“Can we make peace?” Cole asked, “Because I could really use a favor.”
“Not you, too.” Jonah groaned as he shook his head, but then he cracked a half smile. “What is it?”
“I’d like to borrow some equipment. A couple of video and audio recorders, preferably the smaller stuff so I can hide it.” She slid her bottom lip against her teeth as she tried to read his reaction.
Jonah cocked his eyebrows. “I’m going to assume this isn’t for the investigation you’re supposed to be working on. So, can I ask why?”
“Crazy shit going on at Dan’s parent’s house. He’s my fiancé,” she added in case he hadn’t remembered.
“Right, do you need someone to help investigate?”
“Oh no.” She’d never hear the end of it if another investigator stepped foot into the house. She wasn’t even comfortable having Kaylyn in the house at the moment. “They’d freak. I’m not really planning to tell them that I’m investigating, nor am I positive there’s anything to investigate. I’d like to know if they’re overreacting.”
Jonah crossed his arms and watched her in silence for a moment. She was beginning to think he’d tell her to take a hike, but he finally broke. “Fine, but if there’s any sign of danger, you notify someone. And if we have a higher priority case—”
“I’ll bring it right back,” Cole said. She felt like bouncing on the balls of her feet. Maybe her answers wouldn’t suit everyone, but she wasn’t passing up the opportunity to find out what was going on.
“How’d the investigation go last night?” Jonah asked before she could slip away and put her plan into action.
“A little strange to be honest.” Cole wasn’t quite sure how detailed he wanted or how to even put the events into perspective. “We chased a noise from some toy around the house for almost an hour.”
Jonah cocked his head, his eyebrows twisted into a questioning expression.
“We’re hoping that the tapes or research will turn up something more concrete, but,” she shrugged and dropped her gaze. “I’m really not sure what we’re looking for. There aren’t any answers jumping out, and—”
“Sometimes you have to do a lot of digging. The family is out of the house and safe, correct?”
Cole nodded, but that didn’t make her feel better. She knew exactly how stressful not being able to go home was. No matter how civil the people were putting you up, it was more comforting to know that you had your own place.
“I have no doubt that you’ll figure it out. One thing I learned about Kaylyn is that she doesn’t easily let things go.”
“Yeah, that can be one of her most annoying and helpful qualities.” As Jonah’s gaze dipped back to his paperwork, she prepared to make her escape, but Jonah’s next question hooked her and yanked at her gut.
“How is she handling the adoption news?”
Cole took a breath then leaned over the back of one of the armchairs. “I’m not entirely sure she is.” She picked at her fingernails, trying to abate her pounding heart. “I’m not even sure I am, and with everything else going on, I haven’t really given either of us much of a chance to talk about it. I noticed Leon’s been giving her a hard time of it, mostly over how much she’s changed—that’s how they are with each other—but....”
Cole lost her thoughts as the possibility that she could have lost Kaylyn clouded her mind. Instead, Dan had lost his brother. Suddenly, the family didn’t seem so bat shit crazy. They needed their time, their stubbornness, and their answers. “I should get going,” she said, straightening. “Before Leon apprehends me. I’ll—”
She cut off when she heard footsteps approaching.
“Too late,” Leon said. “It’s enough I have to deal with him, shouldn’t you be at home?”
“I needed something,” Cole said. “And I’m not good at sleeping when it’s daylight out.”
“You might want to get used to it. Finish what you’re doing and get out of here—at least relax for a while. By my calculations, neither you nor Kaylyn should be setting foot in the building for another three hours. We’re covering the research and reviewing what you caught last night. Cassidy and Gina should be ready to walk you both through everything new before you head over this evening.”
“Got it, boss pro tem.”
Jonah snorted then covered his mouth as he grimaced with pain. “How about both of you get the fuck out of my office.”
“He’s cussing,” Cole drawled. “Guess you haven’t thrown in any pain meds recently.”
“It’s really inappropriate to crack jokes about and in front of the man with broken ribs,” Jonah said. “Now, I only have so long before I get kicked out of here so...” he flapped his hands, “get to whatever you’re supposed to be doing.”
Even when her temporary home didn’t feel like home, somehow the office did. She smiled and waved at both men. “Fine, I’m leaving.”
Cole climbed on the kitchen counter to set up the first small camera. The tech guy had given her one with a motion sensor built in to trigger recording, since she wouldn’t be able to plug it in and needed something with a charge that lasted more than a few hours. Once she was satisfied with that placement, she headed out to the living room, to set up the second camera. That room was a bit trickier since there weren’t any high shelving units to hide the equipment and give her a good vantage point. After circling the room a few times, she settled on the top of the bookcase. It would be eye height for Dan and his father, but she hoped that hiding it between the snow globes and figurines would prevent detection.
With her spy setup ready to go, she settled at the kitchen counter, where Dan’s family had left a stack of Todd’s favorite games, a broken mug—which Cole recognized as the one he used every Thanksgiving and a key ring she didn’t recognize.
She pulled out one of the tall bar stools and sat down, taking out her cell phone to finally respond to Dan’s messages.
Didn’t notice anything. Will be going into work later this afternoon and working late again.
Once the message sent, she sat down her phone and swirled it across the granite, debating over whether or not to go back downstairs and attempt a nap.
But the house was dead silent—and too foreign to encourage the comfort of sleep in the middle of the day. Capturing her spinning phone, she flicked it again, letting it skitter across the counter top until it buzzed with a text message.
Kaylyn: You awake?
Hell yes, she typed. And Leon has banned us from the office.
Kaylyn: Run?
Cole snorted, brushing her finger around the edge of the case as she debated over her answer. Her body didn’t feel like doing any physical activity. But it was possibly exactly what she needed. Before answering, she picked up the pieces of the broken cup. Apparently, someone had saved it from the trash after cleaning up after whatever had happened with the dishes. Cole drummed her fingers against the counter, her attention split between her phone and the shattered keepsake. No one in Dan’s family had been taking Todd’s loss very well, there had been outbursts of everything from anger to depression since she and Dan had come to stay right after the fire.
There were still no explanations.
No clues to ease the mystery or words to ease the pain.
But something about this didn’t sit well. Breaking the mug wasn’t something she’d have associated with anyone in the house. Unless it really was an accident and no one wanted to fess up to it.
She picked up her phone. She needed to get out of the house—at least.
Sure, she typed, meet you there in twenty. She jogged downstairs to the basement as her phone vibrated again with Kaylyn’s quick confirmation, so Cole stuffed her workout gear into a small bag, tied her hair up into a high ponytail, and pulled out her running shoes.
Endorphins would make everything better for a while at least.
Before she reached the top stair, she heard a car pull into the driveway.
“Shit,” she hissed. Pausing for a momen
t, just out of sight, she waited until she heard footsteps going up the stairs to the second story of the house, then she rounded the corner and headed straight for the front door.
“Cole?” Vivian’s voice echoed down the stairs.
“Yeah, I have a meeting so I’m heading out.” Without waiting for a response—which she already knew would take up more time than she had, she pulled the front door closed behind her and let the screen door slam closed as she ran down the steps and threw the bag into her car.
“Never again am I criticizing Kaylyn for running,” she mumbled to herself as the engine purred to life. “Maybe being on the run really is the only way to survive this job.”
By the time Cole pulled up to the rec center, Kaylyn was seated against the trunk of her car waiting. Cole hurried to grab her bag and climb out of the car, slamming the door and engaging the alarm.
Kaylyn draped her own bag on her shoulder and slid off the trunk. “I figured I’d soak up some vitamin D since you decided to take your time—as usual.”
“As usual?” Cole snapped playfully. She’d been giving her sister the short end of the stick lately, and she’d decided to make a conscious effort to get things back to the way they used to be. “Who is usually the late one?”
“Late is me. Taking forever is you. I have the advantage in short notice situations.” Kaylyn winked and turned for the door, leaving Cole to catch up.
“How’s life with the ‘rents?” Kaylyn asked as she pulled open the door and waved her sister in first.
Cole’s stomach felt acidic as soon as she thought about it. “I’m about to call it fucked and go stay with Mom.”
“That’d be a forty-minute drive to work every morning. Are you planning on taking Dan with you?”
Cole groaned and handed the attendant her member ID. “He wants to be with his family, and I’m cool with that,” she trailed off. “It’s suffocating there. Not exactly conducive to, well, anything.”
Kaylyn snorted. “At least Vivian likes you more than she likes me.”
A snarky response played through Cole’s mind—most people’s mothers like me more than they like you. However, given everything Kaylyn had gone through lately, that could quickly take them to a place Cole didn’t intend to go.
“Why didn’t you change into your gym clothes before you left,” Kaylyn said as she ducked through the locker room door while fishing through her bag for her music player. “You’d think with how long it took you to get ready, you could at least get ready.”
Cole shrugged, “Well, then I would have taken even more time, but it’s not like you have to wait on me. I need to change and I’ll be right out.”
But Kaylyn didn’t head out to the floor, she sat down on one of the benches trying to untangle the cords of her earphones, and then fiddled with the player until she found the right playlist.
Cole took a deep breath as she rolled up her clothes and stuffed them in the back of her locker. “I told Dan,” she whispered, not even sure that Kaylyn could hear her over whatever she was listening to.
“I figured. He made some crazy comment last time we talked. I take it he isn’t so keen on the idea?”
Cole blew out a puff of air and collapsed onto the bench. “If you knew—?”
“Everything else going on, I didn’t want to play the ‘I told you so’ game. I figured you’d bring it up when you wanted to talk about it.” Leaning back against the lockers, the faint traces of a smirk crossed Kaylyn’s face. “Although I do like being right,” she tipped her head to the side. “It’s not so fun when it makes you miserable. Anything I can do to help?”
That wasn’t how she expected the conversation to go at all.
“Not really.” Cole thought about the broken dishes again, but shoved the thought away. If something really was going on in the house, she was sure she would have noticed something more. “We’ll work it out. We always make it through, this won’t be any different.”
Slamming the locker closed, Cole secured it with a lock then turned on her heels toward the door. “Last one to hit five miles buys lunch.”
With a laugh, Kaylyn hurried after her, but as soon as they pushed open the locker room door, a man blocked their path.
“Kaylyn Anderson”—his lips spread into a wide smile—“And Cole,” he nodded to the younger sister as if he’d just noticed that she was there, too.
Cole scowled and Kaylyn jerked the earphones out of her ears, taking an audible breath.
So much for endorphins, Cole thought, feeling her stomach turn into a ball of ooze. There was going to be an entirely kind of hormone release, and she had a feeling it wouldn’t be pleasant for anyone.
Chapter 8
Kaylyn stared up into the eyes of a man she hadn’t seen since high school. He’d gone off to college on a sports scholarship and she’d bid him good riddance.
“Chad,” she forced a smile even though she felt like all of her energy had suddenly been drained from her body. She’d suggested an afternoon of working out in an attempt to reconnect with her sister—her work partner—and to help make sure both of them would be ready for the night ahead. This was the kind of bump in the road that could lead to a detour in the opposite direction.
Chad was still as lean and muscular as she remembered from high school, his red hair trimmed close to his head in a buzz cut. He stretched out his arms as if he expected a hug, but Kaylyn stared back, fiddling with the earphone cord between her fingers.
“Just moved back,” he said, “I’m working as an assistant coach for the college track team.”
“Congratulations,” Kaylyn said without a hint of enthusiasm. There was no way she could even fake being enthusiastic about that news—even if she cared to try. As far as she was concerned, the only thing it meant was that it was time to look for a new gym.
“We should catch up, grab a drink sometime.”
“I’m sure I’ll be busy,” she said.
“Yeah,” he opened his mouth as if he was going to say something more, but he glanced at Cole and nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’ll see you around.”
“Don’t count on it,” Kaylyn grumbled under her breath as he walked away.
“Well, that wasn’t awkward at all,” Cole took a few slow steps toward the treadmills.
“I’m going upstairs,” Kaylyn said. So much for reconnecting. Now all she wanted to do was blow off steam. Alone. She rubbed her hand over her face and collapsed against the wall.
“We can leave,” Cole offered.
That probably wasn’t such a bad idea, and it was probably the only way the sister time she had planned stood a chance of happening, but Kaylyn wasn’t in the mood for talking. She was in the mood for sweating until she couldn’t remember. “There’s a rowing machine up there.”
“And a full view of the rest of the gym,” Cole said skeptically.
Kaylyn had considered that. Not that she wanted to see more of Chad but because she’d rather be watching him than wondering if he was watching her. “That only means I don’t have to worry about him shooting daggers into my back.”
Cole took a deep breath and raised her arms in surrender. “Want me to come up with you?”
“Nah, you like the treadmills down here. I’m going to row for a while then lift some weights.”
“Sure you wouldn’t prefer a punching bag?”
“They get too bloody,” Kaylyn smirked, casting one last gaze in the direction that Chad had headed. He was using the weight machines on the main level, so Kaylyn intended to stick with the ones upstairs. “I’ll catch up with you in about an hour.”
Kaylyn replaced her earbuds and jogged up the stairs. She also enjoyed the second level because the equipment was a little older—still every bit as functional as the stuff downstairs, but most people preferred the newest equipment, and she normally had the room to herself.
As she rounded the corner, she noticed a figure standing in the corner next to the railing that overlooked the main level of the g
ym. She sat down on the rowing machine and strapped her feet into place while casting a glance at the person in the corner, but the area was empty.
Strange, she thought since she hadn’t seen anyone move or leave the area. She grabbed the handle and pulled back, straightening her legs and pulling the bar to her chest in starting position.
Her skin tightened and lifted into goose bumps, and the hair on her forearms stood on end.
She extended her arms and slid forward, but suddenly she felt cold enough to start shivering. Blowing out a breath, she pushed back, trying not to think about the strange sensation, reasoning that someone had the air conditioner turned down too far, and once she worked up some heat, she probably wouldn’t notice.
She went through the motions three more times, her body feeling stiffer with each instead of more fluid. Leaning against her knees for a moment, she closed her eyes and plucked the earbuds out of her ears. Her body relaxed and she felt a pop as if everything clicked back into place.
Am I ever going to feel normal again, she wondered. She opened her eyes, and her gaze wandered down to Chad, who was now hitting on some stick thin, blond girl using a leg press.
At the sound of a movement beside her, Kaylyn jumped and lost her balance on the small seat of the rowing machine. Placing her hand on the floor to steady herself, she cursed silently.
The man who’d interrupted her thoughts chuckled and nodded to the floor below, “I call that the ‘here, let me show you how to do that properly pick-up technique’.”
“Uh huh,” Kaylyn started to replace her ear buds, pausing to give the guy a sideways glance as he climbed on the elliptical next to her. Of all the machines in the entire center, he had to pick that one. “Luckily, I’m not the kind to need help.”
“That why you’ve been giving him the evil eye?”
Kaylyn pressed against the pedals, straightening her legs and moving back into starting position. “Wasn’t.”
The man next to her laughed again. “Sure. Because we could give him something to stare at.”
Beyond the Divide (Fractured Legacy Book 2) Page 6
