Chapter 28
CAMI
Kyle did an impressive job of keeping me calm while he drove to HQ.
En route, he spoke to the team via his car’s Bluetooth so I could remain apprised of the situation.
We arrived there a little over ten minutes after I’d received Scott’s text.
Bella barked and wagged her tail as we pulled into the parking lot.
Kyle clipped her leash on her and led us both into the building through the team members’ side entrance.
The place was abuzz with activity. Kat was on two cell phones and nodded in the direction of the conference where Pasco had set up a command center. Lang and Wheeler were packing bags with weapons and supplies.
Kyle had told me what to expect. They would be preparing for everything because we didn’t have enough information yet. We weren’t even sure anyone was missing because Kyle had asked me not to contact my friends until I was on Pasco’s network.
This is just a precaution. Everyone’s fine. Everyone has to be fine.
“Hayes is twenty minutes out,” Pasco called from the conference room.
The three screens on the walls showed traffic feeds, and he seemed to be monitoring those while typing frantically into his keyboard.
“Any reported incidents?” Kyle asked Kat.
“Police scanner’s been quiet,” she answered. “No 911 calls that could pertain to this.” She pulled me into a hug.
“This could be a false alarm,” I whispered.
“Maybe,” she said.
“Pasco is ready up for you,” Lang told me.
“To set up my phone?” I asked
“Yes,” Kat answered. “Then we’ll have you contact everyone Scott might target. When they respond, Pasco will be able to pinpoint their location and assess their security level.”
Kyle walked me into the conference room and I sat down in front of a computer monitor. He squeezed my shoulders, then returned to the gym to help his teammates prepare for a possible worst-case scenario.
Pasco slid into the seat beside me. “Hey, Cami. How are you holding up?”
“I’m fine.” I smiled, trying to convince both of us it was true. “I’m sure this is a false alarm.”
“Maybe.”
Damn it, I was beginning to hate that word.
Pasco slid a piece of paper in front of me. Without a warrant, HEAT needed me to agree to allow them to track my phone. “It expires in twenty-four hours, so we’ll need you to sign another agreement if...”
“Of course.” I signed. “I’m sure everyone is fine, though.”
He attached a cord to my phone and sent some commands to it from his computer.
When the connection was complete, per his instructions, I sent a group text to my Sunday crew, after which, we would work in concentric circles outward.
The text was a ruse, requesting everyone arrive fifteen minutes early tomorrow for a staff meeting and asking for confirmation of receiving my text.
No need to start a panic when everything could be fine.
Kat stood in the doorway between the conference room and the gym.
“Everyone, listen up. I just spoke to X. She’s aware of the situation and is alerting additional nearby assets to be on stand-by.
She’ll make a courtesy notification to the FBI that we might be moving on a target of the joint drug investigation, but we’ll be running point. ”
As responses to my texts came in, Pasco worked backwards, tracing locations and checking traffic cams and other electronic data to confirm everyone’s locations.
Gina’s message was the longest and contained a vulgar reference to my night’s plans.
Pasco raised his eyebrows at that one, but discreetly pretended not to notice the infamous DD phrase.
After that, Doc checked in, then Mike, and finally Darla.
One by one, Pasco called out each name and confirmed to the team that each person was safe.
I breathed easier, sure now that Scott’s threat was a hollow one.
My phone pinged with a second message from Mike. My blood ran cold. Pasco held his hand in the air, and the facility fell silent.
Have you heard from Ally today? Expected her at my place an hour ago.
I picked up my phone and navigated to Ally’s number. “I should have included her on the text, but she’s not working tomorrow. I could have sent her a separate one.”
Kyle and the others moved into the conference room behind me.
“It’s okay, Cami,” Pasco said. “You’re doing great. Keep the text natural. The kind of message you would normally send her.”
I nodded as I typed an update on the condition of a dog we’d sent to the emergency center a couple of days earlier. I hit send.
Pasco typed commands on his computer, frowned, typed some more, scowled. Long seconds felt like hours while we waited, until he sat back and stared at his screen.
“No signal,” he said. “Ally Taylor’s phone has been turned off.”
Once we knew who was missing, the team could focus on the place from which Ally had disappeared. I knew the route she usually drove from her house to the clinic. Much of it included rural roads with long stretches with no traffic cams.
“There’s no car registration under her name,” Pasco said.
Kyle sat down beside me. “Whose car does she drive, Cam?”
I blanked for a minute and wracked my brain. “Um, most of the time, her mom’s SUV. Shirley Taylor, same address.”
Pasco nodded. “Shirley has onboard GPS and monitoring.”
“Go, Shirley,” Kyle said. “That’s a good thing. Cam, are there any regular stops Ally makes on her way to the clinic?”
I shook my head. “Not that I know of. Maybe getting gas.”
“That’s good.” Kyle wrapped his arm around me. “This is all helpful.”
“Very helpful,” Pasco agreed. “There are only two possibilities on that route. There’s a gas station with an attached garage, and a convenience store.”
“Oh, some days she comes in with an iced tea fountain drink,” I said.
Kyle stood and went behind Pasco’s seat, looking over his shoulder at the monitor.
I leaned over to see it, too. On it was a map with every road in the county, marked with stoplights and stop signs, with blinking, moving, differently colored lights.
The whole thing gave me a headache. I couldn’t imagine they were seeing anything useful on it that could help us find Ally.
“That has to be it, doesn’t it?” Kyle pointed to a tiny, pale blue dot.
Pasco grinned. “Yes, that’s it.”
“You found her?” I squinted at the map. It didn’t help. “Where is she?”
Kyle frowned and I knew from the look on his face that I’d misunderstood. “We found her mother’s car and the place where her cell phone signal last pinged.”
“Is she at the convenience store?” My throat was dry and my voice was incredibly squeaky. “Can we call to ask if she’s there?”
Kyle squatted down on his haunches. “Baby, she didn’t make it that far. The car is on an abandoned stretch of road that’s covered by the tree canopy.”
“How do we know she’s not there?” I asked. “She could have had an accident. She could be hurt.”
Pasco frowned at me. “I’m sorry, Cam. The onboard system shows that car is in perfect condition, she didn’t contact the company for roadside assistance, and the air-bag system is detecting no one in any of the seats.”
“The local police are on their way to check the vehicle and tow it to their lot,” Kyle told me.
“Lang,” Kat said.
“HEAT crime lab folks are already on their way,” he called from the other room without her finishing her command.
“Crime lab,” I repeated. “If Scott took her...” I closed my eyes for a second. “Tell me. Tell me how you’ll find her if he kidnapped her.”
“The next step is to locate him,” Kyle said.
“Retrace his steps, identify his vehicle if he took her in it. Then narrow down potential locations where she could be. We already have leads based on our ongoing investigation. But it might be much easier than that. He might call and tell us what he wants.”
I nodded. “And we’ll give him what he wants and we’ll get her back.”
He frowned, then turned as Ben entered the conference room. The entire team took up places around the table and brought him up to speed. Hearing it all rehashed made me feel worse.
“Cam, do you want to go to the lounge while we discuss this?” Kyle asked. He pressed a strong, warm hand into my lower back, soothing me.
I should stay for Ally. I should know what they were planning and how they would bring her back. It was my fault she was missing. But there was nothing more I could contribute.
“I think I should stay out of the way,” I said. “I should go to the clinic, keep everyone there calm. I’ve already missed part of my shift for seeing patients.”
“We know the building is safe,” Kyle said, and looked to his teammates for input.
When Logan and Ben nodded their agreement, Kat said, “Kyle, drive Cami and Bella over and get them settled at the clinic. And maybe there’s someone you can stay with tonight?” she asked me.
“Tonight?” I grabbed Kyle’s hand. “This will be over before tonight, won’t it?”
He had that pained look on his face again. “Baby, I don’t know. We have a lot of work to do to find Ally and bring her home.”
“I can stay at my apartment,” I said. “It’s as safe as the clinic.”
He hesitated.
Ben waved his hand to get our attention.
“My sister’s in town with her significant other.
Well, not this town. We live half an hour away.
But since I got called into work, Mai and Chase will be keeping Savannah company tonight.
Mai could pick you up at the clinic after work, then take you and Bella back to our place. ”
I knew I’d be agreeing to allow Mai to babysit me, but I tried to look on the bright side. At least there might be wine. And it would be nice to spend more time with Mai and Savannah.
“That would be great, thank you.” I told Ben. “Bella and I accept.”
Kyle called for Bella to follow him and me, and the three of us left the conference room.
“Hold up.” Pasco ran after us. He pulled a small metallic disk from his pocket.
“Inactivated, it’s a passive tracking device.
But press and hold it for three seconds, and it becomes a panic button.
One for Bella.” he bent and pressed it to the inside of her collar.
He pulled a second one from his pocket and held it out to me. “And one for you.”
“Absolutely not.” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at Pasco.
He looked at Kyle to plead his case.
“Don’t even think about ganging up on me,” I told Kyle.
“Kat thought it might be a good idea, until we know what Riker wants.” Pasco offered it to me again.
I grabbed it from his hand and tucked it into my jeans pocket. “There. Now you can big brother me all day while I’m at work.”
“Sorry, Cami,” Pasco said.
“I know you mean well.” I pretend punched his shoulder. “Thank you.”
Kyle put his arm around me as we walked to the exit. “Sorry about that, but it’s really temporary, I promise. And also, thank you. I know you did that for me and not Pasco.”
“Well, I thought you might lock me up here at HQ if I didn’t agree.”
He stopped at the exit door and turned to face me. I couldn’t read the look on his face.
“Have you felt locked up these past two weeks?” he asked quietly.
I widened my eyes. “No. But...”
The combination of the fear of Scott’s threats and the excitement of being with Kyle had obscured it, but I’d been restless to return to my real life, to have my independence back.
Not in the same way as before I’d met Kyle.
I didn’t want to give up what we were building.
But I needed to balance the old with the new.
“For two weeks, I haven’t been grocery shopping or to the gym. I haven’t hung out at the Thirsty Horse with girlfriends. I haven’t even walked down the street by myself.”
The look on his face was wistful.
I took both his hands. “I want you in my life, Kyle. I want us, the three of us. But....”
“But you want a normal life, too.” His demeanor brightened. “So, how about this? As soon as Riker is neutralized, you’ll move back into your apartment, and we’ll start dating.”
“From living together twenty-four seven to dating.” I frowned. “Did I just get demoted?
“Never.” He pulled me into his arms. “You can come to our house any time you want. I’m hoping to be invited to your apartment. We still have unfinished business in that bathroom. And I’ll need even more help with Bella once this crisis is over and Kat cracks down on take-your-dog-to-work days.”
“It’s a deal.” I bent down to pet Bella, who had settled at Kyle’s feet. “It sounds like I’m needed here.”
“You are needed,” he said. “And you are wanted. And you are... We should discuss all the things you are later. Maybe on our first date.”