The Eligible Suspect

by Jennifer Morey

  He spoke to the valet and climbed the stairs, disappearing from her view.

  “Savanna Ivy!”

  Her mother’s impatience propelled her off the bench seat. But she was slow to make her way through the enormous house. As she reached the wide stairs descending to the entry, she heard Korbin talking to her mother.

  “My apologies, again, for the unannounced visit,” he said. “Thanks for letting me through your security. It’s pretty impressive.”

  “Nonsense. Savanna has told us all about you.”

  “I hope nothing too disparaging.”

  How could it have been if her mother let him in?

  “Being wanted by the law is disparaging, Mr. Maguire,” her mother said, “but we trust our daughter’s judgment.”

  Savanna took each stair in a slow descent. When she saw Korbin, she stopped. He looked up and the simmering heat of his gaze struck her.

  After a moment he snapped out of his trance. “Hello, Savanna.”

  His deep, rich voice fanned her most sensitive nerves. Going rigid in defense, she stepped down the rest of the stairs much more briskly.

  She stopped next to her mother, facing Korbin. “What brings you here?”

  He cleared his throat. “I’m not sure I can answer that.”

  “Police?”

  Camille gave her daughter a sharp glance.

  “No. They found out where I was staying, but...”

  The way he looked into her eyes explained enough. He’d ignored her wishes and come anyway. The police hadn’t driven him here. He hadn’t come expecting to be offered a hiding place. He couldn’t stay away.

  “Well.” Camille clapped her hands together. “It’s close to dinnertime. Let’s have a barbecue.”

  “It’s the middle of winter,” Savanna said.

  Camille waved her hand, more of a swat. “You know your dad.”

  She led the way through the entry and then down another set of stairs to the basement. Korbin took notice of the house, but in an interested way, not an awed or greedy way. He came from money. Savanna found it so refreshing not to have to wonder if it was her money or name that had brought him here.

  In the lower-level rec room, Camille asked a butler to bring everything they’d need for hamburgers. Her dad was sitting at the bar talking on the phone. The director must have left.

  “Ah.” Jackson Ivy stood and kissed Savanna’s cheek. “This must mean the workday is over.” Next, he kissed his wife, who glowed with a smile and kissed him back. Jackson turned to Korbin and with all the kissing going on, didn’t lean in for one. “We’re not traditionally French, but kisses are sometimes our thing.”

  “I’m not French, either.” Korbin shook his hand. He refused to kiss a man. “Maguire. Irish through and through.”

  Jackson laughed and Korbin realized he’d only been teasing. Damn theatrical types.

  “This is Korbin, Dad,” Savanna said.

  The congenial greeting died out a bit and Jackson withdrew his hand. Not surprising. What father wouldn’t be protective of his daughters?

  Korbin turned to Savanna. “Did you hear the news?”

  Savanna perked up, full attention.

  “We don’t watch a lot of television here,” Camille said.

  “My stepdaughter gave me an alibi for the hit-and-run,” Korbin said.

  “You have a stepdaughter?” Savanna asked. His wife’s daughter had lost a mother. Not so shocking by itself but why hadn’t Korbin told her? Another secret he hadn’t divulged until he had to.

  “Fallon Ellgard. She’s twenty-three. Niya had her when she was sixteen. We lost touch after her mother died.”

  Savanna saw how he drifted off into thought. He must have been close to the girl. Was he thinking of a broken family, once a unit? Perhaps the things he didn’t speak about were the things that hurt him the most. But they were also the things that would bring about change. This trying time for him was difficult, but maybe it was exactly what he needed. He’d already refused to help Damen.

  “She must be so devastated,” Camille said. “That’s such a young age to lose a mom. She’s just starting out on her own.”

  Korbin nodded, clearly not welcoming the subject. His bad choices had led to her mother being shot. The girl must blame him. Her grief would be hard to comprehend.

  “She’s a smart girl,” Korbin said. “Accepted into Harvard. Pretty. Grown-up for her age. She always was. I think it was losing her dad to cancer when she was eight that did it. She’s lost both her parents. I had a good relationship with her, but she was close to her dad. She told me once that she was afraid she’d forget what he looked like.” He stopped. Now the girl would fear she’d forget how her mother looked. What he left out of that unexpected disclosure was that he missed her.

  Savanna saw that her mom and dad had taken notice along with her.

  “Have you talked with her?” Jackson asked.

  “She refuses to talk to me.”

  Confirmation that the girl did blame him. Maybe that’s why he never mentioned her. It was one more dark memory from his wife’s murder.

  “Well, she came forward to give you an alibi,” Camille said. “Is it true?”

  “It must be. She came to see me, but something stopped her from going to the door. She must have thought about it a long time, though. The police said she was out there for two hours.”

  Watching him. Maybe that had been enough. A first step toward forgiveness. It also gave a glimpse into the relationship they’d begun to build. His stepdaughter must not want to live without at least some semblance of family. Fallon meant a lot to Korbin.

  “How did you ever end up a fugitive?” Camille asked. “You seem like such a nice man.”

  Korbin looked at her as though he was considering how to answer, or maybe he was figuring it out as he went along. “My parents weren’t the most loving people when I grew up. I didn’t like their way of life, the formality. I suppose I rebelled and that put me on the wrong path. I barely spoke to them at Niya’s funeral.”

  “Good heavens, why ever not?” Camille asked.

  “I disappointed them. They expressed their condolences, but they might as well have been distant acquaintances. I can’t imagine what they’re thinking right now.”

  “Probably the worst,” Jackson said. “You should talk to them, son.”

  Korbin met Jackson’s gaze but didn’t respond. Her father had a way of speaking the truth in not so many words. But he meant no harm, and that came across. If Korbin wasn’t offended, he didn’t show it. He just seemed tormented over the broken relationship and how to mend it.

  Savanna put her hand on his arm. “I’m sure you’ll get a chance.”

  He turned to her, uncertainty shrouding him, but warmth at her gentle concern and care easing away his tension.

  “Well.” Jackson clapped his hands together once. “I’ve got some burgers to grill.”

  “I’ll help you.” Camille went with him to the table where all the food had been placed.

  “Scared them away,” Korbin said with a wry grin.

  “They’re just giving you some space. You’re a big man, and not one who looks like he makes confessions like that.”

  “Try never.”

  Savanna suspected his mood had everything to do with his stepdaughter. He longed to maintain a relationship with her and she may not let him. There was nothing tying them together anymore, and his criminal past might prevent her from letting him try.

  With her parents busy with dinner, Savanna was left with Korbin beginning to regard her much differently. His trouble faded to the background for a moment as seeing each other again came into the forefront of all else. His eyes changed, awareness of her heating them up. Feeling an answering reaction, Savanna tensed.

 
; “Agent Kidd called about Tony,” he said, breaking the moment. “He checked out, but he runs a janitorial contracting company that only recently began showing significant profits.” He pulled out a flash drive and showed it to her.

  “What did you find?” Taking the flash drive, she went to a desk on the far side of the room and awakened the computer.

  “I copied the list of all the contactors he employs,” Korbin said, following her. “I figured we could go talk to the one in Colorado.”

  She looked up and back at him when he said “we.”

  “If you want to go with me.”

  Irrationally she clamored to gush out a yes, thrilled that he wanted to be with her. But wanting to be with her now and wanting to be with her indefinitely were two different things, and she could not forget his baggage, which might be too heavy to take on a new relationship. There was also the danger. Would she really put herself in danger to be with him?

  He was an innocent man. Could she just as easily abandon him?

  She faced the computer, opening the list. There were about twenty contractors. She read the names of companies and one of them triggered something significant.

  “Some of the companies are big,” Korbin said.

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking. Hart is a big bank.”

  “There are a few banks.”

  “A water treatment facility.” Savanna pointed.

  “In LA.”

  Savanna checked the others. One of the companies in Colorado provided emergency communication systems services. She began to feel a chill crawl down her back from the crown of her head.

  “Does this look like what I think it looks like?”

  “These could all be terrorist targets.”

  She looked up at him, this time with no warmth between them. “Why keep records of their employment?”

  “To appear legitimate to the hiring company. Even the FBI didn’t find anything wrong. Agent Kidd only had a hunch, and he didn’t see this list. The companies wouldn’t see it, either, only information on the contractor hired.”

  Facing the computer again, she wondered aloud, “How did Tony link up with these people?”

  “He must have known them ahead of time. This has been planned for a long time. And Damen is helping him.”

  “How?”

  “He wanted me involved. Maybe he needed someone to design a virus.”

  Forget explosives. This was electronic warfare. Take down vital infrastructure. Banks. Water treatment facilities. Emergency systems. If they succeeded it could be catastrophic.

  “They have to be stopped,” she said, deciding right then that she was going with Korbin.

  “We have no proof.”

  “Then we have to get it.” Where would they begin? “Macon said Damen has a twin brother.”

  “He does.”

  “Maybe he knows something.”

  “It’s worth a try.” He took out his wallet and found a piece of paper with Agent Kidd’s number written down. Then he went to a landline and made the call, putting it on speaker so Savanna could hear.

  “Agent Kidd.”

  “I have something for you,” Korbin said.

  “Maguire?”

  “I need your email.”

  “Hey, sorry for what happened. I didn’t rat you out. It just so happens I have competition for a promotion around here. He found out I’d been talking to my brother-in-law and since he saw the news, he did some digging and learned about the apartment. He must have staked you out or something.”

  “I got away. Give me your email.”

  The agent fell quiet for a bit. “What have you got?”

  “Maybe something big. Really big. Like a terrorist plot.” Korbin explained everything they knew.

  “That does sound big. If we can prove it. I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, I’ve got an update for you on the murder evidence.”

  Savanna met Korbin’s anticipatory look.

  “I just found out that a small amount of blood and some other tissue was discovered under one of Collette’s fingernails. It looks as though she tried to scratch him and caught him at least partially. Now all we need is a DNA match. Will it be yours?”

  “No. It’ll be Damen’s,” Korbin replied.

  * * *

  The next afternoon, Dad was like one of his action heroes.

  “I didn’t know you had a gun safe here.” Savanna took in the ten-by-ten room filled with every imaginable gun and rifle. “Or is this a panic room?”

  Jackson handed Korbin an intimidating automatic rifle with a scope mounted to the top and then a couple of pistols, one with a silencer.

  “I always said everyone could come to this house and be safe.” He examined another pistol and then handed it to her. “This one will be perfect for you.”

  Standing at the doorway, Camille didn’t look pleased. “I still don’t see why we can’t leave this up to police. Can’t the two of them just stay here until it all blows over?”

  If the DNA matched Damen’s it would only be a matter of time before he was arrested.

  Jackson turned to her, Korbin doing the same but not saying anything.

  “Korbin is being set up, but the police will still take him in,” Jackson said. “He won’t be free to do his own investigating.”

  “I suppose you have a point,” Camille said worriedly as she looked at Korbin. “You aren’t going to shoot at police, are you?”

  Korbin chuckled. “No. Just run from them.”

  “Until he can prove his innocence,” Savanna said. The guns were for Damen and Tony and anyone else who felt motivated to snuff them out to protect the terrorist plan.

  Camille went to Savanna and took her hands. “Are you sure, honey? I don’t want you to go. It’s so dangerous.”

  “Not if we’re careful,” Korbin said. Damen was still in the hospital.

  “Honey.” Jackson moved close and put his arm around her. “It’ll be okay.” He rubbed her shoulder. “She has Korbin, and there comes a time when you have to let your kids live their own lives.”

  “But this is different.”

  Damen had shot at her at her house, but he’d nearly killed her at Chavis’s cabin. Her parents didn’t know that and they didn’t need to. Although her dad supported her, she could hear the worry in his tone. He had to stop himself from refusing to let her go. Or maybe he knew she’d go anyway, no matter what they said or did. She was old enough to make her own choices.

  “I promise I’ll bring her back to you,” Korbin said. “Both of you.”

  Savanna glanced at him, asking herself for the millionth time why she was doing this. Why go with him? Ever since he’d gotten stuck on her road she’d been involved in his situation, but this wasn’t only about him anymore. If she could help prevent a threat to national security, she was not the type of person who could sit around in a high-security mansion and do nothing. Besides, it wasn’t as if they were taking this on by themselves. Korbin’s contact at the FBI was helping. Pretty soon, law enforcement would see that Korbin was on their side, and that he was innocent.

  Jackson took out a ring of keys and handed them to Korbin. “This is a Class A motor home. You’ll stick out but you’ll be comfortable.”

  In other words, it was an expensive motor home.

  “Lincoln used one of those when he helped Sabrina, didn’t he?”

  “He stole a used one,” her mother said, disapproving, but not for the substandard quality. Her son had stolen something.

  Jackson grinned his affection. “There are two passports in the desk drawer in case you need them,” her dad said. “And a driver’s license for Korbin.”

  “When did you get all of that done?” She eyed Korbin.

  “This morning,”
Jackson answered.

  He must have some great connections. She decided not to ask further on it. Instead, she moved forward and looped her arm over his shoulder. “Thanks, Dad.” She kissed his cheek. “You’re the best dad ever.”

  He gave her arm a squeeze. “You just come home to your mother. I won’t be able to live with her if anything happens to any of her kids.”

  Although he made a joke of it, Savanna wasn’t fooled. He was serious.

  “I’ll be happy when all of my kids settle down and stay out of trouble. The only trouble I want to hear about is labor pains.”

  “You could make a really interesting biography on us.” Savanna went to her mother and gave her the same show of affection. “Don’t worry. Korbin’s going to clear his name and everything will be all right. You can plan a big party when Damen and Tony are arrested.” And anyone else involved in the scheme.

  Camille walked with Jackson behind them out of the gun room. She and Korbin were all packed. Camille had gathered enough clothes for them to get by, along with hats and sunglasses and jackets to conceal their looks.

  In the circular drive, the motor home was ready for them. Savanna said goodbye to her parents, and Korbin shook Jackson’s hand. Her mother wasn’t so amenable. It was one thing to want her daughter to find a faithful, honorable man, and quite another to send her off with an armed fugitive.

  As they climbed into the RV, Savanna felt on the verge of an adventure and something else. Ever since Agent Kidd had revealed that DNA evidence had been found, the furnace of desire that tempted her so burned hotter. Innocent, Korbin was a much more palatable bachelor. One less thing to stand between them. She’d done this before, though. She’d erred on the side of optimism and didn’t look objectively at the situation—or the man. She was forever a believer in good. Everyone had good in them. What she was no good at doing was stopping to question if the person was good for her.

  In hindsight, the lawyer wasn’t. If she had looked closer, she’d have seen it long before she caught him with his ex-wife. Optimism had gotten the best of her. The same had been true with her fiancé. All a person had to do was want something to have it. But in love, both the man and the woman had to want it. She had no radar for what a man wanted. And she realized now that she had to raise her standards for what she wanted. Handsome, successful and compatible were not enough. He had to be handsome, successful, compatible, and honest with both himself and her. He had to be as invested in her as she was in him, and be truthful about how he felt.