be able to get us some answers, and we’ll finally know what we’re up against.
Bravo is lying at my feet, catching curious and sometimes angry glances from the other diners. With his working dog vest though, there’s not much they can do except glare.
“We’ll get it figured out,” I tell her.
“Refill, honey?” the waitress asks as she crosses over to our table.
“Yes, please. Thank you, ma’am.”
“You are most welcome. How about you, sweetie?”
“Sure. Thanks.” Kennedy offers her a half smile then turns her attention back out the big picture windows. She’s watching the parking lot, completely and utterly on edge.
“Can I give him this?” the waitress asks then pulls a piece of bacon out of her apron pocket. “Snuck it from the kitchen.”
I laugh. “He would love that.”
“Ooh, yay. I love dogs.” She drops the bacon down on the ground, and Bravo eats it happily.
“Thank you.”
“You are most welcome.” With a wider smile than when she first approached our table, she heads back toward the kitchen.
“You’re great with people.”
“What?”
“People. You make them feel comfortable.”
“As opposed to—” I laugh, and Kennedy smiles.
“You don’t intimidate. Though I’m sure you could if you wanted to.”
I smile. “That’s quite a compliment. I think?”
“It is. I’ve not known anyone like you. Your brothers are kind, too. But there’s just something different about you.” She looks so tired, so worn down that every smile must take everything in her. The fact that I’m at the receiving end of them makes me more grateful.
“I’ve always said I was the best Hunt brother.”
She lets out a soft laugh then takes another drink of her coffee. “All of you are great.” She clears her throat and directs her gaze to the steaming mug of coffee in front of her. “Your mom reminds me a lot of mine.”
“Yeah?” I can see how it hurts her to bring her mother up, but I also imagine not being able to talk about her at all is just as painful. “Tell me about her.”
Kennedy’s eyes mist, and she crosses her arms on the table, closing herself off just a bit to feel less vulnerable as she rips herself open. “She was great. Happy almost all the time. Loved to bake, and she’d sing while she did it. Occasionally, my dad would slip into the kitchen and put his arms around her just so they could dance together. When I was younger, I was mortified by it.” She laughs nervously. “But as I got a bit older, I realized that that’s what true love was, and I’d hoped to find it one day.”
I don’t interrupt to ask questions. I just let her speak and watch the way her eyes light up when she momentarily forgets that they’re gone.
It makes me even angrier at the ones who stole the light from her. Who murdered the people Kennedy speaks so fondly of.
“My dad was an accountant, but he loved fishing. We’d go out at least once a month. Even after I got into college.”
“What were you going to school for?”
“I wanted to be a veterinarian.”
I feign shock, earning another half-smile from her. “You don’t say?”
She laughs. “I know, I know, it’s a shock. I was going to UC Davis. It’s where I met Olivia. She was studying marine biology.” Her expression falters. “We were like sisters from the moment we met. Or I thought we were.”
Her hand instinctively goes to the USB drive hidden beneath her shirt. Part of me wonders if she hasn’t been afraid to turn it in, not just because of the danger if she chooses to trust the wrong person but also because it’s the last piece of her friend.
“Here you go.” The waitress returns and sets our plates in front of us. “Can I get you anything else?”
“No, thanks,” Kennedy replies. “This looks great, thank you.”
“You’re both very welcome. Just call out if you need anything.” She leaves the table, so I wait for Kennedy to look up.
When she does, I bow my head and fold my hands. “Lord, we thank You for this meal You have provided us. Please let it nourish our bodies and give us the strength we need to get to where we need to go. Amen.”
Kennedy doesn’t say anything, though she starts eating as soon as I’ve finished.
“What is it exactly that you and your brothers do?” she asks after a few minutes of silence. “The town is pretty tight-lipped about it. That or they don’t really know. I thought it might be contract work for the government, but now I’m not so sure.”
“We don’t work for the government, though at times, we’ve worked with them. We run a word-of-mouth search and rescue team. When people can’t be found or things of importance have gone missing, we track them down.”
“Really?” She raises her brows. “I guess that explains how you found me so easily.”
“I’m good at what I do.”
“Hopefully, you’re just as good at staying hidden as you are at doing the finding.”
I offer her what I hope is an encouraging smile. “The problem with hiding is that everything is eventually found. I’m not entirely sure what we’re up against here, but once I am, I’ll be better able to predict their moves.”
It’s nearly ten at night before Eljah is texting me to let me know he and Jaxson are standing outside the door. I check the peephole then pull open the door to a former Army Ranger and his former Marine coworker.
“It’s good to see you again,” Elijah greets as he shakes my hand.
“You too. Both of you,” I say, releasing his hand and taking Jaxson’s. “This is Kennedy Smith.”
“Good to meet you, Kennedy,” Jaxson offers.
We shut the door and click the lock behind us.
“You both too.” She’s sitting on the far bed with Bravo curled up beside her. It’s where he’s been since we got into this room. She’s more relaxed when she’s petting him, and I believe he can feel it too. Makes me love him even more.
“All right. Let’s see what we can do.” Elijah sets a laptop down on the table then holds his hand out for the thumb drive.
Kennedy stands and crosses over but hesitates before offering it to him.
“I’ll give it back. Promise,” he says, keeping his tone kind.
“Sorry. I’ve just been holding it for so long now it feels like a part of me.”
“I get that.” He smiles and takes the thumb drive then plugs it into his computer. After a few seconds, a completely black screen pops up with a passcode entry.
“This is as far as I could get. I was afraid to try too many different things just in case I locked it for good. You see that in the movies sometimes,” she adds quickly.
“I’ll get it open.”
“Can I talk to you outside a minute?” Jaxson asks.
I look at Kennedy, who has already gone back to sit beside Bravo. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she replies with a soft smile. “I’ve got my best boy here.” She pets Bravo’s head again, and he raises it to rest it in her lap.
“All right, call out if you need anything.” I step out onto the dark walkway between rooms, and Jaxson comes to stand beside me.
“Whatever this is, it’s big,” Jaxson says. “I asked a buddy of mine at the FBI if he knew anything about Senator Brown, and he locked down really quick on the phone. He called me later from a new cell phone and told me that the man has been under investigation off and on for over a decade, but nothing could ever stick. Apparently, he has a lot of friends in high places, and any time anything is brought up, it disappears just as quickly.”
“I assumed it was big when he managed to murder multiple U.S. Marshals, two civilians, and a witness, and it never made the news.”
“He’s going to bury anyone who comes anywhere near this. You need to be careful.”
“I’m working on it.” My gaze rests back on the door where Kennedy is. I can see her sitting there, petting Bravo, looking absolutely gorgeous and completely broken all at the same time.
How I long to be the man who puts her back together.
“She seems to be holding up,” Jaxson says.
“She’s strong.”
He starts to respond but stops when Elijah opens the door and peers out. “You both are going to want to get in here.”