With her mind set on Kane’s carved in stone expression, Jenna gave herself a mental shake. Being in witness protection, herself, after bringing down a drug cartel, she could be on his list. She swallowed the bad taste in her throat. “And you expect the four of us to hunt this animal down, alone?” She stared from one to the other. “You’re crazy.”
“No, we’re not, Jenna.” Jo refilled Jenna’s cup and pushed it toward her. “We’ve given this a lot of thought. This person is very sure of himself and he is either covering up his acts of terror by trying to make us believe he is not who he seems, or doesn’t know we found his signature on the previous explosive devices and is enacting out a vendetta or worse still a fantasy.”
Jenna looked from one to the other. “You’re banking on him underestimating us as a team, right?” She glanced at the door and wondered what was going through Kane’s mind right now. Her heart ached for him. It must have been a terrible shock, to see the photographs. She stared at Carter. “As we’re talking about underestimating people… Jo is aware of Kane’s profiling skills but he has a box of tricks up his sleeve.”
“For instance?” Carter looked amused.
“Too many to count, Carter.” Jenna stared at him. “But if you need to take out a target, Kane never misses. He was a sniper and is an asset.”
“Then it will be true justice if he takes down this guy.” Carter reached for a chocolate chip cookie, broke it in half, and gave a piece of it to Zorro. “The agent he killed in the car bomb was one of the top snipers in the business.”
Nine
Blinded with ice-cold rage, Kane lifted Duke into his truck and climbed behind the wheel. Moments later he headed out the gate and accelerated toward town. He needed answers and with Jo and Carter close by, his only option was to speak to Wolfe and what he had to say couldn’t be said over the phone. He flicked on lights and sirens and the lowlands and hills flashed by in a sea of dark and light gray under the waning moon. The beautiful clear night did nothing to curb the nightmare of seeing Annie’s death mask. He’d tried long and hard to remove his last glimpse of her from his mind and replace it with a happy memory but without as much as a single photograph of her, the same lifeless staring image remained fixed in his head along with the metal plate. After slowing to drive through town, he turned off the lights and sirens and took a few deep breaths. He pulled up outside the ME’s office and moments later was flashing his card to gain access. With Duke at his heels, he headed for Wolfe’s office. As he opened the door and pushed the hound inside, he heard Emily, Wolfe’s daughter, calling his name. He straightened and looked at her. “I need to speak to your dad.”
“Did you want to watch the autopsy?” Emily frowned over the top of her mask. “I wasn’t aware this was your case.”
Kane shook his head. “No, I’ll wait until he’s finished.”
“We’re done with one victim and the others are on the list for tomorrow.” Emily’s gray eyes met his with concern. “Is something wrong? Is Jenna—”
“Jenna’s fine, everyone is fine.” Kane stared at the floor. “I just need to speak to Shane—alone.”
“Okay, I’ll go get him.” Emily pushed open the doors to the examination room and went inside.
Kane paced the spotless white tiled floor, ignoring the smell of antiseptic and burning flesh. It was cold and at least ten degrees lower than outside but Kane welcomed the chill on his boiling flesh. His mind was in turmoil. He’d been told the man responsible for Annie’s death had been killed but had that just been a ploy to keep him in Black Rock Falls? He recalled the shock on Jenna’s face. She had seen what haunted his every waking moment. Now he understood why he could find no peace. The man responsible still walked the earth. Had Annie been reaching out from beyond the grave to tell him so?
The door to the examination room opened in a whoosh. Kane stopped pacing as Wolfe appeared and peeled off his scrubs and tossed them into a bin. He walked slowly toward him. “You know why I’m here, don’t you?”
“Nope.” Wolfe stood hands balled on his hips and stared at him. “Is there a problem?”
Kane swallowed the grief blocking his throat. “It’s private.”
“Okay, we’ll speak in my office.” Wolfe led the way and once inside, went straight to the coffee machine and brewed two cups. “You’re wound up as tight as a drum, pace up and down or do whatever you need to do while you explain, but I’ve been working for eight hours without a break and I’m making coffee.”
The coffee machine hummed and hissed before spilling out two cups. Trying not to pick up the machine and toss it against the wall, Kane took a few deep breaths and dropped into his state of calm. There were two sides to this state. One, he could withstand an incredible amount of pain or suffering and the other, he could kill without conscience. He’d never used it to keep calm when his mind was screaming for revenge and not when dealing with a friend. He hadn’t fooled Wolfe and he noticed the change in his expression. Even Duke eyed him with suspicion. He sat down and waited.
“Drink the coffee.” Wolfe piled a cup with sugar and cream and slid it over to Kane. “You look like you’re going into shock. What the hell is happening to you? Is it flashbacks?”
Ignoring the coffee, Kane rolled his head from side to side, he’d been clamping his jaw so tight his neck ached. “Why didn’t you tell me Carter was the lead investigator on my case?”
“I didn’t want to drag up unpleasant memories for you.” Wolfe frowned. “It’s not as if you can thank him.”
“Thank him? I don’t think so.” Kane stared at Wolfe’s confused expression. “You informed me the FBI took care of the terrorist group that killed Annie. Was that true or just a way to keep me here?”
“It was the information I received from the top, why?” Wolfe pulled out a box of cookies and placed them on the table. “Eat something. You look like shit.”
Remaining in his calm state, Kane took out his phone and accessed the images of the car bombing and slid them across the table to Wolfe. “Carter has these and discovered the device used to murder Annie was made by the same person who made the bomb in the Louan case.”
“Oh Lord.” Wolfe’s face went sheet-white. “He didn’t mention anything to me about the device. He asked if I could trust you both to keep a state secret, so of course I said yes. He doesn’t know anything about you or Jenna.”
Kane gathered his thoughts before he attempted to speak. “I was led to believe the case files were sealed. I want to know how much Carter knows about me and why he is spreading the files around. Does he know I’m alive—or my name?”
“No, not a chance. Carter doesn’t have the clearance. He’s a specialist in his field and a darn good investigator. He risked his life to take out the bomber. This is why he has access to the files, and recognized the match in the devices.” Wolfe frowned. “You can trust him.”
“Can I? He killed the wrong man. A terrorist maybe but I’d bet my last dime, the guy wasn’t involved in my wife’s murder.” Kane slammed his fist on the table, making the coffee wash over the sides of the cups. “Now I know why Annie won’t allow me to get on with my life. The man who killed her is still out there and now he’s killing again. This time he’s turned up his game. You know as well as I do, Shane, if there’s a girl missing from the house, he has her. He’s a pyrotechnic psychopath hell bent on teaching someone a lesson but I have the upper hand this time. When I’m given a target, I never give up and he doesn’t know I’m alive.”