Without Warning

by Lynette Eason

  “What?”

  “Well, not glad that you were in danger, of course, but I was glad I wasn’t alone.” She shook her head. “I don’t think I would have been able to deal with him alone. Your presence gave me strength.”

  He gave a slow nod. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I felt the same way about having you there.”

  “Good.”

  “Riley?”

  “Yes?”

  “Will you go out with me?”

  Her heart fluttered. “Like on a date?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “When?”

  He glanced at the plates on the island. “After we eat the pizza?”

  She snickered and he grinned. “That would be great, but I have to be somewhere for Thanksgiving lunch.”

  “Oh.”

  “You want to come?”

  He gave an eager nod. “Absolutely.”

  A knock on the door pulled her attention from the guy in her kitchen. Curious, she walked into the foyer and looked out the window. A man in an orange work vest stood on her porch, his back to the door.

  Steve walked up behind her as Riley opened the door. “Can I help you?” she asked.

  The man spun. “Oh, sorry. I was just looking around. Nice place you have here.”

  “Thanks.”

  He held a small cardboard box in his hands. “I’m working on rebuilding the restaurant site on North Lake. Your uncle’s been by just about every day asking us to keep our eyes open for a box.” He held it out to her. “I think this might be what he’s looking for. Will you give it to him?”

  Riley’s breath caught and she took the package. “Of course. Thank you.” She frowned. “You’re working on Thanksgiving?”

  “Your uncle paid us a whopping bonus for volunteering. I desperately need the money”—he shrugged—“so it was a real blessing.”

  “Oh, that’s good.”

  “You want to check it and see if that’s it? If not, we’ll keep looking.”

  “Yes.” She popped the top and looked inside. Tears gathered in her eyes and she reached in to pull out her mother’s marble box. “This is it,” she whispered. “I can’t thank you enough.”

  The man grinned. “No thanks necessary. Be sure to let your uncle know?”

  “As soon as I can.”

  The man left and she shut the door, still looking at the box.

  “What is it?” Steve asked.

  “The box that belonged to my mother. The one I told you about.” She walked back into the kitchen and set the box on the counter. Then slowly she opened the marbled lid. And there it was.

  Her mother’s Bible. She gently pulled it from its resting place. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve prayed that God would let someone find this. I prayed and prayed about it.”

  “Yes, I know. I’ve been praying for it too.”

  “Really?”

  He gave a self-conscious shrug. “I know how much it means to you.”

  Riley looked up at Steve and smiled through her tears. “God really does care about what matters to us. Sometimes things happen that we’ll never understand.”

  “Like your parents’ deaths.”

  “Yeah. But sometimes he answers our prayers in ways to just say, ‘I’m here, I haven’t forgotten you.’”

  “And this is one of those times.”

  “Definitely.” She held up the Bible. “And sometimes when something precious is lost, he makes sure we get it back so that we’ll cherish it even more than we did before.”

  Steve swallowed hard, then pulled her close for a hug. “He sure does.”

  [33]

  Katie lifted a brow when Daniel pulled up to the newly repaired and renovated restaurant on Elmwood. The explosions had done their damage but hadn’t completely destroyed the building. As a result, round-the-clock crews had accomplished something of a miracle in less than five weeks. “It looks great.”

  “I didn’t think it was possible to rebuild it this fast. There are a few things left to do, but it’s functional and that’s what I wanted for today. Want the tour?”

  “Of course.” She climbed out and the wind blew her hair across her face. She shoved it aside. “But what are all these cars here for?”

  “I thought we’d have Thanksgiving dinner with a few friends. Sort of a celebration of being back in business and a way of saying thanks for everyone who stood by me.”

  “What a wonderful idea.” A pang centered itself in the vicinity of her heart. This was arguably the happiest day of her life and yet the thought of not seeing her family on Thanksgiving left a sadness she couldn’t shake. You made the decision. It’s for the best. Deal with it. She looked at her fiancé—fiancé—and couldn’t help the smile that lifted her lips. She entwined her fingers with his. “Come on.”

  He led the way into the restaurant. Just inside, he stopped. “Hey, everyone!”

  A hush fell over the room and all eyes turned to her and Daniel. Katie saw Riley and Steve standing off to the side and waved. Daniel gripped her hand and she looked up. “Daniel, what are—”

  He lifted her left hand. “She said yes!”

  Thunderous applause filled the room and Katie felt the blood rush to her cheeks. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  She laughed. She couldn’t help it. His joy was infectious. And then people were hugging her, one person after the other. Bree, Maddy, Quinn in a wheelchair. He gripped her fingers. “You got a good one.”

  She bent down to hug him. “I know.” She glanced at Maddy. “You do too. Don’t mess it up.”

  He grunted and rolled his eyes, then winked. Haley followed behind him. She hugged Katie.

  “How’s the shoulder?” Katie asked.

  “Almost good as new.”

  “Liar.”

  Haley grinned. “Getting there though.”

  “Good.”

  Then Olivia, Wade, Amy . . .

  Her breath caught. “Daphne?”

  “Congratulations, sis. I guess seeing me twice this close together is a bit of a shock, huh?” Daphne grinned and threw her arms around Katie. And Katie hugged her back.

  “You didn’t call them,” she whispered in Katie’s ear.

  “No, I didn’t, I’m going to. Today. I promise.”

  “I knew you wouldn’t.”

  “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay. I worked around you.”

  “What?” When Daphne pulled away, Katie wanted to protest but then saw the two people standing behind her sister. She froze and felt the smile slide from her lips. “Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad.”

  “Hi, baby,” her father said.

  The endearment almost reduced her to tears. She hadn’t heard that in a long time. She swallowed. “What are you doing here?”

  “Well, since you weren’t coming to us for Thanksgiving, we decided to come to you.” Her mother smiled and tears stood in her eyes. “Daphne had a long talk with us.”

  “An overdue one,” her father said.

  Her mother sniffed. “And we want a do-over.”

  Katie’s gaze bounced between them. “A do-over?”

  “We’ve all grieved Paul’s death and we know you feel like we blame you.” Her dad stopped talking and looked at her mother.

  The woman cleared her throat. “The truth is, we were mad at Paul. For being so willing for you to follow in his footsteps.”

  “And then for getting killed,” Daphne said.

  “The pain was so great we pushed you away without realizing what we were doing,” her father whispered. “We kept thinking that we were going to get that call . . .”

  “That same call,” her mother said, “that same life-shattering call to tell us you were gone too.”

  “Oh, Mom,” Katie said. She felt the tears burn the back of her eyes. She glanced up at Daniel and saw that he’d pulled most of the people to himself so she could have this time with her family. “It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not,” her father said. “But we’re going to make it right
. We’re going to make a new start, if you’re willing.”

  Katie nodded and held on to her tears. She grinned. “I’m willing.”

  Her father engulfed her in a bear hug. The kind of hug she’d so desperately needed for the past three years. “Then this is going to be a great Thanksgiving.”

  “Absolutely,” Daniel said, walking up and sliding an arm around her shoulders when her father released her. “And it starts now. Let’s eat, folks. It’s a buffet. We didn’t want anyone to have to spend the day serving, so here’s the plan.” Everyone waited. “Serve yourself!”

  Laughter rolled and people lined up at the steaming buffet.

  Katie followed Daniel into the dining area and saw that his sister-in-law’s table had survived the explosions. It sat front and center. “It’s a good day, Daniel.”

  “One of the best.”

  “And God is good.”

  “I agree.”

  A woman in a wheelchair rolled up to him, pushed by a teenage girl. Daniel held out a hand and the woman reached up to grip it. “I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done.”

  Daniel smiled. “It was the least I could do, Mrs. Armstrong. Maurice was trying to make things right and it got him killed.”

  “I wanted to say thank you too,” the teen said.

  “You’re more than welcome, Alyssa. You’re a smart girl with a good head on your shoulders. If you ever need anything, you have a friend here.”

  She nodded. “I know.”

  Katie’s gaze bounced between the three of them.

  Alyssa’s eyes met hers. “You’re marrying a wonderful man. He’s paying for my college. All four years.”

  Katie’s heart swelled with pride for the man next to her. “You deserve it.”

  “I want to do something to help others,” Alyssa said. “I want to be an ADA or a DA. Someone who can put the bad guys away. Get them off the street so they can’t hurt others. And now because of Mr. Matthews, I’m going to see my dream come true.” She reached out to hug him, and Katie could see the moisture in his eyes as he gave Alyssa a gentle squeeze.

  Her own throat felt tight.

  And then Alyssa and her grandmother were heading for the buffet. She turned to Daniel and hugged him. “You’re a good man, Daniel Matthews.”

  He flushed, then shrugged.

  Then smiled and kissed her. “I’m a blessed man.”

  “And a hungry one?”

  “Starving.”

  “Let’s eat.”

  Prologue

  “. . . for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”

  The words grabbed the man by the throat. He pushed the half-eaten plate of spaghetti away and studied the passage again. He had read those words before, but never had he understood them to mean what was so clear to him now.

  It had been six years.

  Six years and the Lord had not exacted his vengeance. And it suddenly occurred to him why.

  He was to be the instrument used to ensure justice. He was the one the Lord had chosen and had just now revealed to him how he was to carry out the plans that would set the world right again.

  He was the chosen one.

  Stunned at the revelation, he set aside the Bible and picked up the other book he’d been studying. Just one book in the hundreds he’d read over the past six years.

  “Sweetheart?”

  He looked up. “Yes, hon?”

  “Could you get me a glass of water, please?”

  “Of course.”

  He stood and walked to the sink to fill the glass. As the water ran from the spigot, he stared at it.

  And knew what he had to do.

  Because he was the chosen one.

  [1]

  Six months later

  Friday evening

  5:30 PM

  Maddy McKay smiled at the man across the table from her. “Congratulations on graduating from physical therapy.” Detective Quinn Holcombe wore khaki cargo pants, a long-sleeved black T-shirt that he did GQ things to—and a scowl. “Be careful, your face is going to freeze like that.”

  He lifted a brow. A slight improvement. “That’s something you congratulate someone on?”

  She sighed. He was always so grumpy. She smiled again. This one forced. “Of course it is. Do you have no social skills whatsoever? You were almost crushed to death. You lived. You finished your physical therapy. I’d say that’s cause to celebrate—and something to offer congratulations for.” Six months ago, Quinn had been investigating a case and the killer had used a backhoe to flip Quinn’s car, trapping him inside and slamming the arm of the machine down on the vehicle. Quinn’s broken legs had healed and now he walked with only a slight limp. This morning, they’d run three miles without stopping. “You’ve come a long way, Quinn.”

  He grunted. “Maybe so.”

  She pursed her lips and leaned back, crossing her arms.

  His eyes softened. “You’re right, I’m sorry.”

  “For which offense?”

  He sighed. “For everything. My lack of social skills for one. My surliness for another. So . . . thank you. I . . . uh . . . couldn’t have . . . uh . . . ,” he cleared his throat, “. . . gotten through all of this without you. You know that, right?”

  The words combined with the flash of vulnerability reminded her of what she saw in the man in spite of his acerbic personality. She gave a short soft laugh. “Of course I know that.” She eyed him and wrinkled her nose at him. “Although, with your sunny disposition, I can’t imagine why you didn’t have people lining up to volunteer to take care of you.”

  He blinked and shook his head. “There’s no one I would have wanted there more than you, Maddy. I know I’m a bear sometimes, but . . . yeah.”

  “Yeah, you’re a bear sometimes.” She reached over and squeezed his hand. His willingness to just admit that he’d needed her, wanted her to be there, touched her. She’d been so close to smacking him in the head and walking out. Several times.

  Now his words gave her hope that one day he’d open up to her. Confide in her. Let her share the pain that never left him.

  “I wanted to ask you something,” Quinn said.

  “Okay. Ask.”

  “Why do you hang out with me?” he asked softly. “Why did you stay with me in the hospital? Through physical therapy?”

  She swallowed. “I . . . uh . . . well, because of your charming personality, of course.”

  He let out a short bark of laughter. “Right. Really. Why?”

  “We’ve been through a lot together, Quinn.”

  “Yeah.”

  “You didn’t leave my side last year when that lunatic slit my throat and left me to die.”

  He looked away. “That was a bad time, Maddy. I really didn’t think you were going to make it.”

  “I know. I didn’t think so either.”

  He caught her gaze. “Is that why you stayed with me? Because you felt obligated?”

  “No.”

  “Then why?”

  “Because, Quinn. Just . . . because.” She sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe obligation was part of it, but . . . not really.” Silence descended. She took a sip of her water. “So, how’s the puppy doing?”

  He shot her a look that said he didn’t want to let her off the hook that easily and she tensed. His scowl deepened. “Sherlock is a pain in my neck.”

  “But you like having him there.”

  He shrugged and sipped his water.

  “Oh just admit it, you do.” She and her co-workers Olivia Edwards, Katie Singleton, and Haley Callaghan had all gone in together and gotten him the puppy. A black lab with massive amounts of energy. Quinn had a large fenced-in yard, and she knew the two went jogging every morning and evening.

  “Maybe.” The scowl faded and a small smile played at the corner of his lips.

  “Not a resounding yes, but I’ll take it.” She also knew if he hadn’t wanted the dog, he’d have given him back with a simple “thanks, but n
o thanks.” And he hadn’t done that. She cut into her steak and took a bite. The savory piece nearly melted on her tongue. She swallowed. “Have you made any progress on finding the serial killer?”

  “No. I mean, I don’t even know if there is a serial killer.”

  “But the messages keep coming and the people keep disappearing, right?”

  “Yes.” He shook his dark head. “So maybe it’s just a serial kidnapper? We’re missing something. Why can’t we find them? Alive? Or even dead?”

  “He’s got a good hiding place.”

  “Unfortunately.” Quinn’s scowl deepened. “It’s like they’ve just fallen off the face of the earth. We’re stumped.”

  “That’s the way it always goes, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes. Usually. Until he makes a mistake.”

  “How many victims now?”

  “Eight. That we know of—over a six-month period of time.” He ran a hand through his dark hair. “Or maybe none. I don’t know.”

  She shuddered. “I worked several serial killer cases when I was with the FBI. I don’t miss it.”

  “Well, that’s not what I was hoping to hear.”

  Wary, she eyed him. “What do you mean?”

  He reached across the table and took her hand. “I need your help on this case.”

  She shook her head. “You’ve turned it over to the FBI. Let them handle it.”

  “I’m part of the task force and I want to recruit you.”

  She pulled her hand from his and ignored the flutter in her pulse at his touch. It was her turn to scowl. “I’m a bodyguard now. I quit the FBI for a reason, remember?” She shrugged. “And besides, I’d have to be sworn back in as a special investigator or analyst or something, go through the whole background check thing, et cetera. Is it really worth it?”

  “That wouldn’t take any time at all. You’re just trying to come up with excuses.”

  She grimaced. “Maybe so.”

  He leaned back and studied her. She resisted the urge to squirm and took another bite of the steak. While she chewed, her gaze went from person to person in the restaurant. No one alarmed her or caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end.

  When she realized what she was doing, she let her eyes lock back onto Quinn’s. He was simply waiting. She sighed. “Why me?”