Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
The police had assigned a guard to her door as a professional courtesy, and Rex appreciated that, even though he tended to think it was unnecessary.
Mrs. Barclay was dead. Seraphina was in police custody, and Hollis had been taken away by a team of medics who’d pried him from the stage floor, where he’d curled screaming into the fetal position.
Even though the doctor didn’t know what chemical Seraphina had used on Cami, what was clear was that the woman had planned the deadly outcome of Hollis’s rally in advance. She’d paid a still-unnamed employee to help deliver Cami where she wanted her, seated front and center for what turned out to be a live execution.
The hospital staff was still buzzing. The entire country was going to be buzzing for a long time to come.
Yeah, it’d been a hell of a day.
Rand, Gigi, and Cyrus had met them at the hospital but had gone home an hour ago. They’d downplayed Cami’s injury to Cyrus and turned off the television in the room. The kid had experienced enough and didn’t need to worry about another parent being taken from him or horrors being played out on live TV.
Rand—that’s what he’d insisted Rex call him—had started to shake Rex’s hand when they’d met in the hospital hallway and then decided on a hug. Rex had laughed a little uncomfortably, but inside, he had this strange urge to cry, and this time, he’d allowed himself more than a heartbeat of healing.
Gigi hadn’t been restrained in the least during their introduction, throwing her arms around Rex and kissing his cheek as she gushed and thanked him for rescuing Cyrus and finding Cami.
Cami had saved herself, however. He’d just recognized her call. And regardless of what Seraphina’s intentions with her had been, Rex would be forever grateful he was there with Cami as Seraphina carried out her deadly mission.
He’d arrived in time. And Cami hadn’t had to watch what unfolded alone. He’d held her as the shrieking crowd had scattered and the police arrived.
Rex brought Cami’s knuckle to his lips and kissed it. “You’re safe now,” he said for the hundredth time.
She nodded. “I’ve been going over it all, Rex. And most of it . . . it’s clear. Horrible . . . but clear.” She looked away for a moment, out the open window, where only a slip of star-studded sky showed above the adjacent buildings. “But I still have a question. Who made that call about the do-over? Who helped me find Cyrus after Mrs. Barclay arranged his kidnapping? Seraphina didn’t even know about it at the time.”
That was the one mystery that Seraphina’s confession to Cami hadn’t solved. Rex had an idea, however, but nothing definite yet. “I’m looking into that,” he told her.
She gave him a small nod. “What about the fixer, Rex? Do you think there’s any way to find them?”
“People like that are generally very difficult to find. But I’m looking into that too. I’ll let you know as soon as I can.”
Her lashes fluttered. “Promise?”
“Promise.” He squeezed her hand. “Get some sleep.”
“Okay.” She barely uttered the word before her eyes blinked shut.
Rex stayed for a few minutes longer to make certain she was asleep, and then he stood and walked quickly out the door.
Rex had thrown his laptop in his truck after using it to hack the tracking app, and he retrieved it quickly and brought it back into the waiting room down the hall.
It was bright here, and there was coffee, and he needed both now if he, too, wasn’t going to begin to crash.
He still had one more important task.
Vital perhaps, and also urgent.
He bought himself a Styrofoam cup of coffee from the vending machine and sat down with the laptop on his thighs.
He logged in as an administrator to Hollis’s campaign site—their meeting spot, as he understood it now. He opened a random email from Hollis’s inbox, and then he waited.
He didn’t have to wait long.
A reply box popped up, and Rex’s breath halted for a moment. He didn’t think she had much capability for links or long messages, and so he was going to make this as easy as possible.
He brought his cursor to the box and typed:
Is this Josephine Kiss?
A second clicked by, two, before a single word appeared:
Yes
Rex’s heart jumped. He was right. “Well, hello, Josephine,” he murmured. Do you need assistance? he typed.
Yes
Rex paused, trying to determine the best, most expedient way to get the information he needed. But she must have been a few steps ahead of him, because she began typing first.
Dr. Gerhard Ellingson
It took her several tries to get the name out as she paused and backed up more than once.
And then again, before he responded, she typed another line.
Broward Art Auction
Rex waited, but she seemed to be done, and he sensed that she was now waiting for him.