“I didn’t know I was so scary.” She tried to laugh, but she knew what he meant—and that scared her, too.
She felt that same strong pull toward him that she’d barely been able to ignore up to this point, but managed to stay seated.
“I meant the way I feel when you touch me,” he said barely above a whisper. “Shoot, when you even look at me.”
“I know. I just thought I’d give you a chance to move on without having to discuss it.”
He didn’t respond right away, just stood looking at her. “You want me to move on?”
“I don’t know. I…I can feel it, too, but I…”
“But you don’t want anything permanent.”
“Exactly,” she said, glad he remembered her take on relationships. “I’ve learned from experience that if I date, it often heads that way and people get hurt.”
He frowned. “You mean the guy you date gets hurt.”
“Yes.” She shifted uncomfortably. “They have expectations I’m not willing to fulfill. So I stopped dating. Now I only interact with guys as friends.”
“I think it might be too late to avoid that.” He took her hand and held it between his.
She looked at their hands joined together, her smaller fingers held by his strong, tan ones. A rush of longing for everything she’d avoided in life poured through her, and for the first time in her adult life, she wished she wanted the same thing as a man who was interested in her.
Her phone rang, and she jumped, pulling her gaze free. She saw her mother’s name on the screen. “I need to take this. It’s my mom, and it might be about my dad.”
Reed nodded and went to the table holding his paperwork.
She appreciated the bit of privacy he offered and accepted the call. But before she even spoke to her mom, every reason she wanted to remain single came rushing back to her. This amazing man might be showing her how incredible he was in every way, but she would keep her distance. She had to, or she would eventually find herself smothered by a man and lose the freedom she’d worked so hard to obtain in her life.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” her mother said.
At hearing her mother’s voice, Sierra’s pulse kicked up, and she felt shaky. How could she be feeling this jittery from a simple call from her mother? Sierra had never felt this confused before. “How’s Dad doing?”
“Good news. Aiden’s a match, and he’s going to donate one of his kidneys.”
“That’s great,” Sierra said, when what she wanted to say was, of course he was a match. He was their dad’s flesh and blood, not like her. “When will they do the surgery?”
“Dad wants to wait until…” Her mother’s voice broke.
“What, Mom?” Worry replaced Sierra’s anxiety over talking to her mother. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Not really. Your dad just…he wants to see you before surgery. In case something goes wrong. He wants to know you’ve forgiven him…us.”
Talk about pressure. “Nothing’s going to go wrong.”
“I believe that, and he does, too, but…just in case.”
Sierra loved her parents, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to forgive them yet. She definitely wouldn’t tell her mother that when she was already so worried. “I’m really sorry, Mom, but I can’t come now. I’m in the middle of an investigation that’s time sensitive.”
“Can’t someone else do the work?”
“They could, but it’s about Eddie. He’s disappeared.”
A long silence filled the phone. “What do you mean disappeared?”
“The FBI thinks he embezzled a large amount of money from his clients and took off with it.”
“That doesn’t sound like the Eddie I knew.”
She was shocked, and yet, glad to hear her mother defend Eddie. “Tell me why.”
“He might not have wanted to be a father, but he was a good person.” She sighed. “He was as honest as the day was long. He couldn’t tell a lie to save himself. And he never, never would have stolen from his father’s business.”
“Maybe he changed.”
“Maybe, but I just don’t see it. He was never motivated by money. As long as he could play golf at the country club, that’s all he cared about. And me, of course. We were so in love. I used to go with him to the course all the time.”
Sierra couldn’t even imagine her mother in love with anyone but Sierra’s legal dad. “For what’s it’s worth, I don’t think he stole the money either, and the trace evidence I located showed signs of foul play.”
“Oh, oh, my. That’s terrible. Of course you need to help find him.”
“No…I want to…” She didn’t know what she wanted. Not with her parents or with Reed.
“You’re not ready to forgive us,” her mother said. “I understand. We’ll be here when you are. And I’ll let you know if anything changes with Dad’s health.”
“Tell him I love him, please.”
“Of course, I will.”
“And I love you too, Mom.”
“I love you too, sweetheart. Talk soon.”
The call went dead, and a hot tear slid down Sierra’s cheek. Then another one. And another. She let them flow, wondering how to handle this. Her dad was getting sicker by the day, and she couldn’t be the reason he held off on the transplant.
Her phone chimed. She spotted Aiden’s name and read his text.
You made Mom cry.
How did she respond to that? She never wanted to hurt her mother or her father. Never. But she had. As deeply as they hurt her. Tears poured down her face, and her whole body ached with the pain.
Reed crossed the room and held out his arms. “Come here, honey.”
His offer of comfort and heartfelt endearment snapped the last bit of her control, and she started sobbing. She couldn’t ugly cry in front of him, so before he wrapped those strong arms around her, she bolted for the restroom.
She was vaguely aware of an orange smell from the cleaner they used as she splashed cold water on her face that was just as red and blotchy as she expected it would be. The cool water felt good, and it slowed her tears, but didn’t stop them completely.
Emory entered, purse in hand. “Been here all night and I was on my way to check in on you when I realized I needed to…you’re crying. What’s wrong?”
Sierra ripped a paper towel from the dispenser and blotted her face. “I just talked to my mom.”
Emory stepped closer. “Your dad. Is he…?”
“No. He’s going to be okay. Aiden’s a match, and Dad will get the transplant soon.” Sierra explained the call.
Emory set down her bag and rested a hand on Sierra’s shoulder. “I totally understand. You know that. Forgiveness in a situation like this can’t be rushed.” She shook her head. “I didn’t want to hurt my mom either, but I did. It took me some time to get over learning I was adopted, but now we’re fine.”
“See that’s the thing,” Sierra said. “I know I’ll get over this. I love my dad and wouldn’t trade him for anyone else, but it still hurts.”
“Maybe go see him. Tell him that. And then he can have the surgery knowing you love him, and that you know once the pain subsides that you’ll find that forgiveness.”
“Yeah…yeah. I can do that.” She gave Emory a quick hug. “Thanks. You’ve helped a lot.”
Emory smiled. “It’s good to see what I went through help you. God doesn’t waste a hurt, right?”
“Yeah, sure,” Sierra said though she didn’t yet know the purpose of this pain in her own life.
“I’ve been thinking of looking for a way to work with others who learn later in life that they’re adopted. After this conversation, I definitely plan on finding a way to do it.”
“That’s a great idea. I’ll pray that you find the right opportunity.”
“By the way, I got your samples from Caulfield’s place and started them running. I’ll have the results by morning.”
“Excellent. I also have a blood sample for you.” Sierra’s phone bu
zzed. She glanced at it. “It’s Reed. Checking to see if I’m okay. Or maybe he’s just getting impatient for me to get back to work.”
“Law enforcement officers. You can’t live with them and you can’t live without them.” Emory smirked.
“Ah, but it’s not long before you’ll be living with yours.”
A wide smile crossed Emory’s face. “Sixty-three days and seven hours until I walk down the aisle.”
“Not that you’re counting or anything.” Sierra grinned.
Emory swatted at her. “You have a man waiting for you. And a very attractive man at that.”
“I hadn’t noticed.”
Emory snorted. “I have mascara in my bag in case you want to repair yours.”
Sierra held out her hand. “It’s important as a partner to always look my best when I might run into clients.”
Emory rolled her eyes and dug out the mascara.
Sierra used a wet paper towel to clean away black smudges of mascara and applied the wand to her lashes. She stood back and looked at herself. “I look like I’ve been crying.”
“No you don’t. You just look a bit tired.”
Sierra handed back the mascara. “Well there’s no changing things, so off I go.”
“I guarantee Reed won’t mind what he sees. Not at all.”
Reed paced Sierra’s lab. He’d opened his arms to offer comfort, and she’d bolted like a terrified animal caught in headlights. Was she so repulsed by the thought of a potential relationship with him that she couldn’t imagine his arms around her? The very thought made him sick to his stomach.
The door opened, and she entered. She met his gaze, but quickly looked away, tugging the lapels of her lab coat closed as if she needed armor in his presence. “Sorry about that. My mom…I…” She shrugged.
“No need to apologize,” he said and truly meant it. “I take it from your conversation that things are still dicey with your parents.”
She sat at the table holding the shoes. “My brother is a match for the kidney transplant, but Dad wants to hold off until he can talk to me. He wants to hear that I’ve forgiven my mom and him for withholding this from me.”
Reed planted his hands on the table and looked at her. “And you’re not ready for that.”
“Exactly, but I don’t want to delay his surgery.” She picked up a twist tie from packaging and fidgeted with it. “I just ran into Emory. She has a unique insight on this. Not too long ago, she found out that she was adopted. Her parents hadn’t told her, and she was angry and hurt for a while, but ended up reconciling with her mother. She suggested that I would eventually forgive my parents, so why not go talk to my dad now and tell him I might not be ready yet, but that I knew I would be.”
“Sounds like good advice.”
“Yeah. I’m just not sure I feel like I have the strength to do it.”
There it was again. She didn’t even think to ask for someone to go with her. To help her through this. She had such a strong need to be independent and tough. To do everything on her own. But Reed knew she didn’t need to do that. Not when she had so many people who would support her.
“You don’t have to be strong enough to handle this on your own,” he said, hoping she’d be receptive to his comments. “God will be with you and give you the strength.”
She dropped the twist tie and looked at him, her expression confused. “Sounds good, but I have to admit that’s hard for me. My parents raised me to be independent. To do things on my own.”
“So maybe that’s why you’re going through all of this now. God’s taking you to a point where you can’t do it on your own, and you need to reach out to Him. To rely on Him instead of yourself.”
She seemed to ponder as she clutched her hands together. “All I know is that I’ve never faced anything this tough before.”
Reed kept his focus on her and went around the table to take her hands. He held them tightly so she couldn’t pull away. “And maybe God is also telling you that you need to let people in. To let them get closer even if it could result in them taking control away from you.”
Her eyes glistened with tears and a single drop rolled over her cheek. He released a hand to brush it away. “Why don’t we take time for you to go see your dad? I can come with you if you want.”
She pulled her hands free and stepped back.
He had to admit her reaction stung, but this wasn’t about him or how he felt. It was about helping her. “We can do whatever you want. I could drive you then hang in the lobby or the hallway.”
She drew in a sharp breath and held it for a long time before letting it slowly out. “I need to see him, and I don’t want to go alone. On the way, we can drop off the blood sample at Emory’s lab and get Nick started on finding locations where we might find the brick dust. But I need to talk to my parents alone.”
He worked hard to hide how much her agreeing to his help meant to him. “Sounds like a plan. Just know I’ll be there waiting outside the room if you need me.”
She gave a resolved nod and pushed to her feet to grab her backpack and the druggist fold packet. Glad to see her mood improve, Reed shoved papers into his briefcase and followed her into the hallway.
She watched until the door clicked closed behind them. “We can start with Nick on the third floor and then hit Emory’s lab on the way down.”
Reed trailed her into the stairwell and followed her to Nick’s domain. The first impression Reed got was that the space was unusually dark to be called a lab, but Reed was used to eccentricity in tech people, so when he walked through the large room with five computers humming along one wall, he didn’t question the lighting. Sierra led him into a room in the back that was filled with computer parts, and Reed was surprised that there was room for Nick inside the smaller space. Both rooms were cold, likely to keep the running equipment cool.
Nick’s gaze went straight to Reed. “Tell me you brought me an image of Eddie’s hard drive.”
“I did.”
Nick flashed Reed a surprised look. “Seriously? I thought you’d string me along and never produce it.”
“That was uncalled for, Nick,” Sierra scolded.
Reed agreed and didn’t like Nick’s insinuation. Usually Reed would let such a dig pass but he wouldn’t let it go with Sierra standing here looking at him. “I’m a man of my word.”
“Sorry, man,” Nick said. “You’ve done nothing to deserve my comment, and I shouldn’t generalize like that.”
Reed nodded and got an external drive out of his briefcase. “A copy of all of Barnes’s files.”
Nick took the drive and held out his hand for a fist bump. Reed figured this was Nick’s way of making sure they were good and tapped the guy’s fist.
“I’ll get started on this right away.” Nick was true to his word as he grabbed a cord from his desk and shoved the plug into the drive.
“I have something else I need to ask you to do that takes priority,” Sierra said.
Nick looked up at her. “Lay it on me.”
“We’re looking for any buildings in the area with red brick exteriors that are either under construction or are crumbling.”
Nick’s forehead furrowed. “That’s not an easy task.”
Sierra stepped closer to him. “I thought maybe you could write one of your famous algorithms to search for construction stories.”
“Yeah, I can do that, but I doubt they’ll mention brick. It’ll more likely show up in any associated pictures.”
“But you’ll figure it out, right?” She smiled at him. “I mean you always do.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere.” He laughed.
Sierra chuckled, and Reed felt that same jealousy that hit him with Chad. He knew she wasn’t involved with this guy or with Chad, but she liked Nick and was easygoing around him. Reed wanted her to feel at ease with him like that.
Or did he? He liked the sizzle that crackled between them when they were alone. Maybe being at ease would erase that, and he didn�
�t want the sparks to go away.
“We need to get going,” Sierra said. “Let me know if you find anything on the brick.”
“Will do.”
“Before we go,” Reed said. “Any progress to report on the residents list I gave you last night?”
“My guy’s working on it. Should have information by the update meeting this afternoon.” Nick leaned back in his chair and propped his feet on the desk. “I have completed my background check on Eddie. Found only two points that I think are relevant to the investigation.”
Reed wanted to doubt that this man found anything, but Reed had come to realize that this team pulled things off that mere mortals couldn’t do. “So what do you have?”
“We all know that Eddie wasn’t desperate for money, right? All of his financials were in good standing, and even your forensic review of his accounting showed that there wasn’t a tie between the missing money in the business and his personal accounts.”
“Right. We never connected the two, but he was the only one with authority to move the money, so he’s the most likely person behind the theft.”
“You’d think, but I tracked the offshore money transfer to an IP address that doesn’t belong to Eddie.”
Now Reed was very interested as his IT guys said they couldn’t track the transmission. “Then who?”
“Not a specific who, but where.” He handed Reed a piece of paper. “I tracked it through a myriad of proxies to this local address.”
Reed glanced at the Portland address. “What’s there?”
“As far as I can tell, a vacant building. Odds are good that whoever moved the money is no longer there, but—”
“But a visit to the facility is in order,” Reed finished for him.
Nick nodded. “I’ve gone ahead and done virtual surveillance for you. And before you ask, I didn’t notice any brick in the photos. But I found the building owner. A shell corp that I had to unravel to get to the owner. A Vasily Kuznetsov.” Nick pointed at the paper. “His name’s on there so you have the correct spelling.”
Reed thought this lead was too good to be true. “Our guys were never able to trace the transfer transmission. You sure you got this right?”
Dead End Page 15
