Page 5 of Every Which Way

In her earpiece, Ramon said, “Can’t help yourself, can you?”

Kenna jogged down the concrete stairwell. “Just be ready to go when I get down there.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

ChapterTwo

“You really think it did them any good?” Ramon glanced over from the driver’s seat for a second, then back at the freeway in front of them. Good thing since it was clogged with traffic even though it wasn’t lunchtime.

The downtown skyline stretched out in front of them, a blue sky above it. It looked warm out, but looks were usually deceiving. Plus, this was Denver, and this time of year, it could snow in the morning and be seventy degrees later.

“All part of the service.” Kenna grinned. “And I actuallydothink it did them some good. A person who has never taken a self-defense class might go seek one out now. At least one person was inspired to stand up for themselves, and we got what we went there for.”

Ramon left the freeway, racing down the exit ramp to the light at the bottom. Kenna looked at her phone so she didn’t have to be aware of his driving. The guy was like a teen boy—too fast, too reckless. Maybe some drove sedately, when someone was watching. But who hadn’t pushed it on occasion? Tested the limits.

Behind her seat, Maizie tapped away on the keys of her laptop.

Kenna checked her messages, emails, and the contact inbox for her website. Nothing new. Jax knew they were in Denver working on getting more information about the dangerous “company” they’d found out about on their last trip. An organization responsible for crimes going back more than a century. They’d profited from war, subverted justice, and believed they could manipulate global politics.

She’d run into them in the UK a few months ago, and since then, she’d read that book her father wrote that was never published. Now she had more questions than answers. Despite the fact she wasn’t invited to participate in the investigation, even in the US, she wasn’t going to let this lie.

“Thinking about your mom again?”

Kenna glanced over at him. “Will you just drive to the coffee shop?”

Maizie said, “I can give you an update on the hunt for where your mom might’ve been hiding for the past thirty-however-many years, but there’s nothing new.”

“She doesn’t want to be found.” Kenna stared out the window, remembering a letter she’d been given in the UK.Don’t believe anything they tell you.Great. Solid advice, but it had her doubting everything and everyone, except the people in her inner circle. “I know she doesn’t want to be found because I have no idea where she is or how to contact her.”

Ramon pulled into the parking lot for a coffee shop in the center of a strip mall. Some independent place that had a wide seating area and probably half a dozen kinds of milk—maybe more. “Maybe there’s something about her in the stuff Maizie got from that company server.”

Kenna got out and slid the back door open. “Coming inside?”

The teen closed her laptop lid. “Yep.” She looked excited to be out of the van, which was understandable.

Their lives were a delicate balance of letting Maizie feel like she was free and making sure she was protected. The teen had to be coming up on eighteen soon enough, but it wasn’t like she was going to leave home anytime soon.

She stepped out of the van in jeans, Converse sneakers, and a zippered hoodie, which was a lot like the style Kenna had—not that anyone had mentioned it. Maizie could adopt whatever style she wanted when she settled on something. It might mirror Kenna’s, and it might not.

Long blond hair that hung loose over her shoulders. A little makeup. Huge blue eyes and delicate features. One day, she was going to stop a guy’s heart, and Kenna prayed Maizie would be healed enough to be able to accept healthy affection. That she would be free enough to keep the way she’d been raised from corrupting every relationship in her life.

“You’re staring.”

Kenna said, “We really should find out when your birthday is.”

Maizie set off after Ramon, toward the door to the coffee shop. Their friend scanned the parking lot around them, keeping watch. A car pulled into the lot with Stairns driving. Good, he was here. Their other friend wouldn’t be too far behind.

Ramon held the door, watching the parking lot while they went in.

Maizie asked, “When’s your birthday?”

Kenna eyed her young friend. “I’m not the one about to turn eighteen.”

Maizie shrugged. “Someone other than me can find my birth certificate. I might need it, so it’s probably a good idea to know how to get it.”

“But you don’t want to see it?”

She only shrugged again in answer to Kenna’s question. They ordered at the counter and found a table.

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