For Passion

by Jeannette Winters

  She was about to look through the food she had in the refrigerator when she heard voices coming from the shop. Ellie stopped and opened the door slightly, enough to hear better, but not enough to be seen.

  “I know you always get this one. It is a good choice, but how can you pass up a free cupcake? If you don’t like it, it didn’t cost you anything.”

  She couldn’t believe Josh was giving away food. But when she heard the response, she was glad he did.

  “I’ll take it. If it’s as good as you say, then I’ll be back tomorrow for more,” the customer stated.

  “If you don’t like it, then tomorrow I’ll buy you your usual.”

  The woman giggled and asked, “You’ll be here every day?”

  “No. But you’ll see me around, and I’ll be here tomorrow, just in case I owe you a cupcake.”

  When Ellie heard the bell on the door ring, she knew the customer had left. Only then did she push the door completely open. “That is a very unique way to sell. What if she doesn’t like it?”

  “Guess I’ll be paying for hers tomorrow.”

  Ellie arched a brow. “You’re really coming back?”

  “I am,” Josh said firmly. “Unless you don’t want me to.”

  She wanted him there, but not to sell cupcakes. It seemed that everything fit so perfectly with them. Was the saying right? If it seemed too good to be true, it isn’t? If she looked long enough, hard enough, she was sure she could come up with plenty of things she didn’t like. But nothing came to mind immediately, and she’d spent enough time thinking negative thoughts. She just witnessed Josh getting one of her customers to agree to take one of her You’re Beet Red cupcakes. That was no small feat. But was it beginner’s luck?

  “Josh, I can’t afford to take on any employees at this time.” She felt embarrassed saying it. “I really appreciate all you have done, but—”

  “Did I say I was looking for work? I have a job. But while I’m between things, and since you obviously won’t take time off, I thought maybe I could spend some time with you here.”

  “I’d . . . I would really like that. Under one condition.”

  Josh cocked a brow and teased, “You’re not going to make me eat any more broccoli are you?”

  Ellie laughed. “No. But I’d like to cook dinner for you tonight.”

  “You did last night,” Josh said, trying to correct her.

  “This time you sit, and I do all the cooking.”

  “If you haven’t noticed, I’m not really good at sitting back and watching someone else work.”

  Ellie crossed her arms. “Well, tonight you’re going to have to. But I do have a favor to ask first. I’m not sure if you would . . .” She was chickening out.

  “Would what?” Josh asked with a playful grin.

  Oh, it’s nothing that exciting. Trust me. “My brother’s apartment will be closed up tomorrow. Today is the last time I can go and spend any time there. I wanted to know if you’d come with me.”

  For the briefest second, it seemed as though Josh was surprised by her question. I shouldn’t have asked.

  “You want to go to Frank’s? Why?”

  He didn’t understand. Then again, she hadn’t told him. Should she now? “I’m looking for something.” I just don’t know what it is.

  “I thought you had gotten all the stuff last week.”

  “His personal stuff, yeah, I did. But that’s not what I’m going for.”

  Josh crossed his arms and said, “There’s no one here, so you might as well tell me what you’re going for then.”

  Ellie found herself pacing around the shop, trying to decide what to say first. Telling him that she believed her brother was murdered and she wanted to find the killer would probably scare Josh off. He didn’t need to get caught up in her problems.

  “My brother’s life was . . . complicated. I just need to make sure I didn’t miss something.”

  “Ellie, if you’re looking for trouble, you’ll always find it. My suggestion would be to let it go. Remember the—”

  “Please don’t say the good times,” Ellie said, pleading as she continued. “I thought you, if no one else, would understand. You lost a sister. If something inside of you said there was more to the story than what you were told, wouldn’t you have searched for answers?”

  “That is different. I’m a—”

  “Man?”

  Josh shook his head. “Marine. We’ve been trained, and you have not.”

  “Then I guess asking you to join me was a wise decision, wouldn’t you say?” Walked right into that one, Josh.

  He glared at her. “You’re not going to give up on this are you?” She shook her head. “Before or after dinner?”

  “Before.” Ellie couldn’t help herself. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him. It was an impulse, but soon it became so much more. The heat she’d felt the first time they’d kissed was flooding through her again. The difference was, this time they didn’t have an audience.

  She moaned into his mouth and felt his body tense against her. Then he pulled back. “Sweetheart, if you start that now, you better lock that door, because I’m not going to want to stop at one kiss.”

  Ellie didn’t want this to stop. But Josh was right. Timing, once again, was off. As she loosened her arms around his neck, she realized she wasn’t sliding back down to the floor. Although he was the one to stop it, Josh didn’t seem to want to let her go either. That was all she needed to hold her for now. With a brief kiss, Ellie promised, “We can continue this after dinner.”

  “Why don’t you get some rest, and I’ll watch the shop this morning.”

  She smiled and said, “Part of that sounds great.”

  “Which part?” Josh asked.

  “You watching the shop. But someone must have forgotten what I have on my plate, thanks to him.”

  Josh looked puzzled. “I’m not following you. What did I do?”

  “You landed me my first wedding cake job, remember?”

  “Oh yeah. The pizza cake,” Josh said with a grin. “That’s—”

  “Tomorrow,” Ellie said, her voice reflected the jitters she felt. “I really could use your help watching the store for me today, so I can get this done for Coralee.” She’s counting on me. I can’t let her down. If she had thought this through last night when she couldn’t sleep, she’d have been working on the wedding cake instead of her You’re Beet Reds. But if she spent the day focusing solely on the wedding cake, she’d have it done by closing time.

  Josh reached out and touched her cheek. “Ellie, I’ve got the shop, and I’ll even keep an eye on Katia-Lynn when she gets in. You just concentrate on knocking their socks off with that cake.”

  “Thank you, Josh. I’ll be in the back if you need me for anything.” Ellie had never left anyone else in charge of the store. Katia-Lynn was there, but Ellie had always watched out of the corner of her eye. Not because she didn’t trust the girl, but Ellie knew the reputation of Toot Sweets fell solely on her.

  Josh kissed the top of her head, and she headed into the kitchen to tackle the biggest, most important project Toot Sweets had done yet.

  I better not blow this. If I do, I might as well close my shop.

  Chapter Nine

  Josh was glad Ellie was distracted with baking the wedding cake. He was shocked that he’d forgotten all about it. Thankfully she’s on top of her shit. I couldn’t run a business. Not with my lifestyle. He needed to be free to drop and run when duty called. That didn’t mean he wasn’t able to handle her shop for the day. He’d never admit it, but it was fun up-selling her. He let every customer know that she was the only person who successfully got him to eat broccoli.

  There always was a negative side of things. For Josh, it was to hear the comments in his ear from his nearby team. They were getting away with those smart ass remarks now, but they wouldn’t always be in the comforts of Yonkers. They weren’t getting the last laugh, that was for damn sure.


  Business quieted down, and there was a point where no customers stopped in for almost an hour. It may affect the sales, but that didn’t mean as much as him having time to get things in order. He wasn’t sure why she was going back to Frank’s, but he was damn glad she asked him to go along. There was no doubt that place was still being watched. But at least his men were able to go in ahead of them and do a sweep for any listening devices that might be there, besides theirs.

  “Building is secured.”

  Josh didn’t respond. They each knew their role. Although no one except Josh would be in the apartment with Ellie, there was a sharpshooter on the roof of the building across the street.

  Ellie seemed so nervous about going that she allowed him to drive. That made him feel slightly better, because he wanted to be in control if they encountered any hostiles along the way.

  “You’re very quiet. Are you sure you still want to go?” Josh asked one last time, hoping she’d tell him to turn the Jeep around.

  “Yes. If I don’t do it today, I never will be able to.”

  Whatever is so damn important to you, I hope it’s worth it.

  A few minutes later they pulled up in front of Frank’s building. Josh made sure Ellie’s door was aligned with the entrance. He quickly scanned the area. When he was confident it was safe, he opened Ellie’s door and escorted her inside. The entire time he made sure his body sheltered her in case they’d missed something.

  Ellie fiddled with the keys and dropped them twice. Josh asked, “Do you need my help?”

  She shook her head. “You being here is all the help I need.”

  So you think. The team kept him up to date on anyone entering the building. So far, it had only been tenants. Josh didn’t want to press their luck and hang around any longer than Ellie needed to be there. Finally, she got the correct key, and they were able to enter the apartment.

  But when they got inside, Ellie just stood there. “I don’t know where to start.”

  “Maybe if you tell me why you’re here, I can guide you.”

  Ellie looked him in the eyes, and said, “Maybe we can sit down. It’s a long story.”

  He took her by the hand and led her to the couch. She didn’t speak immediately. Josh hated knowing she was going through this emotional pain and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to stop it. Listening and comforting someone weren’t his strong points, and normally he’d call someone else to step in. He needed Ellie to be the exception to his rule.

  “I told you a lot about Frank, but mostly about what he was to me, a soft, loving brother. But there was another side of him. He worked for the government. The FBI to be exact.” She shook her head. “I used to tease him all the time when I was young about being a secret agent, but there were many times that wasn’t a joke. I always knew his job was dangerous, but my brother was smart. I mean really smart. He could look at someone, size them up, and know if they were lying or not. Trust me, that really sucked when I was a teenager.”

  “I’m sure,” Josh said, keeping his answer short on purpose. He needed her to talk this out, and he needed to shut up and listen. Unfortunately, there was an entire team of men out there listening as well. He would normally turn off his earpiece, giving her some privacy. But that would mean he wouldn’t know if there was anyone suspicious approaching. Sorry sweetheart, your life is very public right now. But these guys are the good guys.

  “It probably kept me out of trouble. You know when teenagers say they’re going to their friend’s, but really they want to meet a boy at the mall. That kind of stuff.”

  Josh cocked a brow. “Oh, so that’s why you can relate to Katia-Lynn.”

  Ellie nodded. “Yes. Me without the technology. But that’s why I know this isn’t right.”

  “What isn’t?”

  “I know he’s gone. Trust me. They took me to the morgue to identify the body. The agent who came to notify me of his death said I didn’t need to go. But I did. I needed to see him for myself.”

  Josh had seen the playback of the video recording Gabe had taken during Frank’s ambush. It had been a bloodbath. “Sorry, that mustn’t have been easy.”

  “It was easier than what I’ve gone through since. I’ve replayed it in my mind over and over again, wondering what I missed. Do you know he called me the night before he was killed?”

  Josh shook his head. That wasn’t true. He did know. They had both of their phone records.

  “I didn’t answer. I should’ve. Somehow I know now he needed to tell me something. And I know it has to do with his killer.”

  Thank God, you didn’t answer.

  “That’s why I’m here. Frank knew something was about to happen. He left something to tell me what that was. I just haven’t been able to find it. And if I don’t find it today, the landlord will change the locks tomorrow and whatever it is will be lost for good. I can’t let that happen, Josh. I need to find out who killed my brother and why.”

  That was exactly what none of them wanted. But what Ellie didn’t know was she already found what no one else could. Even though we don’t know what it means.

  “I don’t think Frank would want you putting yourself in harm’s way.” However, an attempt on her life had already taken place. Ellie still didn’t know that had been intentional. If she was going to pursue this, it might be difficult to keep it that way.

  “I can’t just sit back and let them go unpunished,” Ellie said defensively. “He’d never have let it go if it had been me.”

  “Ellie, that’s totally different. It was his job to go after the bad guys, not yours. But believe me, you might think no one is searching for his killers, but they are,” Josh said, holding her hand and feeling her fingers tremble.

  “How do you know that? You’re not with the police or the FBI are you?”

  “No, I’m not.” They were treading on dangerous ground.

  “Then how do you know what they are doing? Because when I asked, they only said he died in the line of duty. That’s it. Not they are working on it or if they have a suspect in mind. Hell, I don’t even know exactly when he was killed.” Ellie’s voice rose and became high pitched.

  Rafe’s voice chimed in, “Tell her you have friends who you can check with.”

  Taking Rafe’s advice, he said, “Ellie, I might not work for the FBI, but I have contacts who might be able to get more information. They can find out for sure what is going on.”

  He could see the light of hope shine in her honey brown eyes. “Really? You’d do that for me?”

  “Of course. But Ellie, this takes time. We don’t want to impede their investigation. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to tip off the killer accidentally. If that happens, they might never get brought to justice.” He’d chosen his words wisely, knowing exactly what Ellie wanted to hear. The goal was to bring them in so they could be tried and judged by a jury. The end result was to ensure they never hurt another person.

  “I would never be able to forgive myself if I was the reason they remained free,” Ellie said in a soft, half defeated tone. “Will you still help me look around the apartment to see if Frank left any clues? If we find something, then you can turn it over to your contacts.”

  Josh nodded. “I can do that. Where would you like to start looking?”

  “I don’t know. I already looked once before and didn’t find anything.”

  Except a so-called food list. “Maybe that’s because there isn’t anything to find. If Frank was as smart as you say, I can’t picture him leaving something out in the open where anyone could see.” Maybe he’d hid it in a stupid list of vegetables that could’ve easily gotten tossed away.

  “You’re right, Josh. Coming here was a waste of your time.”

  Squeezing her hand, he said, “No. I think sitting here, being around his things one last time, was anything but a waste of time.”

  Ellie leaned over toward him and rested her head on his shoulder. “Josh, I know this is going to sound crazy, but I’m glad that car almost hit me.
If it wasn’t for that, I might not have ever met you.”

  As stupid as that might sound, she was right. Josh wouldn’t have left the shadows. Now he might be the one person standing between Ellie and whoever thinks she knows something.

  Lifting his arm to drape over her shoulders, he said, “Ellie, I’d have noticed you anywhere, speeding car or not.”

  “Josh, the same van has driven by the building twice. I suggest you two get your asses out of there,” his team warned.

  Fuck. “Ellie, I think we should head out.”

  “Already?”

  Josh nodded. “Yeah. You look tired, and I’m beat too.”

  “But I’m supposed to cook for you tonight,” Ellie said, looking up at him.

  “How about we have delivery tonight.” He got up and pulled her to her feet. As he walked them to the door, he asked, “What are you in the mood for?”

  “Pick up the pace, Josh. It just came around again, nice and slow.”

  What the fuck!

  “I would say pizza, but after spending almost eight hours making that wedding cake, I don’t think I’ll eat pizza for a while.”

  “What about roast beef sandwiches?” Josh suggested as they made it down the elevator and into the lobby. He was speaking to her, but he was listening to everything his team was telling him. There was no way he was going to leave the confines of the building until that van was stopped.

  The plan was in action. The sharpshooter was going to blow out the tires when the van was down the road. That would give Josh enough time to get Ellie in the Jeep and drive away before gunfire, if any, was exchanged.

  Even with the silencer on the rifle, his earpiece picked up the sound. In the distance, he heard the tire blow out and the screeching as they tried to gain control.

  “Now!”

  He got the message and ushered Ellie out of the building, into the Jeep. He didn’t even bother to wait for her to buckle as he pulled away quickly.

  “Wow, I guess you are hungry,” Ellie said as she struggled to get her seat belt clicked in.

  “Sorry. Nature calls. I think I ate too many cupcakes today.” That was the stupidest excuse he’d ever come up with. He hadn’t eaten any cupcakes today. But from her expression, she bought it. Right now that was all that mattered. Playing on her need to care for another human being truly sucked.