Chapter 7 #2
Lefty grumbled about what a pain in the ass his friend was as he dropped his head back down to his pillow.
If he went over to the other apartment only to find Gillian throwing them a welcome-home breakfast party, he was gonna be pissed.
The food would be nice, because Lefty knew he didn’t have a damn thing to eat at his place… but still.
He climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom. He quickly used the facilities and brushed his teeth, not bothering to shave, then threw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. He grabbed his keys and put them in his pocket before heading out of his apartment and over to Trigger’s place.
He lifted his hand to knock, but the door opened before he could. Trigger stood there with a worried look on his face.
The tension on his friend’s face made Lefty finally realize that this wasn’t a surprise welcome-home party or anything of the sort. He followed Trigger inside and saw Gillian pacing back and forth in front of the couch.
“Lefty!” she said when she saw him. “Thank God you’re here.”
Frowning, Lefty couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on. “What’s wrong?”
“Well, maybe nothing—but maybe lots. And I’m so sorry! I was…distracted last night when Walker got home, and I forgot until this morning,” Gillian explained, blushing and looking slightly guilty.
“Take a breath, Di,” Trigger said, using the nickname he’d given her in Venezuela. He went to her and pulled her into his embrace.
Lefty couldn’t help but feel a pang of…jealousy? It wasn’t that he didn’t want Trigger to have what he had with Gillian…it was just that he wanted it too. And after meeting Kinley, he’d thought maybe there was a tiny chance he might get it, but that was looking less and less likely.
“Okay?” Trigger asked, looking down at Gillian.
She nodded and turned to Lefty. “I think Kinley might still be in town.”
Those eight words turned Lefty’s world on its axis. “What?”
“I know, it’s crazy. But she was here looking for you.”
When she didn’t immediately explain, Lefty ordered, “Start from the beginning, and don’t leave anything out.”
“Right. It was about a week after you guys left. I’d noticed this woman the day before, but didn’t think much about it.
She was knocking on your door, and you obviously weren’t home.
But then she came back the next day. And then the next day, she was sitting in a car in the parking lot.
I noticed her parked there the evening before…
then in the morning, her car was in the same spot, and she was still in it.
She looked rough, Lefty. I felt bad for her.
So I went down to the parking lot to talk to her. ”
“See what I mean?” Trigger said, meeting Lefty’s gaze with exasperation. “We’re still working on personal safety.”
Gillian shoved Trigger’s chest, but he didn’t move, only pulled her closer.
“Anyway, she said her name was Kinley, and I remembered Walker telling me briefly about someone with that name who you’d spent time with in Paris.
I mean, I don’t know any details or anything, but I felt better that you actually knew her.
So I invited her up to have breakfast. As I said, she looked rough. ”
“What does that mean?” Lefty clipped.
“Easy, man,” Trigger warned.
Lefty took a deep breath and nodded.
“Just that it looked like she’d been sleeping in her car.
Her hair needing washing and her clothes were super wrinkled.
And…” Gillian hesitated, but then went on.
“She didn’t smell all that great. Not awful, but like she hadn’t showered in a while.
So I convinced her to come up here—which wasn’t easy, by the way—and we ate and she showered.
I let her wash her clothes and we hung out. ”
“You hung out?” Lefty asked, perplexed.
“Yeah. It was pretty awesome, I have to admit. I did some work, she read. Then when I was done, I sat down and read too.”
Trigger’s lips twitched. “So you two sat on the couch and didn’t talk, but you read?”
Gillian smiled. “Yeah. You know how hard it is to find someone who’s comfortable just sitting next to you reading and not worrying about carrying on a conversation?
I mean, I love Wendy, Ann, and Clarissa, but those three can talk.
Kinley didn’t feel the need to talk just for the sake of hearing her own voice. ”
“What happened then?” Lefty asked, wanting her to get on with it so he could figure out why Kinley was there—and where she might be now.
“She left,” Gillian said with a shrug. “I didn’t know when you guys would be back, so I invited her to come back in the morning so we could hang out again.
And she did. I saw her every morning for three days—but I haven’t seen her for the last two.
She said she didn’t have a phone, so I couldn’t call her to find out if everything’s all right.
I’m worried about her. She seemed almost desperate to talk to you, and now you’re back, but suddenly she’s not here. I don’t like it.”
Lefty didn’t like it either. He couldn’t figure out what Kinley was doing in Texas in the first place. Not when her job was in DC. And why the hell was she sleeping in her car? And where was her phone?
Nothing made sense…and that had Lefty’s internal oh-shit meter pinging left and right. “What’s she driving?”
“A tan Toyota Corolla.”
Lefty winced. They were a dime a dozen, and it would make finding her all the more difficult.
“I’ll call the other guys,” Trigger said, letting go of Gillian.
Lefty wanted to protest. He knew everyone was as tired as he was, but he’d be grateful for the help.
“You want me to call the police?” Gillian asked.
“No,” Lefty said immediately.
She lifted an eyebrow in question.
Taking a deep breath, Lefty tried to explain.
“Something’s wrong. Kinley shouldn’t be in Texas.
She lives and works in DC. And I definitely don’t like the fact that you think she’s been sleeping in her car.
The police would be able to put out a BOLO on her car, but if she’s in trouble, that could make matters worse. ”
“How so?” Gillian asked. “Do you think she’s wanted by the law?”
Lefty wanted to chuckle at her wording, but nothing was funny about this situation. Nothing at all. “No, but I don’t know what’s going on. I thought she wasn’t answering my messages and texts because she didn’t want to talk to me, but what if it’s something else?”
“She could be trying to stay under the radar,” Trigger said.
“Exactly. So I don’t want to get the police involved just yet. Believe me, if too much time goes by, I might not have a choice, but for now, I want to see if we can find her on our own. Killeen isn’t too big, so maybe we’ll get lucky,” Lefty said.
“I can call Ann, Wendy, and Clarissa to help.”
“Thanks, but let’s keep this on the down-low for now,” Lefty told her. Then he walked over to Gillian and put his hands on her shoulders. “Thank you for befriending her.” He hesitated, then continued. “She doesn’t seem to have any friends, so I appreciate you reaching out.”
“That’s just stupid,” Gillian said heatedly.
“I don’t even know her very well, but I like her a lot.
She’s…calming. That’s not really the right word, but it’ll do for now.
I didn’t once feel like I had to entertain her.
She was perfectly happy just sitting on the couch and reading.
But she could also hold a conversation. We talked about one of my upcoming events, and she had some great ideas for me.
And one day I was having trouble finding anything in my client’s budget, and she was able to give me some hints and tricks to negotiate a better rate with the venue.
I like her, Lefty. I hope she’s all right. ”
“Me too,” Lefty said. He let go of her shoulders and looked at Trigger. They shared a glance, and Trigger motioned to the front door with his head. Understanding that he wanted to talk about their plan of action away from Gillian, Lefty nodded.
“Thanks again for letting me know,” Lefty told her.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t think to call you last night. I was just so excited that Walker was home.”
Lefty snorted a laugh. “I know. You hadn’t seen Trigger in a while.”
Gillian nodded, but was still frowning. “I feel horrible about it. I’m a terrible person for not thinking about it immediately. I should’ve told you last night.”
“It’s okay. Seriously,” Lefty told her. He would’ve liked to have known last night, but he’d been tired.
He wouldn’t have slept if he’d known Kinley had been in town looking for him, and there was a good chance he needed to be on top of his game when he found her.
She wouldn’t be here if something hadn’t happened.
Determination rose within him. Kinley was here. She’d come to him. Him. It was bad timing that he’d been on a mission, but he was going to find her and figure out what she was doing in Texas. He knew she wouldn’t have come if whatever she needed wasn’t important.
Within thirty minutes, Lefty was standing in the parking lot of his apartment complex surrounded by all six members of his team. No one had bitched about having to come over on their day off.
Trigger had just finished telling the guys what Gillian had told him and Lefty.
“She’s here somewhere,” Lefty said. “I know it. We just need to find her. I don’t know her plate number, but it’ll be a Washington, DC, license plate.
If she’s really been sleeping in her car, she’ll probably have looked for a safe place.
A parking lot of a business that’s open twenty-four hours, or some other place that’s not too desolate.
There’s a chance she’s not even in town anymore…
but for some reason, I think she is. She came all this way to see me and she’s very determined.
I can’t see her leaving before she accomplishes what she set out to do.
If you find her, don’t approach. Call me and watch her. Okay?”
Everyone nodded.
Lefty loved his team. They didn’t worry about who was in charge or who was calling the shots. Their egos were checked at the door before they started a mission. And this was a mission, even if it wasn’t being assigned by their country.
Lefty gave them all different areas of the town to search and immediately after, they all headed for their cars.
Brain held back as the others left. “You okay?” he asked.
Lefty shrugged. “I’ll be better when I find out what the hell is going on.”
“You want me to see what I can find on the computer?”
Lefty hesitated then shook his head. “My gut is telling me to wait. To find out what’s going on before we do anything that might alert someone else that she’s in the area and we’re looking for her.”
Brain examined Lefty’s face for a long moment. “You think she’s being electronically tracked?”
Lefty shrugged. “Honestly? I have no clue. But I do know this isn’t like her.
She isn’t the kind of woman to up and leave her job, sleep in her car, and be all mysterious.
She’s smart, Brain. Frugal with her money.
There’s no reason she can’t rent a hotel while she’s waiting for me.
I thought she wasn’t answering my messages because she didn’t want to talk to me, but what if there’s more to it than that?
She told Gillian that she doesn’t have a phone.
I know she does, or did—but what if she doesn’t want to use it?
At this point, I have more questions than answers, and it’s not sitting right. ”
“You want me to talk to Winkler?”
“No!” Lefty exclaimed. Then he took a breath to try to calm down.
“I’m not saying the man won’t have information, because we all know how small the political community is in DC.
But what if she’s running from someone there?
What if she doesn’t want anyone to know where she is?
If we start asking questions, it could get around and bring someone to our doorstep who she doesn’t want to see. ”
“Understandable,” Brain agreed. “But if you need anything, all you gotta do is say the word and you know I’ll bend over backward to get whatever info you need.”
“Appreciate it. Right now, I just need to find Kinley and make sure she’s okay.
We’ll figure out where to go after that.
I’m hoping she just got an opportunity to take an overdue vacation and nothing’s wrong.
I’m conceited enough to hope she wanted to spend that vacation with me, but my gut’s screaming that something’s wrong. ”
“We’ll find her,” Brain said, clapping a hand on Lefty’s shoulder. “And for the record, not that it matters, I like her. I don’t really know her all that well, but from what I’ve seen of her, she seems as if she’s down to earth, just happy to sit and enjoy the day, if that makes sense.”
Lefty nodded. It made perfect sense. He remembered how she’d been perfectly happy to sit on a bench and stare up at the Eiffel Tower.
She hadn’t needed to talk about it, and didn’t take a million selfies of herself in front of it.
She just took it in and enjoyed being in the moment. He liked that. A lot.
Brain gave Lefty a chin lift and headed for his car. Taking a deep breath, Lefty headed to his own pickup truck. With every minute that passed, his anxiety increased. He needed to find Kinley, and find her fast.