Rogue Wave (The Water Keepers, Book 2) (22 page)

The doctor’s flustered look turned suddenly to apprehension. “Why are you here, anyway? Sadie’s okay, right?”

The doctor’s question didn’t sit well with Rayne. He folded his arms to his chest. “Sadie’s fine. She’s at work. I’m here because I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me.”

Dr. Jensen looked confused and wary. “Questions about what?”

Rayne took a forbidding step forward, bringing his face close to the doctor and lowering his voice. “I saw you on the news. I need to know who gave you that healing formula.”

The doctor’s mouth tightened. “So, this
is
about the newscast,” he accused. “I should have guessed.” The doctor tried to hurry away, but Rayne clamped his grip around the doctor’s arm, forcing his back against the wall.

Fear flashed through the doctor’s eyes as he whispered with a shaky voice. “I can’t talk about this. If you knew what was best for you, you’d stay out of it.”

“Something’s not right here,” Rayne said through clenched teeth. “Listen, I’ve been involved in this thing long before you ever met me. And you’re in way over your head. Unless you want to put everyone you care about in danger, you’ll tell me everything you know.”

“You’re one of them, aren’t you,” Dr. Jensen said. “I promise. I haven’t told anyone anything. I don’t know how the reporters found out. I didn’t tell them, I swear. Just please don’t hurt anyone.”

“Whoever these people are that you’ve been dealing with, I’m not one of them,” Rayne said. “I’m not here to threaten you or anyone you care about. I’m on your side.” Rayne stared at the doctor intensely. “I care about Sadie and Leena just as much as you do, probably more. You need to tell me what you know, so I can protect them. I need to know who’s behind this so I can stop this before it gets out of hand.”

Dr. Jensen swallowed and lowered his eyes. “Okay. I believe you. But I hardly know anything. I was approached by this guy that said he worked for the government. He had a card and everything. He asked me if I wanted the opportunity of a lifetime, to be part of a top-secret research study they were doing on a drug that was going to change the world. They told me I would go down in history as the man who cured the Earth of all disease. Of course I was skeptical at first, but he gave me a sample. I had to at least try it, out of curiosity. I mean, that kind of thing doesn’t just happen to me every day, and the guy was making some big claims.”

A nurse appeared from around the corner. Rayne released the doctor’s arm and nodded at the woman pleasantly. When she was out of hearing range, Rayne motioned his head toward the far end of the hallway. “We should move.”

The doctor followed as Rayne led him through the door to the stairwell. “Did you ever catch the man’s name who contacted you?”

“He told me his name was Agent Smith,” Dr. Jensen said. “John Smith. Honestly, I thought it sounded fake.”

“It probably was,” Rayne agreed. “What did he look like? Did he have any identifiable features? Tattoos, birthmarks, anything like that?”

“No, not that I noticed. But his eyes were distinctive; very blue and vivid, almost piercingly so.” The doctor paused, examining Rayne’s face. “They were similar to yours, I guess you could say, only a deep, blue color.”

“Unfortunately, I know a lot of people who fit that description,” Rayne muttered.

“He was young-looking, like you, if that helps,” Dr. Jensen offered. “Dark hair, athletic build. Oh, and he was a nice dresser, way too fashionable to be a government employee.”

Rayne nodded. The man the doctor described sounded most likely like a Scout. And sadly, he sounded a lot like Ash, who was already at the top of Rayne’s list of suspects.

“Is there any other information you can give me?” Rayne urged. “An address, a license plate number, anything?”

“No. I’m sorry. The guy always came to me in person. I never knew when he was going to show up. The only place we ever met was right here at the hospital. Even the card he gave me only had a name and title. He told me it was for security reasons.” Dr. Jensen rubbed his hand wearily across his forehead. “I can’t believe I fell for this. There were too many red flags. But when I saw what that substance he gave me could do…heal people from any variety of ailments like it was a miracle from the heavens, I couldn’t contain myself. I was blinded by visions of my own success; the doctor who would save mankind from cancer and all manner of incurable disease. I’m not sure what these people are trying to accomplish, but I’m certain it isn’t good.”

“It was an honest mistake,” Rayne said. “I’ll take care of it.”

The doctor sighed heavily. “I’m at the end of my rope. I need a vacation.”

“Actually, that’s probably a good idea. You should think about leaving town for a while, and try to be smart about it. Don’t make any reservations, use cash, avoid cell phones. It will be safer for you to stay under the radar until I get this under control.”

The doctor nodded in agreement and Rayne took a step back.

“Wait,” the doctor said. “What if the guy comes back? What should I do if he finds me?”

Rayne looked Dr. Jensen square in the face. “Run.”

Five minutes later, Rayne was sitting in the Range Rover, still parked in the parking structure at the hospital, contemplating his next move. He didn’t have much information to go off of. All he knew was that someone, possibly Ash or another Scout, had used Dr. Jensen as a pawn to leak a story into the local press. Was this a ploy to make money? And did this person have access to enough Healing Water to make a profit that would be worth all the trouble? Ash was hardly in need of money—unless his gambling activities had finally gotten the best of him. Either way, anyone smart enough to be a Scout would have to know they’d make a much better profit selling the water on the black market than they ever could by exposing it to the general public through the media.

And, of all the doctors in California and around the country, why Dr. Jensen? Why the man who was dating Sadie’s mother? The chances that it was pure coincidence seemed minimal, too far-fetched. Again, signs pointed back to Ash. He was the only person who knew the true nature of Rayne’s assignment.

Rayne was regretting he ever placed any trust in Ash at all. His old friend had turned into something unworthy of friendship, unworthy of trust.

Was this all merely an elaborate attempt at vengeance? Was Ash messing with Rayne’s head? Trying to punish him for standing up for Sadie when Voss threatened her life? How could Ash continue to blame him for that? How could Ash be so blind to his father’s guilt in what happened? Voss brought his death upon himself, through years of wrongdoing and heartless criminal activity. Before Rayne ever laid a hand on Voss, even stepped foot on their property, Voss was already dead on the inside.

Rayne knew he had to go to the Threshold to request backup. Ash or any other Scout would have access to resources that Rayne wouldn’t be able to match, not on his own. Rayne’s assignment was so top-secret, even the Ambassadors Council wasn’t aware of it. That meant he didn’t have any resources at all. His equipment was limited, and he didn’t have teams he could call on to watch his back. Now he realized he should have pushed Hamlin for more support, especially after Sadie’s kidnapping.

Rayne wanted to leave for the Threshold as soon as possible. He glanced at the time on his phone, but his eyes were diverted from the clock. There was a missed text message from Sadie. His limbs suddenly clenched. He had assumed his anxiety was all his own, but he remembered he had a tendency to sense when Sadie was upset or in trouble as well. He opened the message hastily, fearing he had left her vulnerable. When he read the message, he let the trapped air ease from his lungs. All she had written was,
Don’t forget to look at my homework tonight
.

He chuckled uneasily. Sadie had been acting strange earlier today when he saw her, but he wrote it off as a reaction to their fight the other night. Now, Rayne wasn’t so sure. He had worked with Sadie on countless homework assignments in the past, but in all the time they had spent together, never once had Sadie asked him to do the homework
for
her; and definitely not twice in one day. Something was off.

Rayne heard a crinkle of paper against his seat as he shifted in the chair. Of course, Sadie’s homework was still folded in his back pocket, where he had shoved it earlier that afternoon. The paper was in his hand and open in less than a second. When he saw what was on it, he wanted to swear. Just as he feared, the page wasn’t full of math problems. It was a plea for help. Rayne’s eyes burned hotter with each word he read.

I don’t know what else to do. I think we’re being watched. Ash threatened me. He might hurt my mom. Dr. Jensen is involved. I think Voss is alive. Freaking out! I lost the diary. We need to talk somewhere safe.

Rayne wanted to yell, to punch something clear through with his fist. How could Ash stoop so low? How could he drag Sadie into this? Ash had crossed the line.

Rayne pictured Sadie’s face in his mind. How long had she known? He thought of the way she had reached out to him last night, wanting just a moment of normalcy and security in her life. She didn’t deserve to go through all this. She had suffered enough already.
Of course
she was scared that Voss was still alive. After what he put her through, how could she not live in fear of that every single day?

Rayne couldn’t go to the Threshold now. There was no way he was going to leave Sadie here alone and unprotected. He needed to hear her sweet voice as soon as possible. He needed to see her face and confirm she was safe with his own eyes. He cranked the Range Rover in reverse and dialed Sadie’s phone number simultaneously.

When his tires pulled out to the street, the sound of Sadie’s voice answered nervously on the line. “Hello.”

Rayne kept his calm. Not only did he not want to cause Sadie more worry, he also knew her suspicions about them being watched were most likely true.

“Hey, sunshine,” Rayne said, keeping the conversation as normal as possible. “How’s work going?”

“It’s okay,” she answered quietly.

Rayne pushed his voice to stay casual, almost chipper. “Hey, so I was able to look at that homework you dropped off earlier.”

He heard the hesitation in her voice. “Oh…uh…you were?”

“Yes, I was just glancing over it a few minutes ago actually. Some of those problems look pretty tough.”

“Um, yeah,” Sadie agreed, probably not sure what else to say.

“Don’t worry,” he assured her. “I’ll have them figured out in no time.”

“Okay,” she answered, still sounding unconvinced.

Rayne wanted to reach straight through the phone and pull her into his arms to comfort her, and to convince himself she would be safe.

“You believe me, right?” he said.

She paused. “Well, I guess, if anyone can figure it out, it would be you.”

“I will figure it out,” he said without hesitation.

Rayne reached the parking lot outside the yogurt shop and pulled up nearby while keeping some distance. He could see Sadie through the window, hunched over in one of the tables near the door. Seeing her in person made him want to comfort her even more. He felt the urge to lighten the mood to cheer her up. “Your slumber party’s still happening tonight, right?” he said, still speaking into the phone.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I’m kind of tired. I’m thinking about skipping the whole thing and going home. Do you want to come over later?”

Rayne thought carefully through his answer. There was nothing he wanted more than to spend another night together just the two of them. If he could spend every moment for the rest of his life that way, he would be happy. Then she would always be safe. That was his number one priority. He knew it would be easier to accomplish this goal if they were together tonight, but he didn’t want to be the reason Sadie missed out on Heather’s party, or missed out on living her life. And he wasn’t about to let Ash be the reason to ruin it for her either. It would be smarter to move forward with life as usual. The last thing Rayne wanted was to give Ash a reason to suspect that he was onto him. Plus, if Rayne told Sadie to go ahead and go to the party, it would be more proof to her that there was nothing to worry about, that he had everything under control.

“No, you should go. It will be fun,” Rayne said to her. “Heather planned it especially for you. She would be heartbroken if you didn’t show up.”

“Yeah, I know. But…”

“No buts,” he insisted. “You’re going.”

When Sadie hung up the phone and went back to work, Rayne circled his car to a parking spot further back in the lot. He could still pick up on her movements inside the shop, while gaining a broader view of the surrounding areas outside. This wasn’t a night he could feel comfortable with only Sadie’s little red dot on his tracking device to watch over her. He wasn’t planning to take his eyes off her all night.

Rayne allowed himself to close his eyes and breathe, but just for a second. If only he had a way to track down Ash’s location. But without the proper equipment or manpower, Rayne had nothing to work with. Until he could come up with a way to get a message across the Threshold border without leaving Sadie unprotected, he was on his own.

19. SCREAM

I hung up the phone feeling even more overwhelmed than before. Rayne was fine…for now. But I didn’t know what he was planning to do. I didn’t want him to run off and get himself killed while I sat at a slumber party pretending to have fun. I trusted him, though, and he probably had a plan. If I tried to take matters into my own hands, doing who
knew
what, I would most likely just get in his way. So, I would do what he told me to do. I would go to the party.

Nicole’s dad showed up at the yogurt shop around seven-thirty, saying Nicole’s mom sent him over with some explanation about a slumber party, and that he should close up the shop himself to let both me and Nicole leave early.

“Yay!” Nicole cheered. She ran up to her dad and gave him a hug. “I knew Mom could talk you into it.”