by Rebecca Deel
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Zoe glanced at her watch again and grimaced. What was taking Stella and Ethan so long with Simon? What did they want with her? She hadn’t forgotten Ethan’s order to Josh to keep her safe and isolated until they were ready to talk to her. What did they want to talk to her about?
She longed to pace, but she didn’t want to appear afraid in front of Josh Cahill. The man might be one of the leaders of PSI, but he was first a cop for the Otter Creek police. He’d tell Ethan and Stella what she said and did while in his care.
Zoe frowned. Unless he didn’t have to report anything. Her gaze scanned the room and settled on a camera in the upper left corner. Was it recording? She didn’t want to make herself or Simon look guilty of anything. They weren’t guilty unless sharing kisses that singed Zoe to her toes counted. Man, that operative had serious skills in the kissing department.
“Relax, Zoe,” Josh said. “Being tense and worried use up more energy than you can spare.”
“This waiting is driving me crazy. Is that camera recording everything I say and do in this room?”
His eyebrow rose. “Got something to be worried about?”
She glared at him. Was he deliberately baiting her?
The cop’s lips curved. He glanced at the camera. “It’s not on. You’re safe.”
Nothing about this situation was funny. Something was wrong and Josh was joking with her. She inclined her head toward the mirror. “What about in there? That’s an observation room, right? Is someone watching us?” Zoe must sound paranoid to Josh. She couldn’t help it. Her skin felt as though ants were crawling all over her body from the tension and anxiety racing through her system.
With a sigh, Josh rose, stepped out into the hall, and opened the observation room door. He was back in seconds. “Empty.”
He resumed his seat. “You and Simon are an item now?”
Zoe’s cheeks heated. “It’s new.”
Josh grinned. “About time. You’ve been dancing around each other for months. What made him man up and say something?”
“Macy’s death. He believes his arrival prevented the killer from doing more than knocking me out.”
“What do you think?”
She sighed. “I don’t know. I thought Macy was the target. Now, I’m not convinced she wasn’t an accident while I was the main target.”
That brought a frown. “Why do you say that?”
“Someone broke into my house yesterday, trashed the place, and left a painted threat painted on my wall.”
He stilled. “What did it say?”
“Next time, I won’t miss.”
He gave a soft whistle. “Any idea why you’re a target?”
“Simon is afraid this is connected to his job and the security leak from one of the Fortress operatives turned rogue.”
Josh’s face hardened. “What do you know about the security leak?”
Was she breaking a rule? Zoe didn’t want to cause Simon trouble. “Simon said it’s a level six breach.”
“Did he mention the operative’s name who turned?”
A cold chill skittered up Zoe’s spine at the look in Josh Cahill’s eyes. She never wanted to be the cause of this look. At this moment, he was every inch an operative determined to protect his family, not a cop.
Good grief. How did he maintain the balance between his two vocations? He upheld the law on one job and worked outside it with the other. That particular look in Josh’s eyes reminded Zoe of Simon’s eyes when he’d acted as her bodyguard. She gathered they weren’t trained in the same way, but this interaction convinced her that Josh Cahill and Simon were cut from the same cloth.
Zoe shook her head. “No name.”
A door opened close by. A moment later, Stella walked into the room followed by Ethan and Simon.
Josh rose. “Need me for anything else?” he asked Ethan.
The police chief shook his head. “Thanks for coming in on short notice.
“No problem.” He slid a look to Zoe. “We’ll figure out what’s going on, Zoe. In the meantime, be straight with Stella and Ethan. They’re the best there is and only want to uncover the truth and nab the killer.”
Yes, but at what price? At least Simon didn’t look as though he was going to jail for the moment. “Thanks for keeping me safe, Josh.”
With a nod, he left.
Ethan turned a pointed stare at Simon. “Out.”
“In a minute.” Simon crouched by her side. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Need a soft drink or water?”
She shook her head. She wanted this interrogation session with Stella and Ethan over as soon as possible.
Simon lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “I’ll be outside the door if you need me.” He stood and stared at Ethan.
The police chief’s lips curved, but he gave a slight nod.
Seemingly satisfied with the exchange with Ethan, Simon left the room pulling the door shut behind him.
Zoe had never been uneasy in Ethan’s presence or Stella’s. Now, however, she drew great comfort knowing Simon was close.
“We have questions for you, Zoe,” Stella said. “You have the right to an attorney if you want one.”
Her heart rate zoomed into the stratosphere. She was a suspect in a crime? “Do I need one?”
“You’re a person of interest. If you’re charged with a crime, you’ll want an attorney. Do you have one?”
“Simon said he would arrange for me to consult with the Fortress lawyer if I needed his services.” The possibility of having to consult an attorney made her stomach churn. Fortress must have high priced attorneys. The bakery was making a profit, but not enough to afford the fees of a legal shark. She’d be in hock up to her eyebrows for the rest of her life if she had to pay for those services.
Ethan snorted. “One of the cadre of attorneys, you mean. Maddox keeps an army of them on retainer.”
Zoe’s mouth gaped. A cadre? “Wow.”
Stella shrugged. “Sometimes law enforcement takes exception to the methods of the teams. Fortress lawyers stay busy.” She flipped open her notebook. “Do you know Isaac Lyons?”
She stiffened. This interrogation was about Isaac? Her cheeks burned. Had Macy’s boyfriend filed charges against Simon? She should have known this was connected to him. He wasn’t man enough to confront Simon face-to-face, so he took the easy way out and complained to the police. “Yes.”
“How well?”
“I don’t like the guy. He’s a creep. He abused Macy, but she never filed a complaint.” Zoe had seen the violence and been on the receiving end of it once, but it was her word against his. “I’m afraid to be in the same vicinity with him,” she admitted.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “Did he hurt you?”
Zoe didn’t want to lie to them, but she didn’t want to set off more suspicions about Simon’s innocence, either.
He leaned forward, arms folded on the table. “Zoe, did Lyons hurt you?”
She gave a short nod.
A muscle in his jaw flexed. “Did you report it?”
“No,” she murmured.
“Why not?” Stella’s voice was gentle.
“Macy begged me not to. She said he’d be kicked out of PSI if Josh or Trent found out.”
“She was right. PSI has strict conduct standards. If a trainee violates those standards, they’re out. If Lyons’ behavior violated the rules, he’d have been dismissed. How bad were your injuries?”
“Sprained ankle.”
“Is that what happened when you were in the walking boot?” Ethan asked.
She nodded.
“That was six weeks ago. What happened to cause the injury?”
“Isaac and Macy were fighting at her house. She and I had plans to meet Sasha and Piper for dinner, and since her car wasn’t working at the time, I stopped by to pick her up. Isaac was angry about her choosing to have dinner with us instead of spending time with him.”
/> “What happened?”
“He slapped her so hard she fell to the ground. I got out of the car and ran toward her to help her up and get her away from him. I feared he would hurt her more. I know he’s still early in his training, but he’s big and strong. Macy didn’t have a chance of standing up to him and winning the confrontation. Anyway, Isaac cursed at me for interfering in their lives and shoved me. I tried to keep my balance, but stumbled and rolled my ankle.”
“Did Simon know about the injury and who caused it?”
“He was gone with his team for almost a month. I was out of the boot and walking normally by the time he returned. I never told him.”
“Why not? You weren’t dating at the time.”
“We might not have been involved then, but he’s protective and honorable to the core. He would have confronted Isaac about the incident.” Even without having a formal dating relationship, Simon would have torn into Isaac for hurting her or any woman. “He’s also one of the trainers at PSI. He would have passed the information to Trent, and I promised Macy not to say anything. I have never been close enough for Isaac to touch me again. I told Macy if anything like that happened again, I would go straight to the police and Trent St. Claire.”
“You were in a walking boot which means you had medical treatment.”
“Macy drove me to the emergency room at Memorial Hospital. She felt guilty that I’d been hurt coming to her aid and that was the only thing she could do to help. Once I was released, she drove me home and made me promise not to come in the next day.” Zoe sat back, hands rubbing her arms as chill bumps pebbled her skin at the remembered incident. Isaac Lyons was one scary man. What had Macy seen in him?
“Will you give us permission to access your treatment record?”
She nodded. What good would it do to refuse? They already knew about the walking boot and now they knew why she’d worn it. Macy was dead. The promise she’d made to her friend was no longer valid. After the behavior she’d seen yesterday from Isaac, Zoe wondered if he was stable.
“Are you sure Simon didn’t know that Lyons hurt you?”
“Positive. The only ones who knew were Macy, Isaac, and me. None of us told him. I told everyone who asked about the injury that I fell and sprained my ankle.” It was the truth, though not all of it.
Stella flipped to a clean page in her notebook. “When was the last time you saw Isaac Lyons?”
“Yesterday at breakfast at PSI. Simon and Cade had just told him about Macy’s death and for some reason, he blamed me for it.”
“I understand there was an altercation in the dining room. Tell me about that.”
Zoe related the incident and said, “Is this about Simon pushing Isaac away from me? He didn’t hurt Isaac. A lot of people were there and will verify that Isaac walked away unharmed.”
“What did you do after Isaac left?” Ethan asked.
“I went to the PSI kitchen to help Nate with lunch prep, then spent the afternoon with Simon while he worked with two classes of trainees. After that, we went to dinner, then the hospital to be with Piper and Liam. Early this morning, Simon drove me home where we discovered my house had been trashed. After we talked to Nick, we returned to PSI so I could bake muffins and scones for Sasha’s coffee shop. I also made a supply for PSI in appreciation for them allowing me to use the kitchen. You saw us at Perk.”
“Did either of you see Lyons again after the incident in the dining room at PSI?”
“No.”
“Was Simon out of your sight for any length of time during the past 24 hours?”
She started to say no. Her brow furrowed. “Only when he left the ER waiting room to talk to his friend, Zane.”
“What time was that?”
“Maybe 9:00 p.m.”
“How long was he out of your sight?”
“Five minutes.”
“You’re sure it wasn’t any longer than that?”
“Positive.”
“Where did go to make his phone call?”
“Outside the ER on the sidewalk. I could see him as he paced in front of the doors while he talked.” Even handling business with his co-worker, Simon was still protecting her. From his position at the entrance to the hospital, he could still see her and was aware of every person who passed through the doors near Zoe.
“Was he out of your sight during the time you were with Piper?”
“A few minutes to consult with his teammates. I heard their voices in the hall.”
“What about when you were in the PSI kitchen this morning? Were you separated from him?”
She frowned at him. “What’s going on? Why all the questions about our movements after the dust up with Isaac?”
“Answer the question, Zoe,” Stella said. “Were you and Simon alone together the whole time in the kitchen at PSI?”
“Simon never left my side while we were in the kitchen. Nate joined us a few minutes before five. After my baking was finished, Simon and I pitched in to help Nate with breakfast. Stella, please tell me what’s going on. You’re scaring me.”
“We need to establish timelines and your locations from breakfast yesterday morning to the time Ethan saw you at Perk because someone murdered Isaac Lyons.”
Blood drained from Zoe’s face so fast she felt lightheaded. The next words Stella said sounded like they were coming from a great distance and the room spun.
The next thing she knew, Ethan was by her side, urging her to fold forward with her head on her knees. “Get a soft drink with sugar, Stella,” he ordered.
“Sweetheart?”
Simon. His arm wrapped around her shoulders and he held her secure against his chest. “I’m okay,” she whispered.
“No, you’re not. You’re in shock.” His tone was accusatory. Was he angry at her?
“Isaac’s dead.”
“They told me.” Then, to Ethan, “I trusted you to protect her.”
Fast footsteps. Stella said, “Here.”
A moment later, Simon helped Zoe sit up slowly and, keeping his arm wrapped around her to hold her steady, pressed the cold soft drink bottle into her hands. “Sip this.”
“We’ll give you a few minutes,” Ethan murmured and left the room with Stella in his wake.
When the room quit spinning and the buzz in her ears had faded, Zoe set the drink on the table and turned into Simon’s arms, drawing on his strength to ground her further in the moment.
Someone had murdered Isaac. She had thought he was to blame for Macy’s death and the destruction at her house, and maybe Piper’s injury as well. But someone had killed him and thrown her world into a tailspin. Was all this related to the operative turned rogue? Or did Zoe have an enemy she knew nothing about?
Zoe tightened her grip around Simon. Would the killer come after Simon next? She’d just been given the right to be with this man. She didn’t want to lose him.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Simon kissed Zoe’s temple and settled her more fully against his chest. “Better now?”
She gave a slight nod, not loosening her hold. Fine with him. He loved holding her, had dreamed of having this privilege from the first time that he’d seen her. Being with her in the company of his friends and their wives had stoked a longing to have her in his life in a more personal way.
His job and his caution had slowed the process of including himself in her day-to-day life. Now that he was involved with her, he’d never take the privilege for granted. She was his, and Simon wouldn’t let her go without a fight.
“Who is doing this, Simon?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll find out and stop him.”
“You’re sure a man is responsible?”
He considered her question. “Why do you ask that?”
She gave a short laugh. “Ethan and Stella wouldn’t exclude a woman from suspicion. If a woman caught Isaac by surprise, she might be able to kill him.”
“In this case, I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
&nb
sp; Lyons’ death had upset her. He didn’t want to compound it by conveying details that shouldn’t be in her head.
Zoe eased back to see his face although her arms remained locked around his neck. She frowned. “You know something more. I can handle the truth despite what happened a few minutes ago. News of his death was a shock on the heels of losing Macy.”
“Did Ethan tell you where Lyons was found or how he died?”
She shook her head. “Tell me.”
“He was found in his car with his throat slit. Lyons was parked down the street from your house.”
Zoe’s eyes widened.
“Time of death was sometime between two and five this morning.”
She groaned. “That’s why they want to establish a timeline and if we were apart during the past 24 hours. Why do you think the killer was a man? Fortress has female operatives. I heard you and the others mention a few.”
“They’re operatives, trained to kill when necessary. You’re not an operative and lack the training or character to kill.” No matter what the cops had implied about Zoe killing to protect him. He didn’t need protection. “The killer was in the backseat and had enough strength to control Lyons to make the fatal cut. You protect those you care about, but not like this. You wouldn’t kill in this manner. Lyons wasn’t fully trained, but he’d have overpowered you in seconds. Besides, he wouldn’t allow you to sit behind him. He’d be vulnerable to attack from behind.”
Zoe sighed.
Simon believed she was innocent. The police would have questions after her encounter with Isaac in PSI’s dining room. The trainee didn’t touch her, but Simon had indicated that he’d do anything necessary to protect her. That made him the prime suspect in Lyons’ murder.
“I have something to tell you.” Her voice was soft, guilt evident on her face.
He frowned. Simon would never believe her guilty of murder, no matter what she said. Zoe didn’t have the mindset or skill to be a cold-blooded murderer. “Talk to me.”
“I had a problem with Isaac six weeks ago.”