by Laura Scott
That was the same message he’d gotten before, and eventually Hawk had called him back. Isaac stashed the disposable phone in his pocket and scrubbed his hands over his face. Trey’s murder had brought an abrupt end to the only lead he had. So now what?
His priority was still to keep Leah and Ben safe, and being here in a different hotel in a different city was the first step in doing that. Just like Hawk, he knew they couldn’t afford to stay in one place for long.
For a moment he felt as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. What if he messed up? He was fortunate that the killer hadn’t seen Leah and Ben in the vehicle outside Trey’s apartment building, or things could have ended much differently.
Isaac couldn’t bear the thought of letting them down, the same way he had Becky and Jeremy.
“Isaac?”
He jerked his head up to find Leah standing behind him, a worried expression on her face.
“Are you all right?” she asked, her eyes full of concern.
He managed to stop himself from shaking his head. “Yeah. I just got off the phone with the police station. I’m sure they think I’m some sort of goofball, but I did tell them about Trey.”
She nodded, then came to sit beside him. “You’re not in this alone,” she said in a low tone. “God is always with us, showing us the way. He’ll keep us safe.”
Isaac wasn’t so sure he shared her belief, yet at the same time, he found himself hoping she was right. Because right now, he wouldn’t mind a little help.
Praying wasn’t his thing, but he figured God was probably watching over Leah and Ben. So he lifted his eyes upward and silently prayed, Please keep Leah and Ben safe!
The dread around his heart lightened. “We’d better get back inside,” he said, rising to his feet and holding out a hand to Leah. When she placed her small palm in his, an odd tingling sensation caught him off guard.
Was he losing his grip on reality? He sure hoped not.
“Ben found a children’s movie on TV,” Leah said as they walked back to the room. “But I think he’s getting hungry.”
“How about I order a pizza?” Isaac offered. “With everything that happened, we forgot to pick up something to go.”
“Ben’s favorite is pepperoni,” she said with a smile. “If you want anything more adventurous, you better order half and half.”
“What do you like on your pizza?” he asked. “I’d rather make sure you get what you like, too.”
Her cheeks went pink again and she shrugged. “I love just about anything except anchovies.”
A woman after his own heart. “I’m not fond of the little fishes, either, so how about I get a medium pizza with the works for us and a small pepperoni for Ben?”
“That’s great, if you think we can afford it,” she said as she used her key to open the door.
“I have plenty of money,” he assured her. “I just need Declan to bring me more cash.”
“I have money, too,” she pointed out. “Just so we’re clear.”
He could tell she didn’t want to be indebted to him, and for some reason that made him upset. She and Ben were innocent bystanders in all this. She shouldn’t have to use her own money to keep herself safe.
But there would be plenty of time to argue about money later. Right now, his growling stomach propelled him to the hotel phone, where he quickly placed their pizza order.
After he finished, he crossed over to the kitchen table, where Leah was sitting in front of the laptop. “What are you looking for?” he asked, dropping into the chair beside her.
“I was trying to find that website you used earlier, to see if I could plug in the first three letters of that license plate,” she admitted.
“You won’t have the same access I have.” Isaac turned the computer so that he could access the secure website that allowed him to search license-plate numbers.
“What were those three letters again?” he asked.
“CXF,” she answered, hovering near his shoulder, her nearness a definite distraction.
He tried to ignore his awareness of her as he typed in the partial plate and the make and model of the vehicle before hitting the search key. There were literally dozens of possibilities, but soon he was able to weed them down to three likely candidates.
“Write these names down,” Isaac said. “I’ll ask Caleb and Declan to run them through the system. Maybe we’ll get a hit.”
“All right,” Leah agreed. “Although none of the names sound familiar.”
“I know. I was hoping one would ring a bell with me, too. But don’t forget your theory that the car could be stolen.”
Leah grimaced. “I hope not.”
He eased his chair away, wishing the pizza would hurry up and get there. Leah’s scent was driving him crazy and he knew better than to get tangled up with a woman who made it clear she didn’t date cops. Which was probably for the best, since he wasn’t ready to get emotionally involved with a woman anyway.
As soon as they finished eating, he planned to ask Caleb or Declan to come out with more cash and to pick up the shell casing. Right now, that casing was the best clue they had, and he was anxious to get moving on it.
The phone rang and he leaped at the chance to put more distance between him and Leah. “Hello?”
“There’s a pizza delivery here for room 2204.”
“I’ll be right down.” He hung up the phone and glanced at Leah. “Our food is here. I’ll be right back. Don’t open the door for anyone but me.”
She nodded and he left to go down to the lobby, feeling a little foolish for being so paranoid. But the image of Trey’s dead body seemed to be permanently ingrained on his mind.
By the time he arrived back in the suite, Leah had cleared off the small table and somehow managed to pry Ben away from his movie. Isaac set the boxes down and opened the tops.
“Yummy! I’m starving,” Ben said, obviously anxious to start eating.
“Wait—we have to pray first, remember?” Leah captured her son’s hand before he could grab for a piece of pizza. “Besides, it’s probably hot.”
Isaac hid a smile as he settled into the empty chair on the other side of Ben, who put his tiny palms together and bowed his head.
Isaac followed the child’s example, waiting for Leah to begin her prayer.
“Dear Lord, we thank You for providing this wonderful food for us and for keeping us safe for another day. We also ask You to guide Shane home, keeping him safe from harm. And lastly we ask You to have mercy on Trey Birchwood’s soul. Amen.”
“Amen,” Ben echoed.
“Amen,” Isaac added. He felt Leah’s surprised gaze rest on him, but in a flash the poignant moment was gone as she served Ben a slice of pizza.
Sharing a meal with them was nice, even if it reminded him of what he’d lost. The memories of the past weren’t strong enough to diminish the reality of the present, and for the first time in the two years since Jeremy had died, Isaac found a measure of peace in the idea that maybe, just maybe, his son’s soul was safe in God’s care, too.
“Are you all right?” Leah asked, dragging him from his thoughts.
“Yeah, fine.” He forced a smile, not sure she’d appreciate the fact that he was thinking about how nice it must be to have a family. Of course, normally Hawk would be here, instead of him.
“Vroom, vroom,” Ben said before taking a big bite out of his pizza.
“Ben, please stop playing with your food,” she said in a stern voice.
“I’m not playing. My pizza is a real car,” Ben pointed out with logic that only another five-year-old would understand. “Vroom.”
Leah sighed and glanced at Isaac as if looking for support. “Ben, you heard your mother,” he said. “Finish your pizza, or if you’re already full, then go wash
up.”
For a moment Ben stared at him, as if debating whether or not to listen, but then he popped the last bit of pizza into his mouth and reached for a napkin. “All done,” he announced, through a mouthful of food.
“Go wash up in the bathroom, Ben,” Leah said. She stood and began cleaning up the mess.
“Let’s save the leftovers for later,” Isaac suggested, putting all the pizza onto one plate. “After all, we may as well put the fridge to good use.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Once the kitchen table was cleared, Ben came scampering back, putting his arms around Leah’s waist. “Will you play dinosaurs with me? Puleeze?”
“Sure.” She took him over to where the dinosaurs were scattered, and soon they were both making growling animal noises. Had Becky ever done that with Jeremy? Not that Isaac could remember. Then again, he’d usually picked up all the overtime he was offered, to help pay for all the nice things Becky liked to buy.
Shaking his head, he booted up his computer. There was something familiar about the guy he’d seen leaving the parking lot of Trey’s apartment building, so he thought he’d start with doing a search on some of the kids he remembered from Saint Jermaine’s. It wasn’t easy—not just because eleven years had passed, but because they’d all had nicknames back then. It took a while to remember their real names.
Isaac searched a few, but didn’t hit anything significant until he typed in Wade Sharkey. Wade’s nickname had been Shark back then, and he’d picked a fight with Isaac, right after Isaac had gotten there, waving the tiny knife in his face.
Wade had a lot of friends back then, and they’d all ganged up against Isaac until Hawk had shown up, defusing the situation. Wade had made a couple of other attempts to get even with Isaac, punching him in the kidney when no one was looking, and one night he’d sneaked into Isaac’s room and tried to suffocate him with a pillow. Once again, Hawk had saved him and tossed Wade out on his ear.
From that point on, there had been an uneasy truce between them. Isaac couldn’t deny that he’d watched his back often, but about six months later, Wade had been sent back home.
Isaac stared at the adult photograph of Wade Sharkey, a mug shot taken about three years ago. Clearly, Wade hadn’t turned his life around after leaving Saint Jermaine’s. Instead, he’d done a stint in jail for armed robbery.
“Did you find something?” Leah asked, coming over to sit beside him.
He gestured to the computer screen. “Not really. This is just one of the kids your brother and I knew back at Saint Jermaine’s.”
Leah sucked in a harsh breath and Isaac frowned. “What is it? You recognize him?”
She slowly nodded. “He went to our high school. He was three years older than me, in Shane’s class.”
Isaac scowled. “You’re saying he was friends with your brother?”
She shrugged. “They hung out together sometimes, and he came to our house once. I remember, because I gave him a black eye when he forcefully tried to kiss me.”
A flash of anger hit hard and Isaac had to take a couple of deep breaths to fight it back. Ridiculous to want to give Wade another black eye for something he’d done years ago.
“I bet Wade is part of the illegal arms dealing,” he said in a low voice. “And that’s why the ATF asked for your brother’s help. Your brother was probably the best chance they had for getting close to Wade.”
“Wade was a scary guy,” Leah admitted in a low tone. “At least, back in high school, he scared me.”
Isaac took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I know, but don’t worry. I’m not about to let him anywhere near you.”
She tightened her fingers around his, and as he stared at their joined hands, he silently vowed to keep his promise.
Or die trying.
SEVEN
Leah clung to Isaac’s hand and did her best to tear her gaze away from the disturbing image of Wade Sharkey on the laptop screen. He’d tried to kiss her, but she’d managed to get away before he could do anything more.
“Do you think he’s involved in whatever Shane was investigating?” she asked, meeting Isaac’s troubled gaze. “I wouldn’t put it past him to do something criminal.”
“Yeah, I think he’s involved,” Isaac admitted. “But try not to worry about this, Leah. He’s not going to lay a finger on you as long as I’m here.”
His words warmed her heart, and once again she realized how nice it was to have Isaac here, protecting her and Ben. Elliot would have tried to protect them, too, but he hadn’t had the training Isaac did. Was she really comparing her husband to Isaac? What was she thinking? She cleared her throat and nodded. “I know. And right now, I’m more concerned about my brother.” She shook her head helplessly. “Wade isn’t the type of guy you want as your enemy.”
“I agree,” Isaac muttered. “He tried to kill me back at Saint Jermaine’s, and Hawk saved my life. I’m not sure what your brother did to win him over, but from that point on he never tried to hurt me again. And I never did find out why Shark had it out for me in the first place.”
“Shark?” she echoed in confusion before she made the connection. Wade’s last name was Sharkey. “Oh, is that another of those nicknames you guys used back then?”
Isaac nodded. “Yeah.”
“Unfortunately, that one suits him.” Leah took a deep breath and forced a smile. “I guess the good news is that we have another clue.” She subtly tugged her hand from his and then immediately missed his warm, comforting touch.
Isaac scowled. “But this clue doesn’t help me much. Wade isn’t going to be an easy man to find.”
Her stomach twisted with fear. “You’re not going to try to do that, are you?”
“I have to do something to help your brother, but I won’t leave you here alone. I’ll get Declan or Caleb to come and stay with you and Ben.”
She wanted to protest, because truthfully, she’d be far more comfortable with Isaac. Yet shouldn’t one cop be similar to another? It wasn’t as if Caleb and Declan were complete strangers; she’d met them before.
Yet she wanted to be with Isaac instead of his teammates. Because he made her feel safe in a way no one else did.
Despite her best efforts to keep her distance, she realized she was beginning to get emotionally involved with Isaac Morrison. But she couldn’t afford to let down her guard. That was a path that would only lead to emotional destruction.
Getting over Elliot’s death had been hard enough. Especially since she’d had Ben, barely more than a baby at the time, to consider. She couldn’t do it again. She couldn’t afford to take the chance that she’d end up like her mother, broken and seeking solace in the bottom of a bottle.
Leah drew in a steadying breath. A relationship with any man, especially Isaac, was out of the question. For now they were forced to work together, because Shane needed help. So what if she was attracted to Isaac? She’d just have to get over it.
She forced herself to meet Isaac’s gaze. “I’ll be fine with Caleb or Declan,” she agreed reluctantly. “But please be careful.”
Isaac’s smile was crooked. “I always am,” he assured her.
Leah remembered her father saying the same thing, but in the end, all the caution in the world hadn’t kept him safe.
But Elliot hadn’t been safe, either.
She’d do her best to put Isaac’s fate in the hands of God. And continue to pray for his safety.
That was as much as she’d allow herself to do.
* * *
Isaac could tell Leah was worried, and he wished there was a way he could assure her that everything would be fine.
He rose to his feet and pulled out his phone. Declan didn’t answer, so he left a message. Thankfully, Caleb picked up.
“Hey, Caleb,” Isaac greet
ed him. “I need a favor.”
“Figured as much,” his friend drawled. “What’s up?”
“First of all, I need cash. You know I’m good for it.”
“No problem,” Caleb agreed easily. “How much?”
Isaac named an amount and was glad when his teammate didn’t seem too shocked. Then again, both Caleb and Declan knew what it was like to stay hidden without leaving an electronic trail. Isaac had been there to help them, the same way they were assisting him now.
It was good to have friends who covered your back.
“Okay, what else?” Caleb asked.
This was the tricky part. “I need you to stay with Leah and Ben for a while so I can do some legwork.”
“Do you need help with the legwork, too?” Caleb asked. “I’ll track down Deck.”
“I already left him a message, so he might not be available. I can handle it alone, no worries,” Isaac assured him. “There’s a number of things we need to follow up on, three license-plate numbers that could belong to the guy who tried to snatch Leah and Ben. I also have a shell casing from a crime scene that I’d like you to run through the lab.”
“Quite the list of favors,” Caleb said drily. “Anything else?”
“Yeah, I want to know everything there is to know about ex-con Wade Sharkey.”
“Who?” Caleb’s tone held confusion.
“Check him out. He did time for armed robbery and is likely involved in the attempt to get to Leah and Ben.”
Isaac could hear the tapping of computer keys in the background and wasn’t surprised when Caleb let out a low whistle. “Yeah, I found him, and I’ll see what we can dig up about his more recent activities. When do you want me to come over to sit with Leah and Ben?”
Isaac glanced at the clock and winced. “We’ve eaten an early dinner, but I’m sure you want to have dinner with your family, so maybe as soon as you’re finished?”
“I’ll come right away. Kaitlin and Noelle can eat without me.”
That gave Isaac an idea. “You could eat dinner with your family and then bring them along. There’s a pool here if Kaitlin likes to swim. I’m sure Ben wouldn’t mind having a playmate.”