Page 40 of Final Approach

First, he used the master bath to examine his wound. Surprisingly, it didn’t look too bad. Stung like nobody’s business, but a couple of Band-Aids and he’d be fine. It took him three minutes to find two pairs of sweatpants, T-shirts, socks, a Panthers sweatshirt, and a hoodie. Clothes for both of them. He carried Hank’s set back to the bathroom and knocked. “Found some clothes. Give me yours and I’ll toss them in the dryer.”

The door opened and a hand appeared with wet clothes dangling from it. Andrew took them. “You need any help?” he asked.

“No.”

Well, all right then. He gave the dry items to Hank, then said, “Help yourself to the first aid kit.”

“Will do. Then I’ll bring it out to you.”

“Thanks. I also have my backpack with supplies if you need them.”

A hand appeared and he put the pack into it. The door shut once more.

Andrew put the wet clothes in the dryer, then stepped into the kitchen as Kristine entered, a towel wrapped around her saturated head. “Are there any more towels?” he asked.

“Yeah. Several. In the guest bathroom. Want me to take a look at that shoulder?”

“It’s just a graze.”

“Nevertheless, bet it hurts like crazy.”

“A bit.”

She studied him a moment, then motioned down the hall. “Help yourself to the guest bathroom while I borrow some of Lainie’s clothes. She’s so little, I’m not sure if hers will fit me, but I’m going to look. Anything’s better than wearing this stuff.”

“Agreed. Did you call James or Lainie? Local law enforcement? An ambulance for Hank?”

“No to all of the above. I can’t find the satellite phone.”

He blinked. “No way.”

“Yep. They always have it on the counter and it’s not here. They take it when they go camping or hiking or whatever, so they probably have it with them.” She sighed. “Did anyone mention them going anywhere? They may have decided to take a little trip since we couldn’t go to the Keys.”

“Not to me.”

“Me either.” She pulled at her wet shirt and grimaced. “I’m going to change while I think about the next step.”

“I’ll be thinking too.”

Kristine disappeared down the hall and into the bedroom he’d just come from. Seconds later, Hank came out of the hall bath, walked into the den, and eased onto the sofa, favoring his left side. He had a bandage on his head and his face was pale.

Andrew sat across from him in the recliner. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I was in a car wreck.”

“Cute.”

“But a little more human now that I’m warmed up. I hope your friends don’t mind, but I took a shower and found the Motrin. Waiting for it to kick in shortly.” He pressed a hand to his eyes, then dropped it to look at Andrew. “Sorry I brought this to you. Seems like trouble has found a way to track me no matter where I wind up.” His eyes flickered. “I never should have come here.”

“Stop. Don’t do that. I’m glad you came if you’re in trouble.”

“Oh, I’m in trouble all right. We both probably are now that we’ve reconnected.”

“I know. I’m sorry, man. This is on me.” Again. Guilt surged and he pressed his palms to his eyes. How did he deal with this? Hopefully better than the last time he’d been the cause of someone’s pain. Someone’s death. He’d been proven not to be responsible for an innocent man’s death, but it didn’t help when hefeltresponsible.

Andrew walked to the window to look out. The rain still fell, but itwas more of a drizzle at this point. He went from window to window, checking for any sign the shooter had managed to follow them, but all was still at the moment. He turned back to Hank. “What did you mean, you might be responsible for Glenn’s and your dad’s deaths?”

Hank’s features darkened, then he sighed. “After Glenn went to prison, I got involved in the SN trying to figure out how things went so wrong, why Glenn would cop to a crime he didn’t commit. I made it clear I wasn’t happy with his choices, and I guess I made some enemies. Someone in the gang, someone new—I don’t know where he came from—alluded to that just before I had to take off. He said something kind of cryptic like ‘When you ignore subtle messages, sometimes you have to be slapped in the face to get your attention.’ I think he meant someone took out Glenn and Dad as a way to send me a message.”