Reid didn’t like Megan’s response, but he wouldn’t let Ella see that. He flashed her an enthusiastic smile. “Then we’ll be heading to the lodge.”
“Yay.” Ella swung Reid’s hand. “I get to play with Bandit and Jessie.”
“Sorry, Ella,” Reid said. “But Jessie’s staying with her grandparents. She’ll likely want to take Bandit with her too.”
Ella’s chin wobbled. Guilt from causing the child’s sadness washed over Reid, but he wouldn’t second-guess his decision about what was good for his daughter.
“We can have fun on our own.” Megan put on a smile for her daughter. “We should get going.”
“Let me confirm Micha’s waiting at the exit.” Reid dialed his teammate and lifted his phone to his ear.
There’d been no sign of Fowler so far, but Reid wasn’t taking any chances and had Micha accompany them to the hospital. With Fowler’s brazen behavior, Reid wouldn’t be surprised if he was nearby, watching and waiting.
“Everything okay on your end?” he asked when Micha answered.
“Dull as can be.”
“Stay alert. We’re on our way.” Reid ended the call and opened the hallway door. “Let’s go.”
He tried to release Ella’s hand, but she clung to him, so he waited for Megan to exit then followed. He and Ella walked down the hallway hand in hand. Megan stayed close to Ella’s other side as if she feared what or who they might encounter. He didn’t let the warm little hand clutching his distract him from surveying the area as they walked.
At the parking garage entrance, Reid nodded at Micha and then made eye contact with Megan. “You two wait here while I bring my SUV around.” And check things out, he didn’t add to keep them from worrying.
Megan didn’t have to be told anything to worry about. She knew the risks and a quick shiver told him as much. She shook it off and took Ella’s hand.
He narrowed his eyes to warn Micha. “Stay vigilant.”
Micha planted his feet wide, and his hand drifted to the butt of his weapon.
Reid went into the garage, moving at a slow pace through the dimly lit area, checking between and under cars. The only person present, his footsteps echoed off the thick concrete walls.
His internal alarm sounded loudly for some reason. He stopped to search every inch of the garage. Visually nothing appeared out of the ordinary. But with Megan’s and Ella’s lives on the line, he would take no shortcuts.
None.
He set off again and took his time approaching his SUV to make a thorough search. He scanned and rescanned the shadows clinging to the walls and near the stairwell. Over each car. Truck. SUV.
He reached his SUV and gave the exterior a thorough check, including dropping to the ground and examining the underside with a flashlight. Convinced Fowler hadn’t planted a bomb underneath, Reid jumped to his feet and opened the door to release the hood for a similar inspection.
As he leaned in, he came up short, and hissed out a breath.
A large white calendar sat on the passenger seat. A thick red circle ringed tomorrow’s date, and someone had scrawled large block letters above it.
Your day of reckoning has come. $500,000 will keep you and your child alive. Be ready to meet me with the money.
Of course. Why hadn’t Reid thought of that earlier? Tomorrow was the anniversary of the bank robbery. Made sense that Fowler would choose the anniversary to exact his revenge. And with the calendar in Reid’s car, Fowler proved that he knew Megan and Reid were still connected.
Reid dug out his phone and quickly updated Jack on the recent development. “We have a direct threat on top of everything else. If this isn’t cause for your office to get off the fence and get on board, I don’t know what is.”
“I agree. Blackmail is a federal crime, and we now have jurisdiction to get involved.” Jack’s assurance meant the world to Reid right now. “You think the lodge has been compromised?”
Did he? “I doubt it. Russ and Sydney were certain no one was on site last night, and I’m positive he didn’t follow us here this morning. He must’ve been watching the hospital and caught our arrival.”
“So he knows you’re transporting Megan.”
“I’ll need to go to plan B. Let me know the minute you have Kade’s verdict, and we can make that plan together.” Reid stowed his phone.
For now, he had to move Megan to a more secure location and tell her about the calendar. But how did he do that without scaring her more? He would have to play it by ear. He headed toward the building, eyeing anything and anyone that moved.
