The swelling in her cheek and eye was going down a bit. He got up to add more ice to the cold pack. Then he refilled her soup bowl and placed it back in front of her.
"I want you to take a time-out for the night," he said quietly. "Get a good night's sleep—let your body heal a little." She started to shake her head, and he leaned across the table, taking both of her hands in his. "Just listen to me. I don't think there's anything you can do tonight. You have no way of knowing where Gary is or how to get hold of him. And you need the down time. Hell, I need the down time."
"I've got some places I can check—"
"Places you can get to in the dark?"
He watched the emotions flit across her face—the worry, the frustration. And finally, the resignation. "Okay, for a few hours."
He squeezed her hands. "Thank you," he said simply.
#
Kaz hadn't been asleep long when the sound of Zeke's tail rhythmically thumping on the hardwood floor woke her up. As she opened her eyes and tried to move, she realized Michael was in bed with her, and that he was holding her close, both arms wrapped tightly around her. He must've come back upstairs after he'd tucked her into bed, to sleep beside her and protect her. She'd unconsciously curled into him in her sleep, her head resting on his shoulder, her arm on his chest.
She raised her head to peer into the darkness, hoping to identify what had awakened her.
Michael was instantly awake. "What?"
"Someone's in the house, I think," she replied softly.
"Damn straight." The voice came from the bottom of the bed.
They both bolted upright, Kaz moaning at the quick movement Michael reached under his pillow for a gun.
She placed a hand on his arm. "It's Gary."
"Hell of a way to keep my sister safe, Chapman." Gary cursed as he tripped over Zeke. After making sure the curtains were closed, he switched on the lamp on the night stand.
"Are you okay?" Kaz asked him, her eyes squinting in the sudden glare. He looked even worse than he had forty-eight hours ago. His clothes were filthy, and his eyes held the feral look of an animal who knew it was being hunted.
"Seems like I should be the one asking that question. Bjorn told me what happened." He knelt by the side of the bed, taking her chin in his hand and turning the bruised side of her face toward the light. His lips tightened. "Dammit, Kaz, I told you to stay out of this."
She shook her head. "You aren't safe here. You know about Chuck?"
Gary nodded, his expression angry and frustrated. "The hospital has him listed as critical."
Michael had climbed out of bed and was pulling on a sweater over is jeans. "You're well informed for someone on the run," he told Gary in a mild tone.
"I haven't been on the run." He gave Michael a hard look. "You get Kaz out of town, now. This mess is about to blow wide open."
#
Kaz made herbal tea and scrounged together a sandwich for Gary. When she entered the living room with the tray, Michael and Gary were talking quietly.
"It's our speculation that the fishermen are running drugs," Michael was saying.
Gary accepted a mug from Kaz and nodded. "Ken figured it out before I did."
"Did he steal drug money to pay for Bobby's treatments?" she asked.
"Yeah, the fool. And he paid the consequences. I tried to talk him into giving the money back, although I wasn't sure it would save his sorry hide. But he'd already used some of it. After the second time they beat him up and threatened to go after his family, he gave the rest of the money to me to put in the locker." He shot an exasperated look at Kaz. "And then you had to go looking for it."
"I figured if you had something they wanted, the locker was the logical place to hide it."
"Yeah, and that analytical mind of yours put you right in the line of fire." He took a bite from his sandwich. "Cutting the lines on the pots was a warning. They'll threaten your life, next."
"They already have," Michael said and told him about the ultimatum she'd been given. "Who else besides Bjorn in the fishing community knows about my background?"
Gary paused from wolfing down the rest of the sandwich to give him a curious look. "Pretty much everyone. Why?"
"Because I think someone's counting on your instinctive distrust of me as a newcomer to slow down the investigation." He shrugged. "And it's not the first time someone I care about has been targeted."
Kaz frowned. She hadn't even considered that angle. Lucy hadn't told her the real source of the rumors about Michael—just that the cops had been talking about him. But Bjorn had clearly known the details of Michael's background; he'd indicated as much when they'd talked to him earlier in the evening.
Gary's expression was speculative. "Even if you're right, it doesn't help us unless you can figure out who's been checking you out."
Michael nodded. "I've got a call in to a buddy of mine back East. I should hear back from him in the morning. Who told you about me?"
"Bjorn." Gary frowned. "But he could've heard it from any number of people."
Michael shrugged. "I'll find out, sooner or later. In the meantime, I won't have Kaz at risk because you get off playing the vigilante. You need to turn yourself in, tell the cops everything you know."
Gary set aside his empty plate. "If I do that, I'm as good as dead."
"I can get you protective custody," Michael insisted.
Gary shook his head. "That won't stop them."
Kaz placed a hand on his knee. "At least tell us who's involved. Give us something to go on."
"No." Gary got up and started pacing. "I'm close. I only need one more day to put it all together."
"Is Karl Svensen involved?"
Gary rounded on her. "You stay away from Svensen and his crews. They don't have any loyalty to us, and they won't lift a finger to help you."
"So that's what the fight was about six months ago, and why Svensen never pressed charges. Ken had found out what Karl was doing, and Karl threatened him. You stepped in to protect Ken."
"I didn't know what was going on, but yeah. Svensen took a swing at Ken, and I stopped him. At the time, it surprised the hell out of me when he refused to press charges." Gary growled in frustration. "Dammit, Kaz, haven't you heard anything I've said? They'll kill you without even flinching."
"Who else is in on it?" Michael demanded. "Either tell us what you know, or I call the cops now. Jackson is right outside."
Gary abruptly sighed and sat down. "I'll talk if you promise to take Kaz out of the equation."
"Done."
"Hey!" They both ignored her.
"They're using the Redemption as their meeting place," Gary told Michael. "The back room. And yes, before you ask," he said to Kaz, "Steve is in on it. I don't know what they have on him, something that happened around the time of his divorce. He's turning a blind eye to the meetings. He could finger every damn one of them if he wanted, but I can't get him to talk. I searched Svensen's boat, but I didn't find anything, other than some notations in the ship's log that could've been drop-off points."
He shook his head. "Bjorn's in the clear, but I think he knows what's going on. If he does, he's not saying, and I don't blame him. He's got his kids to think about. The supplier is someone off shore, probably a Triad offshoot. The buyer's right here in Astoria. Most of the drugs are going up-river, only a small amount is staying here in town."
"Who's the buyer?" Michael asked.
"No one you can do anything about. He's set up so well no one can touch him—at least, so far, but Jacobsen and I are planning to follow Karl and observe the hand-off, then take the information to the right people. And that's all I'll tell you. Now will you please get Kaz the hell out of town? I can't finish this unless I know she's safe." He pinned Michael with a hard glare. "If you're sleeping with her, the least you can do is take care of her."