[10]

MONDAY, 7:05 AM

Steven watched Haley blink as the sun rose. She rubbed a hand down her face and fastened her gaze on his. Awareness hit her and she blushed, then cleared her throat. “Okay. So . . . I guess I slept more than a few minutes?”

“You needed it.”

“And you didn’t?”

“I’ll go home and grab a few hours, then help Quinn keep an eye on Richie. I’m curious as to what his next move will be.” He paused. “I called Social Services as soon as I heard of Richie’s release.”

She stilled. “And?”

“I told them we had the suspected abuser under surveillance and there was no immediate danger to the family. I also told them to make sure when they came by the house, there wasn’t a black Mustang out front, and if there was, as long as there was no violence going on, they needed to wait until it left. I did my best to make sure they understood that if they showed up when he was at the house, things could get violent for everyone.” He paused. “I also told her whoever went to the house would need to take an officer with them just to be on the safe side.”

“I understand. You didn’t have a choice. You’re a mandatory reporter. I would have done the same thing, truthfully.” She frowned. “I’m sorry you felt like you had to stay here all night.”

“Wasn’t all night, just a couple of hours.”

“What time is it?”

“Almost 7:10. It’s been quiet. A couple of cars drove past, but nothing suspicious.”

The front door opened and Steven saw Zeke step out with a backpack slung over his shoulder. The teen came to an abrupt stop when he saw them. Haley waved at him and he walked toward them. Steven didn’t note any bruises on the young man’s face, but that didn’t mean there weren’t some hidden on other parts of his wiry body.

“Sweet ride,” Zeke said and let out a low whistle. “I might have to major in bodyguarding if this is in the budget.”

“It’s not unless it’s a gift from a client,” Haley said.

“A rich client.”

“Definitely.”

Zeke ran a finger along the side of the door just below the window as though he’d never touch a Hummer again. “You been sitting out here all night?” he asked.

“Yes,” Haley said. “Or for the last few hours anyway. Someone else was watching until I could get back.”

He frowned, his eyes going back and forth between her and Steven. “But . . . why?”

“Because I didn’t want to take a chance on anyone coming back.” Haley glanced at the door, then back at him. “How’s Micah?”

“He’s all right.” Zeke shrugged. “As all right as he can be, anyway. Mom’s getting ready to take him to the doctor’s office, so I’m catching the bus to school.”

Steven thought the boy looked tired and figured he probably hadn’t slept much. He leaned forward. “Zeke, are you sure you’re telling us everything you can about the shooting last night?”

Zeke huffed. “I’m telling you, man, I don’t know who those dudes were. I didn’t even recognize the car. It’s not like anything anyone drives around here. Too fancy. Except the guys on the upper tiers of the drugs and the gangs.”

Steven backed off. Zeke didn’t know him and had no reason to trust him. But he seemed to like Haley. Maybe he’d talk to her at some point. “Okay then,” Steven said. “You need a ride to school?”

His eyes lit up and some of his fatigue faded. “A ride in this? Hoo . . . yeah!” Almost before Steven could blink, the kid was in the back seat. “Dreher High School, please,” he said in a haughty—and bad—British accent.

Steven caught Haley’s raised brow. “It’s not but a couple of miles. You can bring me back to get my car. Do you mind?”

She narrowed her eyes. “You just want to ride in my Hummer too.”

“Guilty.”

She rolled her eyes, but he caught the amusement on her pretty features. “Boys,” he heard her mutter. “Sure. I can do that.” She started the car and pulled away from the curb. “How was Richie last night, Zeke? He throw those fists around any?”

“Aw, Richie’s a punk. And no, he kept his fists to himself. He wasn’t about to do anything with all the police still around.”

“What about later?” Steven asked. He could see Zeke in the rearview mirror and saw the kid lift a shoulder.

“He left not too long after he got there,” Zeke said.

“Want to press charges?”

Zeke met his gaze. “For what?”

He wasn’t going to admit to anything. “You think Richie had anything to do with that drive-by last night?” Steven asked.

Zeke blinked. Then frowned. “No. Why would he do that?”

Steven had to admit the perplexed expression didn’t appear to be feigned. “You never know with some people.”

“Well, that’s true, but Richie doesn’t drive that kind of car. And doesn’t have a reason to shoot up my house. He’s not going to mess up a source of income.”

“Source of income?” Haley asked.

Zeke’s face went blank. “Never mind.”

Haley started to say something else, then snapped her lips shut. She fought the morning traffic in silence and Steven knew she was thinking about how to respond.

“You can let me out at the convenience store across the street, okay?” Zeke said.

“I don’t mind taking you to the door.”

“Uh, no thanks. I don’t need anyone asking a bunch of questions about who my new friends are with the sweet ride.”

“Right.” She pulled into the parking lot and stopped.

Zeke paused on his way out of the vehicle and turned back to Haley. “So what’s this job you’re wanting me to do for you? To pay off my debt.”

“We’ll talk about it later, but it means showing up at the Teen Center around 4:00 today. Will that work with your schedule?”

“Uh . . . yeah. Sure. Okay then. See you at 4:00.” Zeke hopped out, threw them a wave, and darted toward the crosswalk at the corner.

“Hey, Zeke, wait!” Steven called.

He stopped and jogged back to the car. “Yeah?”

“Does Richie ever hit or threaten to hit Micah?”

Zeke’s eyes frosted over. “Never. He wouldn’t dare.”

“Why not?”

“Because he knows I’d kill him—one way or another I’d kill him. See ya.” And then he was gone.

Steven let out a low breath. “He’s serious.”

“Dead serious. We need to make sure he doesn’t have a reason to act on that threat.”

“Well, at least the three of them are safe for now.”

“For now. I’ll let the school’s resource officer know to keep a close eye on him.” She continued to stare after Zeke.

He raised a brow. “What are you thinking?”

“I don’t like that comment about them being Richie’s source of income.”

“What do you think it means?”

She pursed her lips and shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“He could be Belinda’s pimp.”

“Could be, but I don’t see how that’s possible when she has to be with Micah pretty much 24/7.”

He glanced at her.

“What?” she said.

“You’re going to figure it out, aren’t you?”

She shot him a tight smile. “I don’t have time to do the digging, but I’ll ask Maddy or Olivia to see if they can do it.” She pulled out her phone and tapped the screen. When she was finished, she put her phone away. “All taken care of. Now, I’ve got to think about possibly getting a ticket to Ireland.”

“You’re still going?”

“Yes. However, I need to do some research first. I want to find out everything I can about that day—and all of my supposed family members—so I know what I’m walking into.”

“I thought your grandfather was going to send his plane if you decided to go.”

She grimaced. “Yeah, I’m not so sure about that.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know, I’m just . . .”

“Adjusting?”

“Yes.”

“That’s understandable.” He paused. “Want some help?”

“Don’t you have cases to work on?”

“Hmm . . . yeah, but those cases aren’t going anywhere.” He frowned. “And besides, I’m still thinking about the shooting.”

“Which one?”

“Both.”

8:00 AM

Haley pulled to a stop next to Steven’s vehicle and tried to ignore the fresh waves of fatigue washing over her. And the pain throbbing in her side. She really shouldn’t be tired, though. She’d certainly slept hard in the car for the few hours she’d gotten. She felt her face heat once more at the memory of waking up and seeing him looking down at her with that amused look in his eyes. Ugh. How embarrassing. At least he hadn’t kidded her about it.

She grabbed her phone. “Let me just bring Olivia up to date on where I am.” She shot a text to Olivia to do just that, but also added the request for help in lining up a schedule of protection for Zeke and his little family. Olivia texted back that she would see what she could do. Haley had complete confidence that the situation would be taken care of and she could go home and rest. She shot a look at the man next to her. A very interesting, good-looking man. “So, you think Richie will come back?”

“He was pretty steamed with your interference.”

“I know, but he’d have to be crazy to come after me now. He knows we’re on to him. I mean, even if he managed to kill me, he’d still get caught and wind up in prison.”

Steven pursed his lips. “You know as well as I do he may not care about that.”

She grimaced. “And I suppose he could always hire someone to do his dirty work for him. I’m mostly worried about Zeke and his family paying the price for me ticking off his mom’s boyfriend.”

“I have another theory for you.”

“What’s that?”

“What if that drive-by has something to do with what you learned last night?”

“What? About what Duncan told me about my supposed past?” She frowned at him. “That doesn’t even make sense. I hadn’t even talked to him before the first drive-by.”

“And maybe that’s why the first drive-by happened when it did. So you wouldn’t get the chance to talk to him. After all, he said he thought someone was following him.”

Haley processed that idea and shook her head slowly. Then stopped. Someone had been following her. But that someone had turned out to be Duncan and the man he’d hired. “Following him to get to me? I don’t think it’s likely.”

“Well, how about this then? You got some pretty life-rocking news. News that you don’t really seem to have reacted to at all. What’s really going on behind those beautiful green eyes?”

Beautiful? She blinked and looked away. Then let out a shuddering breath. “I’ve been so distracted, I haven’t really had time to think about it.”

He looked out the window toward his car. “All right. So what are you going to do now?”

He turned from the window and she met his gaze. “I’m going to go home and think about it. Think about everything. Including your crazy theory that the shootings had nothing to do with a gang-involved, former-probably-still felon and something to do with my past.”

“That’s a good idea. And get some rest while you’re at it.”

“Right.”

“I’ll follow you home.”

She frowned. “I don’t need you to do that. I’m fine. Quinn’s got people keeping an eye on Richie, remember? I’ll know if he gets anywhere near me.” But his words played in her mind. Was it possible that the shooting had something to do with Duncan’s news? “Duncan’s just found me—or the guy he hired did. If what you think is fact—that the shooter was after me, not Zeke or his family—then this guy has just been biding his time, waiting for Duncan to be confident that he’s found the right person. And tonight, he decided, was the time to act on that. In public, parked right out on the street waiting for me to come out of a busy café, with plenty of other people around.”

“It does sound kind of crazy when you put it like that.”

“That’s because it is crazy. It’s too big of a stretch.”

“I don’t know. I mean someone tried to kill you twenty-five years ago, right? That someone thought he’d been successful. If that person got word you were still alive, he might not be happy about it.”

She shook her head. “I guess anything is possible.”

“Just think about it.”

“All right, I’ll do that. But I’m skeptical.”

“No kidding.”

Steven got out of the Hummer and jogged to his vehicle. He drove off with a wave and Haley sat looking at the sad little blue house. The old Ford truck was gone and she figured Zeke’s mother had taken Micah to the doctor. She said a quick prayer for them all and started to drive off when she caught sight of a police cruiser in her rearview mirror. She pulled to a stop and climbed out. The cruiser stayed behind her, but the officer rolled down his window. She recognized him. Brad Hudson, a twenty-year veteran of the force who loved being a cop and did his job well. She’d had the pleasure of working with him several times over the past few years. “What are you doing here?”

“Quinn asked me to keep an eye on you,” he said.

She huffed and barely resisted the urge to stamp her foot. “Why does everyone think I need eyes on me?”

He held up his hands as though to defend himself. “Don’t get testy with me. Take it up with Quinn.”

“I’m not being testy.”

“If you say so.”

“I say so!”

“Fine.”

“Fine,” she said. She wanted to scream. Okay, so maybe she was being a bit testy. “Sorry.”

“We’re good.”

“I’m going home.”

“Awesome. I’ll get to see where you live.” He sounded thrilled. Not.

Out of energy and willing to admit defeat when she had to, she carefully climbed back into the Hummer, mindful not to pull her stitches, and headed toward home.

When she arrived, she parked in her garage while Brad planted himself at the top of her circular driveway. She shook her head and clipped her phone to the case on her belt as she entered her home through the door that led from the garage into the kitchen.

Once inside, she dropped her purse and her weapon on the kitchen counter and went straight to her favorite recliner. She supposed she should go upstairs, take a shower, and get in the bed, but first she wanted to check on Duncan.

While she waited for the hospital to pick up, she realized she’d never gotten her grandfather’s number or any way to contact him. But she could find him. And probably with very little effort.

She focused on the person who answered. “I’d like to find out about Duncan O’Brien’s condition, please.”

“I’ll transfer you.”

The recliner felt good. Very good. The thought of climbing the stairs to her bedroom sapped the rest of her strength. She might just take a nap first.

“May I help you?”

“Yes.” She repeated her request.

“I can only say that for the moment, he’s stable.”

“Please, can you tell me anything else? He took that bullet for me.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I really can’t. Not unless you’re family.”

Haley grimaced. “I’m not. Thank you.” She hung up. Stable was okay. Stable was one step better than critical. He was still alive and that meant there was hope. She could cling to that for now. And as soon as she woke up, she’d work on that research she needed to do. And she might even call Steven and ask if he wanted to help her. There was just something about him . . .

He parked his car on the side of the road after following Haley and her watchdog to her house. He’d walked the perimeter of the home earlier and learned as much as he could about it before he mapped out the plan to kill her.

She’d pulled into the garage a few minutes ago and lowered the door, so he figured she was now in the house. The light in the kitchen came on, confirming his suspicion. He glanced at his watch, then back at the cruiser sitting at the top of her circular drive.

Dumb.

The guy was just sitting there. Just one cop against him? He smothered his chuckle. He might not even have to kill the guy. Which was good. He had only been paid for one death, although if he had to kill another to complete his assignment, he wouldn’t hesitate.

He pulled away, drove to the street behind Haley’s property, and parked on an old two-track access road not far from her pasture. A quick search on the internet brought up the listing of the home, and he scrolled through the description of the house to learn that the master bedroom was at the top of the deck’s stairs. The killer checked his weapon, screwed the suppressor on the end, and made his way to the back of the house. He pulled his phone from the pocket of the lightweight black jacket he’d donned just for this job. The black cargo pants held any tools he might need to gain access to the house, such as the radio frequency blocker for the home alarm system he noted. Sweat rolled off him in buckets, but for now he would have to be hot. From the bottom of the deck’s steps, he studied the back of the house.

Excellent. He could enter the French doors, kill her, and leave the way he came in.

Plans made, he crept back around to the front of the house to check on the police officer. Still sitting there. He shook his head. Fine. He could sit there until someone discovered her cold, dead body. The killer made his way back to his vehicle. He’d be back when darkness fell.