Page 5 of Now or Never
Jax navigated the icy city roads, concentration on his face. He needed to be extra careful, as the salt mix laid down had been driven over and refrozen by fresh snow. All of it made a slushy mess.
“I think we should take a look at the scene again,” he finally said. “Unless we come up with a better idea.”
Kenna squeezed his hand. “Wanna get some sushi on the way?”
He grinned.
Maizie exhaled loudly. “You’re not supposed to eat raw fish while you’re pregnant!”
“I know that.” Kenna smiled. “I only eat the kind that’s cooked. It’s better anyway.” Giving up coffee was bad enough, though she just drank decaf instead so it wasn’t totally like she’d given it up.
“Yes, we can get sushi.” He squeezed her hand back.
“Maizie, send us the list you narrowed down,” Kenna said.
“I’m also looking at Samantha’s social media, back before her parents co-opted her accounts for their fundraising.” Her voice had a tone.
“What did they need money for?”
“Ostensibly, the funeral. Though, it seems like they cremated Samantha, so they probably didn’t need all the money that was raised. At first, they were posting regular videos asking for information. Gradually, that petered out and now it’s quiet. But their personal accounts have a whole lot of vacation pictures.” Her voice still had that tone. “I guess they kept some of the money as a reward for any information leading to the arrest of her killer. But within a few weeks, they were taking regular trips to Hawaii, or France, or England. Cashing in on people’s goodwill donations after Samantha went missing.”
Kenna frowned. “They acted the part when we met with them. Offered us five grand to find her killer.”
“I don’t wanna be cynical.”
“Be cynical,” Kenna said. “It’ll keep you alive longer.”
Chapter Three
Kenna didn’t like the silence that greeted her statement. “So…how are we going to narrow down the list of soldiers?”
Neither of them responded to her question.
She looked at Jax. “What?”
“Being cynical keeps you alive?” Jax pulled up to a stop light and looked at her.
“I always think everything is a trap.”
Maizie’s voice came through the car speakers. “Are you really quotingThe Princess Brideto us?”
“It’s a great movie,” Kenna said.
She’d watched a lot of them with Jax the first few weeks after he rescued her.They’d gone through so many classics, nostalgic favorites that weren’t as good as they remembered, and timeless cult hits. New movies, old movies, and none of them depressing or scary. It hadn’t entirely worked to pull either of them out of their funk. But it had helped her at least not think about the ever-present threat for a while. Or how impossible it was going to be to take downDominatus.
Kenna had no intention of getting into a conversation about what was going on in her head. They thought they wanted to know, but they’d regret asking in the end. It was better to just…
She blew out a breath. “Can we focus?”
“I’m trying to narrow the list down,” Maizie said. “But I don’t even know whether to rule out people who are dead or keep them on the list.”
“Hmm. Good point.” She took a moment to admire Jax pulling away from the stop light. Why did that stir up attraction in her? Aside from pregnancy hormones, that was.
They’d spent every moment of the day together for a few months now, soaking up the togetherness that had been denied them for the weeks she’d been captive. Probably it would wear off eventually, but she almost didn’t want it to.
Jax said, “If the killer is dead, there won’t be a way to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they’re responsible. There was no DNA on the body from her assailant.”
“I’ve been thinking about that.” Kenna paused. “What if she was killed, then undressed, and they washed the body completely clean? Which was why there was no evidence and the only blood was transferred from her clothes. They re-dressed her and dumped her in the alley.”
