The EMT said, “I’m still recommending you be seen by a doctor, even if that’s just your obstetrician.”
“Sure. I’ll do that.” She handed him the oxygen mask and scooted to the end of the bed.
Jax said, “We’re not exiting this ambulance until the shooter is in custody.”
Ryson lifted his radio from his belt and held it to his mouth. “Copy that.” To them, he said, “They’re entering the building.”
“If I had to guess? I’d say they’re looking for Sylvia Caughton.”
“That makes sense, given that witnesses stated a woman visited Wallace Lofton at the hospital.”
Jax shook his head. “What are you talking about?”
“Right. Zeyla’s stuff superseded that,” Ryson said. “Wallace Lofton died in his hospital room. It looks like a result of his injuries, like a blood clot got loose and ended up in his brain, but I’m not convinced she didn’t usher him along. The woman who visited him.”
Kenna frowned. “She left him alive long enough to talk to us, then she came back and killed him?”
“So he could tell us they were using their deep fake voice technology for the podcast,” Jax said. “So that we would realize you didn’t speak to Ellayna?”
“That meansDominatuswanted us to believe MSI was right in the middle of this.”
Jax nodded. “I think you’re right about that.”
Not that it completely made sense. Though, ifDominatuswas at work and didn’t like MSI’s involvement, their aim might simply have been to drive a wedge between Banbury Investigations and Bear’s team.
That was the only thing he’d learned so far that might make him inclined to give Bear and his team the benefit of the doubt that they might be on the right side in all this.
Ryson’s radio crackled. Someone spoke through it, but Jax couldn’t make out what they were saying. “Copy that.” To them, he said, “The shooter is gone.”
“Great, let’s get out of here.” Kenna shifted all the way over to where Jax stood so she was sitting on the end of the bed. She waited.
If he pushed it, she would probably go to the hospital because he asked her to.
He looked at the EMT. “You heard the baby’s heartbeat?”
The guy nodded. “It was strong, and she was moving around.”
“And her blood pressure?” He motioned to Kenna.
“No higher than I’d expect it to be.”
Jax looked at her. “You can stay here while I bring the car over.”
Kenna nodded. “I’ll play you the voicemail in the car. Ellayna says her captors will trade her and her family for Shawn Terrance’s drive and the port it goes into. We have two days to get to Evanston, Wyoming.”
The EMT shook his head. “Who are you people?”
Chapter Forty-Three
Evanston, Wyoming
Two Days Later
Kenna held the phone to her ear so she could listen to it again, even though she’d already done that a hundred times on the drive over here. Even though they knew it was likely a fake that MSI had created usingDominatustech.
She still wanted to hear Ellayna’s voice.
“Kenna? It’s me, Ellayna.” They even made her sound nervous. “The people keeping us here want to make an exchange. They want you to bring the tech that you retrieved from that company in Pueblo. The drive and the…port.” It sounded like she was making sure to say it right. As if this twelve-year-old really was under duress. “And they’ll let us go if you hand it over. They want to meet at your cabin in Wyoming in two days’ time. Noon.”
