Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Kenna took a sip of her water and set the bottle back in the cupholder. Jax was in the driver’s seat of their armored vehicle, and Maizie’s voice came through the speakers.
They’d only been gone from the ranch for a couple of hours.
Their current base of operations was far enough from Pueblo that no one could follow them without being noticed, but it meant that in order to look for Gabby or, as was the case right now, report her kidnapping to the police, they had to drive back to town.
Maizie said, “I have a program of mine working on the drive, trying to gain access. In the meantime, I’ve been checking on everything else.”
“What’d you find?” Kenna asked.
“The neighbor from Shawn’s street, the one who came over to talk to us?
She’s posting videos all over socials, all about how”—she used a higher pitched, valley-girl tone—“‘Kenna and her team are investigating his death, so it’s got to be murder, right?’” Maizie continued in a normal voice.
“Now she’s digging up Shawn’s blog posts about the software company he worked for and how their AI system was being used to spy on people who had their tech at home. ”
Jax hissed out a breath. “She’s going to get herself hurt.”
“Or slapped with a lawsuit from this corporation.”
Maizie said, “Or kidnapped like Gabby Terrance.”
“Anything from the photo or the number it didn’t come from?” Okay, so that was a roundabout way for Kenna to mention the “unregistered” number the message had originated from. It wasn’t magic. It had come from somewhere.
“Nothing.” Maizie sounded disgruntled. “I’m working on it, but given who they are and what they can do, I don’t like my chances. They have a habit of getting away with murder.”
Jax pulled the car into the police station parking lot. “We won’t be able to pin it on one person in the company. They’ll have created separation between whoever gave the order and the person who carried it out.”
“So follow the money?” Maizie asked. “Because there’s no way they weren’t paid for murdering him.”
Kenna nodded slowly. “That’s one way to go about it. Have you heard from Zeyla yet? I’m hoping she is awake, and she can get out on the streets. Kick some doors in and get us closer to finding where they have Gabby.”
Jax slid the car into an open space in the parking lot and glanced at her. “After we file this police report, we can swing by her hotel and wake her up.”
Kenna wouldn’t have minded being the one to kick in some doors herself, but it wasn’t wise in her current situation.
This wasn’t a case of waiting for things to get back to normal.
It was a new season in her life—one that would last for the rest of it.
She wasn’t ever going to not be a mother. Not anymore.
She had to accept the shift as permanent rather than just a season. After she had the baby, she would be spending her days keeping the child safe. Life wasn’t ever going to go back to what it had been.
Kenna would need to rely on her team to do the door-kicking instead.
She grabbed the door handle. “Let’s get this report filed.”
Jax met her at the front of the car. “Not our usual way of dealing with a kidnapping.” He held out his hand, a slight smile on his face.
She clasped his fingers, trying not to waddle when she walked. “The police don’t have a chance to find and rescue her or bring charges against the company if they know nothing about it.”
He nodded, pulling the door open and holding it so she could enter the lobby where the temperature was considerably higher than outside. It had a distinct scent of burned coffee and humanity, and behind the desk was a mess of file cabinets, stacks of paper, and plaques on the wall.
Kenna peeled off her coat and hung it over her arm, tugging her hair from her collar so it could hang loose. The uniformed officer behind the desk had sergeant chevrons on the sleeves of his shirt. He typed on the computer beside him, the desk phone between his ear and shoulder.
“Got it.” He paused. “Yeah, copy that. Thanks.” He hung up the phone. “Can I help you folks?”
Kenna stepped to the side, turning slightly to face Jax.
Her husband stepped up to the counter and explained who they were. Kenna showed the sergeant the photo on her phone, and Jax told him about Shawn Terrance.
The sergeant, whose nameplate read Baxter, frowned. “Wasn’t that ruled a home invasion?”
Kenna said, “His home was certainly invaded. But we believe he was targeted specifically because he was a whistleblower.”
Baxter stared at her. “You think it was an assassination?”
“I think Gabby Terrance is in mortal danger, and we would like to report this crime. Shawn is dead, so there isn’t much any of us can do about that. She’s alive.” Kenna motioned with her phone. “At least, for now. Whether she stays that way or not is up to you and this department.”
The skin around his eyes flexed. He snatched up his phone. “Get me the chief.” Pause. “Just do it.” He dropped the phone back in its cradle. “Can you email me that image and the information that came with it?”
She nodded, got the information, and sent it all. Not that there was much to send beyond the picture. “Gabby asked us to help figure out what really happened to her brother.”
“That investigation was closed.” A guarded look crossed Baxter’s face.
“Did you find the person who broke into his house and shot him?” She wasn’t going to get him to open up by asking this. It would sound more like an accusation.
If the question made him uncomfortable, Baxter didn’t betray it in his demeanor. “The lack of evidence, coupled with the way the scene was left and the lack of witnesses, means we could’ve let it go cold, and it wouldn’t have made a difference. Everything pointed to it being random.”
Kenna bit the inside of her lip.
Jax shifted slightly, and she knew he wanted to argue with this guy.
“Not everyone was satisfied with that answer. Like Gabby Terrance, for instance. And because we investigated further and discovered something more than what your department concluded, the perpetrators are attempting to silence Ms. Terrance.”
Baxter glanced between them. “Is that your way of admitting fault?”
Kenna said, “You think this is our doing? We didn’t kidnap her. We also didn’t kill Shawn. But we can do something about finding justice for Shawn and locating Gabby. Rescuing her and saving her life.”
A tendon in Baxter’s jaw flexed.
Jax said, “We came here to report this crime. Just in case the Pueblo Police Department wants to do their jobs.”
An older man stepped into view through the doorway behind the desk, wearing black slacks and a white uniform shirt. Given the emblems and badges, this was definitely the chief. “Sergeant?”
“Yeah, Chief. These people want to report a crime.”
At least he didn’t refer to it as a crime they’d committed. Kenna stepped back from the counter and shifted her coat to the side, so he’d see she was very pregnant. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but my feet hurt.”
Hopefully, he didn’t offer her a chair in the waiting area. She’d rather be in the chief’s office.
The sergeant continued, “They also want us to reopen the Shawn Terrance case as a homicide, as they believe we failed to find the assassin who killed him.”
His chief raised two bushy eyebrows and rocked back and forth on his shoes. “Is that right?”
“A woman has been kidnapped,” Jax said. “If that isn’t something you’re interested in, then I suppose Banbury Investigations will be taking the case and making contact with the kidnappers to try and secure her release.”
Baxter looked at his computer screen and frowned. “Do you have this flash drive they’re asking for?”
“We have the personnel to make an exchange.” Jax had a flat tone.
Both she and Jax were trained in hostage recovery, but she was pregnant. Zeyla would help but had no law enforcement training. She was more of a mercenary. Preston could provide backup, although Kenna didn’t especially want to lean on his skills.
Jax was a guy who knew the value of backup. If that backup was their team, or people with badges, either way he’d have someone there to keep him safe.
It just wouldn’t be Kenna.
She didn’t need to fear the unknowns of Jax going into a dangerous situation.
He would do it if it meant getting Gabby back safe.
They’d only met with Shawn’s sister once, but that didn’t matter.
Everyone needed someone willing to fight for their rescue.
The kind of person who knew the ninety-nine would be fine while they went and retrieved the one.
The chief scratched his jaw, his attention on the monitor. “I’m sure we can locate this woman. Make the exchange.” He turned to them. “This department can take it from here. That is, if you’re prepared to hand over this drive they’re referencing.”
Kenna could see that he thought they might argue with that idea, unwilling to give him what they had. She shrugged. “We can bring it to the meeting.”
Jax said, “It’s too valuable to be carrying around with us, don’t you think?”
The chief stared at them. He couldn’t possibly believe they would just hand over everything they had. After the way the police had bungled the investigation into Shawn Terrance’s death, Kenna wasn’t willing to leave Gabby’s fate in their hands.
“I guess if she’s paying you to find her brother’s killer, you’ll have to stick it out to the end,” the sergeant said. “Otherwise, you might not get your money.”
Kenna looked at him. “Who says we charge anything?”
His brow crinkled for a second, and he looked over her shoulder. She glanced back and saw two men and a woman enter, all of them in business suits. The man at the front spotted her, and his eyes flared. His gaze moved to Jax, and his demeanor tightened.
Uh-oh.
They looked like lawyers, though.
“Can we help you folks?” the chief asked.
“Yes.” The tight man in front nodded. “We’re here to report the theft of company property from NextGen Innovations.”
The other two stopped behind him, flanking him like it was necessary for him to go everywhere with his entourage. NextGen had its team of high-priced lawyers.
“Where is Gabby Terrance?” Kenna folded her arms above her baby bump.
The man glanced at her. “Considering you’re the one responsible for the theft of our property, I’m going to refrain from answering that.”
The flash drive. That had to be what they were here for.
Kenna said, “I’d love to know what you think I did.”
He huffed, moving around her so he could go stand by the chief. “Could we speak to you privately, Chief?”
“Even if you had nothing to do with Shawn Terrance’s death,” Jax said, “his sister has been kidnapped. Her life is in danger, and the person responsible wants your tech. You can’t pretend you don’t care what happens to that drive.”
Kenna said, “Sounds to me like we’re on the same team.”
Assuming she and Jax weren’t about to get arrested.
The lawyer guy looked at her like she was on the slide under his microscope. “I’m interested in you handing over our tech. But I have nothing to do with a private citizen and the trouble she seems to have gotten herself into.”
Was he really going to pretend they weren’t responsible? What if they weren’t?
And if they really weren’t, then who had kidnapped Gabby?