He describes details of Kendall’s case and how he contacted the NY task force for information about a misplaced documentfor inquiries made during the first seventy-two hours of her disappearance. Then he moves our conversation to the sting that brought Cameron back into his life.
“Samuel is a CI.”
I choke on a strip of onion. “An informant? Since when?” I don’t give him the chance to answer. “We heard him discussing running Agents Perez and Donatello off the road.”
“Allegedly.”
I glare at him in silent warning that I’m five seconds from stabbing him with my fork.
Grayson laughs, and all my worries simmer. I made a huge sacrifice by encouraging him to pursue Cameron, but this—our connection—will withstand anything. I’m certain of it.
For a second, I process what he’s saying. “Samuel is a CI. He’s been working with the bureau.” I’m not asking questions, though Grayson nods as if I am. “So he’s not the big fish they thought he was.”
“He’s the bait,” Grayson interrupts. “And I have a feeling the person who hooked him doesn’t want the bureau’s murky fingerprints all overhiscase.”
The answer to his riddle hangs in the air, heavy and impossible. Then it hits me. “The detective at the Lamaze class.”
Grayson stares at me in surprise. “You know about the undercover at the class?”
I nonchalantly shrug, still confused. “When I went to confront who I thought was Piper and Shaw, Shaw’s jacket flapped out enough to expose his badge. I meant to tell you, but…” I stop. He knows how diversely things flipped on their head in the minutes after the Lamaze class. “Still, running agents off the road to stop them from assisting in a case is criminal. He should face charges, or at least have IA ride his ass for the next six months.”
“I believed the same,” Grayson admits, still eating. “Then I had a change of heart.”
I drop my fork when he tosses open Kendall’s file and then drags it across the counter until it sits in front of our smeared plates. The man photographed in surveillance images that were never a part of Kendall’s file looks oddly similar to the man I stood across from yesterday. He’s just years younger, and his eyes are no longer blue. They’re green.
If I had to guess, I would say the unnamed detective is ten to twelve years younger in the image Grayson presents.
“Because the timeline of Kendall’s abduction was misconstrued”—he meant to say since I lied, I made things difficult for the agents working her case—“investigators only traced Kendall’s movements back seventy-two hours instead of the standard week.” His eyes float over the man’s profile in the photograph. “He went to MIT, so he could only visit his girlfriend once a month.”
My eyes snap to his. “Kendall had a boyfriend?”
He brushes his hand over my cheek like it’s wet before jerking up his chin. I more snatch than merely accept a photo of Kendall and the unnamed man from Grayson’s grasp when he finds it beneath a stack of many more, but I’m too shocked to act cordially.
“She looks happy,” I murmur, my voice nearing a sob.
“She was.” Grayson wipes away an actual tear this time. “She planned to introduce Crew to you during summer break, but she was?—”
“Kidnapped before she could.”
Grayson smiles softly before jerking up his chin.
As I recall my exchange with Crew earlier, the pieces of the puzzle slot together. “He’s looking for her. After all this time, he’s still looking for her.”
Again, Grayson nods. “And considering he’s here, we’re in the right spot too.”
My heart patters in my ears as I contemplate how close I am to bringing my sister home.
Grayson’s shirt mops up a rogue tear I didn’t realize had spilled when he pulls me into his chest and whispers in my ear, “We will find her, Mace. I promise you we will.”
I almost issue him the same pledge until I remember the person he’s seeking is no longer missing. She’s right here, in this state, still shutting him out and breaking his heart.
That needs to stop.
“Grayson?”
“Yeah?”
I inch back when I hear his reply through his chest instead of his lips, and then I peer up at him. “That thing you did… when you held my stomach—you should try that with Cameron.” He appears divided, even troubled, yet I persist. “She needs to feel safe, and that is the perfect way for her to experience that.”
