Deadly Silence (Blood Brothers #1)(68)

Ryker stiffened and kept his gaze on the road outside. Darkness had already begun to descend. “Different?”

“Yes,” she said softly. “Not in a bad way or anything. But you definitely have some gifts not everybody has. Your hearing is unbelievable, as is your strength. And don’t get me started on your instincts in finding missing people. Remember when we interviewed the wife of that accountant my firm hired you to find?”

“Yeah.” His fingers tightened on the wheel.

“You knew she was lying. Somehow you completely knew, and it wasn’t easy to tell. Then you started guessing at facts that there’s no way you could’ve known.” Zara had gone over it in her head so many times, she remembered the day clearly. “Maybe you’re just good at reading people and can guess well from their reactions, but, Ryker, there’s something a little bit more about you.”

His nostrils flared as he breathed in. “Okay.”

She stopped moving. “Okay?”

“Yeah.” He breathed. “I don’t understand it, but I’ve always had a few skills that are out of the norm. The scientist—we think her name is really Isobel Madison. She said that Heath, Denver, and I had high IQs, and she wanted to study us both mentally and physically.”

Zara warmed to the subject. “Well, that makes sense, right? A higher IQ might give you a few abilities that have developed more than most people.”

“I guess.” His frown looked like it hurt his forehead.

“So this woman, whoever she is, studies people with higher IQs. Greg is definitely smart, so it fits. But how did Greg find you?”

“He found us on the web and went through all our files, figuring out that we could find lost people when nobody else could. He wants to find Isobel in order to find his brothers, who were also studied by her.” Ryker’s upper lip twisted.

Zara leaned back and tipped her head to look up at the ceiling of the truck. “It’s an odd coincidence, though. You, Heath, and Denver being at the same orphanage way back when.”

“According to Greg, it’s no coincidence.” Ryker slowed the truck as her house came into view.

Two police cars blocked the driveway, and uniformed cops were beginning to move down the sidewalk. A forensics van was parked half on the street and half on her lawn.

“What in the world?” Zara jumped out of the truck.

“Zara, wait.” Ryker pulled to the curb, stopped the engine, and barreled out of the truck in one smooth motion. He reached her and grabbed her arm, halting her on the snow-covered driveway. “Calm. Let me handle this.”

Detective Norton came out the front door, took one look at her, and reached for his phone to bark something. Finishing, he stomped down the walkway, his boots scattering snow. “Just canceled a BOLO on you, Ms. Remington.”

She faltered. “A BOLO? I don’t understand.”

The detective paused and scrutinized her. “What happened to your jaw?”

“Ah.” She rubbed the bruise along her jawline.

“Mr. Jones? I’d like you to come down to the station to answer a few questions,” Detective Norton said, his gaze hard.

Zara sighed. “Ryker didn’t hit me.” Why did everyone keep suspecting the poor guy?

“Then who did? And while you’re at it, please explain what happened here. Your door is busted, and your living room appears as if a large altercation took place.” The detective blocked her way to the house.

She sighed. “I got carried away the other night exercising, and frankly, I don’t owe you an explanation. Please leave my premises, as you don’t have a warrant to search.” Yeah, that was right. She thought. Maybe?

The detective slowly lifted his head. “We were called in about a possible kidnapping. There’s blood in your kitchen. I could see it through the open doorway, thus I don’t need a warrant.”

She blinked. So he had probable cause to search? She was a paralegal, not a lawyer, so she wasn’t sure. Could she lie to him? Since it wasn’t a federal case, she could lie, but would that be hindering an investigation? It wasn’t illegal to lie, yet if the lie led to obstruction, then it could become a problem. What the heck should she do?

Two weeks ago the answer would’ve been clear: Tell the truth to the police. Now? Now she had to protect Ryker and Greg. God, things had changed. The feeling of responsibility weighed down her shoulders, and yet she’d never felt so alive. She had people who mattered to take care of, and she could do it. She would to it. “I cut my hand, so now you can go,” she said evenly.

Several techs walked out carrying brown boxes of evidence. Her heart sank. Would they be able to identify the guy Ryker had kidnapped? If they did, would he tell the truth?

Snow swirled down, and she blinked it from her eyelashes. “Who called you, anyway?”

The door to her neighbor’s house opened, and Detective Norton nodded toward the porch.

“Grams?” Zara whispered.

Her grandmother gave a happy cry and rushed off the porch, her sensible galoshes scattering wet snow as she ran across the lawn. A bright pink scarf protected her white curls, and a long green coat covered her tiny body. Snow matted against her thick glasses. “Zara.” She barreled into Zara’s arms for a rose-scented hug.

Zara returned the hug, careful of her Grams’s delicate bones, and then leaned back. “I thought your trip ended next week?”