Chapter Thirteen #2
Cam’s teammates watched Sedona with sympathy in their eyes. That’s not what he wanted for her, nor was it what she sought. He could tell by the tilt of her stubborn little chin that she’d caught their sympathy and hadn’t liked it one bit.
“I’m fine,” she snapped. “I’m not like the others. I didn’t grow up in the system.”
He didn’t think Sedona was telling the truth about being all right, but this wasn’t the time to chase that rabbit.
Sedona drew a deep breath and plunged ahead with her tale.
“Two months ago, my sisters and I received letters from a lawyer, informing us that Mom had passed away from cancer and left each of us a letter. Grandfather William also had a letter from Laura informing him about his granddaughters and encouraging him to find them.”
Rhys whistled. “Cold.” He sent Sedona an apologetic look. “Sorry.”
“Why? You’re right. My mother was as cold as ice until a few weeks before she died. According to her letter, she knew she’d made a mistake in giving away her children and she wanted to make amends.”
Sedona’s laugh was bitter. “Right. Make amends. There’s no way she could do that thirty years after her first child was born.
Do you know what she did? Laura Jane Hart dumped us once again, this time on her dying father.
He did what he could to prepare all of us for what was coming.
In his last days, he heard about this house in Maple Valley known as the hoarder house. ”
Isaac’s eyebrows soared. “Seriously?”
“There’s no other way to describe this place.” She glanced at Cam, who took over the story.
“This house is everyone’s worst nightmare.
Sedona wasn’t wrong. Every room is packed almost to the ceiling with objects someone once viewed as important or a collectible.
Now, it’s just junk. I’ve been helping her clear out one room at a time.
I think we’ve had to call the company renting Sedona the Dumpsters in her front yard five times already, and we’ve only cleared two rooms so far. And that was with Mrs. Grady’s help.”
Spencer frowned. “That doesn’t sound like much progress.”
“If you knew how many items were crammed into those rooms, our progress would astonish you.” Sedona sat on a bar stool.
“The house Grandfather bought is absolutely massive. Three floors with at least ten rooms per floor. I wanted to clean the rooms before my sisters showed up and moved in. Now, it won’t be finished before they arrive. ”
Dario held up one hand. “Wait. Are you telling us that you and your half-sisters are going to move in together for the first time at thirty years old?”
“If we want to inherit the money Grandfather left for us, we have to live together under one roof for one year, and the hoarder house is the roof he chose.”
Spencer said, “Look, you don’t have to tell me anything because I’d understand not wanting a stranger to nose into your business, but your grandfather must have left each of you a substantial amount if his instructions were so specific.”
“Five million dollars each.”
He stared a moment. “Wow.”
“Living together for one year seems easy enough,” Rhys said.
“No way.” Isaac shook his head. “You know how these things work. Strings are attached when you least expect them. So, what are the strings?”
“Grandfather and his lawyer located five of us. Apparently, we have one more half-sister. We have to find her and convince her to move in before the year is up, then she must live in the house for one year.”
Dario snorted. “Not such a terrible deal if you’re the only one living there. The rest of you can move out if you want, right?”
“Nope. Sorry, but you lose the grand prize, Dario. The lost sister must live in the giant house with the rest of the sisters.”
“She’s tied to the house?” Rhys’ astonishment was obvious. “And you’re okay with this, Cam?”
“Nope, but I’ll deal.”
Dario frowned. “What’s with the lost sister? I thought there were only five of you total.”
“Turns out there’s a sixth sister, and we have to find her and bring her into the family.”
“People don’t just disappear,” Isaac said. He looked to his teammates for support.
“Let’s change that to people rarely disappear.” Cam found coffee mugs in one cabinet and filled them with the hot, steaming brew. “How much looking have you done, Sedona?”
“Almost none,” she admitted. “With Grandfather dying and me still sorting out and getting rid of as many items as I could before my half-sisters move here permanently, I haven’t had time to consider where Phoenix is.”
Dario straightened. “Phoenix?”
“Yes. Why? Do you know her?”
He shook his head. “I used to know a girl named Phoenix. She was a ward of the State, like me. We were great friends until one day I came home from school and she wasn’t there.
I looked all over town, everywhere I could think of, but came up with nothing.
Her face haunts me every night. I hear her begging me for help, but when I wake up, I’m alone. ”
Oh, man. Looked like Dario had a woman of his dreams, too. “I’m sorry, D.”
His friend waved it off. “Can’t go back in time to fix things. So, what’s the plan, Cam?”
“We need to figure out why The Collector wants Sedona.”
Spencer looked amused. “Well, did you ask her?”
He almost snapped at his buddy, but the medic didn’t know about the drugs and the amnesia. “She can’t help us.”
Silence, then, “Why not?”
“Sedona was drugged and kidnapped while she was unconscious. When she was awake, the kidnappers kept her blindfolded.”
To a man, all of his friends scowled. “Drugged? Did someone give her an injection?” When Cam nodded, the medic said, “Show me.” Spencer rose and approached Sedona with an easy, nonthreatening stride. He glanced at Cam. “I won’t do it unless you and Sedona both sign off on it.”
Cam turned to Sedona. “Our medic wants to touch your neck, Sedona. Yes or no?”
She glowered at him. “Yes. For goodness’ sake, I’m not that sensitive.”
“You didn’t see your attackers’ faces. You identified them by voice and by tattoo on one of them. We don’t know who the man employing The Collector is. Tiger, you could pass him on the street and not know it was him.”
She stared. “Thanks for scaring me to death.”
“I’m sorry. I just want you to know why we need to keep pushing on this. We have to find the person paying The Collector to bring you to them.” Cam cupped her cheek. “Please, let Spencer look at your neck.”
“It’s fine. Go for it, Spencer. Right side.”
Spencer pulled out a penlight and turned the beam on to illuminate the side of her neck as Cam’s arm circled her waist.
“I hate this,” Sedona whispered.
Cam froze, then removed his arm from her waist. “I apologize for overstepping my bounds.” Yes, he sounded stiff, and no, he couldn’t help it, just as he couldn’t help feeling as though a mule had kicked him. How could they move forward if Sedona hated his touch?
She grabbed his hand and wrapped his arm around her waist again. “Not this. I hate the situation. I should be taking care of my students, not dodging kidnappers and a hit man.” Sedona lowered her voice. “I love your touch, Cam. Every time.”
The tension wracking his muscles drifted away. “You’re sure?”
She nodded. “If that changes, you’ll be the first to know. But it won’t ever change.”
Cam gave a slight nod. “Spence, what can you tell me?”
His friend straightened away from Sedona, a grim expression on his face. “You were right. Someone drugged her. Did the doc at the ER run blood tests?”
“He did. The results weren’t ready at the time we left the hospital.”
“I received a report a few minutes ago,” Sedona said. “I haven’t had time to review them yet.”
“Do you mind if I look at them?” Spencer asked.
“Go for it.” She unlocked her phone, pulled up the report, and handed over her phone.
Everyone was silent while the medic read the reports generated by the hospital lab.
In his arms, Sedona remained stiff, waiting for Spencer to render a verdict. Cam cupped her nape and held her against him lightly.
After a million minutes had passed, Spencer finally looked up.
“Well?”
“The kidnappers used Ketamine which also explains why she can’t remember part of the incident.”
“Will I remember more?” Sedona asked.
“It’s possible. Memory loss is a common side effect. It shouldn’t have long-term repercussions.”
“Aside from not knowing who sent the kidnappers after me,” she muttered.
He inclined his head in agreement. “Except for that. If it helps any, I doubt the man in charge was with the three men who took you.” He looked at Cam. “What happened to the flunkies?”
“They’re in jail.”
His teammates exchanged glances.
“What? I’m a cop. Did you expect me to take them out behind the station and teach them a lesson?”
“Would have been more satisfying,” Dario said.
Yeah, he didn’t want to admit tossing them in jail felt like a cop-out. But he was a law enforcement officer first, before anything else. He had to follow the law. “Perhaps, but that wasn’t an option.”
“What now, sir?” Isaac asked.
That was the question. Even he wasn’t positive of the next move. “We turn Rhys loose to track down this dark web information. If we can track it back to the source, Sedona won’t have to look over her shoulder every time she goes to school or church.”
She sighed. “And thanks for that picture now lodged in my head.”
“Sorry.”
“You guys have a really terrible outlook on life. Did you know that?”
The group exchanged more glances between them, then Rhys said, “It’s not a terrible outlook so much as it’s the plain truth. We hunted the most evil people on the planet in the Army. That gives you a dark outlook.”
“Right. We’ll have to work on that.”
Huh. Cam didn’t know exactly what that meant, but he figured The Thunderhawks could handle whatever Sedona Hart dished out.