Page 62 of Now or Never

“Langley said you were asking about other deaths connected to the scene he took you to.”

“Are you the superior who ordered him to show us around?”

“We all have our jobs.” Parse paused. “Who I am doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme. What matters is getting guys like this off the street.”

“We agree about that.” And now she was pretty sure this lieutenant might be connected toDominatus.

“Figure we agree about more than just that, but who has the time to find out?”

Kenna was tracking with him. She’d never been a cop, but there was still a camaraderie between people who solved crimes. Except for the animosity between the police or feds and the private investigators they considered hacks, she figured they were still all on the same team. If he’d looked her up, or just took his detective’s word for it, either way it got her the access she needed.

“The scene is secure?” she asked him. “You know I’m pregnant, right?”

“Cops all over, no sign of the killer. It’s secure, and they know you’re coming.”

That was a little presumptuous. She could go take that nap she’d been thinking about and send Ramon and Zeyla, but Kenna wanted a look at the scene herself, and it wouldn’t take long. “We’re on our way.”

“Sending the address now.”

“How long do you think to get the DNA results?”

“Who knows, but Langley said tell you first.”

Kenna said, “Tell him thanks.” She hung up and turned to Jax, Ramon, and Zeyla, explaining there was another death connected to the case.

“Field trip.” Zeyla pushed the door open and scanned outside for a second, like a bodyguard.

Ramon shook his head, following her out.

Kenna went out with Jax right behind her. “The lieutenant told me that Langley scratched the ghost when he was getting stabbed.”

Ramon glanced back at her right as he reached the sidewalk. “It’s what I’d do. Even if you’re gonna get murdered, you might as well make sure the cops can find out who did it. Except in my case, it would be you guys.”

The traffic noise swelled along with thoughts about losing any of them. All of it rushed at her in a way she hadn’t been expecting. “Maybe don’t get murdered, though. Yeah?”

Zeyla said, “It’s not on my bucket list.”

“Isn’t on mine, either.” Ramon lifted his hands, which opened the sides of his jacket so she got a look at the gun holstered on his hip. “So don’t worry about that, mama.”

Jax just shook his head. “Good to know no one is planning to get murdered.”

“I’m more worried about what we can’t plan for,” Kenna said. “But that’s why we pray. So we can cover the things we don’t have control over.”

Ramon looked like he might have something to say about that, but Zeyla pulled on the door handle of his car. “Let’s go.”

Kenna buckled her seatbelt. “The cops are putting a rush on the DNA test.”

“Great.” Jax started the car and pulled out. “If it gets a match to someone in the system and isn’t either falsified or squashed by someone who doesn’t want the assailant’s identity to get out.”

“I’m trying to live on the bright side, where there is truth—and time enough to take a nap.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Kenna shifted in the seat so she could look at him without tweaking her neck. “Are you really all right with everything that’s going on?”

“No way. Not at all.” He shook his head, his jaw tight. But he wasn’t angry. It looked more like frustration. “I’m not okay with murder, or bombings, or kidnappings, or us being involved with any of that.”

“Uh, you know what we do for a living, right?”