Page 22 of Target Acquired

She gave him her best innocent look. “Nothing.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Why do I think that’s a lie?”

“Cole. Seriously? What are you worried about?”

“I’m not sure. Something, though.” He nodded. “Definitely worried about something.”

Kenzie laughed and started off with a slow jog. “Come on. You’ll be fine. You’re a big bad SWAT man.”

He muttered something she missed and didn’t bother asking him to repeat it. It was a glorious morning, and if she didn’t have the heaviness of the unanswered questions about the break-in at her home and almost being flattened in the hospital parking lot, she’d feel lighter than she had in ages. But it had happened and it seemed to be all she could think about. Had the intruder thought she wasn’t there? Or just hadn’t cared? Well, he’d shot at her, so “just hadn’t cared” was probably the answer.

Which was disturbing.

“You’re thinking about last night,” Cole said.

“I am.”

Silence fell. From the corner of her eye, she caught him taking a glance at her. Then he looked back at the path. Then back at her. “That’s it?” he finally said.

“Pretty much. Going over the same questions in my head that we already talked about. But let’s talk about something different. How are your parents doing?” They still lived next door to her, but she didn’t see them for more than a wave most of the time.

“Great. They’re visiting my sister Addy and her family in South Carolina and will be back Sunday night.”

“That explains why they didn’t show up when all the commotion happened last night.”

“Yeah, but be prepared for questions once they get home. It will be the talk of the neighborhood.”

She sighed. “Already is.”

The park trail was two and a half miles of mostly flat land, but there were some slopes at various points, and they were coming up on her favorite. The bridge overlooking the waterfall that crashed into the flowing river. Once they were on the other side of the bridge, they followed the path that would lead them into the shady, wooded area. Moms with jogging strollers rolled past. Young twenty- and thirty- and the occasional older-somethings pounded the asphalt with their dogs at their sides. Kenzie loved Lake City and the small-town feel with all of the big-city amenities when she wanted them.

But not the crime that seemed to be ramping up lately. The fact that they had their own SWAT team and crime lab said a lot about the city. It was forward-thinking, true, but it made her sad that, in many ways, it wasn’t the same city she’d grown up in.

Cole turned and ran backward for a moment, facing her. His eyes scanned the area behind them, then he spun like the athlete he was to continue his jog beside her.

“See anything?” she asked.

“No, nothing that worries me.”

“Could the two incidents truly be a coincidence?”

“I suppose they could.”

“But you don’t believe it.”

“Having a hard time convincing myself of that, yeah.”

“Right.”

They fell silent, ticking off the minutes and the distance until Cole finally stopped and rested his hands on his knees.

Kenzie went a little past him, then turned and jogged back to him. “You okay?”

“How many miles have we run?”

She glanced at her smartwatch. “Just under six.”

“How many more miles can you run?”

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