Gone (Deadly Secrets #2)(68)

She moved closer to the bed and sat near his injured arm. “If that’s true, then why do this? Why try to kill you?”

“I’m not sure he was trying to kill me. I think he was just letting me know he could if he wanted to.”

When her brow wrinkled in obvious doubt, he shifted his hand over hers and squeezed her fingers, even though it sent pain spiraling up through the wound in his shoulder. “Killing me wouldn’t give him the thrill tormenting me does. He’s a good shot. When I was young, he used to take me out into the woods so he could shoot beer cans with his pistol. He made me hold a couple a time or two. Scared the shit out of me, but he never missed. He thought it was funny as hell. He wants me to be scared, Raegan. That’s why he went after you. That’s why he did this. He was no more than twenty-five yards away from me when he fired today. If he’d wanted to kill me, I have no doubt he could have.”

Raegan’s eyes slid closed, and the look of utter torment on her face pushed Alec up to sitting. He cringed at the pain but lifted his good arm and slid his hand around the back of her neck, then rested his forehead against hers. “Don’t worry, okay? What he did today was a stupid move. The cops will be all over him now. This is a good thing, Raegs. They’ll catch him. He’s not smart enough to hide for long. And when they find him, we’ll know what he’s been up to and how he’s involved in all this. He won’t be able to hurt us anymore.”

“And what if you’re wrong?” she whispered. “What if they never find him?”

Alec’s stomach tightened. He knew one person who might have a good idea where to find Gilbert. He’d given Hunt her name, but when Hunt had contacted her, she’d told him she hadn’t seen Gilbert in over a year. Alec suspected she was lying, knew she would always cover for Gilbert, but he hadn’t gone out to talk to her yet because he hadn’t wanted to leave Raegan alone. He’d also never wanted her to see the kind of dump where he’d grown up.

He couldn’t ignore her any longer, though. He’d do anything to keep Raegan safe, even face all the old demons from his childhood, no matter how sickening they might be.

Throat thick, he said, “If they haven’t caught him by the time we get out of here, I have a good idea where to look.”

Raegan lifted her head and stared into his eyes. “Where?”

In the doorway, Alec spotted Ethan and his mother. Not the mother who’d birthed him but the one who’d raised him and shown him the true meaning of love.

“Alec?” Raegan asked.

Ethan had clearly called the whole family in. Things were about to get chaotic. He drew a breath that did shit to make him feel better and refocused on Raegan. “With Charlene Briggs. The woman I once stupidly thought was my mom.”



Raegan’s nerves felt as frayed and charged as a snapping electrical wire.

She watched Hannah follow the imaging tech as the man wheeled Alec’s bed out of the room and down the hall to get pictures of Alec’s shoulder. The woman had breezed in and taken control of the situation like the seasoned ER physician she was. It didn’t matter that this wasn’t her hospital or that her son was complaining he was a thirty-two-year-old man who didn’t need his mommy going with him. Hannah knew what needed to be done and was making it happen. Something Raegan wished she had the strength to do at the moment.

She didn’t even have a clue where to start.

Silence settled over the empty bay. Since Ethan had stepped out to call their father and other siblings to let them know Alec was going to be fine, and since Hunt was still off on a call to the Portland PD checking on John Gilbert’s location, Raegan was alone. Lowering herself to the blue plastic chair near the wall, she tried to settle her strumming nerves but couldn’t. And the way her hands wouldn’t stop shaking wasn’t helping at all.

Be tough. You can get through this.

Yeah, except this time that internal mantra wasn’t working. Alec could have died today because of her. He could have died today, and she could have lost him all over again.

A tremble rushed through her, and she dropped her head into her hands. An hour ago, she’d thought quitting her job was the most traumatic thing in her life. That now seemed like nothing compared to this.

“Cops are heading down to KTVP to get a statem—” Hunt’s voice cut off, and his boots squeaked to a stop in the doorway. “Where’s Alec?”

Be tough . . . “They took him for pictures,” Raegan answered, not lifting her head, focusing only on breathing so she didn’t totally lose it in front of Alec’s best friend.

Silence, then Hunt said, “Are you okay?”

No, she wasn’t okay. The man she loved had nearly been killed all because she couldn’t stop searching for answers she might never find. And on top of that, she couldn’t shake the doubts circling in. The ones she’d worked so hard not to give a voice to over the years because if she did they would break her. The ones that were already whispering . . . What if you’re wrong? What if she’s already dead? Are you willing to risk Alec too?

“Raegan?” Something soft touched her elbow, and she realized Hunt was sitting in the chair beside her, clearly unsure what to say or do, but she couldn’t even lift her head.

“I’m fine.” Hot tears burned her eyes and spilled over her lashes before she could stop them. “I’m really . . . fine.”