So much for the wrist tracker Nari wanted to buy for her. She struggled to stay conscious and looked at Wolfe and Raider. Their tall forms morphed and darkness edged through her vision. “Opal is in league with Lassiter. She’s the mastermind.” Nari leaned down, making sure Angus was still breathing. “Angus? I love you,” she whispered.

Then she passed out.

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty

The last face Angus wanted to see upon waking up in the hospital was Special Agent Tom Rutherford’s. Angus blinked, his arm feeling as if it was caught in a vise. Rutherford ate from a bag of popcorn, leaning against the counter, with Special Agent Fields and Detective Tate Bianchi next to him. Angus coughed. “What are you guys? The three wise men?”

Tate snorted. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I got shot. Again.” Angus looked around the hospital room. “Where’s Nari?” He began to sit up.

Tate waved him back down. “She’s getting checked out in another room, but she’s fine. Wolfe and Raider are with her now.”

Angus winced. “How bad is her neck?”

Rutherford shook his head. “She’s fine. Just bruised.” He crumpled up the empty bag and tossed it into the trash. “Her mom is fine, too. The doctors are monitoring her heart rate after the electrical blast, but she’s bossing them all around. Seems like a nice lady.”

Had Rutherford mellowed? “Am I dead?” Angus asked.

“No.” Fields pulled out a notebook. “However, considering the head of HDD turned out to be a major wack job, we need to get your statement now rather than later. We’ve already gotten statements from Nari and her mom. Your turn.”

“Wait a minute,” Angus said, pushing a button near the bed to sit all the way up. He looked at the IV stuck in his arm. “Anybody want to catch me up on myself? Just for a second?”

Tate rolled his dark eyes. “You’re fine. The bullet went right through your shoulder; they just had to stitch you up.”

Rutherford smiled, his blond hair perfectly in place. “You might need some rehab, but don’t be a wuss. You’re fine, and you caught a serial killer. Dana Mulberry has already written a story, and you’re once again a hero. Yay, you.”

Angus blinked, trying to keep up and not go right back to sleep. “What about Opal?”

“Oh, she’s in custody,” Fields said, tapping his pen against the paper. “She’ll be charged and dropped into a hole somewhere far from the HDD. Go ahead and tell us everything so it can be redacted pretty damn quick.”

Angus sighed and ran through everything that had happened. “How’s Nari’s father?”

“He seems like a great guy,” Tate said. “He’s hovering over her mom and Nari. Guy used to be a marine.”