Page 291 of Her Reluctant Hero
“No, ma’am, but he was stewing a bit.”
Her face heated. “Does this hospital have security cameras?”
He grinned and lifted his gaze over her head.
At the camera pointing right at the door he’d come through.
*****
Peyton watched the bank of six screens in frustration as she, Agent Devlin and a security guard ran through video of the past two hours. The camera Agent Devlin had pointed out was great for seeing who entered the hospital, but worthless for seeing who left. However, a camera in the parking lot was better.
“There’s something odd.” Peyton pointed, her heart jumping. “Nurses don’t take wheelchairs all the way to the parking lot to release patients.”
Yet a dark-haired woman in generic green scrubs was muscling a wheelchair over a curb to a truck. The man in the chair lolled to one side—unconscious and still dressed in a hospital gown. Peyton leaned closer to study the video. The woman was small, and her dark hair contrasted sharply with her white skin.
“It’s Kim!” she breathed.
Agent Devlin snapped to action. “Get the plate on the truck,” he told the guard as he pulled out his phone. “I need access to traffic cameras and activity in the past”—he leaned closer to peer at the time stamp—“forty-three minutes, from St. Patrick’s hospital. And I need a BOLO for a black dually truck with the license number KA 4354. Three passengers, two men and a woman. No idea where they’re heading.”
He flipped the phone shut and looked at Peyton. “Ready to go watch more video?”
“She risked everything to come back to him,” Peyton murmured as they walked out of the hospital to Devlin’s car. “There were no leads on her. She risked her freedom.”
“Then she kidnapped him,” Devlin pointed out, opening the passenger door for her. “You saw how he was sitting, how he was dressed. So, yeah, she risked everything, but that’s not love. That’s not real.”
“How long do you think it will take her to realize it?” Peyton asked when they got on the road. “And what will she do to Gabe when she does?”
Agent Devlin’s mouth was grim. “I don’t think she’ll take it well.” “Gabe isn’t one to make nice. We’d better find him soon.”
*****
Traffic cams were few and far between in Missoula, and black trucks weren’t. Kim and Kevin had at least been smart in their choice of stolen vehicle. Worse, all the camera footage was in black and white, so every dark-colored dually appeared black.
“We need more manpower.” Devlin returned to the surveillance room with two cups of coffee.
Peyton took one gratefully. She’d slept a bit in the chair in Gabe’s hospital room, waiting for him to wake, but she hadn’t slept in a bed since the one she shared with Gabe in Missoula. Was it the night before last now? No wonder her eyes blurred. The coffee wasn’t good, but gave her the jolt she needed. Time was too important.
“More manpower for what?” she asked.
“Most gas stations and banks have video cameras. Thing is, we don’t know which direction they’re heading, so we don’t know which video cameras to look at.”
“Get the Bear Claws,” she said, straightening.
“The what?” His brows drew together.
“Gabe and Kim’s crew. They’re not on the fire line now. Get them to go to different stores for the videos.”
“Stores aren’t going to allow that to happen.”
She thought of the man at the general store. “They will if we tell them we’re hunting for the arsonists who set the fire threatening Bounty. This is a firefighting town, Agent. People will help. And the Bear Claws will help Gabe.”
He tossed his phone to Peyton, who dialed Jen. “Jen, we need your help.”
*****
Gabe came to when his head cracked against something hard. He opened his eyes to see he’d hit it against the metal frame of a truck door. Before he could lift a hand to brace himself, he cracked it again. And then again, because his damn hand wouldn’t respond.
Right. Drugged. In the front seat, Kim—weird, dark-haired Kim—was jouncing around too, and Kevin, presumably, with a cap pulled low, was driving. Where the hell were they? The road was pitted as hell. How long had he been out? He managed to get his hand out so he wouldn’t crack his head again, and the movement caught Kim’s attention.
