“Because she couldn’t escape her marriage?”
“She could have left Ernie if she wanted to. She had a degree in elementary education. I found that out after she died. She had plenty of qualifications and the intelligence to make a life for herself and for me. She chose not to.”
“Because she loved your father?” he asked.
“Yes, but Ernie didn’t love her. He didn’t have it in him to love anyone. If he had, maybe things would have turned out differently.”
“Eva...” He touched her arm, and she felt a moment of yearning so deep that it shook her to the core.
She didn’t want to need him.
Didn’t want to need anyone, but being with Austin made her forget all the reasons why. “It’s late, Austin. You’d better go.”
He didn’t argue. Just set the Bible back into place, smoothing a hand over the worn cover like a final benediction before he walked to the door.
“I’ll call you as soon as I hear anything about Frist.”
“Thanks.” She put her hand on the door handle, but he pulled it away, wove his fingers through hers so that their palms were pressed together.
“Just one more thing before I go.”
“What?”
“This.” His lips grazed hers, the touch so light and unexpected that she didn’t feel it until it was over. Didn’t acknowledge it until he was gone, the door between them, the thundering pulse of her blood sloshing in her ears.
She touched her lips, felt the warmth that lingered there.
A kiss that took nothing and gave everything, that’s what he’d offered, and she’d taken it because she hadn’t had the strength to turn away.
She sighed and turned off the light, grabbing her mother’s Bible as she walked to Brady’s room.
SEVENTEEN
Spending five days housebound with an energetic seven-year-old was enough to drive any mother to the brink of insanity, Eva thought as she poured cereal into Brady’s bowl and tried to explain why he still wasn’t ready to go back to school.
At least it was Wednesday. Her first day back at work.
She was happy to be getting out of the house. Not so happy to be leaving Brady at home. Even if she was leaving him with a police officer.
“But, I am ready to go back to school, Momma. I caught up on all the work I missed and everything,” Brady told her as he spooned up a bite of cereal.
“I know you feel ready, Brady, but you can’t go back until the police find the man who took you. Until then, they want you to stay home where they can keep their eyes on you.”
“But you’re going to work. Why can’t I go to school?”
“I have to work or we won’t have money to pay the bills. You can miss a couple more days of school. You’re smart enough to get caught up.”
“But can’t I come with you, Momma? We haven’t gone anywhere in days and days.”
“Not today, but as soon as Austin says it’s safe, I’ll take you to Arianna’s for pancakes.”
“Okay.” He sighed and poked at the cereal. He’d slept restlessly the past few nights, still plagued by the nightmares he’d been having since the kidnapping. But his eyes weren’t as deeply shadowed, his cheeks not as gaunt.
“Maybe after we have pancakes, we can go to the park. You can invite a few of your friends over and we’ll all go together.”
“That would be fun, I guess.”
“You guess? You’ve been asking me to take you to the park for months.” She’d been too busy working and going to school and doing all the things that she’d thought would make their lives better to bring him before. Now she realized how quickly everything she’d been working for could disappear, and she wanted to make sure that she spent time having fun with Brady while she could.
“I don’t know if I want to go to the park.”
“We can go somewhere else, then.” She ruffled Brady’s soft hair, knowing that he was as scared to go out as he was anxious to leave. She felt the same, torn between the need to get back to her life and her fear that something worse would happen to Brady once they ventured out again.
“You know what I really want to do, Momma?” He shoved the nearly full cereal bowl away.
“What?”
“I want to go for a walk with Austin and Justice. If we went for a walk with them, we’d be safe.”
“That sounds nice.”
Really nice.
So nice that she was tempted to call him up and ask him if he wanted to do it right at that very moment.
She pressed her fingers to her lips, sure she could still feel the heat of his kiss, realized what she was doing and let her hand fall away.
So silly to be pinning dreams on him.
Especially when he hadn’t been back to visit since Don Frist had been fingered as the second kidnapper. He’d called, though. Quite a few times, just checking in and giving updates. Talking about work and asking her about school and about Brady.
Normal mundane conversations that had made her heart soar and her pulse sing.
“Will you call and ask if he’ll come take me for a walk, Momma?”
“You know he’s busy, Brady. He’s trying to catch your kidnapper.”
“Why is everyone busy but me?” he whined.
“You’ll be busy soon enough. Your tutor is coming today, remember?”
“I don’t want a stinky old tutor—”
“Brady Billows! That is an awful thing to say when the school has worked so hard to find someone to teach you at home.”
“Sorry, Momma.”
“Just make sure you don’t call her stinky and old again,” she chided, “Especially not when she’s here. If you do, that puppy we’ve been talking about won’t happen for a long time.”
“I won’t say it to her or anyone else. Promise.”
“Good.” She kissed his head, shoved his bowl back in front of him. “Eat.”
“Mrs. Daphne always makes me waffles and eggs when I don’t have school.”
She sighed. “I’m not Mrs. Daphne.”
“Is she coming over today?”
“No, but there will be someone else with you besides the tutor.”
“Who? A police officer?”
“I think so.”
“Will he have a gun?”
“I don’t know, Brady. How about we just wait and see?”
“I hope that he does have a gun, but what I really want is for him to have a dog like Justice. Then I’ll have someone to play with all day.”
“That would be fun.” Eva poured coffee into her mug, searched the refrigerator for cream that she knew wasn’t there. No milk, either. She’d used the last on Brady’s cereal.
“I could even take the dog outside—”
“No.”
“Just in the backyard.”
“Brady, I mean it. If you go outside, I’m going to have to take all your Legos away for at least a week.”
“Okay. I won’t go outside. But I can play with the dog, right? I can take it into my room?”
“We don’t even know if there’s going to be a dog, but if there is, and the officer says it’s safe, you can play with it.” Eva went into the bathroom to run a brush through her hair, scowling at the reflection in the mirror. She wasn’t one to spend much time worrying about her appearance, but there were days when she’d love to get her hair done, maybe paint her nails, put on a little makeup. Today was one of them. Dark circles under her eyes, pallid complexion, she looked like a before ad for a cosmetic procedure.
She pulled her hair into a high ponytail. Comfy shoes for all-day walking, a slight hint of blush and gloss and she was ready. She just needed Brady’s bodyguar—babysitter to arrive.
“Momma! Someone is ringing the doorbell!” Brady hollered, and she grabbed her purse, rushed to the door and opened it.
“Next time, you might want to ask who it is first,” Austin said as he and Justice walked in. Dark windblown hair, his jaw stubbled by several days’ growth, he looked good. Rea
lly good.
“I was just on my way out. I’m opening the diner this morning,” she said.
“That’s why I’m here.”
“You’re not...”
“What?” His smile said it all. He was.
“Austin, you said a police guard. You didn’t say it was going to be you.”
“I don’t trust anyone else with Brady’s life,” he said, and her heart melted, every bit of her resistance melting with it.
“You’re staying with me, Austin?” Brady said, and he sounded like he’d just won the lottery.
“I sure am. Want to go get those blocks you like to play with? I’m thinking we should build something giant today.”
“Really? Mrs. Daphne never plays with me!” Brady ran to Eva and gave her a kiss goodbye before disappearing down the hall.
“You’ve made his day,” Eva said, still not sure how she felt about it.
“And you’ve made mine. You look beautiful this morning.” He tugged her close, gave her an easy hug that should have been friendly and felt like so much more.
“I’m a mess. Between a sleepless night and not much time to get ready, I—”
“You’re beautiful. End of story.”
“Austin—”
“Better get going, or you’re going to be late. Based on what I saw when Arianna visited you at the hospital, I’d say that won’t be a good thing.”
Eva nodded, but she couldn’t bring herself to walk out the door.
“You know I’m going to take good care of him, right?” Austin framed her face with his hands, smiled into her eyes, and every cell in her body strained toward him.
“I know.”
“Then why are you hesitating?”
“He’s my son. He’s everything to me.”
“I know, and I’ll protect him with my life if I have to. Now go to work, before I do something that I won’t regret but that you might.” His gaze dropped to her lips.
Her cheeks heated, her pulse raced, and she seriously considered throwing herself right into his arms.
She left instead.
He closed the door, and she heard the bolt slide home.
Locked out of her house.
Well, not quite. She had the keys.
She could go back inside if she wanted to, but Austin was right. She had to get to work. Arianna expected her to be there to open the restaurant, and if she was late, there’d be trouble.
She didn’t need that any more than she needed the mess she’d found herself.
Austin at her house, protecting her son while she went to work?
It smacked of domesticity, made her feel soft and vulnerable, but not nearly as scared as she thought she should be.
That was probably a bad thing.
She glanced at the house as she pulled out of the driveway, imagining Austin and Brady side by side on the floor, building a doghouse or a police car or a trap for the bad guys Brady kept dreaming about.
She wanted so badly to go back.
Not because she didn’t trust Austin. Not even because she was worried about how much of a fixture he was becoming in her life.
She wanted to go back so that she could watch them together, be part of the laughter and fun. Be...
What?
A family?
Such a strange thing to think, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. When Austin was around, she felt lighter, the weight of some of her responsibilities shifted to his broad and steady shoulders.
That should scare her.
It really should.
So why was she smiling?
Humming along with the radio?
Acting for all the world like a woman who was falling in love?
Love?
She didn’t believe in it. Not the kind that lasted, anyway. Not for her.
But just like the happily-ever-after she’d given up believing in, if love were ever going to happen for her, it would happen with Austin.
She frowned, shoving the thought away.
Brady was happy and well protected when he was with Austin. She believed that, and for now, that was all that really mattered.
EIGHTEEN
Babysitting was a piece of cake compared to chasing down clues and following up on leads. Austin scowled at his computer screen. Eight hours at Eva’s place, and seven at the office, and he still had nothing to show for his day.
Unless he counted the block jail that he’d built with Brady.
He took a sip of lukewarm coffee.
Five days after Brady’s kidnapper had been identified, and Frist was still free. Too bad, because Austin would have loved to have personally locked the guy up and thrown away the key.
He tapped his pen against his desk, eyeing the evidence list and the case file. With a twenty-five-thousand-dollar reward on the line, it seemed like someone should have come forward with information by now, but the silence was deafening and the case seemed to be grinding to a slow halt. Even Keevers hadn’t followed up on his promise of big information.
Justice whined from his place beneath the desk, and Austin patted the bloodhound’s knotty head. “Sorry, boy, this is about as exciting as it’s going to get tonight.”
“Are you still here, Austin? It’s a little late, isn’t it?” Slade walked toward him, his steps brisk. Past midnight and they were both at the office. Obviously, neither of them were happy with the progress that was being made on the case.
“I spent most of the day at the Billowses, and I wanted to do a little work here before I went home. See if I could make heads or tails of the information we’ve gathered.”
“And?” Slade pulled a chair over.
“Until we find Frist, we’re at a standstill.”
“At least he hasn’t gone after Brady again.”
“Yet. He’s gone to ground, but that doesn’t mean he’s out of the picture for good.”
“Any contact with Keevers?”
“He hasn’t called. Parker said that he’s been quiet on the street, too.”
“Scared?” Slade asked, and Austin shrugged.
“Could be. Or maybe he’s just hoping that if he holds out a little, we’ll be desperate enough to go higher on the price.”
“I cleared up to fifteen thousand. Any more than that, and we’re going to have to pass.” Slade snagged Frist’s mug shot from Austin’s desk. “Have we posted this on our website?”
“Yes.”
“And at the post office?”
“Yes. He’s been all over the news, too. So has the information about the reward Frears is offering. I’m surprised no one has stepped forward yet.”
“You and me both. With that much money on the line, it seems like we should have dozens of rats crawling out of their nests to feed.”
“You know why people get quiet, Austin?” the captain set the photo down again. “Fear. And if people around here are afraid, they must have a reason.”
“The Boss?”
“That’s what I’m thinking. I want to know who he is. I want to know what he’s doing in our town. How long he’s been here. What crimes he’s responsible for.”
“Who works for him?” Austin offered.
“That, too. Dante called me this afternoon.”
“Yeah?”
“He wanted to check on Caleb, and he wanted to know if we’ve had anyone come forward with information.” McNeal scrubbed a hand across his face. “I hated to tell him that we haven’t.”
“It could still happen, Slade. We’re early in the game.”
“We’re nearly a week into the game, Austin. Rio has been missing that whole time. I’m afraid if we don’t find him soon, we never will.”
“We’re going to find him. I won’t give up until we do.”
“I’m glad to hear that, but you know the statistics. A case not solved within the first forty-eight hours is less likely to ever be solved. The longer the case remains open, the less chance of it being resolved.”
“That doesn’t mean—” His cell phone ra
ng, and he grabbed it, motioning for Slade to give him a second while he answered. A few minutes past midnight was an odd time for anyone to be calling, and his heart raced with the possibilities.
“Austin Black.”
“Hey, Detective, long time, no talk.” Pauly’s smooth voice oozed through the receiver, and Austin smiled, mouthing the name to his captain.
“Maybe a little too long. I thought you were interested in some cash, but the offer might be off the table now,” he responded.
“Now, wait just a minute, Detective. You take the offer off the table, and you may never find that missing dog.”
“What are you talking about, Pauly?” Austin straightened in his chair, motioned for Slade to lean in close to the phone.
“I’ve heard some whispers about your captain’s missing partner, and I thought that maybe you could sweeten the pot to get access to them.”
“How sweet do you want it?”
“Just throw in a couple thousand more. Let’s make it an even twelve, and I’ll tell you everything I know.”
“Twelve thousand is a lot of money, Pauly.”
“What I know is worth every penny of it.”
“We’ll see.”
“So, it’s a deal?” Keevers pressed.
Slade nodded.
“It’s a deal.”
“Just so we’re clear, if the information I give you leads to the mutt, I want the twenty-five-thousand-dollar reward.”
“If it helps us find Rio, you’ll get the twenty-five thousand, too.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear. You have that twelve for me?”
“I can have the cash tomorrow.” He glanced at Slade who nodded again.
“Good. Meet me at the same place as last time at two in the morning. Don’t bring anyone with you, and don’t tell anyone but your boss that we’re meeting. Not anyone, Black. Otherwise, I might have to leave town, and we’ll both be left with nothing.”
Keevers disconnected, his words ringing in Austin’s ears. He’d sounded scared, and that wasn’t like Pauly. As much as he played both sides of the fence, Keevers had never seemed overly concerned about getting caught. Now he was issuing warnings, trying to protect himself.
“That was...interesting,” Slade said.
“He sounded nervous.”
Tracking Justice (Texas K-9 Unit) Page 15