“Yeah? Feels more like a damn conviction.” Gary cursed under his breath. “I didn’t do it.”
No one answered. The silence stretched, heavy.
“Fuck this,” Gary spat out.
He turned and stormed out of the breakroom, boots thudding down the hall.
Colt didn’t move. Just stared at the door swinging slowly behind him.
“That hesitation,” Brenna said quietly, “he’s hiding something.”
Colt nodded. “Yeah. Question is, what?”
He stepped out of the breakroom with Brenna at his side, the conversation with Gary still gnawing at the back of his mind.
“We should head to the hospital,” Colt said. “Have a word with Wallace.”
Brenna gave a short nod. “Agreed. He might be more willing to talk now.”
They turned the corner, heading toward Noah’s office, but the voices stopped them cold. Gary’s voice, sharp and angry, cut through the hallway.
“I’ve had enough of the accusations,” Gary shouted. “You all think you’re so fuckin’ righteous, but you weren’t there.”
Noah stood facing him, calm but firm. The prosthetic leg didn’t slow him, didn’t make him look any less capable. Still, Colt could see the tension in his shoulders, the line of his jaw tightening.
“You’re done here,” Noah said, his voice like stone. “Get out.”
Gary’s fists clenched at his sides. His face flushed red as his breathing quickened. For a second, Colt thought he might take a swing. He braced, ready to jump in.
But Gary didn’t move. His gaze flicked from Noah to Colt and Brenna, then back.
“I should’ve known coming here was a waste,” Gary spat out. He turned and stormed down the hall.
Colt watched him go, the weight of suspicion still heavy in the air. When he looked back at Noah, the other man just shook his head.
“He’s unraveling,” Noah muttered.
Colt couldn’t argue with that. And unraveling meant Gary could be even more dangerous than he already was. Then again, his anger could be justified if he truly was innocent.
“We were about to leave so we could try to have a word with Wallace,” Brenna said, drawing Colt’s attention back to Noah and her.
Noah gave a short nod. “Good timing. I was on my way to let you know that Wallace just called from the hospital. He wants to see you both, too.”
Colt exchanged a glance with Brenna, who asked, “Did he say why?”
“Said he wanted to thank you in person for rescuing him. He also mentioned that he’s hoping to be released in about an hour,” Noah answered. “Wants to meet with his lawyer before giving a full interview to the sheriff. For now though, he’s in room 112.”
Brenna frowned. “It’s not the norm for a victim to have a lawyer just to talk about being abducted.”
“I agree,” Noah said. “But with what we know about the affair with Naomi, maybe Wallace is worried about more than just his kidnapping. Could be he’s taking Gary’s approach. That he’s being treated like a suspect.”
“Then we’ll head there now,” Colt said, then paused. “But I want to loop in Harlan.”
Noah nodded again. “I’ll take care of it. He’s running some background checks on Jared’s uncle anyway. We’re trying to confirm whether the guy ever had explosives training.”
Colt looked to Brenna. “Let’s go.”
They made their way back outside and to the SUV. As they’d done on the drive over, Colt took the wheel to try to save Brenna from having to put any more pressure on her knee. Of course, the drive wouldn’t help his ribs much, but thankfully the pain had backed off some.
