His dad said, “Amen.”
“Amen.” Carlos dug some cash out of his pocket, stuffed it in a small plastic trashcan next to the coffee carafe, and hit the plunger until his paper cup filled. “Are you going to get a flight here? Or do you want me to talk to the hospital about eventually transferring her back to Utah if it comes to that?”
“Right now, I don’t want either of you in Chicago,” his dad said. “But given everything that Kenna told me is happening, you need to stay there with Eliana.”
“If Eliana is going back to work, I can’t protect herandwatch out for Luci. I can’t be in two places at once.”
“We know that, Son. Just do what you can for now.” His dad paused, sounding like he was getting choked up again. “Call me tomorrow if there’s an update.”
Carlos would call him whether there was an update or not, just to check in. But he said, “Sure thing, Pops. Love you.Adios.”
After his dad had signed off, Carlos tucked his phone in his pocket. Whether there were notifications or not, he needed a minute to drink his coffee and…
Right now, he wasn’t even sure if he should make a plan for what to do next. His sister’s condition wasn’t going to change in the next day or two, and until then, he was in a holding pattern.
Regardless of whether he wanted to head back to Utah, that didn’t mean it was going to happen. But Luci at least should be close to their father, as the old man would want to be the one to take care of her if it came to that.
Was Eliana going to want to stay in Chicago after everything settled back down again? Maybe she had discovered something here that encouraged her to build a life independent of the restof her family. Or maybe this would always be the place where her fear lived, and where her life got swallowed up by things beyond her control.
Mostly, he figured he could be a cop anywhere. But that wasn’t going to be entirely true. Moving from one department to another would set him back because he would lose his seniority with every transfer. What he really needed to do was find a place and stick there, building a life that came with a promotion to detective. Working his way up the ranks of the department until he was willing to take a desk job as a senior officer.
Get married, again.
Build a family with someone who wanted to stick around. A person who made him want to be the best version of himself that he could be.
For a long time, he might have dismissed the idea that person was Eliana, but spending the last few days with her made him wonder if she hadn’t been right all along. Life had never been straightforward for either of them. Their paths didn’t always intersect. But in the here and now, he knew he wanted to spend more time with her. Protect her. Get to know the person she was becoming.
And even see what might happen next.
“Ryson!”
He turned and spotted Halstood heading toward him through the lobby. As he approached, Carlos’s partner stuck out his hand. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Carlos shook with him.
“I heard over the wires about your sister.” Halstood lifted his chin. “How’s she doing?”
“I should go back up to the waiting room.”
“Great. I’ll come with you.” Halstood glanced over at him as they headed for the elevator. “That good?”
Right. Because he hadn’t answered the question. “She’s unconscious, and there’s swelling in her brain from the head injury. We won’t know anything for a couple of days.”
Halstood hit the UP button for the elevator. “Have CSU been here to collect evidence? There is such a thing as a live autopsy, if we want to find out if the killer left any trace on her. The medical examiner might be able to ascertain what kind of weapon was used.”
Carlos swallowed against the lump in his throat. “I didn’t even get that far. Whoever put her in that closet is long gone. And only taking down the entire Reverence Sisters group is going to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
Halstood nodded, stepping out of the elevator onto the floor.
Carlos led the way from the alcove to the waiting area, which was empty except for the staff member behind the desk. He turned around in the middle to face the hallway so he’d see when Eliana came back. Probably with Tony in tow, given the guy had taken it upon himself to be her bodyguard. Carlos would’ve said he didn’t need help with that, only he’d walked away when he needed some time to himself to process Luci’s condition.
“If you need anything, I can make some calls.” Halstood stuck his hands in his pockets. “But that means you gotta let the detectives see her, and you and Eliana should give them a statement. Otherwise, there’s no way they’re gonna be able to find out who did this.”
“What detectives?” Carlos shook his head. “This should be an FBI case, but I haven’t spoken with them yet.”
“Wallace and Maloney are on their way here. They were probably hoping they could talk to your sister, but if that doesn’t happen, they should get your statement.” Halstood’s expression softened in a way that surprised Carlos. “None of us wants to wait for the FBI to pull their fingers out of their butts and close this case. It’s time to find out who these Reverence Sisters are,and what door we need to kick down to round them all up and bring them in.”
Carlos looked at his phone but only saw a single text message from Eliana.
