The BFF Job
Chapter Eight
The room was dark. The only light in the room was the fire in the fireplace. Sometime during the night one of them had gotten up long enough to light it. The fire danced illuminating the room enough for him to see the bruise on Kenna's stomach. It was yellow and healing. He reached out and gently traced it
"I stopped by the farm to visit my mom last week when I went to see Jodi."
"Your mother did this?" He had seen the way she had handled herself with McClain. There was no way her mother got the jump on her enough to cause the black and blue mark.
"Her newest sperm donor waited till I was leaving and he came around the corner and sucker punched me."
"How did that go over?"
"Let's just say he won't be donating sperm anytime soon." Eliot chucked and pulled her into his arms.
"Kenna Shane Hawks…what am I going to with you." She snuggled into him.
"Anything you want cowboy. Anything you want."
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Hardison looked at the screen for the tenth time. Something had to add up sooner or later. Nate handed him an orange soda.
"Anything?"
"A million nothings." The phone rang. "Talk to me Eliot. Tell me you girl remembered something."
"She didn't but I think I may know what's going on."
"Lay it on me."
"Check her blue line." Eliot told him. Hardison looked at Nate. Nate shrugged.
"What the hell is her blue line?"
"She's a nurse. Nurses marry cops but a lot of time they come from cops. Hence her blue line." Hardison typed in a few keys and Sarah McClain's family tree popped up.
"Holy cow!" Hardison shook his head. "Are you seeing this Nate?" He looked at his boss.
"I can't see it." Eliot growled into the phone.
"Oh sorry. Okay so Deputy Chief Spike Deleplant is Sarah's brother. Jackson Mann is her bother in law. She's got a chief of detectives as a father and a head of EMT services for a mother. Various uncles, cousins and what not in the department. This woman has more connections then the subway."
"So it's a wife scorned pulling the strings." Eliot said. "We're heading back in a few hours. I think we need to face this thing head on."
"Eliot this is the NYPD."
"Yeah well this time they messed with the wrong SOB." He hung up. Hardison looked at Nate. Nate looked at the computer screen.
"Find all you can on the whole family. We need to go in there with something." Hardison nodded and Nate went to get himself a drink.
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The snow was making it hard to get out of bed. So was the man curled up beside her. He had been her first love all those years ago. Her champion. Her friend. Now he was in her life again and she wasn't sure if he wanted the same things she wanted.
"We should get going." He pulled her close.
"The snow is like six feet deep."
"We have to eat Kenna." She smiled and pulled out a box of cereal from her bag that somehow was next to the bed.
"Parker slipped it in my bag." Eliot laughed.
"Gotta love the crazy chick." He took a hand full of cereal and looked around the room. The place was a disaster. Clothes and bedding everywhere.
"We sure know how to make the most of the honeymoon suite." Kenna said as she munched on the sugar coated breakfast.
"I think I got a line on why the NYPD is messing with you."
"Oh wise one fill me in."
"Sarah."
"Sarah had the NYPD at her beck and call?"
"You said Mann had mentioned Sarah when you told him who you were married to and it got me thinking. Nurses marry cops all the time because they meet when accident victims or DUI's in for treatment."
"So Sarah has family and when they found out about me…"
"They didn't take to kindly to you stepping on Sarah's toes."
"I guess one woman can command an army." He looked at Kenna.
"Nate's working on a way to get her to give up on making your life miserable." She sat up.
"Good. Now let's get the hell out of here and get some real food." Eliot looked at her. "What. I'm starving and apparently Nate has this under control." He shook his head.
"Kenna Shane you are a wonder." She rolled over and kissed him.
"Maybe if you would have realized this a lot sooner…I wouldn't have had to be so rough on you the first…three times." He chuckled. It was at least another full two hours before either of them thought about breakfast again.
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"So Sarah's seen you, me and Eliot. That leaves the ladies to pull her in. I can't see any way for either of them to get close to her. She works a twelve hour shift for the next two days then she's off for like a month. I think they might be heading for the hills." Hardison looked at the schedule in front of him.
"Sophie can go in as a patient." Hardison looked at Nate looked at him.
"You do know how much Sophie hates hospitals right? I mean between the two of you death would come before a trip to the ER. We need a different plan."
"We will think of a plan." Nate answered.
"Could you give me some sort of goal to work towards?" Hardison leaned against the counter.
"I'll go in." Parker looked at Nate. Nate looked at Hardison.
"Baby girl remember the last time you went into a hospital?" Hardison looked at her.
"That was rehab. Come on Nate. I can do this. Give me a disease and I can play the part."
"Okay. We'll figure it out as soon as Eliot and Kenna get back." Nate looked at Parker. She had really come out of her shell the last few days. Kenna seemed to have a way with them all. Especially his hitter. He hoped when this was over she would stay close so he didn't have a team depression on his hands.
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"You want me to drive?" Kenna looked out the window. The snow was at least four feet deep in places.
"You forget I've ridden with you and I still have nightmeres about it." Kenna smiled.
"You said I handled myself okay for a girl."
"For a girl." Eliot looked at her. "How are you doing?"
"Depends why your asking?"
"Kenna…you know last night was…astronomical." She looked out the windshield.
"After all those years, you expected anything less." She didn't even smile.
"You know that's all it can be right?"
"Yeah Eliot, I know. " She said quietly. "I never counted on forever when it came to you." Kicking off her boots she put her feet on the dash and leaned back and closed her eyes.
"You were always the quietest before a fight." He said.
"I don't want to fight. I want to clean up this mess I got myself into and catch the next bus out of town." She turned her head and looked at him. "I promise this is the last time I will call you to save my ass."
"Your ass is worth saving Kenna Shane. Last night proved that." Eliot didn't look at her but he knew the anger and shame were building deep in the pit of her stomach. That's the way it always happened and in all their years apart he knew exactly the way she was feeling. The phone rang before he could break her heart anymore then he already had. "Yeah Nate."
"We got Parker in the hospital."
"If you tell me you got her doctor creds I will beat Hardison to death."
"No. Candy striper. She's helping on Sarah's floor. We got an handle on the way she does things and I think we can get her to open up with a few ques."
"Okay. We're about a half hour out." He looked at Kenna. "What do you want us to do?"
"Meet at the hospital. We will get you up to speed." The tone in Nate's voice made Eliot wonder if he could tell what he and Kenna had been doing for the last ten hours. "You two okay?"
"Considering."
"It'll be okay Eliot. I think Parker might take Sarah down herself if your aren't there to help."
"Yeah crazy girl's gone and gotten herself I new BFF." Nate chuckled.
"You willing to share?" The question surprised Eliot.
"I'll see you at the hospital." He closed the phone and looked over at Kenna who was fast asleep or at least doing a good job of faking it.
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"How long have you been a volunteer?" Sarah McClain asked.
"On and off for years." Parker answered with a small southern drawl. Over the years they all found that accents, especially southern, had a way with making people more comfortable.
"What made you choose Mercy for your volunteer needs?"
"It's not far from the nursing home my mama is in so I can come here and put in some hours before or after visiting her."
"You don't work." The nurse asked.
"Old money. Father set up a trust to take care of mother and well my husband has his own money so I do what I can to keep busy." Parker's warm smile had Sarah hooked.
"What does your husband do?"
"He's third generation Boston Police before he got the E trading bug."
"I come from a long line of police officers and rescue personal myself. My husband is a detective."
"Bet you stay up nights worrying?"
"That and then some. If you're ready and willing I'll show you around." Sarah stood and Parker followed. They were in. Now they needed to set the trap.