Bringing Benjy Home (Security Ops) by Kylie Brant Read Free Book Online

careful distance between them. “Your little production earlier put my sister on the verge of hysterics. She isn’t a great judge of character at the best of times, but right now she’s incapable of being sensible.”
    “Meaning she refuses to let you send me packing.”
    His jaw tightened at the accuracy of her statement. “She’s frantic at the slow progress of this case, and she’s clutching at straws.”
    “Haven’t you forgotten something, Trey?” Raine interjected. “Jaida described Benjy to a tee.” She indicated the room around them. “How did she know what he looked like, when you had Mac remove all the pictures of him?”
    “I’m sure Ms. West has a great deal of experience with situations like this. And the resemblance between Lauren and me is pretty startling. She made an educated guess, that’s all. But she really didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know.”
    Jaida blinked rapidly, trying to keep Trey in focus. But her vision refused to cooperate, and his image blurred and doubled. One Trey Garrison was more than enough to handle. The agony in her muscles and inside her head were settling into a howling chorus. She knew from experience that she didn’t have much time before the pills she’d taken would have her body sinking into the unconsciousness it demanded. “He’s in a motel room, sitting on top of a bed,” Jaida said. Thinking was an effort, talking even more so. “There are two people in the room with him. One is a woman.”
    “You said there were two people,” Raine reminded her. “Was the other a man?”
    Jaida hesitated, sifting through the images that had sped across her mind. “I’m not sure. I think so. All I saw of the second person was a hand pulling Benjy back up on the bed.”
    Trey muttered a curse, and his friends looked at him in surprise. “You can’t possibly believe this, Raine. I’d expect it from Lauren—she’s out of her mind with grief. But you’re usually more rational.”
    Raine’s eyes flashed. “I know that there aren’t always rational explanations for human behavior. I’ve learned from experience that people do some pretty horrible things, things psychiatrists can’t even explain, because those acts aren’t rational . Why do you accept the reality of evil in the world and not accept the possibility that there are people who possess powers that science can’t completely understand?”
    “It really doesn’t matter,” Mac soothed his wife. “Even if it’s true, it doesn’t change anything. We still don’t know where Benjy is.”
    “Yes, we do,” Jaida put in. Her words had captured everyone’s attention. “The motel they’re at is called Glenview.” She recalled the flickering neon light that had shone in the window the woman had stood at. “The ‘V in the vacancy sign is burned out. The road sign out front reads Highway 128.”
     

Chapter 3
     
    “This is wonderful!” Raine enthused. Her gaze sought her husband’s. “Honey, can’t we do something now?”
    Mac was rubbing the back of his neck in consternation. “Do you want me to check this out?” he asked Trey quietly.
    Trey didn’t even spare him a glance. His gaze speared through Jaida. “Lady, don’t mess with me. You’ll be very sorry if you do.”
    “For heaven’s sake, Trey, she’s trying to help,” Raine admonished him. “Quit threatening her!”
    The pounding in Jaida’s skull had lessened slightly from the effects of the medication, but the resulting drowsiness made it just as difficult to concentrate. “I can’t tell you exactly where the motel is, but . . .”
    “We can get that information ourselves. If—” Trey’s voice was loaded with meaning “—it actually exists.”
    “I’ve got my laptop,” Mac said, interrupting the silent battle of wills. “It won’t take long to get this settled.”
    After one last steely look in Jaida’s direction, Trey followed his partner out of the room.
    Raine turned to Jaida and let out a sigh.