Page 36 of Into the Veins

“And thank you.” Her soaked uniform weighed her down as Lawson and January directed her along the trail. They hit the parking lot, and a swirl of red and blue patrol lights flashed across her peripheral vision. “I’m not sure any of us would’ve gotten out of there if the FBI hadn’t provided backup.”

Lawson cocked his head to one side, his grip still tight on her arm. He nodded straight ahead. “I’m not so sure about that, Sheriff.”

A round of clapping filled her ears. She battled the exhaustion fighting to tear her down and took in the semi-circle of King County Sheriff’s deputies. Her gut clenched as she took in the faces of the men and women under her command. Shouts of congratulations and cheers pierced through the buzzing in her head as Lawson and her sister maneuvered her toward the nearest ambulance on the other side of the lot. A swell of disbelief and appreciation forged through her. Her feet skidded across the pavement, unsteady. “I don’t understand. What are they doing here?”

“They’re here for you, Sheriff Sanders.” January set one hand on top of Blair’s arm as though she was preparing for her to collapse. “To support their commanding officer.”

“I looked into that anonymous tip accusing you of using public resources to arrest the man convicted of murdering your parents a couple hours ago.” Lawson faced the throng of officers as agents who’d worked the scene fanned out behind her deputies. “I was able to trace it back to a cell phone registered to a bodyguard of Richard Faulkner’s, the first victim’s father. Once the governor was made aware of the connection and had a chat with your old commanding officer, he was more than willing to drop the investigation into the arrest. News broke while you were trying to protect this county from another serial killer.”

“News?” Tears burned in her eyes, but she wouldn’t let them fall. Not here. Not when her ability to harness her emotions was stretched so thin.

“The governor made the accusations public before speaking with you. It was only fair he retracted his suspicions publicly as well.” Lawson handed her off to the EMTs waiting and helped her onto the stretcher. He stretched out his hand. “This county is lucky to have you, Sheriff, but between you and me, I hope this is the last case we have to work together.”

She shook the director’s hand and took one last look at the wall of dark green uniforms waiting for orders. “You and me both, Agent Mitchell. I trust you’ll take care of the scene and keep me advised of any developments.”

“You got it. See you at the wedding.” He patted the ambulance door as January climbed into the back. “Oh, Arden wanted to know if you’ll be bringing a plus one.”

Her thoughts immediately went to Colson, and her stomach dropped without notice. She’d banned him from her station—from this investigation—and essentially from her life. While he’d ultimately had nothing to do with Rachel Faulkner’s father exposing her path to justice with department resources, he’d kept the truth from her all the same. He’d manipulated his way into the investigation for his own profit. He’d made a deal to bring their suspect to a victim’s family member rather than let the justice system do its job. He’d tried to keep her in the dark. Blair fought the EMT trying to pull her hand from her side, and the pain ratcheted higher. Not from the bullet wound. But from the shrapnel lodged in her heart being pushed through her veins. “I’ll message her once I’m done at the hospital.”

“See you there.” Lawson nodded to the team of EMTs buzzing around her, and the last remnants of adrenaline she’d relied on after the fight had ended drained away.

The techs loaded her into the ambulance.

January braced herself as the rig sped out of the trailhead parking lot. “You’re lucky your vest caught most of the impact. What the hell were you thinking, leaving me behind like that?”

“I couldn’t leave him to fight alone.” Her guard to keep her private life private had dissolved. There was no more room for denial, no convincing herself that what she felt for Colson was anything but love. Hell, if someone asked for her debit pin right then, she’d probably give them the code and hand over the card. “The thought of finding him set up like the rest…” Blair cleared her throat to counter the violent images she hadn’t been able to forget through the duration of this case. She stared out the back window as dark clouds calmed. Rain clung to the windows, but the storm had passed. The case was closed. “I didn’t want to lose him.”

January rode beside her in silence, letting the truth settle between them.

The ambulance carved through inches of water along the highway as they wound south, the lull of white noise settling her nerves. Blair set her head back against the stretcher as the EMTs worked to control her bleeding, and her eyes drifted closed. Colson had been medevacked to Harborview, at least a twenty-five minute drive, but before realizing she’d succumbed to the exhaustion, the back door swung open. She jerked awake, aggravating the wound in her side, and a hiss escaped from her lips. Blinding lights and emergency signs bounced off wet pavement.

Two techs hopped down from the back and pulled her from the ambulance.

“I’ve given these two strict instructions to have a doctor look at your wound before you go hunting for your partner, but you and I both know you’re not going to cooperate.” January held her hand as they rolled toward the double doors leading into the emergency room. Mud smeared across her pale skin and the collar of her blazer. Would her sister make her replace that too? “I called ahead. He’s unconscious, but they’ve got his vitals steady. His physician said he’s confident they were able to neutralize the poison, but it will take a few days for Colson to recover and for them to assess any permanent damage.”

Permanent damage? What did that mean? Blair clutched onto her sister’s forearm for support, every bump under the stretcher a new lesson in pain tolerance. “What about Brennan Jefferson? The killer was escalating. She could’ve been injected with more than one dose.”

“Gunshot wound, Caucasian female, thirty-four years old,” the EMT called to the approaching physician. “Vitals are steady. The wound is starting to clot.”

“I’m sorry, Blair.” January’s perfectly manicured nails bit into her arm as they rounded into an open bed space. “I did everything I could at the scene, but I couldn’t get her pulse to stay very long. The EMTs told me they’d try while they airlifted her here, but Agent Mitchell messaged me a few minutes ago. They lost her before they could land.”

“Back for round two, Sheriff Sanders?” The same attending who’d bandaged her wrists circled into her peripheral vision. “We’re going to take good care of you. Call ahead to the OR. Tell Dr. Clyne we’re on our way.”

Air crushed from her lungs. Three victims trapped in a tornado of envy and revenge, and there’d been nothing she or Colson had been able to do. A wave of dizziness had her grabbing for January’s arm, but she missed. “I thought I could get to her in time.”

“We all did.” That voice. His voice. It slid though her with a warmth strong enough to ease the last few hours in three simple words. The private investigator she’d vowed never to fall for took shape beside her bed. He’d escaped his room. For her.

A white gown exaggerated the smears of mud and blood against his skin, and it took everything inside of her not to reach out, to pull him into her. He’d been poisoned. He’d taken the full brunt of the killer’s revenge, and she didn’t want to hurt him. Not again.

Callused hands encased hers as the bed started moving. “Blair, look at me. What happened out there wasn’t your fault. Just as not being able to stop that man from killing your parents wasn’t your fault. You’re not responsible for Ember Garder’s hatred or her actions. She is, and she will spend the rest of her life behind bars for what she’s done.” Intense brown eyes centered on her, and the controlled chaos of the hospital dissolved around her. “You brought down a killer intent on taking down as many people she could. We might not have been able to save Brennan Jefferson or any of the other victims before it was too late, but we stopped her. You and me. Together.”

Blair shook her head. The events of the past few hours played in her head on repeat. The missing persons report, Colson’s text message, her race up the mountain. She’d done everything she could to keep Ember Garder from taking more lives. They’d done their jobs. They’d brought down a serial offender who’d never intended to stop. If there was anything she’d learned over the past few months confronting not one but two vicious killers it was that she couldn’t take the weight of their crimes herself. No amount of self-flagellation would bring them back, just as arresting the man who’d broken into her home that night hadn’t brought her parents back. And she only had so much room left on her bookcases for new sculptures.

Blair blinked to neutralize the dizziness, and a sense of peace—of capability—tendrilled through her. The permanent etch of the past slipped from between her eyebrows, and the throbbing in her side eased. She notched her chin higher as she swiped at her face. Flecks of mud flaked off her skin, and she squeezed his hand to ensure herself he was real. “You’re supposed to be unconscious.”

“Didn’t stick. The agents outside my door told me you’d been brought in. I had to see you.” Colson squeezed her hand.

“We need to get her into surgery. You’ll have to stay here,” the physician said.

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