Josh was glad Ellie was distracted with baking the wedding cake. He was shocked that he’d forgotten all about it. Thankfully she’s on top of her shit. I couldn’t run a business. Not with my lifestyle. He needed to be free to drop and run when duty called. That didn’t mean he wasn’t able to handle her shop for the day. He’d never admit it, but it was fun up-selling her. He let every customer know that she was the only person who successfully got him to eat broccoli.

There always was a negative side of things. For Josh, it was to hear the comments in his ear from his nearby team. They were getting away with those smart ass remarks now, but they wouldn’t always be in the comforts of Yonkers. They weren’t getting the last laugh, that was for damn sure.

Business quieted down, and there was a point where no customers stopped in for almost an hour. It may affect the sales, but that didn’t mean as much as him having time to get things in order. He wasn’t sure why she was going back to Frank’s, but he was damn glad she asked him to go along. There was no doubt that place was still being watched. But at least his men were able to go in ahead of them and do a sweep for any listening devices that might be there, besides theirs.

“Building is secured.”

Josh didn’t respond. They each knew their role. Although no one except Josh would be in the apartment with Ellie, there was a sharpshooter on the roof of the building across the street.

Ellie seemed so nervous about going that she allowed him to drive. That made him feel slightly better, because he wanted to be in control if they encountered any hostiles along the way.

“You’re very quiet. Are you sure you still want to go?” Josh asked one last time, hoping she’d tell him to turn the Jeep around.

“Yes. If I don’t do it today, I never will be able to.”

Whatever is so damn important to you, I hope it’s worth it.

A few minutes later they pulled up in front of Frank’s building. Josh made sure Ellie’s door was aligned with the entrance. He quickly scanned the area. When he was confident it was safe, he opened Ellie’s door and escorted her inside. The entire time he made sure his body sheltered her in case they’d missed something.

Ellie fiddled with the keys and dropped them twice. Josh asked, “Do you need my help?”

She shook her head. “You being here is all the help I need.”

So you think. The team kept him up to date on anyone entering the building. So far, it had only been tenants. Josh didn’t want to press their luck and hang around any longer than Ellie needed to be there. Finally, she got the correct key, and they were able to enter the apartment.

But when they got inside, Ellie just stood there. “I don’t know where to start.”

“Maybe if you tell me why you’re here, I can guide you.”

Ellie looked him in the eyes, and said, “Maybe we can sit down. It’s a long story.”

He took her by the hand and led her to the couch. She didn’t speak immediately. Josh hated knowing she was going through this emotional pain and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to stop it. Listening and comforting someone weren’t his strong points, and normally he’d call someone else to step in. He needed Ellie to be the exception to his rule.

“I told you a lot about Frank, but mostly about what he was to me, a soft, loving brother. But there was another side of him. He worked for the government. The FBI to be exact.” She shook her head. “I used to tease him all the time when I was young about being a secret agent, but there were many times that wasn’t a joke. I always knew his job was dangerous, but my brother was smart. I mean really smart. He could look at someone, size them up, and know if they were lying or not. Trust me, that really sucked when I was a teenager.”

“I’m sure,” Josh said, keeping his answer short on purpose. He needed her to talk this out, and he needed to shut up and listen. Unfortunately, there was an entire team of men out there listening as well. He would normally turn off his earpiece, giving her some privacy. But that would mean he wouldn’t know if there was anyone suspicious approaching. Sorry sweetheart, your life is very public right now. But these guys are the good guys.

“It probably kept me out of trouble. You know when teenagers say they’re going to their friend’s, but really they want to meet a boy at the mall. That kind of stuff.”

Josh cocked a brow. “Oh, so that’s why you can relate to Katia-Lynn.”

Ellie nodded. “Yes. Me without the technology. But that’s why I know this isn’t right.”

“What isn’t?”

“I know he’s gone. Trust me. They took me to the morgue to identify the body. The agent who came to notify me of his death said I didn’t need to go. But I did. I needed to see him for myself.”

Josh had seen the playback of the video recording Gabe had taken during Frank’s ambush. It had been a bloodbath. “Sorry, that mustn’t have been easy.”

“It was easier than what I’ve gone through since. I’ve replayed it in my mind over and over again, wondering what I missed. Do you know he called me the night before he was killed?”

Josh shook his head. That wasn’t true. He did know. They had both of their phone records.

“I didn’t answer. I should’ve. Somehow I know now he needed to tell me something. And I know it has to do with his killer.”

Thank God, you didn’t answer.

“That’s why I’m here. Frank knew something was about to happen. He left something to tell me what that was. I just haven’t been able to find it. And if I don’t find it today, the landlord will change the locks tomorrow and whatever it is will be lost for good. I can’t let that happen, Josh. I need to find out who killed my brother and why.”

That was exactly what none of them wanted. But what Ellie didn’t know was she already found what no one else could. Even though we don’t know what it means.

“I don’t think Frank would want you putting yourself in harm’s way.” However, an attempt on her life had already taken place. Ellie still didn’t know that had been intentional. If she was going to pursue this, it might be difficult to keep it that way.

“I can’t just sit back and let them go unpunished,” Ellie said defensively. “He’d never have let it go if it had been me.”

“Ellie, that’s totally different. It was his job to go after the bad guys, not yours. But believe me, you might think no one is searching for his killers, but they are,” Josh said, holding her hand and feeling her fingers tremble.

“How do you know that? You’re not with the police or the FBI are you?”

“No, I’m not.” They were treading on dangerous ground.

“Then how do you know what they are doing? Because when I asked, they only said he died in the line of duty. That’s it. Not they are working on it or if they have a suspect in mind. Hell, I don’t even know exactly when he was killed.” Ellie’s voice rose and became high pitched.

Rafe’s voice chimed in, “Tell her you have friends who you can check with.”

Taking Rafe’s advice, he said, “Ellie, I might not work for the FBI, but I have contacts who might be able to get more information. They can find out for sure what is going on.”

He could see the light of hope shine in her honey brown eyes. “Really? You’d do that for me?”

“Of course. But Ellie, this takes time. We don’t want to impede their investigation. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to tip off the killer accidentally. If that happens, they might never get brought to justice.” He’d chosen his words wisely, knowing exactly what Ellie wanted to hear. The goal was to bring them in so they could be tried and judged by a jury. The end result was to ensure they never hurt another person.

“I would never be able to forgive myself if I was the reason they remained free,” Ellie said in a soft, half defeated tone. “Will you still help me look around the apartment to see if Frank left any clues? If we find something, then you can turn it over to your contacts.”

Josh nodded. “I can do that. Where would you like to start looking?”

“I don’t know. I already looked once before and didn’t find anything.”

Except a so-called food list. “Maybe that’s because there isn’t anything to find. If Frank was as smart as you say, I can’t picture him leaving something out in the open where anyone could see.” Maybe he’d hid it in a stupid list of vegetables that could’ve easily gotten tossed away.

“You’re right, Josh. Coming here was a waste of your time.”

Squeezing her hand, he said, “No. I think sitting here, being around his things one last time, was anything but a waste of time.”

Ellie leaned over toward him and rested her head on his shoulder. “Josh, I know this is going to sound crazy, but I’m glad that car almost hit me. If it wasn’t for that, I might not have ever met you.”

As stupid as that might sound, she was right. Josh wouldn’t have left the shadows. Now he might be the one person standing between Ellie and whoever thinks she knows something.

Lifting his arm to drape over her shoulders, he said, “Ellie, I’d have noticed you anywhere, speeding car or not.”

“Josh, the same van has driven by the building twice. I suggest you two get your asses out of there,” his team warned.

Fuck. “Ellie, I think we should head out.”

“Already?”

Josh nodded. “Yeah. You look tired, and I’m beat too.”

“But I’m supposed to cook for you tonight,” Ellie said, looking up at him.

“How about we have delivery tonight.” He got up and pulled her to her feet. As he walked them to the door, he asked, “What are you in the mood for?”

“Pick up the pace, Josh. It just came around again, nice and slow.”

What the fuck!

“I would say pizza, but after spending almost eight hours making that wedding cake, I don’t think I’ll eat pizza for a while.”

“What about roast beef sandwiches?” Josh suggested as they made it down the elevator and into the lobby. He was speaking to her, but he was listening to everything his team was telling him. There was no way he was going to leave the confines of the building until that van was stopped.

The plan was in action. The sharpshooter was going to blow out the tires when the van was down the road. That would give Josh enough time to get Ellie in the Jeep and drive away before gunfire, if any, was exchanged.

Even with the silencer on the rifle, his earpiece picked up the sound. In the distance, he heard the tire blow out and the screeching as they tried to gain control.

“Now!”

He got the message and ushered Ellie out of the building, into the Jeep. He didn’t even bother to wait for her to buckle as he pulled away quickly.

“Wow, I guess you are hungry,” Ellie said as she struggled to get her seat belt clicked in.

“Sorry. Nature calls. I think I ate too many cupcakes today.” That was the stupidest excuse he’d ever come up with. He hadn’t eaten any cupcakes today. But from her expression, she bought it. Right now that was all that mattered. Playing on her need to care for another human being truly sucked.

“Yeah, you have to ease into those things. I add fiber to offset the calories. You really should only eat one.”

He didn’t want to discuss his bodily functions, especially with her. But he needed to reply. “I’ll keep that in mind next time.”

The sounds of gunfire echoed in his ear, and it sounded as though there was more than one. Shit! Ellie was his first priority, but the sounds of automatic weapons going off heightened the seriousness of the situation. It was a damn good thing they’d noticed the van. Otherwise, he and Ellie could’ve been caught in the middle.

He could hear Rafe barking orders, while the team provided status updates. There was no way the cops weren’t showing up for this. Probably the FBI too. That was a game changer. There were going to be questions that he hoped Rafe was ready to address. And he needed to make sure Ellie’s name wasn’t linked to anything going on.

Everything became quiet. All Josh could do was wait to hear that his team was okay. Finally, Chris, a member of the team, voiced his update, “There were three in the vehicle. Two have been detained, the other, permanently. No injuries on our side.”

That was a relief. He knew by the amount of gunfire that the men in the van were hired for one thing: to take Ellie out. Thankfully the team intervened, and they all made it out in one piece.

“Roger that. I want you guys to get the hell out of there. Chris, you stay behind with the two in question,” Rafe order.

“Roger,” Chris replied.

“And the shop?” Rafe asked.

“Secure.”

“You’re clear, Josh. Don’t let her out of your sight.”

Wasn’t planning on it, Rafe.

The immediate threat was over, but Josh didn’t know how long that was going to last. If they were watching Frank’s, there was a strong possibility they knew Ellie had been there. That meant they, too, were looking for whatever Frank had hidden away. It was a race as to who would figure it out first. Hopefully, we have it and just need to decipher the meaning.

Rafe said, “We might need to pull her out of there. It depends on whether the local law enforcement pushes or not. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Sounds good.” Hopefully, that answered both Rafe and Ellie’s comments that he’d missed along the way.

When they pulled up to the shop, Josh quickly scanned the area and saw the flash from the team revealing their locations.

“Ready to head in?” Josh asked.

“Yeah, it feels good to be home,” Ellie said, still ignorant of the lurking danger.

Once inside Josh went from room to room making sure the place was locked up tight. He even checked the windows. Although the shop had still been under surveillance, he needed to confirm for himself. The only place he didn’t enter was her bedroom.

“What are you doing?” Ellie asked.

“I heard there was a break-in a few miles away. Just thought it better to be safe than sorry.”

“Really? I didn’t hear about it. Then again, I’ve been a bit distracted lately. And you seemed to be too. I thought you had to use my facilities,” Ellie questioned while she followed him to each room. “Because you’ve passed the bathroom twice already.”

“I’m feeling better, thanks,” Josh said. “How about I order dinner?”

Ellie asked in a tone filled with concern, “Are you sure you’re up to it? I don’t want you feeling ill.”

Damn. Are you always this nice? Will you still be when you find out what a lying asshole I am? I doubt it.

Turning toward her, he tried to ease her mind. “I’m fine.” Now since you’re safe.

Finally, she smiled. “Good. Then I’ll have one roast beef with mushrooms and Swiss. And I’ll have French fries with malt vinegar on the side.”

“Vinegar on fries?”

“Oh yeah. I even put it on my fried fish. I can’t believe you’re from Rhode Island and have never tried it.”

“I didn’t realize it was a Rhode Island thing.” Josh lived there, but most of his adult life had been in the Marines. Only when he left did he return home. Even then, Turchetta’s Promise still had him going from one country to the next.

He wanted Ellie to remain in her light, playful mood even if he wasn’t. Teasingly he said, “Guess you’re going to need to show me tomorrow night when we’re in Newport.”

The timing was good because his gut said they’d need to leave Yonkers very soon anyway.

“Okay, but we should hold off on dessert. At least for tonight. You said you wanted to come with me to deliver the wedding cake, and you won’t be able to do that if you’re looking green.”

Josh forced a laugh. “Trust me, my stomach can handle anything. And I hear they have a great peanut butter pie there.”

Ellie rolled her eyes. “Josh, I can’t figure you out. Are you sick or not?”

“Never too sick for dessert.” Josh gave her a wink and hoped she would drop it. He already felt like shit for lying.

Throwing her hands up in the air, Ellie gave up and said, “I swear all you think about is food.”

And you just keep believing that. They were locked in safe, and neither of them were going anywhere tonight. Whether she liked it or not, he was spending the night. Even if I have to pretend to be sick again.

---

Dinner was simple and really good. For a man who hadn’t been in Yonkers all that long, he seemed to have found every little food gem hidden there. She’d been to the Beef Barn a few times, but she wasn’t one to eat out much. Her days started early, and she usually nibbled throughout. By evening, the last thing she’d think about was food.

But Josh was right, again. Although she’d offered to make him dinner as a sweet thank you, she’d been too tired to cook. Not saying that she wouldn’t have attempted it, but it might not have been edible. It was bad enough that her cupcakes had played havoc on his system already, she didn’t need to finish off the job with a crappy meal.

But it had worked out. The time Ellie would’ve spent at the stove was spent relaxing. It was a rarity for her.

Her apartment was small, but it served its purpose. Normally she was alone. She didn’t have a full-size couch, only a loveseat. Her television was equally tiny, not that she had much time to even watch the thing. Her nights alone were spent paying bills, reconciling the cash drawer, or working on recipes.

However, tonight nothing was her usual. Josh had a way of bringing her out of her comfort zone and getting her to agree to things she might normally decline. A prime example was watching some late night B-rated horror film. Usually, she would’ve flipped the channel as soon the first scream sounded. Instead, it provided the perfect excuse to snuggle up closer to Josh. With Josh always being the perfect gentleman, he pulled her close. She might not be a fan of blood and gore movies, but if it meant more of his strong arms around her, she would suffer through watching them with him any time.

When the movie ended, she knew the dreaded time had come. She needed to send Josh on his way and crawl into bed by herself. A lot was riding on that cake. Since she was doing it pro bono, it wasn’t about money. She needed to prove hers was a bakery worth visiting. And she also needed to prove to herself that she could actually pull it off.

If she started worrying about that now, she never would get to sleep. Another day of puffy red eyes wasn’t good for her business or for keeping this handsome man beside her interested.

Another show was about to start, and she realized Josh hadn’t made a sound, not even during the commercials. When she turned to ask him what he thought about the movie, she noticed his eyes were closed. Waiting for a moment, she thought for sure he was only resting his eyes, but when he didn’t even blink, she knew Josh had fallen asleep. Waking him to send him home at this hour didn’t make sense.

During the scary scenes when her eyes were closed tight, she’d forced herself to think of more pleasant things, like what it was going to be like kissing Josh and thanking him for another lovely evening. That’s not going to happen. But those sweet lips of his were begging to be kissed.

It would be wrong to steal one, and no matter what her body was telling her, that would only start something she wasn’t ready to finish. They were growing and learning more and more about each other, but she wasn’t ready for him to join her in her bed.

She could only imagine what it would be like, him holding her, touching her, kissing her from head to toe. The fire she’d been trying to ignore was beginning to smolder. Ellie needed to keep her desire under control. She didn’t want this to be a casual sexual affair. They connected on so many different levels and were hopefully building something long-lasting.

It wasn’t something either had mentioned, and it was too soon to do so. Ellie might not be a big dater, but she knew it was the fastest way to scare a guy off. They would take things slow, one day at a time, and she wouldn’t allow herself to assume anything.

Of course, she hadn’t forgotten about tomorrow night. He had somehow gotten her to agree to go away with him to Newport. So it wasn’t as though all they had was tonight. No need to rush things. And the drive to Newport would give them more time alone to get to know each other better. Besides, right now they were running low on energy, and if things became hot between them, the last thing she wanted was either of them to be too tired to enjoy it. Like that was even possible. She giggled softly to herself.

Slipping out from beneath the blanket, she got off the loveseat and tucked the blanket back around Josh. She stood for a moment watching him while he slept. It was odd because he didn’t look all that relaxed. He seemed tense.

Josh was tall, and the loveseat wasn’t made for large people. Maybe he was uncomfortable. She decided to call his name, and if he woke he could at least go to his place and get some sleep for what remained of the night.

“Josh.” He didn’t budge. She tried again. “Josh.” Still nothing. Looking at him again, her eyes roamed over his strong features and chiseled jaw. “God, you’re beautiful to look at.” He stirred slightly. You hear that but not your name? Really? But he still didn’t wake.

She wasn’t going to stand there any longer, pressing her luck. She tiptoed out of the living room and into her bedroom. Shutting the door, she grabbed a clean nightshirt and slipped it on. He was a fan of the cat one, so tonight she wore the one with the dog. Beware. I bite.

As she climbed between the cool sheets, she missed the warmth of Josh beside her. Yes, the bed was so much more comfortable, but now it lacked the one thing she wanted. To be with Josh.

Her body was exhausted, her mind racing, and her heart torn. But she knew no matter what, tonight wasn’t the right time. The last few days had been a rollercoaster of mixed emotions. Even going to Frank’s was draining and heart wrenching. She didn’t want all the emotions from today pouring out and blending with what she was beginning to feel for Josh. She’d seen enough talk shows where the therapist explains to the couple that they didn’t work out because they met under the wrong circumstances and came together under duress.

Even though he hadn’t said anything to her, Ellie could tell that something was bothering Josh as well. A few times she’d been talking to him and his answer didn’t match up with what she’d been talking about. But the fact he accompanied her today and then stayed, said he wanted to be here. She just wished she knew where his mind kept wandering off to. Maybe we can discuss it on our drive to Newport.