Page 49 of Every Which Way

“Good question,” Langford said. “Now he’s here just pretending things are fine, back at work like normal. Where’s the woman?”

“I’m getting the feeling we don’t know much about what’s going on.”

But Kenna was going to get out there and find answers.

ChapterThirteen

Maizie slipped her sweater over her shoulders. “Seriously? A QR code.” She eased to the edge of the hospital bed and stuck her feet into her tennis shoes without unlacing them, wiggling her foot around until the back of the shoe worked its way out.

Kenna had updated her in reverse order, starting with Hadley, who was now down the hall in the emergency department being treated. “Tattooed on her back. No idea where it goes, but the police are going to figure that out. I cautioned them on what device to use. If these people are clever, they’ve got a way to see who accesses their site.”

Maizie nodded. “Probably hosted on some dark web server, so you can’t find it unless you have the code.”

“The second the police get on there, they could dump the whole site and start over on another. We’ll never find them.”

“I want to come with you to talk to Hadley.”

“I don’t want a guy like that to see you, but you can be nearby. With Ramon.”

Maizie almost rolled her eyes but seemed to catch herself before she did it. “Fine. I know arguing isn’t going to make you change your mind.”

Kenna grinned. “Rethinking me being your mom officially?”

“Because you’ll tell me what to do?” Maizie glanced over. “Maybe Iwant tobe parented. Could be fun.”

Kenna chuckled. “Good thing neither of us knows what we’re doing. We can just be happy doing our own thing, and we’ll never know if we get it wrong.” She grabbed the paperwork, and they headed for the hall past the curtain. “But we’re not getting into that. We have our own things to do.”

She had been thinking about Roxanne since meeting with Amara. Thinking about her mother—aunt. Whatever. And her sister.

Especially her sister, and where Zeyla might be right now.

“That way.” She waved in the direction of the waiting area, and Ramon showed up behind them. He cleared his throat.

“Maybe if we ask nicely,” Maizie said. “He’ll get us coffee.”

“Not in my job description,Hermanita. Unless the barista is a killer.”

Kenna glanced at his face and saw no humor there. The man was a hundred fifty percent serious about protecting them and bringing justice to the world. Fortunately, he worked with her because Ramon’s brand of justice could potentially be a scary thing.

A nurse and then a hospital staff member glanced at them. They probably made an odd group. Two adults who weren’t a couple and a teen that could be their child except she looked nothing like them. Misfits who had become friends—a family.

“What else happened with that woman?” Maizie asked. “And did you update Jax yet?”

“I’m going to tonight. And that woman, Sally Morris from Aurora, is working with the cops to give us a likeness of the woman from the pair who are doing this.” She found a few seats in the corner of the waiting room where Langford had said she would meet them. Kenna bounced her knee up and down. “There’s just…”

“Something?” Ramon sat across from them and stretched his legs out, crossing his ankles. “The case is starting to have more scope, and you can feel it, but you don’t know how.”

Maizie shrugged. “We can speculate, or I can get on my computer and find out.”

Kenna asked, “What about your financial accountant? Did they find anything yet?”

“Let me log on and see.” She leaned forward for the backpack by Kenna’s foot and then stopped suddenly, letting out a long groan.

Kenna tugged on her shoulder and drew her back. “Easy, Maze. I’ll get it.”

Maizie leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes just as Detective Langford strode in. “You look better than the last time I saw you, but not by much.”

Maizie opened her eyes. Bruises darkened her cheeks and around the inside corner of both eyes. Her nose was swollen but not broken. “I didn’t get kidnapped, though.”

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