His brows turned inward as he brought his gaze to hers. “I have no intention of killing you, Katherine. If I were going to do that, I would’ve left you in that car with the other two.”
The image of Zade and Holloway in the car as she was being dragged away flashed behind her eyes. Nausea rolled in her gut from the knowledge that it was an image she’d literally never be able to forget.
“Then why am I here?”
“Come with me.” He took a step back and gestured for the door. “I’ll get you some medicine for that headache of yours. After that, we’ll get you cleaned up and fed, and then I’ll show you exactly why you are here.”
Kat’s eyes slid to the open door and back to Walker. Her mind whirled with the possibility that this was some sort of test. That he was trying to see if she’d run so he could chase her down.
He must have caught on to what she was thinking, because he lowered his hand and sighed. “This isn’t a trick, Katherine. That cut on your head needs to be treated before it becomes infected, and you’ll be of no use to us if you pass out from pain or hunger. At the very least, you have to be dying of thirst.”
Well, crap. She hadn’t really noticed it until he said something. Now it was all Katcouldthink about.
Swallowing against her dry throat, she lifted her chin. “Fine.” She started for the door. “But you should know people are out there looking for me. And they won’t stop until they find me.” God, she prayed that was the truth.
“People like Matt?”
Kat’s chest tightened, her steps faltering before she turned to face him. “H-how do you know him?”
Walker smirked. “Oh, Turner and I go way back. And, unless he’s changed a whole hell of a lot, I’m sure he’ll do everything he can to find you.”
Something flickered behind his eyes, but Kat couldn’t decipher what it was. She was also confused by the tone in Walker’s voice. He almost sounded hopeful, which made absolutely no sense, whatsoever.
At this point, she was just praying Matt found her before this man—and whoever else was part of the ‘us’ he’d referred to—did whatever it was they were planning to do.
“Let’s go get you taken care of. After all, you’ve got a lot of work to do.”
* * *
Matt satin the hospital’s emergency surgical waiting room, out of his mind with worry.
Zade had been in surgery for hours. He was still in there. Lying on that goddamn table, fighting for his life. And Kat…
Christ, Matt could barely breathe for the fear he felt for her. Knowing Adrian Walker—of all fucking people—had even laid a finger on her filled him with more terror than Matt had ever known.
And all he could do was sit here and wait. Wait for the doctor to come out and tell him whether or not his teammate and friend was going to make it. Wait for Jake and the others to arrive so they could put a plan of action together. Wait and wonder if he’d ever see Katherine again.
He was tired of fucking waiting.
Matt started to run a hand over his face when he realized he still had Zade’s blood on him. He’d been so out of it since the detective had dropped him off he hadn’t even noticed.
Staring down at the rust-colored stains, he noted they were darker where the blood had settled in the creases. When Walker shot Nate a while back, Matt had been worried then, too. Nate was every bit as important to him as Zade. As much a brother as any of the other Bravo or Alpha Team operatives.
The difference was Matt hadn’t been on the scene minutes after Nate was shot. He hadn’t put pressure on the guy’s wound like he had Zade’s. Nate’s frantic pulse hadn’t been beating beneath Matt’s palms the way Zade’s had.
His frantic thoughts turned to Kat, and for the millionth time, he wondered what she was going through. Was she okay? Had she been hurt?
They had to find her. Theyhadto.
“We will.”
The confident voice broke through Matt’s thoughts. Startled, he looked up to see Jake standing over him, along with Derek and Gabe. He’d apparently been so lost in his own thoughts he hadn’t realized they’d arrived. Or that he’d said those words aloud.
“Boss.” Matt stood. “This is all my fault. I’m the one who told Zade to take her to her dad’s place instead of us all going to the station together.”
“But you weren’t the one who pulled the trigger.” Jake stared back at him. “So put that shit away. There’s no place for it here.”
Swallowing hard, Matt nodded. “You’re right. Sorry.”
