Page 15 of The Veteran
“Hanson and I will head to the studio to talk to her as soon as I’m off the phone,” she told me. “This is our best lead so far.”
“Have you heard anything from the coroner or the crime scene team?” I asked, curious how the investigation was going.
“This stays between you and me,” Joanna said cautiously. “You can discuss it with King, but no one else. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“It seems that Jessica was tortured before she was killed.”
I frowned, then schooled my expression so I didn’t give anything away to Sage. “How?”
She explained the girl’s injuries, and my mood grew grimmer with each word. The men we were dealing with were animals. No one should be capable of doing that to another human.
“My working theory is that they mistook her for Sage at first,” Joanna said. “When they realized they had it wrong, they decided to get as much information out of her as they could, which is probably how they were able to find the yoga studio. It was fortunate for Sage that they didn’t catch up to her.”
“Yeah.” I broke out in a cold sweat just thinking what a close call it must have been. “Thanks for the update.”
“You’d do the same if the positions were reversed.” She paused for a moment. “How is she?”
“Doing well, all things considered. I’ll talk to you again later. We’re going to go pick up a few necessities.”
“Watch your back, Kade.”
“Always.” I ended the call and looked up to find Sage staring at me with interest. “What?”
“Nothing.” She shook her head. “Just thinking.”
I was tempted to ask what she was thinking but I was afraid I might not like the answer. “Come on, wild child. Let’s get you some more clothes.”
I put my jacket on and escorted her out. We drove to the nearest department store and my head was on a swivel as we entered. If Getty and Baker had been so close to her once before, it stood to reason it might happen again. Every time she put more than a couple of feet of space between us, I itched to grab her, but thankfully, she seemed to realize how on edge I was and kept close for the most part. She chose a few basic wardrobe items from the racks and headed toward the changing rooms, but I stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t try them on. I can’t come in with you, and there are too many risks. If you’re unsure of sizes, get one of each.”
She pursed her lips. “That seems like a waste of money.”
“We can donate any that don’t fit to the office’s supply for undercover operations.”
She glanced at the changing rooms once more, then nodded. “Okay, but at least let me pay for some of them.”
“Not necessary.” I steered her toward the cashier. “I may not be a billionaire like Ronan, but I’m plenty wealthy enough in my own right. I do own a chunk of the company, you know?”
“That’s right.” She offered me a small smile. “It’s easy to forget because you’re so down to earth.”
I chuckled. “Are you saying Ronan isn’t?”
Her smile turned mischievous. “I’m saying his nickname, King, is well-founded. The man wears a suit like he was born in one.”
“Far from it.”
Her smile dropped away. “I know.”
We purchased the clothes and headed into the parking building, but as we drew near our vehicle, I noticed a movement in the corner of my vision. I turned my head, almost imperceptibly. What I saw was enough to make my blood run cold. Within seconds, I had my gun in one hand and pressed the car key into Sage’s palm.
“Get in the car,” I muttered. “Quickly.”
Her eyes widened but she didn’t ask questions. She took off, surprisingly fast, and I swung around to meet the icy blue eyes of Johnathan Baker. The distance between us wasn’t enough to mask the utter lack of emotion in those eyes. I was tempted to attack. Every cell in my body wanted to. But instead, I held the gun leveled at his chest. It would seem he hadn’t expected me to notice him behind me because his weapon wasn’t in his hand. A stupid mistake.
“Hands up,” I ordered, hoping like hell that Getty wasn’t sneaking up behind me.