by Laura Scott
He looked away. “Once I know you’re safe, I plan to head back to Milwaukee or maybe even Chicago so I can find hard evidence against Caruso.”
* * *
Mallory watched with helpless anger as Jonah went outside to make his phone call, obviously seeking privacy. She went over to the door but she was unable to decipher any specific words. Dejected, she went back to her own room, waiting in the connecting doorway for him to return.
What had she done to make Jonah so anxious to be rid of her? Apparently the closeness she believed might be growing between them was nothing more than her overactive imagination. No big surprise there. She couldn’t help feeling hurt by the idea he’d leave her alone in a police safe house while continuing his investigation without her.
Apparently, Jonah preferred to work alone.
Granted, she didn’t exactly have the skills or background that Jonah did, but she knew Anthony Caruso on a personal level. Certainly that knowledge alone gave her some value.
When Jonah returned to the motel room, his closed expression reinforced her deepest fears. She wanted to scream and yell that he couldn’t leave her alone in some safe house, but knew instinctively that theatrics weren’t going to sway him off course.
Through the open connecting doors between their rooms, she saw that he’d picked up the Bible. The way he settled down to read, as if he didn’t have a care in the world, made her seethe with frustration. What was wrong with him? Didn’t he have any feelings for her at all?
Of course he didn’t, she reminded herself sternly. She wasn’t the type of woman he could ever care about on a personal level. She didn’t believe in God the way he did, for one thing. And she was part of his case against Caruso. A woman he was responsible for protecting. Until he could hand her over to someone else.
“Mallory? Are you all right?”
His soft question pulled her from her thoughts. “No, I’m not. But why would you bother asking? Haven’t you already decided the next step without caring about what I want?”
When he glanced away, she knew her point had hit home. Being right didn’t make her feel any better, though.
Jonah was silent for several long minutes. “‘He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart,’” Jonah murmured.
The phrase didn’t sound the least bit familiar, but struck a chord deep within, nonetheless. “Is that really from the Bible? It sounds more like a poem.” She was intrigued by the lyrical words.
“In a way. The Book of Psalms reads like a book of poems.”
She was surprised to hear Bible verses actually read like poems. She’d always thought they were dry and preachy. Alyssa’s friends had been involved in church activities, but she’d resisted going along, no matter how much Alyssa tried to convince her. Reluctantly curious, she walked across the threshold into his room to see for herself. As she approached, she caught sight of Jonah’s car keys sitting on top of the dresser. Without giving herself time to consider the consequences of her actions, she silently swept them into her hand and stuck them into the front pocket of her sweatshirt.
“Here, start at the beginning,” Jonah urged.
She took the Bible from his hands and tried to read but she couldn’t concentrate. The car keys were practically burning a hole clear through the fleece to her skin. Finally, she handed the Bible back to Jonah. “Sorry, it doesn’t really work for me.”
The flash of disappointment in his eyes shouldn’t have bothered her. She turned and tried not to rush as she made her way back to her room.
Once she was out of his line of vision, she paused long enough to take a deep breath. She looped her purse over her shoulder and tried to edge closer to the door.
She felt bad about leaving him here, but he’d called his boss, hadn’t he? Someone would be here soon enough to rescue him. By that time she’d be far out of reach.
She didn’t know how to explain to Jonah why she didn’t trust anyone but him. Partially because Gage and Alyssa had vouched for his integrity. Partially because he believed in God.
And most of all, because she liked him. She couldn’t remember the last time she had met a man she actually liked. A man she felt comfortable being around. She didn’t need to constantly have her guard up with Jonah.
She crossed to the door and silently turned the handle. Holding her breath, she opened it, slipped through and tried to shut it quietly behind her.
But she’d only gone two steps when Jonah’s door burst open. She was shocked speechless when he grabbed her hand, prying the car keys from her numb fingers. It happened so fast, she didn’t have a chance to react, to strike out with a roundhouse kick or a blow to his arm.
Or maybe she just couldn’t bring herself to hit Jonah.
“Nice try, Mallory,” he said in a patronizing tone.
A red haze of fury blinded her. “Let me go! I’d rather be out there on my own than stuck in some safe house with someone I don’t know!”
“Why?” he demanded, sliding the car keys deep into his pocket, far out of her reach. “I’m only doing this for your own good, Mallory. Can’t you understand I want you to be safe?”
She ground her teeth together, fighting the urge to pummel him with her fists. Were all men this annoying? She’d never been emotionally involved enough to find out. “You said yourself that there was a dirty cop working with Jefferson, helping him from the inside. How do you know there aren’t more? How do you know that Officer Crane, the cop who died, wasn’t working with someone?”
He stood there, staring at her uncertainly. Sensing she might have an edge, she pushed a little more.
“Jonah, think about it. Can you live with your decision, knowing there is a slim chance Caruso might find me and kill me inside the safe house?” She held her breath, hoping, praying he’d understand.
Because the last thing she wanted to do was go off on her own—without Jonah Stewart.
FOUR
Jonah closed his fist around the car keys in his hand, barely feeling the hard metal edges cutting into his flesh. He’d been shocked to notice his keys were gone and had luckily caught Mallory before she could get away. As mad as he was, he couldn’t blame her for trying to leave, any more than he could deny the truth underscoring Mallory’s words.
But no matter how tempted he might be to sympathize with her, he couldn’t allow himself to be swayed off course.
He couldn’t live with himself if he failed Mallory. Logically, he knew stashing her in a safe house was his best option. A cop who wasn’t recovering from a stab wound and surgery would be able to protect her better than he could. Whether she believed it or not.
“I’m sorry, Mallory. But the best course of action for me is to return to Milwaukee, and likely to Chicago, in order to find evidence against Caruso.”
“Take me with you,” she begged.
Feeling his resolve soften, he dragged his gaze away from hers. “I can’t. You’ll only slow me down. Besides, I need to know you’re safe.”
“And what if I’m not safe?” she challenged. “What if there’s another dirty cop who finds a way to get to me?”
He couldn’t bear to think of Mallory being in danger. But he also didn’t think Aaron Crane had been working with another cop on the inside. From what little information he and his boss could piece together, they believed Crane had been working alone. “Lieutenant Finley assured me he’ll find two men he can trust to stay with you at the safe house. I’ve been communicating with him since this mess started and I have no reason to believe he won’t hold up his end of the deal.”
She stared at him, stark resignation in her gaze. “Well, then, I guess there’s nothing more to discuss.” Her voice simmered with betrayal. She turned her back on him and returned to her room, closing the door behind her softly. Why he would have felt better if she’d slammed it, he had no idea.
For a moment he stared and then slowly made his way back inside, not at all surprise
d to discover Mallory had closed the connecting door.
Reminding himself he’d made this decision for her own good didn’t make him feel any better. When his cell phone rang, he was thankful for the diversion from his thoughts. “Hey, Gage, what’s up?”
“Not much, other than Alyssa is officially scheduled for surgery. They’re going to operate first thing in the morning.”
“Wow, that’s fast.”
“Yeah, although not as far as Alyssa’s concerned. She’s anxious for it to be done and over.”
“I don’t blame her. And I’m glad she and Mallory had time to talk.” He was glad Mallory had already spoken to her sister, because he knew Alyssa would side with Mallory if the two of them talked now.
“Hey, when Mallory told Alyssa about Anthony Caruso, I did a little digging and stumbled across some information.”
“Mallory told Alyssa about Caruso?” For some reason, that surprised him.
“Yeah, Alyssa was mad at herself for not recognizing him earlier, when she found a photo of the two of them together in Mallory’s dresser.”
He scowled, not exactly thrilled to hear Mallory had hidden a photo of Caruso in her condo. Was she upset about their broken relationship? He didn’t sense she was grieving over it, but then again, he had the impression that Mallory was good at hiding her feelings. “Don’t keep me in suspense, Gage. What did you find out?”
“I looked into who exactly supported Caruso’s political career. Not surprisingly, Hugh Jefferson was on the list along with Eric Holden.”
“You’re right, that’s not surprising.” Too bad they hadn’t stumbled across that connection much sooner, since Holden, a newly elected Milwaukee mayor, financially supporting Caruso, a U.S. state senator from Illinois, might have raised a red flag. Local politics were one thing, but why support someone in a different state? Unless you just happened to be in business together.
“The name that jumped out at me was Bernardo Salvatore, who owns a handful of Sicilian restaurants across the Midwest. From what I found online, he was planning to open a brand-new restaurant in downtown Milwaukee, less than a mile from Jefferson’s condo project. However, now the plans are on hold, indefinitely.”
Jonah could hardly suppress the buzz of excitement from the slim lead. The connection was worth investigating. “So Bernardo Salvatore is in league with Caruso.”
“Possibly,” Gage admitted. “At least it’s something to work on. I wanted to let you know so you could start down that path, since Jefferson, Holden and Crane are all dead.”
“Not your fault, Gage.” Jonah knew his buddy was still blaming himself for allowing Alyssa to be caught and for inadvertently causing the fire on the yacht, which killed both Holden and Jefferson before they could get any information out of them. “We’ll get Caruso, sooner or later. Maybe he’ll make another mistake. If he thinks Mallory is the only threat at this point, he might be running his money-laundering scheme in a business-as-usual mode.”
“I hope so. Jonah, be careful, okay?” Gage’s concerned tone wasn’t exactly reassuring. “One more death isn’t going to weigh too heavily on Caruso’s conscience. In fact, if Caruso somehow discovers you’re involved with helping Mallory, you’ll be marked as a threat he’ll need to eliminate, right along with her.”
“Won’t be the first time some crook wants me dead,” he said, downplaying his friend’s concern. “Talk to you later.”
“Yeah, later.”
Jonah stared out the window, grimly realizing he’d made a mistake last night by allowing the ski-masked intruder to get away. Whoever Caruso hired to take out Mallory now knew she wasn’t alone.
He fully believed that dirty cop, Aaron Crane, had attacked him on Jefferson’s orders. And since Jefferson reported up to Caruso, he figured Caruso knew he’d escaped. How long before Caruso realized that he was the one who helped Mallory escape?
* * *
Several hours later, Jonah walked across the street to the gas station mini-mart to pick up additional medical supplies for his wound that wouldn’t stop bleeding, along with a couple sandwiches and some chips. He’d decided against returning to the café, just on the off chance that someone had stopped by to ask about them.
There was a black Lab tied up outside but the dog didn’t seem overly anxious about a stranger going inside. Apparently, the gas station was the main source of income for the town and the dog was accustomed to strangers.
After returning to the motel, he knocked on the connecting door between their rooms, hoping Mallory would accept his offer of peace.
A long minute passed, making Jonah wonder if she’d decided to ignore him, but then she opened the door, the expression on her face less than welcoming. “Has your replacement arrived yet?”
“Not yet.” He lifted the bag. “I brought lunch.”
She eyed the bag curiously, and eventually hunger won out over anger. She stepped back and allowed him to come in. He saw an open Bible on the bed, and he couldn’t help crossing over to see what had captured her interest. “Are you reading the Book of Psalms?” he asked in surprise.
She lifted a shoulder in a shrug and color rose to her cheeks as if she were embarrassed. “They make more sense when you start at the beginning.”
Humbled and pleased, he realized that he might be helping her discover her faith. Of course, just reading the Book of Psalms didn’t mean she would become a believer, but he couldn’t help thinking he might be able to help sway her opinion if they had time to talk. Maybe attend church. Did the town have a church?
Maybe he shouldn’t have called his boss for assistance so quickly. Was it possible God placed Mallory in his path not only to keep her safe from physical harm, but to assist her in finding her way to God?
If so, he was eager to accept God’s calling. He closed his eyes and prayed for strength. Mallory watched him intently, but before he could pursue the issue, she changed the subject.
“Would you mind if I borrow your phone after we’re finished eating? I’d like to find out how Alyssa is doing. She mentioned she had an MRI done of her ankle.”
“Sure. In fact, I spoke to Gage earlier and he said everything went well.” When he saw the annoyance flash in her eyes at being left out of the conversation, he quickly added, “Alyssa is scheduled for surgery first thing tomorrow morning. If you want to talk to her again, I’m sure Gage wouldn’t mind.”
“I guess there’s no rush.” Looking slightly mollified, she took another bite of her sandwich. “Jonah, would you consider sending me to stay with Alyssa and Gage instead? At least then I wouldn’t be at the mercy of strangers.”
He thought her statement was odd. Why would she feel she was at the mercy of strangers? Did she really think two cops posed some sort of threat?
“Mallory, if you go home, you’ll be putting both Gage and Alyssa at risk. Especially Alyssa, who will obviously be unable to move very well after undergoing surgery.” He’d left the hospital against medical advice right after the surgery to repair his deflated lung, and those first few days had been awful. Of course, running around the city chasing Jefferson hadn’t exactly helped his recuperation.
“Okay, but couldn’t they come to the safe house with me?” she persisted. “If this place is as safe as you think, they wouldn’t be in danger.”
He couldn’t argue her point. And it was possible Gage could be persuaded to go along with her plan, if only to appease Alyssa. “We’ll discuss the possibility with Gage, okay? If he agrees, then I’m happy to make the arrangements, once she’s home from surgery.”
“Great. Thanks, Jonah.” Mallory’s mood lightened considerably, and he couldn’t help wondering what had happened in her past to make trust so difficult. “Do you mind if I ask you another question?” she asked.
He dragged his thoughts to the present. “Of course not.”
“Do you really believe God forgives all sins?”
“Absolutely.” Now he knew God really had sent him to assist Mallory in finding her way home.
Her question touched him. “‘Through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,’” he quoted.
She was silent for a long moment. “Even if the sins are really bad?” she asked in a voice so soft, he had to lean closer to hear.
“Yes, even if the sins are really bad. It’s never too late to turn your life around, Mallory, never too late to accept God and your faith. But I find it hard to believe your sins are as bad as you claim.”
She frowned. “You don’t know enough about me to say that, Jonah.” Avoiding his gaze, she leaped up from the table and began clearing away the mess from their meal. “I’d like to call Gage now, if you don’t mind.”
He silently handed her his cell phone. Feeling restless, he crossed over to his own room, standing next to the window and staring at the highway leading into town. A few dark clouds dotted the sky, but nothing too serious. He was surprised his replacements hadn’t arrived yet.
Just ten minutes later, Mallory returned his phone. “Your boss called,” she said.
“Did you get to talk to Alyssa?”
“Yes.” Mallory flashed a brief smile. “She’s a little worried about the surgery, but is thankful Gage will be there for her. I’m thrilled she’s giving Gage a second chance.”
“They’re good together.” He called Finley back, prepared for bad news. “Hi, boss, what’s up?”
“I won’t be able to free anyone up to relieve you until tomorrow. Stay right where you are, and I promise I’ll have someone there first thing in the morning.”
He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. It was late afternoon, nearly four o’clock. “Okay, I suppose another sixteen hours won’t make much of a difference.”
“If anything changes, I’ll let you know.”
Jonah ended the call and crossed over to the connecting door between their rooms. “Make yourself comfortable. We’re staying here for another night.”
She didn’t look overly disappointed. “Another night is fine with me. Maybe we could go to the hospital tomorrow to visit Alyssa?”
