by Katie Knight
“No problem.” Tess took the phone, her fingers grazing his. Warm sparks of awareness zinged up his arm from the brief contact, but he barely noticed. She lingered before him, looking like she wanted to say more, but didn’t other than to assure him, “I’ll let you know when dinner’s done.”
“Thanks. Sauce just needs to be stirred and take the bread out of the oven when the timer goes off,” he mumbled, turning to walk into his office then closing the door behind him. The officer’s statements reverberated inside his head like a gong.
The brake lines were deliberately cut… Evidence the engine had been tampered with as well…
He slumped down in his chair and stared at the framed photo on his desk. Martin and Ayesha smiling back at him, so trusting, so unaware of what fate had in store for them. He picked up the picture and traced his thumb over the image of Nala. What was he supposed to tell her? How did one explain murder to a child? He had no clue.
The longer he sat there, the heavier his burden felt. Doing nothing about this wasn’t an option. He owed it to Martin and Ayesha, and he owed it to Nala to find out the truth. Not that he didn’t trust the police to investigate properly, but he’d been working private security long enough to know that most precincts were understaffed and underpaid and far, far too overworked. Without a big name or a public outcry attached to the case, the murder would most likely either be open or shut or not looked into deeply at all.
Martin deserved better. Ayesha deserved better. Nala deserved better.
Jed sighed and opened his desk drawer to pull out an old address book. If someone had messed with Martin’s car, then he needed to start asking the right questions to the right people. He needed to get maintenance records for the vehicle, talk to anyone who might have seen Martin and Ayesha at the restaurant that night, see about viewing any surveillance footage from the restaurant parking lot and from outside their townhouse too.
Given his current workload at the warehouse and dealing with his parental responsibilities at home, Jed wasn’t sure how much time he’d have to devote to Martin’s case. This wasn’t something he could afford to drop the ball on and that meant he needed help.
He flipped open the address book and searched for the names of his old team members.
Finally, he dialed the first guy, Reggie. A huge black dude who reminded him of the guy from Green Mile, Reggie had been all set to become a professional baseball player when he’d blown out his knee during his senior year of high school. Out of a scholarship and any other options, Reggie had joined the Navy and eventually the SEALs, getting through the rigorous training program on sheer grit and determination. He answered Jed’s call on the second ring and said yes to helping before Jed even finished telling him the whole story. They set up a lunch meeting for Friday.
Next up was Mike. Mike’s dad and granddad had been in the Navy, and Mike was eager to follow in their footsteps. Never mind he’d been more adept at books than barbells, his intellect and knowledge of chemistry and physics had made him an excellent weapons specialist. He, too, didn’t hesitate to say he’d be happy to help, despite having a wife and three kids, with another on the way.
He ran through the other names on the list until he reached the last one—Joe. Joe was a tough-talking New Yorker who’d transplanted to Baltimore as a kid. What he’d lacked in money and schooling, he’d made up for in street-smarts and attitude. He’d joined the military because it was his only option other than prison. His stubbornness and drive had helped him become one of the best SEALs Jed had ever met, and his loyalty to the team—the first people to truly believe in him—had been beyond compare. He agreed to meet them for lunch on Friday too.
By the time Jed hung up and sat back, he felt both a hundred-pounds lighter and heavy as cement. The responsibility of finding Martin’s killer was a horrible thing, but he felt better knowing that his team had his back, as always.
A soft knock at his office door was followed by Nala’s quiet tone, “D-dinner’s ready.”
“Be right there, sweetie,” he called.
He’d find the people who did this. He’d find them, and he’d bring them to justice.
For Martin and Ayesha. For himself. For Nala.
No matter what the cost.
Seven
“You seem kind of quiet tonight,” Tess said to Jed as she helped clear away the dirty dishes after dinner. She’d hesitated to ask, since really it wasn’t any of her business. The last thing she needed right now was more drama, but given his troubled expression, she couldn’t seem to stop herself from being concerned. Honestly, her tender heart was the bane of her existence and the source of all her problems in life, at least according to her mother. Tess figured the fact she'd been born with a cleft palate probably had a bit to do with her sensitivity too. She’d had multiple surgeries by the age of one to correct the physical features of her deformity, but the speech and emotional aspects had taken a lot longer to repair. Even now, her lisp came out when she got nervous or scared, though she’d worked hard over the years to eradicate it. School had been a nightmare because of it, constant bullying, constantly being made fun of, being picked on. All of that had gone into making her who she was today, and all of that had led her to fall in love with Theo, a guy who’d experienced the same traumas. Their relationship had technically been forbidden given their therapist/patient relationship.
Forbidden.
That was exactly what this conversation with Jed had written all over it. She should’ve kept things polite, professional. She should’ve shut her mouth and got on with it, as her mother used to say. Except maybe, if she’d pushed Theo to be a little more open about what he was going through, he’d still be alive.
She swallowed hard and tried again. “You seem distracted. And you barely ate anything.”
“Huh?” Jed sidled around her, his arms stacked with plates and serving bowls. He frowned. “Oh, sorry. I’m fine.”
From his somber tone, he sounded anything but. Once more, Tess chastised herself for not dropping the subject, but she sensed there was something serious bothering him. Maybe something had happened with his new job which could impact her too. She couldn’t afford to lose the income from this position. “Was it the phone call you got earlier?”
Tess managed not to wince under his narrowed stare. She hadn’t been eavesdropping, really. It was just that her years of professional training meant she’d become a good reader of people and though Jed had hidden it well in front of Nala during their meal, his demeanor had definitely changed since he’d gotten that call.
With a sigh, Jed turned away and began rinsing the dishes in the sink before stuffing them into the dishwasher. “I got some disturbing news, that’s all.”
“Nothing about Nala, I hope,” she said, moving in beside him to box up the leftovers before putting them in the fridge. “Or your new job at the warehouse.”
“No, everything at the warehouse is fine,” he said, dodging the first part of her question. He’d pushed up the sleeves of his gray sweatshirt to reveal tanned, toned forearms dusted lightly with dark hair. His hands were graceful and well-kept, with long tapered fingers and wide, strong palms. She’d always had a thing for men with nice hands and arms. Not that she was looking at Jed that way. Nope.
Tess snapped on the lid of a plastic container and shoved it onto a shelf in the fridge, more curious than before about his avoidance. A niggle in the back of her mind said she should let the matter drop. Keeping things purely professional with Jed though was hard, given the fact they lived under the same roof and frequently ran into each other.
Like that day she’d caught him post-shower, wearing only a towel. Her pulse thudded louder in her ears. Skin slick with water, muscles rippling and glistening, pecs dusted with a fine layer of dark hair that narrowed down to a thin line bisecting his taut abs and disappearing beneath the edge of that white towel he’d slung around his hips….
Oh, God. She faced the counter and gripped the edge, eyes closed, biting her lip
.
Thoughts like that would not help her keep this job or keep from getting her heart broken again. After a few deep breaths, she forced them from her mind and prayed he hadn’t noticed her odd behavior. Thankfully, he seemed too wrapped up in his own thoughts to pay any attention to hers.
“So, it was about Nala then?” she asked, for lack of anything else to say.
“What?” Jed glanced up at her from where he was bent over the dishwasher, arranging the plates so they’d all fit in properly. “Yeah, sort of.” He sighed and glanced out into the living room where Nala was doing her homework then lowered his voice. “That call was from Baltimore PD. They finished their preliminary investigation into the accident that killed Nala’s parents. The news was…disturbing, to say the least.”
Stunned, Tess faced him, leaning her hip against the edge of the granite countertop, grateful he’d opened up a bit. She kept her tone quiet as well, given the subject matter. Poor Nala had been through enough. She didn’t need more trauma right now courtesy of the police. “What did they find?”
Jed shut off the water and dried his hands on a towel before tossing it aside and taking her arm to guide her out the back door and onto the small porch. “I shouldn’t be telling you any of this, but since you spend way more time with Nala than anyone else does these days, I need you to keep an eye out for her. But I don’t want you to repeat a word of this to her yet. Understand?”
Tess nodded slowly, her eyes widening in the darkness. The sun had set and the air was slightly chilled now. She crossed her arms and rubbed them with her hands to ward off a shiver. “I promise not to say a word. What’s going on?”
Jed exhaled slow and scrubbed his hand over the top of his short, dark hair, then stared out into the moonlit backyard. “They’ve found evidence to suggest that the accident that killed Nala’s parents wasn’t an accident at all.”
“What?” Astonishment made her voice rise slightly and she coughed to cover it, glancing back through the doorway to make sure Nala hadn’t heard. Murder was the last thing she’d expected to hear from Jed. “They think someone deliberately caused the crash?”
“Yeah.” He stepped down one step on the cement stoop, putting them closer to eye level. His icy blue gaze nearly glowed in the shadows. “Apparently the brake lines were cut. They said the engine had been tampered with too.”
“But why?” Tess’s mind raced. Mysteries and thrillers were among her favorite genres to read and her thoughts ticked through the novels she loved so much. Motive was always the key factor, though it wasn’t always readily apparent at the start. “Who would want to kill them?”
“No idea.” Jed shrugged, turning his face away. The moon’s pale illumination highlighted his profile—strong, patrician nose, full lips, chiseled chin. The guy wasn’t movie-star handsome, he was too rugged for that. But there was something about him that appealed to her in a primal way that she needed to guard against. He glanced back at her. “But I intend to find out. I’ve already called a few guys from my old SEAL team to help me conduct our own investigation into what happened.”
“Is that wise?” Tess stepped closer to him, catching a hint of his warm scent—soap and sandalwood and clean male. “Maybe you should just let the police handle it. You’re all Nala has left now.”
“That’s exactly why I need to do this,” he said, stepping back up onto the porch and putting him a good six inches or more above her own five foot six height. She had to crane her neck to maintain eye contact. “She deserves to know the truth about what happened and why. Besides, I can’t keep her safe if I don’t know what I’m dealing with.”
Much as she hated to think about Nala losing Jed too, his plan made sense. The Baltimore PD was notoriously overworked and understaffed, and they had no vested personal interest in the case like Jed and his friends did. Jed was sure to be more dogged in his pursuit of justice than any stranger would be.
“You said you needed my help? To keep an eye on Nala?” Tess said, thinking she might finally get to live out the plot of one of the mysteries she loved to curl up with on a cold winter night. She’d act as amateur sleuth, snooping around, solving the case. At least until Jed dumped cold water on her plans.
“What I need from you is just to do your job,” he said, ending her dreams of being the next Jessica Fletcher. “I need you to continue to tutor Nala as you have been and keep things as normal for her as possible. Just stay aware of things around you. If you see something suspicious, tell me right away. Okay?”
“Okay.” Her disappointment dissipated a bit as a new, scary idea occurred. “You think the people responsible for her parents’ deaths will come after Nala?”
“I don’t know yet. I don’t have enough information to make that determination.” Jed’s rough voice held a mix of sadness and steely determination. “But I will get to the bottom of this, no worries. And I’ll protect Nala with my life, if necessary.”
She didn’t doubt it for a second.
“Tess?” Nala called from the living room. “Can you h-help me with this h-history question, p-please?”
Jed’s gaze caught hers and held for a moment. An odd connection sizzled between them, not desire, but way more than basic friendship. He leaned toward her, his gaze flicking to her lips before returning to her eyes. “We clear on the plan?”
Tess gave a nod and backed away slightly, tingles of unwanted awareness zinging through her. “Yes, we’re clear. I should get back inside.”
He followed her to the door, then stopped her by placing his hand on her shoulder.
Tess held her breath as she glanced back at him. “What?”
Jed gave a slight smile, his teeth even and white in the darkness. “Thanks for doing such a great job with Nala. It means a lot.”
She sighed. “Like you said, it’s my job, right? Besides, Nala’s a great girl. I’m lucky to teach her.”
“And she’s lucky to have you.” Jed held the door open for her to enter.
Eight
The next few weeks passed in a blur for Tess. She was so busy tutoring Nala and helping out around the house for Jed that she had little time to do much more than work, eat, and sleep. Early one afternoon, she and Nala decided to take a walk down to the small park near the house to stretch their legs and enjoy the lovely sunshine.
Nala had really started to blossom with Tess and open up a lot more about her past and her parents. Even her stutter was improving as she became more and more comfortable around Tess.
They stopped at the corner for traffic and Tess looked down at the book Nala had tucked under her arm—book four in the Harry Potter series, The Goblet of Fire. “You finished Prisoner of Azkaban? What did you think?”
“Oh, I loved it, like the rest, though I’m s-still sad about what happened to S-sirius Black.”
“See? I told you.” Tess stepped closer to Nala to let a man pass, then started across the street, only to stop halfway across when she noticed that Nala hadn’t come with her. She looked back to see the girl staring after the man who’d just walked by, her expression terrified.
Tess hurried back to Nala’s side and knelt in front of her, placing her hands on the little girl’s arms. “Sweetie, what’s wrong? Do you know that man?”
“N-no. I d-don’t know h-him.” Nala’s stutter was stronger than ever, setting Tess’s nerves further on edge. Tears welled in the little girl’s eyes. “B-but he looks l-like the m-man in my d-dreams.”
“In your dreams?” Tess tilted her head, her mind racing. After the conversation with Jed about the murder investigation, she’d remained vigilant for any signs of foul play around Nala, but so far there’d been nothing. Discovering the little girl was having dreams about a strange man, though, sounded like it might be important. Then again, it could be nothing more than a child’s normal nightmares and anxiety over the loss of her parents. Either way, Tess thought perhaps getting the image out of Nala’s head and down on paper might help her process whatever it was she was going through and slee
p better at night. “Huh. Hey, instead of going to the park, how about we go home and color for a little while instead. Would you like that?”
Nala nodded and slipped her hand into Tess’s, her small fingers trembling.
They returned to Jed’s house and got settled at the kitchen table. The short walk seemed to have helped Nala calm down a bit though she was still very subdued as she drew on the blank piece of paper before her while snacking on some freshly popped corn Tess had made in the microwave. Tess had suggested she draw a picture of her dream, and Nala had seemed open to the idea.
Tess took a seat across from her at the table and studied the girl as she worked. “So, sweetie, tell me more about this man in your dreams. Is it someone you know or met before?”
“No.” Nala picked up a purple crayon to replace the red one she’d been using and continued her sketch. “I don’t know him.”
“But that man today looked like him?” Tess persisted, remembering the man from the sidewalk and the most distinctive thing she’d noticed about him. “He had his head shaved?”
“Yeah.” Nala continued to color, frowning slightly. “The man from my d-dream was bald. He’s at my p-parents’ house, in the d-driveway.”
“When did you first have that dream?”
“The n-night before they d-d-died.”
Prickles of premonition skittered through Tess’s system. Dreaming about a man Nala had never met standing in the driveway of her parents’ home seemed weird, if it really was just a dream. Then again, she’d done a lot of research on how children processed trauma for her PhD dissertation, and it wasn’t uncommon for kids to frame confusing or terrifying situations as dreams to help them cope. They’d look for explanations for why bad things happened—and their mind would invent answers. But Nala said this dream predated the trauma. What did that mean? “What was he doing in the driveway?”