Night Watch (Kendra Michaels #4)(91)

Jessie stiffened. “I don’t like this, Kendra. What the hell do you mean?”

“Oh, I knew you weren’t going to like it. And I know Lynch would definitely go ballistic.”

“I’m under the distinct impression you’re about to unload some crazy shit on me.”

“You might be right.” She smiled mirthlessly. “Desperate times, desperate measures and all that. I can think of only one way to quickly find Waldridge. I have to let them find me.”

Jessie’s blank expression froze on her face. “Wow. Crazy shit is right. Do you mean what I think you mean? You’re going to set yourself up for them to take you?”

“Abduction?” Biers was gazing at her in disbelief. “I thought I’d made it clear what that could mean.”

“You also made it pretty clear what it could mean to Charles if we don’t get him away from Dyle as soon as possible. It’s the only way I can think of to do that.”

“Then think again,” Jessie said bluntly. “I promised Lynch I’d keep you safe. This could be a suicide mission.”

“It’s the only way,” Kendra repeated. “And I have no intention of doing anything suicidal. They won’t hurt me. They can’t if they want to use me as leverage against Waldridge. They need to put me in the same room with him and show that they’re willing to hurt me unless he gives them what they want.”

“There’s no guarantee of that,” Jessie said. “They could Skype you in a video call.”

“True. But if they’re holding him in a secure location, why wouldn’t they just take me there, too? It’s easier than guarding two people in two different places. The odds are on my side here. And if they’re going to inflict some kind of torture on me, it’ll have a much greater effect on Waldridge if I’m right there with him.”

“Are you listening to yourself?” Jessie asked.

“I did just then.” Kendra tried to smile. “Kind of scary.”

“Terrifying. And kind of batshit crazy.”

“It’s not like I’m going in without a net. You’ll be tracking me.”

“How?”

“You’re the private eye. I was hoping you could tell me.”

“I’m supposed to help you with this madness? No way.”

“I’ll do it anyway.” She met Jessie’s eyes. “Only I might not do it as well without you.”

Jessie stared at her in frustration. “You’re actually going through with it.” She looked away from her. “They’ll take your phone and any device that looks like a GPS radio.”

“Can’t I swallow something or hide one in my hair?”

“Amateur hour for anything electronic.” Jessie bit her lip. “When I was Delilah Winter’s security director, there was a tech startup in Orange County that was trying to get me to buy their GPS tracker. It goes underneath the skin.”

“Does it work?” Kendra asked.

“It seemed to, but power was a problem. It took a special battery that needed to be taken out and recharged every day or two. I didn’t think it was ready for prime time.”

“But it could be just what we need,” Kendra said.

“No. What we need is to get a grip. This is not the answer, Kendra.”

“It’s the only answer I have.” She grimaced. “Believe me, I’m not crazy about it either. If there was any other way, I’d—”

“There is,” Jessie said. “We take Dr. Biers here and go talk to the FBI. We let them look for Waldridge.”

“We’ve already discussed all the other options. There’s not enough time. If Dyle thinks we might be closing in on him, he might get desperate … and reckless. Charles could die.”

“So could you.”

Biers put his hands on Kendra’s upper arms. “Think about it this way. Would Waldridge want you to take this kind of chance on his account? Kendra … if he were here, what would he say?”

Kendra gazed at him in disbelief. She was clearly not getting through to him if he thought she was going to be influenced. “What else? He’d say the same thing that Lynch would say. The same thing as Griffin. Stay the hell away.”

“Exactly.”

Kendra turned back to Jessie. “But why should I start listening to any of them now? I’ve told you that I’m going to do this one way or another. I could really use your help. If I’m taken, I’ll need you to track me and coordinate any rescue with the FBI. I can’t tell them about this before it happens. They’d never go for it.”

Jessie looked away. “I shouldn’t go for it either.”

“But you will. Because you know how important this is.” She stared her in the eye. “How important he is. If not because he’s a decent, caring human being, then for what he can give to everyone.”

“And maybe because it may be a little important that you get through this alive?”

Kendra smiled. “That’s a good reason, too.”

Jessie muttered a curse before finally nodding. “Yeah. I’ll help.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. If it gets out that I helped Kendra Michaels get herself killed, it’s going to be really bad for business.” She added, “And I take it you’re not going to let Lynch know about this? That’s a mistake. We’ll need him.”