Page 16 of Fatal Conspiracy

“Helping him would have been taking him to the ER or calling the police. What you did was reckless and dangerous!”

“Derek Benjamin was not and is not a threat to me, Cal,” she said, shaking her head.

“You didn’t know that!” he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. “Good God, you picked someone up off the side of the road like some victim in a slasher movie!”

Alayah couldn’t hold in her laughter. She was tired and worried about Derek, but sometimes Cal did get carried away without considering all angles. “Cal, I’m a thirty-two-year-old woman who’s an excellent judge of character. Growing up the way I did, it was a skill I honed early on to protect myself. I could pick out the good and the bad, whether it was a doctor, teacher, or friend. I am not gullibleor too trusting. Besides, there was a gun in the car, and I knew how to use it.”

“Which you then gave to said hitchhiker!”

“Let’s be so real right now, Cal. By the time I gave him that gun, he could have overpowered me thirty times and taken the car. All he wanted was the jump drive and a ride back to town.”

“And you thought it was a good idea to lie to your boss about what you were doing?” He paused. “Your boss’s boss, technically, but either way, what were you thinking?”

They’d been going through this same round of questioning for twenty minutes now, and she was tired. All she wanted was an update on Derek and a bed. There was no question that Cal had every right to be angry with her; she had lied to him, but he’d been the one to teach them to follow their gut instincts, and that’s what she’d done.

“I’m sorry I lied to you on the phone, but Derek was already in the cabin when you called. We were heading back to town when he finished, so I thought it would be better to explain everything in person. In hindsight, that was the wrong choice, and you’d be well within your rights to fire me. I won’t argue or fight you on it. I’ll take my lumps for screwing up. My gut said Derek needed help, and I thought if I could get him back here, he could deal with the police.”

“Why didn’t you at least tell Kieran? He could have ridden back to Duluth with you. Been an extra set of hands.”

“Because Kieran would have called you, and then it would have been a whole thing. I didn’t want to spook Derek and have him run. I was worried that if the police found out I’d had him in my car and didn’t take him to the police station, they’d arrest me or you or someone. I don’t know!” She finally threw her hands up in frustration. “Ithought I hit him with the car, Cal. What was I supposed to do? Everything got away from me. I’m sorry.”

There was a knock on the door and Cal walked to it, sticking his eye to the peephole. When he pulled it open, the woman on the other side of the door was a sight for sore eyes.

“Selina!” she exclaimed as Secure Inc.’s nurse walked in and sat beside her on the bed. “What are you doing here?”

“Checking on you,” she said, giving her a once-over. “Does anything hurt?”

“I’m fine,” she said, her head tipped in curiosity. “Derek was the one who was hurt.”

“Not according to him,” Cal said, returning to stand by them. “And don’t think I haven’t noticed you limping on your left leg.”

“Walk me through it,” Selina said, kneeling on the floor and lifting her foot up. “It’s swollen here,” she said, pressing gently on the joint, which made Alayah hiss.

“Sorta got dumped out of the SUV and rolled on it when I fell. It stung for a minute, but then it was fine.”

“No, it isn’t fine.” Selina opened her medic bag and pulled out an ice pack. She snapped it and then strapped it to Alayah’s ankle with an elastic bandage before carefully swinging her leg up onto the bed. “You didn’t notice the pain in it because the adrenaline kept you moving. It’s clearly sprained. Tonight is ice and ibuprofen, and I’ll reassess it tomorrow. If you have less pain, we’ll brace it and keep you off your feet as much as possible. If it’s more swollen or painful, we’ll take you in for an X-ray.”

“It really only hurts if I walk on it.” Selina shook her head in exasperation as Alayah sighed. “You know what I mean. When did you get here?”

“We just rolled into town. Cal indicated my help wasneeded here more than at Secure Inc.” She glanced at Cal. “The package is on its way. It will arrive shortly.”

“What package?” she asked, glancing between them. “It’s almost two a.m. I’ve been up way too many hours, but even I know that no one is delivering packages at this time of night.”

Cal crossed his arms over his chest. “Ryland is bringing Derek to the hotel. He’s refusing to go to the ER, but he needs to be checked for a concussion and facial fractures.”

“Who’s Ryland, and why is he bringing Derek here?” she asked, her heart buoyed for the first time in hours. Once the police arrived, Cal had forced her to leave the cabin. She didn’t know what had happened to Derek after that.

“Ryland is Secure Inc.’s lawyer. I sent him to pick Derek up at the cabin and bring him back here. The police don’t have enough evidence to arrest him, but they are requiring him to stay in town as a person of interest.”

Most of the tension left Alayah’s shoulders to hear Derek wasn’t being arrested. She had begged Cal to help him but didn’t think he would. He probably shouldn’t have, but she was grateful all the same. “Thank you, Cal,” she whispered. “I know I made all the wrong decisions tonight, but I appreciate you listening to me about Derek.”

“While I appreciate the apology, I don’t think Derek had anything to do with Hugo’s murder. That doesn’t mean I agree with what you did,” he said, holding up his fancy metal-and-plastic finger. “But until we can get to the bottom of this, we need him here, so we can ask questions and sort out what he knows.”

“Now we’re running our own investigation?” Selina asked, raising an eyebrow.

Cal crossed his arms again. “All I’m saying is, I don’twant to end up in a cell for touching a water bottle that killed a man. I’m certain Mr. Benjamin doesn’t either.”

“Unless he did it,” Selina said, to which Alayah shook her head.