Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
“Thank you, sir.” Colt hung up the phone after talking with his Special Agent in Charge Leo Herman.
He turned to Maren, who stood outside the SUV, waiting for information on where the injured agent had been taken.
Behind her, the task force headquarters’ brick building gleamed in the afternoon sunlight.
“Henry is at Boulder Memorial Hospital.”
“Then off to Boulder we go.” Her tone brimmed with anticipation.
He hoped she wasn’t setting herself up for more disappointment.
Henry had claimed when he’d called asking for them to come to the safe house that Steve refused to tell him why he had to talk to Maren.
But if for no other reason than peace of mind, they needed to talk to the agent to verify if he knew something about the information Steve had, and why Henry had told them to come in the front entrance.
“My SAC also said they found a shooter’s nest across the street from the house and one in the backyard,” Colt said. “Forensics has collected bullets and are hoping to match them to other crimes.”
“That would be a big break,” she said.
Having already put the dogs in the specialized back compartment, Colt and Maren climbed into the SUV and drove away from the Colorado K-9 Unit task force headquarters.
As they left Denver behind and the silence became too oppressive, Colt asked the burning question that had been plaguing him since the night before. “Are we going to talk about it?”
“Talk about what?”
The wariness in her tone let him know she knew exactly what he was talking about.
“The kiss.”
“We kissed,” she said, in a strained voice. “It doesn’t have to mean anything.”
He frowned as he changed lanes to pass a semitruck.
He glanced in the rearview mirror, watching as various other cars made the same move.
Was one following them? All things considered, his paranoia was justified.
“Are you saying that because you think that’s what I want to hear? Or is that how you feel?”
“Does it matter?” From his peripheral vision, he noticed her shrug. But her hands twisted nervously in her lap.
His jaw tightened. After almost losing her, his feelings for her had clarified and expanded. But he needed to know how she felt. “It matters.”
She turned to face him in the passenger seat. He glanced at her, saw the worry in her blue eyes.
He faced forward and re-gripped the steering wheel. “I don’t regret it.”
“But you should,” she said softly. “We both agreed we aren’t looking for romance. We don’t want to muck up our partnership with unwanted emotions.”
Unwanted. He was being rejected before he’d even had a chance to tell her that he did want to explore what was going on between them. He should have known better. His judgment was way off when it came to women. Maybe even to all other aspects of his life.
The reflection of the sun off a windshield caught his attention. He watched what was happening behind them for a moment and his chest tightened for a different reason.
“We have a tail,” he said, his gaze still on the rearview mirror. “A nondescript silver sedan four cars back. It’s been with us since we left Denver.”
Maren sat forward again and leaned to her right to look at the passenger side-view mirror. “I see it. But are you sure? The traffic’s so heavy.”
He wasn’t sure. He wasn’t sure of anything at the moment. Wasn’t sure he could trust his judgment. With the way she’d kissed him back yesterday, he’d thought she was feeling the same attraction and affection that was crowding his own chest. But apparently not. “Let’s just keep an eye on the car.”
For the rest of the drive to Boulder they remained silent. The silver sedan dropped back another few cars. But it kept pace with them. When he took the exit for Boulder city center, the sedan passed the exit.
He breathed out a relieved sigh.
“Can you fire up your GPS on that burner phone and get us to Boulder Memorial Hospital?”
Maren took out the phone Colt had given her and found the directions. When they arrived at the hospital, he parked in a spot designated for law enforcement.
After releasing the dogs and letting them have a few minutes on the lawn outside the entrance, the four of them walked into the hospital.
For some reason the hairs at the nape of Colt’s neck quivered.
He paused to glance back and saw a silver sedan slide into a parking place four rows from the exit.
A dark-haired woman in a bright pink top and jeans emerged from the car, but she kept her face turned away from the entrance.
She appeared harmless as she hitched her purse on her shoulder.
He gave his head a shake. He couldn’t be sure if it was the same make or model as the one he’d thought was following them. There were a lot of silver sedans out there. But with Shadow seeming to always be hovering close, he couldn’t dislodge the thought they had been followed.
Inside the hospital, he touched Maren’s lower back, the gesture oddly natural.
She glanced at him with curiosity. “Something wrong?”
“Keep your head on a swivel,” he said. “I don’t know why, but I just have a bad feeling.”
She nodded and tugged Haven closer to her side. “Always alert, always prepared.”
He gave a wry chuckle. She was a feisty woman, and he really liked her. More than liked her. But he needed to hold his feelings for her in check. Because, obviously, she didn’t feel the same.
Aware of the curious and interested stares aimed at the two dogs, Colt made sure his badge was visible. Maren did as well. At the information desk, they asked for Agent Spares’s room number.
They were directed to the sixth floor, east wing, room 659.
When they arrived on the sixth floor, they stopped at the nurses’ station to alert the staff they were there.
“Has he regained consciousness?” Maren asked the duty nurse.
“He has been in and out of consciousness,” the nurse replied. “But he’s very weak from blood loss.”
“We’ll only be a minute,” Colt assured the woman.
They walked down the hall past rooms with beeping monitors and the low murmur of conversations and televisions, to find Agent Spares’s room. The door was closed.
Colt frowned. “I would’ve thought there would be an agent on duty outside.”
“Do you really think he’s in danger?” Maren glanced up and down the hallway as if searching for any threats.
“I think Steve was the target. I’m sure that’s what my boss thought, too,” Colt said, assuring himself as much as her.
Still, if he’d been in charge, he would’ve posted somebody outside the door. Spares was a DEA agent after all. He deserved respect and protection.
“Or we could have been the target,” Maren murmured with a shiver.
Unable to deny that tidbit, he said, “True.”
Colt knocked on the door then pushed it open.
They entered the dimly lit room with the dogs at their heels.
Agent Spares lay on a bed with the railings up on either side.
A heart monitor and oxygen tubes were attached to him.
His shoulder where he’d been hit by a bullet was wrapped in bandages.
His eyes were closed. He was a thin man with dark, wispy hair and a thin mustache that stood out against the pastiness of his skin.
Colt reached out a hand and gently touched the man’s uninjured shoulder. “Agent Spares. Henry.”
Henry’s eyes fluttered and then slowly opened. His dark eyes focused on Colt then widened.
Colt wasn’t sure why he saw panic in the man’s eyes. “You’re okay. You’re here in the hospital.”
Henry’s gaze focused on Maren as she moved to stand on the other side of the bed. Then narrowed with confusion. “Who are you?” he rasped out.
“Officer Maren Anderson with Colorado Springs PD,” Maren said in a firm tone. “You said Steve Loren had information he would only give to me. What did he want to tell me?”
Henry shook his head, the confusion clearing. “He wouldn’t say. Just kept insisting he needed to talk to the lady cop who looked like Opal. I had no idea what that meant.” Henry’s gaze turned back to Colt.
“They’re twins,” Colt told him.
Henry’s eyes widened and then he nodded with realization. “That makes sense.”
Colt met Maren’s gaze across the bed.
Her gracefully arched brows came together. “Are you saying Special Agent in Charge Herman didn’t tell anyone that Opal was alive or that she has a twin?”
Colt wasn’t sure what to make of this development. He’d informed his SAC the minute he’d realized he was dealing with twins.
Henry shrugged, then winced. “He didn’t tell me. But I’m the low man on the organizational chart. Only been with the agency for less than a year.”
Still, Colt thought it odd that his SAC, Leo, hadn’t informed the agents watching over Steve Loren of this detail.
Could Leo be involved with Shadow? Could that be how Shadow was constantly one step ahead of the agency’s efforts to bring him down?
The suspicion caused a riot of anxiety and acute agitation to camp out in his chest. He hated to think the boss was dirty.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful,” Henry said. “I’m sorry about your sister.”
“Thank you,” Maren said. Her voice held a curious note to it. “Have you met my sister?”
“Only know of her by reputation,” Henry said.
“Can you explain why you told us to come through the front door?” Colt asked, still puzzling out the odd request.
Making a face filled with pain, Henry said, “Sorry. My head is fuzzy. I don’t recall saying that.”
“You don’t?” Colt and Maren shared a look of disbelief.
Henry shook his head on a wince. His eyelids fluttered closed. “No.”
Figuring they wouldn’t be getting any more information out of him at the moment, Colt said, “We’ll let you get some rest.” He gestured to Maren with his head toward the door.
She nodded. “If you think of anything Steve might’ve said that could help us find Opal, I would appreciate if you let us know.”
Henry’s head bobbed, though his eyes remained closed. “Of course. Anything I can do to help.”