Chapter 43
The hospital corridor smelled like antiseptic and hope.
Gabe stood outside David's room. Wade leaned against the opposite wall, both of them dripping salt water onto linoleum.
A female doctor emerged. Young. Competent looking. "Agent Sawyer? Your brother's stable. Mild hypothermia. Dehydration. Bruising. Nothing serious. He'll make a full recovery."
The words hit Gabe like a benediction.
"Can I see him?"
"He's asking for you." The doctor consulted her tablet. "Miss Sweet is responding well too. She had better cold tolerance. She'll probably be released first. Both of them should be able to go home tonight."
She disappeared down the hallway, passing Tyler Price on his way toward them. Two State Police uniforms trailed him. Jacket torn, dust on his shoulders and blood spatter on one sleeve, Price looked like he’d slid down a hill face-first.
Wade’s thick eyebrows rose. “This can’t be good.”
Gabe eyed Price’s serious-looking escort. “Copy that.”
"David’s good?" Price asked.
"Stable. Both of them."
"Great." Price gestured to the waiting area. "We need to talk."
Gabe and Wade followed him to chairs near the window. The State Police officers took up guard positions nearby.
That told Gabe everything about the threat level.
Gabe and Wade followed him to chairs near the window. The State Police officers took up guard positions nearby.
That told Gabe everything about the threat level.
Price pulled out his phone and showed them crime scene photos. "We found the shooter's position. Perfect sight line. Northeast quadrant, elevated. No casings. No brass. But we got these."
He swiped through images. The sniper's nest. Disturbed pine needles. Boot impressions in soft earth. Measurements marked with evidence flags.
Wade studied the photos, his expression growing darker with each image.
"What?" Gabe asked.
"This wasn't set up this morning." Wade zoomed in on one photo. "See the compressed vegetation here? And here? Multiple days of observation. They've been watching the station for at least seventy-two hours. Maybe longer."
Price leaned forward. "You can tell that from photos?"
"The needle compression patterns. The way the branches are bent and dried in specific positions." Wade's finger traced the screen. "This is a hide that was occupied repeatedly. They had time to range the distance, calculate wind drift, establish primary and secondary firing positions."
Gabe's blood ran cold. "They’ve been planning to eliminate someone."
“Hale is my guess,” Price said. “He and his sidekick, Brewer, were clearly part of the crew detaining David.”
That tracked, Gabe realized. “Maybe Hale’s the one who kidnapped him.”
Wade grunted. “And somebody else didn’t like that plan.”
“No kidding.” Price held up a hand. "There’s more. Hank Brewer's body was found thirty minutes ago. Thirty-five miles east of Haven Cove. Single gunshot to the back of the head."
Silence crashed through the space.
"Time of death?" Wade asked.
"Two to three hours after he escaped." Price pocketed his phone. "Hale’s teammates or superiors or whatever are cleaning house. That makes your brother a target. All of the rest of you, too."
Cara. Wade. Tom. Reagan. Piper. Gabe himself. All potential loose ends for an organization that eliminated threats without hesitation.
Price pulled out a notebook. "Neptune. Hale's last word before he died. That mean anything to either of you?"
Gabe exchanged glances with Wade. Both shook their heads.
"Maritime reference, obviously," Wade said. "Roman god of the sea. Could be a code name. Could be an organization."
"We're running it through databases," Price said. "Nothing yet. No criminal enterprises using that name. No known smuggling operations."
Price's expression was grim. "Your brother's evidence points to shell corporations. Offshore accounts. Network spanning the West Coast. But the trail goes cold at the state level. Whoever runs this group has serious resources and serious reach."
Price stood, stretching. “Problems for another day. I’ll be in touch before you leave,” he added to Gabe and headed toward the exit. His officers followed.
The nurse appeared. "Your brother's asking for you."
Gabe walked to room four. Knocked on the open door.
"Come in." David's voice. Rough but clear.
His brother looked small in the hospital bed, wrapped in heated blankets, with an IV running to his arm. Bruises darkened his face, but his eyes were alert. Alive.
Gabe crossed the room, pulling his brother into a hug that was probably too tight.
David didn't complain. Just held on.
"I'm sorry," Gabe managed. "I should have—"
"Stop. You found me. That's what matters." David pulled back. "And Dad wasn't dirty. We proved it."
"You proved it."
His brother smiled wanly. "Yeah. I’ll take that win.” The smile faded. "Brewer told me about Ruiz," David continued, voice flat. "He confessed to killing him on Hale’s orders. They dumped him on the beach to send a message. Said if you didn't back off, I'd end up the same way."
He met Gabe's eyes. "They were planning to kill me. Soon. Once they figured out what evidence I had. And after they chased you off. But we did it, Gabe. We finished what Dad started."
Partly.
No way Hale headed up a smuggling ring. Not twenty years ago, and not now. The man wasn’t a leader. Middle management, at best. The people at the top were still out there. But David had proven their father was a hero. Even if the only people who believed it for now were the two of them.
But like Price said, problems for another day.
"The woman who jumped in after me," David said, voice carefully casual. "The baker. She's not really a baker, is she?"
Gabe's chest tightened. "She owns a bakery."
"That's not what I asked."
"I don't know what she is. But she saved your life."
"She jumped into freezing water without hesitation, and she knew exactly what to do, how to keep me calm. How to keep us both alive." He paused. "That's training, Gabe. Real training."
"I know."
"And you're not digging into who she really is?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because sometimes you trust people before you understand them."
David's expression softened. "That's called falling in love, brother."
"It's called choosing to believe someone's earned the benefit of the doubt."
"Not words I’ve ever heard you string together, Big Bro. Either way, you're falling for her." David's grin was infuriating.
Gabe couldn't argue.
"I'm heading back to Seattle," David said. "Now I can finish the article about Dad." He yawned and pulled the thin blanket higher. “Go see your baker.”
"She's not my—"
David's grin was infuriating. "She could be."
Gabe left before his brother could say more.
Wade was still in the corridor. Standing guard. "He okay?"
"He’s already giving me relationship advice."
Wade's mouth quirked. "That's how you know he's really recovering."
A nurse passed. "Miss Sweet's awake. Room seven. Down the hall."
Gabe's heart kicked against his ribs.
"You going to ask about the training? The skills?" Wade asked.
Gabe looked at Wade. Thought about what he'd just told David. About trust before understanding. About choosing to believe someone had earned the benefit of the doubt. "No."
Wade nodded slowly. Respect flickered across his face. "Good call."
Gabe headed down the corridor toward room seven. Not to interrogate. Not to demand answers. Not to use his badge and access to databases to solve the mystery of Cara Sweet.
Just to see if she was okay one last time, before his old life buried him again.