The Broken (The Apostles) by Shelley Coriell

Author:Shelley Coriell [Coriell, Shelley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2014-03-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Sunday, June 14, 1:25 p.m.

Dorado Bay, Nevada

How the hell did you get in here?”

Robyn Banks, a line of blood dribbling down her shin, pointed to the narrow window on the back wall. “Hungry reporters will do anything for a story, and these days I’m hungry, Katrina, real hungry.”

“My name is Kate.” She wadded the paper towel and threw it in the overflowing trash can next to the sink.

“Reinventing yourself?”

Kate didn’t have time for Robyn Banks and her questions or her jealously. The two had had a notorious rivalry back in her KTTL days, when Kate had uprooted Banks from the nightly news anchor spot. “What do you want?”

“A story, of course.” A feral smile tugged at Robyn’s glossy lips.

“You got my story.”

“I got two minutes of vetted FBI propaganda.”

“It’s all I have.”

The painted calm of Robyn’s face cracked. “It’s bullshit.”

“There’s no more. So don’t waste your time or mine.”

“Do you think you’re going to get rid of me that easily?”

Kate walked toward the door.

Robyn’s red-tipped nails dug into her upper arm. “Déjà vu, huh? You and me at each other’s throats. We had our share of heated moments.”

“We fought like cats. Claws extended.” Kate shook off Robyn’s hand.

“Thirty minutes.” Robyn blocked the door. “That’s all I want. Your terms. You choose the location, the camera angle. Hell, I’ll even let you choose the questions. Just give me an exclusive.” Robyn’s desperation had an almost manic tone.

Kate took a page out of the Book of Hayden. “No.”

The calm ruffled Robyn even more. “You owe me the story.”

“I owe you nothing.” Kate stepped around her and reached for the door handle.

“You owe me your life.”

Kate stopped but didn’t turn.

“The night you were stabbed and bleeding to death, someone called nine-one-one.” Robyn’s words lost all bravado. “That someone was me.”

* * *

Hayden grabbed Hatch’s shirtfront in his fisted hand. “Where the hell is she?”

Hatch blinked his surprise. “In the bathroom.”

He let go of Hatch, forcing his heart out of his throat. “How long has she been in there?”

“Five, six minutes.”

Hayden’s fist twitched. “Is it five or six?”

“I’m sorry, buddy, but I forgot to set my stopwatch.”

Hayden raked a hand through his hair. “Why did you let her out of your sight?”

“You want me to wait outside the bathroom stall while she pees?”

“I want you to do a better job keeping an eye on my witness.”

“Your witness?” Hatch’s eyebrows disappeared into his shaggy blond hair. “Is that what she is?”

Hayden pushed past Hatch and into the bathroom, where he almost crashed into Kate. She stood still and white, a marble statue in front of a brassy-haired woman with a bloody leg.

He grabbed his sidearm and drilled it on the woman. “Step away from her and put your hands in the air.”

The woman laughed. “Oh God, you sound so FBI.” She made a show of running a liquid gaze up and down the length of his body. “You look it, too.”

“Hands up.”

Kate placed a hand on his outstretched arm. “Hayden, it’s okay. She’s harmless.”

The woman tilted her head, a sly smile sliding onto her red-lacquered lips.

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