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Trail of Evidence
Lynette Eason


SAVING HIS SONWhy is a dead woman's phone–evidence in a murder investigation–in Jonas Parker's son's bedroom? Dangerous thugs are after that phone and his terrified teenager, so the single father turns to Capitol K-9 Unit officer Brooke Clark. Years ago, Brooke broke Jonas's heart without explanation. But he has to trust her and her highly-trained golden retriever to keep his son safe. When the boy goes missing, Jonas and Brooke must make peace with their past to find the teen–before increasingly desperate criminals get to him first.Capitol K-9 Unit: These lawmen solve the toughest cases with the help of their brave canine partners.







SAVING HIS SON

Why is a dead woman’s phone—evidence in a murder investigation—in Jonas Parker’s son’s bedroom? Dangerous thugs are after that phone and his terrified teenager, so the single father turns to Capitol K-9 Unit officer Brooke Clark. Years ago, Brooke broke Jonas’s heart without explanation. But he has to trust her and her highly trained golden retriever to keep his son safe. When the boy goes missing, Jonas and Brooke must make peace with their past to find the teen—before increasingly desperate criminals get to him first.

Capitol K-9 Unit: These lawmen solve the toughest cases with the help of their brave canine partners.


“I hate to ask this, but…”

Brooke looked uncomfortable.

“What?” Jonas asked.

“Your son had a dead woman’s cell phone in his room. Do you think he had anything to do with her death?”

Jonas stepped back, her words hurting more than if she’d slapped him. “What? No. Of course not.” He raked a hand through his hair, hating the flash of doubt that raced through him. “No. I mean my son has been getting in some trouble lately, but he’d never hurt—kill—someone over a stupid phone.”

She held up a hand. “Just had to ask.”

The anger fizzled as fast as it had flamed. “I understand why you might ask that, but no. It’s not possible.”

“Then how did the phone wind up under his mattress two months after its owner was found murdered?”

* * *

CAPITOL K-9 UNIT:

These lawmen solve the toughest cases

with the help of their brave canine partners

Protection Detail (http://ads.harpercollins.com/boba?isbn=9781460378922&oisbn=9781460381557)—Shirlee McCoy, March 2015 Duty Bound Guardian (http://ads.harpercollins.com/boba?isbn=9781460380000&oisbn=9781460381557)—Terri Reed, April 2015 Trail of Evidence—Lynette Eason, May 2015 Security Breach (http://ads.harpercollins.com/boba?isbn=9781460383193&oisbn=9781460381557)—Margaret Daley, June 2015 Detecting Danger—Valerie Hansen, July 2015 Proof of Innocence—Lenora Worth, August 2015


LYNETTE EASON is a bestselling, award-winning author who makes her home in South Carolina with her husband and two teenage children. She enjoys traveling, spending time with her family and teaching at various writing conferences around the country. She is a member of RWA (Romance Writers of America) and ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers). Lynette can often be found online interacting with her readers. You can find her at facebook.com/lynette.eason (http://Facebook.com/lynette.eason) and on Twitter at @lynetteeason (https://twitter.com/lynetteeason).


Trail of

Evidence

Lynette Eason






www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

—Romans 9:8


Dedicated to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank You for giving me the passion to write and to write for You.


Contents

Cover (#u6d60feda-761e-5978-b2d0-692d7051b114)

Back Cover Text (#u00f14994-09e7-501c-9a71-5d9f90e63c60)

Introduction (#uc08a6097-86f0-526b-9c55-fd8150513727)

About the Author (#u7f536118-b8ba-54af-a912-e17972d013c7)

Title Page (#u59644c70-02ca-5cdd-a2ee-c0c2adb16fe7)

Epigraph (#u0da53c40-d8f1-5c7a-b866-e7cbcb0d2c69)

Dedication (#u345e5605-ef26-5338-9ed8-d63bb9a4d3c9)

ONE (#ulink_5e6144d6-537d-5b16-b21c-2d74770bc1b8)

TWO (#ulink_da8483e3-5f66-5b3f-a845-bcca0b4b99dc)

THREE (#ulink_e9797629-d02a-5a3f-9009-5553a79e35c4)

FOUR (#ulink_53cda90d-9326-5993-af33-fccf5543ad0e)

FIVE (#ulink_52e319d5-4aea-524b-ace0-70362d8d0373)

SIX (#litres_trial_promo)

SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

NINE (#litres_trial_promo)

TEN (#litres_trial_promo)

ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)

THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

SEVENTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

EIGHTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

NINETEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

TWENTY (#litres_trial_promo)

TWENTY-ONE (#litres_trial_promo)

TWENTY-TWO (#litres_trial_promo)

Dear Reader (#litres_trial_promo)

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)


ONE (#ulink_2180763f-4bc8-5207-baf3-1bd30609230b)

Veterinarian Jonas Parker jerked from his slight doze and lay still in the recliner where he’d crashed only a few minutes earlier shortly after midnight. He’d spent the night treating a longtime client’s Doberman, who’d gotten hit by a car. A few lacerations and a couple of broken bones later, the dog now rested in the kennel at the office and Jonas had come home to get some much-needed rest. Only now he was hearing things. His ears honed in on the noises of his house and he frowned, wondering what had awakened him.

Silence echoed back at him.

Annoyance rushed through him. He’d just gotten relaxed enough to maybe fall asleep, and his house settling had disturbed him. He snorted. Earplugs might be a good investment. He closed his eyes and let out a low breath.

Crash.

Jonas shot into a sitting position as his blood pounded through his veins.

That wasn’t the house settling. Someone was in his house. Upstairs.

Felix! He had to get to Felix, his thirteen-year-old son. He froze, his thoughts scrambling. No. Wait. It was Saturday night. Felix was sleeping over at a friend’s. A flash of relief, then determination made his heart kick up speed.

Who was it? What did the intruder want? Money? Jewelry? Moving as silently as possible, Jonas rose from the recliner and stood, fingers clenching and unclenching at his sides.

A weapon.

He needed to be able to defend himself.

Where was his phone? He had to call for help. And get out.

The stairs creaked. He stopped at the edge of the room.

To get to either the front door or the back, he would have to go through the kitchen. Which meant passing the stairs.

While his adrenaline pounded, Jonas thought hard. His cell phone was on the kitchen counter. He didn’t have a landline.

Soft footfalls on the steps reached his ears as though someone didn’t want to make a lot of noise, but wasn’t very skilled at being quiet.

Jonas grabbed the nearest thing he could use as a weapon from the built-in shelf. Felix’s track meet trophy, his son’s pride and joy. Hefting it in his left hand, he decided to bolt for the kitchen, grab his phone from the counter and keep going out the back door. He’d avoid a confrontation if at all possible but he needed to get help on the way.

Grab the phone, get out and call for help. A good plan. He slipped past the bottom of the steps, praying the darkness hid him from whoever was on them. In the kitchen, moonlight filtering from the window over the sink illuminated the way.

The floor creaked behind him.

A hard hand centered itself in the middle of his back and a hard shove propelled him into the kitchen table. Jonas bounced, stumbled and crashed into the refrigerator. Felix’s trophy tumbled from his fingers. Fury boiled through him and he spun, striking out, praying to hit something. He landed a hard fist on his attacker’s face.

A hiss of surprise and a curse reached his ears.

Jonas managed to grab the trophy once more. Then the feel of something hard and cold against his left cheek froze him. “I have a son,” he whispered. “He needs me.”

“Give me the phone.”

“What phone?” Jonas clutched the trophy, his mind racing.

“Give me the phone!”

The weapon moved, slipping from his cheek. Jonas brought the base of the heavy trophy up and moved sideways at the same time. He connected with the attacker’s stomach, heard a whoosh, then the gun clattering on the floor. The man cursed, swept his hand out and grabbed the gun. Jonas swung the trophy once more, connected. The intruder gave a harsh cry and bolted for the door.

Jonas panted and rose to go after him. Then thought of his son and stopped.

He grabbed his cell phone from the counter and dialed 911.

* * *

Brooke Clark pushed the laptop away and rubbed her gritty eyes. One in the morning and she was on her laptop? She needed to be sensible and get some sleep. But her adrenaline was still high even though her eyes longed to shut.

She’d just walked in the door an hour ago from a crime scene where Mercy, her very skilled K-9 golden retriever, had done her job well. She’d recovered some key evidence in a bank robbery and once testing was done on the glove, Brooke knew the DNA would put the criminal away.

Unfortunately, sleep would have to wait. She groaned, settled into the recliner and decided to keep working on the case that had caused her and her team no end of frustration.

Congressman Harland Jeffries continued to pound home the fact that his son’s murder still wasn’t solved. Late one night two months ago, someone had killed Michael Jeffries. Michael wasn’t just the congressman’s son, but was also a well-respected lawyer. The congressman had come upon the scene, his son on the ground, shot, and the murderer standing over Michael’s body. The killer had turned the gun on the congressman and shot him, leaving him for dead. Only Harland hadn’t died. He’d lived to tell the story and demand justice for his son. Unfortunately, darkness had prevented the congressman from seeing the murderer’s face, so the hunt was still on to find the person responsible.

She and the other members of the Capitol K-9 team wouldn’t be granted rest until the case was solved. Brooke loved her job, but frustration built at the lack of progress when it came to finding answers. She flipped the page in the file. Rosa Gomez, Congressman Jeffries’s housekeeper, was also connected to the case. Shortly before the shooting, Rosa had been found dead at the base of the cliffs in President’s Park. “Which hasn’t been technically proved to be murder. It could have been an accident,” she told Mercy. The dog yawned, then gave a low whine and nudged against her hand. The animal’s affection made her smile and run her hand over Mercy’s silky soft ears.

Mercy, her sweet—and super smart—golden retriever. Highly trained, Mercy and Brooke were partners in the elite Capitol K-9 Unit based in Washington, DC. Mercy specialized in retrieving evidence. Brooke sighed. She wished there were some evidence to be retrieved in either Michael Jeffries’s murder or Rosa Gomez’s death. “It’s all right, girl. Just because I’m up doesn’t mean you have to lose out on a good night’s sleep.” Mercy heaved a sigh and settled at Brooke’s feet. Then rose to pad to the door and back.

“You’re restless, too, huh?” Brooke got up from the recliner and went to open the door for Mercy. The dog bounded into the fenced yard, and Brooke stared out into the dark night. She shivered at the chill. March was a cold month in DC, and Brooke hadn’t grabbed her coat. She watched Mercy sniff and weave in and out of the bushes lining the fence. The trees beyond offered a sense of privacy and security, one of the reasons Brooke had purchased the home.

She pulled the door shut behind her and sat on the cement steps, wrapping her arms around her middle. Maybe the cold would revive some of her dead brain cells. Her thoughts were like a dog with a bone. She couldn’t keep her mind from gnawing on the Jeffries case.

Harland Jeffries was about to push Gavin, her captain, over the edge. Gavin was a good man, a professional in every sense of the word. Brooke respected how he had managed to hold on to his temper when it came to the congressman’s incessant demands on Gavin’s time. She stood. “Mercy, come.”

The dog bounded over to her and sat at her feet, ears perked. Brooke gave those ears a good rub and let the dog back into the house. Poor Gavin. He was really torn. She knew he was between a rock and a hard place. He had a lot of respect for the congressman. Harland had been a mentor to Gavin, and Gavin loved the man like a father. It was tearing him up not to be able to give him some answers.

She forced herself to head to bed. She’d count sheep if she had to. Or review the case notes while snuggling under the warm down comforter. Maybe then she’d doze off.

And maybe pigs would start flying.

* * *

Jonas shut the door as the police officers headed toward their squad car. He appreciated the fast response to his 911 call, but the officers had basically checked out the scene, taken a few pictures of the dumped drawer in Felix’s room, then told him to be thankful he wasn’t hurt and nothing was missing. Oh, and to call if anything else happened.

Right.

He sighed and reached back to massage the area at the base of his skull. He needed a vacation. A stress-reducing getaway. But Felix was in school for another three weeks before his spring break.

Maybe then.

He trudged up the stairs to Felix’s room and took another look around. The drawer on the floor, the unmade bed, an unfinished 3-D puzzle of the capitol building. He sighed and picked up Felix’s favorite sweatshirt and tossed it across the footboard of the bed. A pair of jeans and a hoodie joined the sweatshirt.

His eyes caught on the picture on his son’s nightstand. Felix had been about two years old. He was laughing up at Shannon, his mother and Jonas’s ex-wife. It had been a happy time in his young life, Jonas’s life, too. Neither Felix nor Jonas had known the trouble that would come just a few short years away. Trouble brought on by Shannon and her commitment-phobic ways.

Jonas sighed, flipped off the light and headed to his own room. He crawled between the sheets, forcing his muscles to relax, his mind to drift into prayer. Until he remembered the crash he heard. The drawer to Felix’s nightstand had been yanked out and dumped. His heart thudded. The officers had come to the same conclusion he had. The intruder had already been in his house when he’d arrived home. Either the man hadn’t heard him come in and drop into the recliner—or he hadn’t cared and just continued his search.

Jonas debated whether to get up and clean up the drawer or wait until later.

It would wait. He drifted. Sleep beckoned.

At least until the strange beeping jerked him awake again.

Jonas sat straight up, his adrenaline spiking once more. Heart thundering in his chest, he grabbed the baseball bat he’d placed on the floor near his bed and swung his legs over the side. He stood and padded on bare feet to the door.

The faint beeping sounded again. Then all was silent.

Jonas’s fingers flexed around the bat. He grabbed his cell phone with his left hand and shoved it into the waistband of his knit shorts.

More beeping.

Jonas followed the sound into his son’s bedroom two doors down from his. He stood in the doorway and listened.

Nothing.

And then he heard it again. Louder this time. He was definitely closer.

Jonas flipped the light on and blinked against the sudden brightness. When his eyes adjusted, he dropped to his knees on the hardwood floors and scanned the area under Felix’s dresser. Finding nothing, he rose and moved to his son’s bedside table. The drawer still lay on its side. He grabbed the small flashlight and went to his knees once again.

Jonas flashed the light under the bed. The beeping sounded right next to his ear. He lifted the mattress, separating it from the box springs, and froze, puzzled. A cell phone? He snagged it and dropped the mattress back into place. Fingers curled around the phone, he lifted it up to study it. “Who does this belong to?” he muttered. One of Felix’s friends? But why would Felix have it hidden under his mattress? Had he stolen it?

Jonas snapped the light off and carried the phone into his bedroom. He flipped on the lamp and sank onto the bed, his eyes still on the device. Low battery. Hence the beeping.

He touched the screen to bring the phone to life. A picture stared back at him. A woman holding a baby. He frowned as recognition hit him. He knew that woman. He’d seen her on the news, hadn’t he? And in the papers. He got up and strode into the kitchen to grab the newspaper from the counter.

There. Right on the front page. Housekeeper for Congressman Harland Jeffries, Rosa Gomez had been found at the bottom of the cliffs in President’s Park approximately two months ago and the investigation continued to make front-page news as new evidence came to light. The Capitol K-9 Unit had been working the case and the story had stayed hot, the media constantly reminding everyone that this case hadn’t been solved yet.

And someone had just broken into his house looking for a phone. He stared at the device. Could he have been looking for this one?

His thoughts went immediately to Brooke Clark, a Capitol K-9 Unit team member who was working the case.

An officer and a beautiful woman. He pushed aside the personal thoughts and focused on what to do about this phone. Right now, he couldn’t worry about how Felix had gotten ahold of it, he had to turn it in.

And he knew just the person he wanted to give it to.

* * *

Brooke jerked out of the light sleep she’d managed to fall into sometime between her last sip of warm tea and a prayer for divine help in solving her case. She rolled to grab her phone from the end table. “’Lo?”

“I woke you up. I’m sorry.”

Sleep fled. She sat up. “Jonas Parker?” Her heart stuttered. Just saying his name brought back a flood of memories. Both wonderful and...painful. Along with boatloads of regret. The same feelings that rushed through her every time she saw or spoke to him. Which hadn’t been too long ago. Maybe a month? Amazing that she had no trouble pulling the memory of his voice from the depths of her tired mind. But then why would she? She often dreamed of him, their past times together. And they hadn’t even dated. Not once. She blinked. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re working the case about the congressman’s son’s death, aren’t you?”

“Yes. Michael Jeffries.” She cleared her throat. “You called me at four o’clock in the morning to ask that?”

“No, I called to tell you that I think I found something that you might need for your investigation.”

“What?”

“A phone with a picture of Rosa Gomez and her two-year-old son as the wallpaper.”

Fully awake now, Brooke swung her legs over the edge of the bed. At the foot of the bed, Mercy lifted her head and perked her ears. “Where did you find the phone?” she asked.

The fact that Rosa’s wallet and phone hadn’t been found with her body had raised a lot of questions. Like had her fall from the cliffs been an accident or murder? And if it had been an accident, where were the items? And if it had been murder, had the murderer stolen them?

Another question: Was Rosa’s death connected to the shooting of her boss, Congressman Jeffries, and the murder of his son? So far, they had few suspects, one being a senator’s daughter, Erin Eagleton. She’d disappeared the night of the murder and her starfish charm, engraved with her initials, had been found at the scene. Brooke was glad that Rosa’s child was now in the custody of his aunt, but so many questions remained. Maybe the phone Jonas had would answer some of them.

“Ah... Well, that’s the problem. And one of the reasons I called you.”

“Come on, Jonas, tell me.”

“I found the phone under my son’s mattress.”


TWO (#ulink_d080a2e5-3697-5d13-bf68-42d2f1345228)

Brooke threw the covers back, wide awake now. “You found it where?” Surely he hadn’t said—

“Under his mattress.”

He had said it.

“And that’s not all,” he continued. “Someone broke into my house tonight and demanded I give him ‘the phone.’ Of course I didn’t know what he was talking about at the time, but now I’m feeling quite sure he meant the one I’m holding.”

Brooke struggled to process everything. “Are you all right? Is Felix okay?” Pain shafted through her. She pushed it away. When she’d met him, Jonas was working as a vet at the K-9 dog training facility. He’d been divorced, with a young son. And he hadn’t made any secret of the fact that he found her attractive. She’d felt the same spark but had smothered it as best she could. Jonas had also never made any secret of the fact that he wanted a houseful of children.

Children she could never give him thanks to a hysterectomy at the age of eighteen. The car wreck that had killed her parents had also killed her dream of being a mother. She swallowed hard and pushed the thoughts away. She’d dealt with this, and she didn’t need to dwell on it or rehash it. What was done was done. She’d moved on. And so had Jonas. And yet—

Over the course of the past eight years, they’d run into each other, but had never exchanged more than a few pleasantries. She’d climbed the ladder in law enforcement and had landed her dream job with the Capitol K-9 Unit when it had been formed a few short years ago. For some reason tonight’s call stirred up old longings and questions about what might have been. And the guilt that she’d never explained why she’d run from him.

“Felix wasn’t here,” he said. “He’s spending the night with a friend.”

“But you weren’t hurt?” She blinked away the past.

“No, I managed to chase him off.”

Relief hit her. “Good for you.” She bit her lip. “All right. I’ll come over and get the phone.”

“Now?”

“I don’t want to take a chance on whoever you scared off coming back. We need to get that phone into the right hands so it doesn’t fall into the wrong ones.”

He paused. “I hadn’t thought about that. Bring your dog. Maybe she can pick up the intruder’s scent.”

Of course he knew about Mercy. Just like he knew she worked for the Capitol K-9 Unit. So. He’d been keeping up with her, too. Interesting. “She’ll be with me.” She glanced at the clock. “It should take me about ten to fifteen minutes to get there.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Brooke hung up, her mind spinning. Jonas Parker had called her. Jonas needed help and he’d called her. Just the thought of seeing him again on more than a passing basis made her palms sweat and her pulse beat a little faster.

Mercy whined and hopped to the floor where she sat, head cocked, ears lifted. Her tail thumped the floor as though to say, “I’m ready when you are.”

Brooke dressed in record time, popped a K-cup in her Keurig and pulled her travel mug down from the cabinet. Time for the strong stuff. While the coffee brewed, she gathered her bag and Mercy’s leash.

Ten minutes later, she was in her truck and headed for Jonas’s house. A fact that continued to make her blood hum and stir the memories of a time she’d tried to forget. She’d been a rookie with the DC police department’s K-9 unit and he’d been interning as a vet at the dog training facility. They’d crossed paths often enough to strike up a friendship. When Jonas had expressed an interest in being more than friends, she’d spooked and run, canceling out on a date at the last minute and then finding excuses not to see him alone again. She hadn’t handled it well, too caught up in her own insecurities and hurt to really consider how her actions would affect him. He’d been embarrassed and hurt and they’d parted ways.

And yet he’d called her about finding evidence in the case she and the Capitol K-9 team were working so hard on.

The pressure was on to find Michael Jeffries’s killer and Congressman Jeffries’s shooter—most likely the same person. Tension was thick, but Brooke had no doubts about her team. They were the best. They’d find the killer. She just hoped it would be before he struck again.

* * *

Jonas paced the den, his heart pounding, his palms slick. What was he thinking?

That he wanted to see Brooke Clark. Vaguely he wondered if he should feel guilty for being secretly glad he’d had a legitimate excuse to call her. Then he pushed the guilt away. His divorce had been final ten years ago. He’d mourned the loss of his marriage, but finally, with the help of a recovery group at his church, realized he’d done everything he could to keep his marriage together. The fact was, it had ended and it was time for him to move on.

Why his heart had settled on Brooke Clark was something that had him stumped. But she’d been the reason he’d sought out the recovery group in the first place. He’d needed someone to tell him it was all right for him to find companionship. Date again.

And then Brooked ditched him. She’d simply canceled their last date and had avoided him until he gave up trying to get in touch with her. And he’d never figured out why. Maybe it was time to get some answers. Even if they were ones he didn’t want to hear.

A car door slammed.

He tensed and went to the window to push aside the curtain so he could see out. As always, his heart did that funny little beat when he saw her. A petite woman in her early thirties with short black hair. She still looked the same. Slightly older, but not much. And definitely still beautiful.

Brooke. She was here. Her golden retriever, Mercy, leaped to the ground and shook herself, her brown eyes on Brooke, waiting for instructions. Jonas had followed her career and watched her climb the ranks in law enforcement. He was proud of her.

He opened the front door. Brooke looked up and caught his gaze and Jonas blinked. He hadn’t forgotten how blue her eyes were. On the contrary, he remembered every detail about her. But those eyes always rendered him speechless when first making contact. For a moment they just stood and stared. Then she smiled and walked toward him. “Hi, Jonas. Good to see you again.”

Jonas took a step and, in a bold move, wrapped her in a hug. Her scent surrounded him, old feelings rushed back. And she didn’t push him away. He took a deep breath. “It’s really good to see you, too, Brooke. Come on in.”

Brooke swept past him and he heard her give the dog a low command. Mercy sat. Jonas stepped inside and shut the door behind him.

She looked around. “So what happened?”

Jonas pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s a bit of a story. Would you like to go into the den and have a seat?”

“I’d rather not. Did the intruder leave anything behind? Touch anything that his scent would be on?”

So. It was going to be all business then. All right. He could take a hint. Jonas tightened his jaw then relaxed it. She was here to help, not socialize. The fact that she hadn’t pulled away from his embrace encouraged him. First things first. “I was in the recliner in the den when I heard a crash. It came from my son’s room. The intruder had pulled out one of the drawers from Felix’s nightstand. It was on the floor when I went in.”

“Then let’s start there.”

“Of course.” Jonas led her into Felix’s bedroom, once again giving thanks that his son hadn’t been home at the time of the break-in.

She focused in on the drawer on the floor. “I guess I don’t have to ask which drawer.”

“No. Guess not. I just left it alone. Once I decided to call you, I didn’t want to cover up any smells.” He paused. “I also hit the guy with Felix’s trophy so his scent may be on there, too.”

She shot him an admiring glace. “Good job. Okay, we’ll see what we can do.”

Jonas stepped back and let them go to work. He watched, marveling at the team, how well they worked together. “You’re very good at what you do, aren’t you?”

She turned. “We’re one of the best.” She said it in all sincerity, without a hint of boasting or pride. Just stated a fact. He liked that about her.

“You didn’t ask for my address.”

She blinked, then cleared her throat. “Excuse me?”

“You didn’t have to ask for my address. You already knew it.”

“I looked it up in the police database.”

“Of course.” Now he felt embarrassed. “For a moment there, it gave me hope.”

“Hope?”

“Hope that you’d thought about me. Hope that...I don’t know, that maybe we could be friends again.”

“We never stopped being friends.”

He shook his head. “Of course we did. Friends do stuff together, hang out, enjoy each other’s company. We went from friends to acquaintances that shared a nod of acknowledgement whenever we ran into each other. That’s not friendship.”

Brooke bit her lip and turned away. “This isn’t what I came over here for. Let me just do my job.”

Disappointment flooded him. He’d pushed too hard, too fast. He was coming across desperate and it wasn’t that; he just had questions. Questions that would have to wait. “No problem.”

Once she finished going through the house, she let Mercy out the door the intruder had exited. Mercy trotted down the street, nose alternating between the ground and the air. She stopped several houses down and sat.

Brooke called to her and Mercy hurried to her side. “She’s lost the scent. Most likely the guy had a car waiting right where Mercy sat down. He climbed in and off they went.”

He nodded. He’d expected as much. He handed her the phone. “The battery is at two percent. It won’t last much longer. There may be a charger in his room. I didn’t think to look.”

She studied it. “It’s fine. Chargers are easy to come by.” She looked up. “Did you find a wallet belonging to Rosa?”

“No. Just the phone.”

“I hate to ask this, but...” She looked uncomfortable.

“What?”

“Well, Rosa’s wallet was missing, too. Do you think Felix could have hurt Rosa to get her phone and wallet?”

Jonas stepped back, her words hurting more than if she’d slapped him. “What? No. Of course not.” He raked a hand through his hair, hating the flash of doubt that raced through him. He lifted his chin. “No. He’s a thirteen-year-old boy, he’s not perfect. And I mean he’s been getting in some trouble lately, but that’s just because he’s never gotten over his mother’s leaving, never truly accepted the fact that she would do that. He’d never hurt—kill—someone over a stupid phone.” Anger flared.

She held up a hand. “Just had to ask. And I didn’t necessarily mean that he killed her on purpose. It could have been an accident and he was too scared to tell anyone what happened.”

“No, no way. Absolutely not.” She nodded, her eyes on his. The anger fizzled as fast as it had flamed. “I understand why you might ask that, but no. It’s not possible. If something like that had happened, Felix would have come to me.” Wouldn’t he?

“Then how did the phone wind up under his mattress two months after its owner was found murdered?”

The question hit him hard. He swallowed. “I don’t know, but I know we have to find out.”

“We need to talk to Felix.”

She held the phone up. “We need to turn this in, too.” She headed to the bedroom door when Jonas heard a loud roar and felt the house rock beneath his feet.

* * *

Mercy barked. Brooke fell to her knees. She thought she heard Jonas calling to her just before something struck her shoulder, her leg, her cheek. Pain lanced through her. “Get out! We have to get out.”

Jonas’s hand wrapped her upper arm. She realized he’d fallen, too; he’d just recovered faster than she. Smoke seared her lungs, but nothing felt hot.

“Are you all right?” Jonas coughed as he pulled her toward the door.

“Fine. Mercy, heel!” The dog slunk on her belly to Brooke’s side. She pulled her shirt up over her nose and mouth. Jonas did the same. She grabbed one of Felix’s shirts from his bed and wrapped it around the animal’s mouth and nose, leaving it loose enough for her to breathe while filtering the smoke.

“Smoke is rolling in fast,” he said.

“Do you see any flames?”

“No. Let me lead you, I know the layout.” He coughed and together they made their way down the stairs, ready to turn and flee back up at the first sign of fire. Finally, they hit the bottom of the steps. Jonas led her toward the door. Mercy hugged her side and she kept one hand on the head of her faithful friend.

Jonas opened the door and she yanked him back in to slam it. Her shoulder throbbed with the movement.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Do you have a back door?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s use that.”

She could barely see his puzzled expression, but gave silent thanks that he didn’t argue with her, just kept his firm grip on her good arm and led her toward the back of the house and into a sunroom. Her leg throbbed, but nothing was broken and she moved through the house with minimal pain.

Smoke still filled the air, but she could breathe much better here. He opened the door and they stepped out into the night. Fresh air hit her and she sucked in a deep breath even as her mind spun. She pulled her arm free, then slid her hand down to wrap her fingers around his. “Come on,” she croaked.

They raced away from the house, her leg protesting the movement, but nothing bad enough to stop her from getting to safety. Sirens already sounded and Brooke suspected one of the neighbors had heard the blast and called 911. Jonas had a nice fenced-in yard that backed up to his neighbor’s. They moved to the edge of the property.

Brooke turned to see smoke billowing from the den window, but no flames. “I’m going to see if I can spot anyone trying to get away from the house.” She took off with Mercy at her heels. Jonas’s protest registered, but she needed to see. Rounding the corner of the house, she stopped and looked up and down the street. Neighbors stood on their porches and some in the street as they watched the commotion. The first fire truck screamed to a stop at the curb. Brooke’s gaze bounced from person to person. Curiosity and concern graced the faces of the onlookers. No one seemed particularly satisfied.

Jonas stepped up beside her. “See anything?”

“No. Do you see anyone who shouldn’t be here? Anyone you don’t recognize?”

“I’m...um...probably not the best person to ask.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m a lousy neighbor.” He gave an embarrassed shrug. “I work and I spend time with Felix—when he lets me anyway. I hate yard maintenance so I hire someone to do it.”

“Which means you’re not working in the yard and talking with people out for an evening or weekend walk.”

“Exactly.”

She nodded and approached the fire captain. “We were in that house. We’re fine. There’s no one else inside.”

The man turned, his concerned gaze landing on the two of them. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

One of the firemen stepped out the front door and motioned to one of his buddies. “Captain?”

“Yeah.”

Jonas and Brooke moved closer. Mercy stayed by her side. Brooke wanted to hear what was said.

“It was a Molotov cocktail. When it was tossed through the window, it landed in the fireplace.” The man shook his head. “Never seen anything like it. There’s a lot of smoke, but not any fire damage to speak of. Looks like it wasn’t meant to burn, just cause a lot of smoke.”

Jonas breathed out. Brooke laid a hand on his forearm. He looked at her. “You’re right,” he said. “They came back.”

Brooke pulled the cell phone Jonas had found from her pocket. “I think it’s time to ask Felix where he got this phone and who knows he has it.” She switched to her business phone. “And we’re going to get someone to watch your house tonight. I don’t think we were smoked out by accident. Whoever threw that in there knew what they were doing. It’s possible they plan to come back and search the place.”

“So then I’m not sleeping here.”

“Not with the smoke and the danger. You’re going someplace safe.”


THREE (#ulink_4ba7436b-6e80-561e-88ff-27ab52834465)

Brooke sat in the SUV next to Nicholas Cole, a fellow Capitol K-9 member, and kept her eyes on Jonas’s house. It looked empty and deserted. Just the way they wanted it to look. If someone planned to return to the scene of the crime, she and Nicholas would be waiting. “What time is it?”

“Five minutes later than the last time you asked,” he said.

“You sound like my grandfather.”

“You sound like a five-year-old. It’s 4:45 a.m. An hour of the night that should have me in bed dreaming of a vacation on the beach, not conducting a stakeout.”

She snorted and swung her gaze back to the area around the house, looking for movement, a flash of light. Anything. And got nothing.

She could hear the dogs breathing behind her. They were suited up, their protective vests on and ready to go. And so was Brooke. She itched for a break, a chance to go after someone who could give them a break in this case.

Instead of going after Felix to question him about the phone, they’d simply sent an officer to watch the house where he was staying. Felix was safe for now and if the person who wanted the phone came back and they caught him, Felix would never have to know how fortunate it was he chose to spend the night away from home. Talking to the boy could wait until morning. Catching the person who wanted the phone was priority. The sun would be up in a couple of hours, but Brooke just had a feeling something was going to happen.

Her heart, protected by the Kevlar vest she’d donned earlier, thumped a heavy rhythm. Anticipation swept through her. It was about time something good happened.

General Margaret Meyer apparently thought so, too. The Capitol K-9 Unit existed because of her. Her current position as the White House Special In-House Security Chief gave her a lot of power and leeway. Gavin reported straight to her and she expected top-notch results from her team. Which they gave her. When Gavin had presented her with the need for some manpower due to a possible break in the case, she’d been more than happy to spare Nicholas from his current duties at the White House to help Brooke track down the lead.

“So who is this guy?” Nicholas asked. He sipped on a drink they’d picked up from the local gas station.

“What guy?” Brooke knew exactly who he meant, but she needed to buy some time to figure out just how much she wanted to reveal about Jonas. Then again, it wasn’t like there was that much to say. Nicholas simply lifted a brow and she shrugged. “We met about eight years ago. He was doing an internship and I was a rookie K-9 cop.”

“And you hit it off?”

“We did.”

“Was it serious?”

She hesitated. It had been serious. Too serious. “We were friends. We had a lot in common and spent some time together, but—” she shrugged “—it just didn’t work out.”

“It just didn’t work out, huh? Let me guess. He wanted more and you ran away.” She sucked in a deep breath and shot him a sharp look. Nicholas shrugged. “Sorry if I struck a nerve, it’s just what you do to every guy who shows interest in you.”

“I do not.”

“Do too.”

Brooke snapped her lips shut. She would not get into some juvenile argument with him. Because they both knew he was right.

Her phone rang. She lifted it to the ear that didn’t have the earpiece she’d use to communicate with Nicholas should they get separated. “Hello?”

“Hi,” Jonas said.

“Hi.” Did she hear footsteps? “Are you pacing the floor?”

A short, humorless laugh filtered through the line. “Yes.”

“Well, you can stop. Nothing’s happening—” A shadow to her left caught her attention. She nudged Nicholas who nodded. He was already watching him, tracking him with his eyes. The dark SUV blended into the nighttime surroundings. If they opened the doors, the interior lights would stay off. Even her cell phone was on the dimmest setting. There was no way the guy now approaching the back of Jonas’s house would know they were watching him. “Gotta go. Someone showed up. I’ll call you in a bit.” She hung up on his protest and opened the passenger door. Nicholas was already approaching the house, his weapon drawn, his dog, Max, at his side.

Brooke pulled her own gun, let Mercy out of the back and went in the opposite direction of Nicholas. She rounded the corner of the house just behind Mercy. The dog barked and made a beeline for the figure at the back door.

“Police! Freeze!” Brooke called.

Nicholas started to close the gap. “Don’t move!” The man turned, raised his hands. Instead of deciding he was caught, he spun and darted for the back fence that separated Jonas’s house from the neighbor behind him. The dark-clad figure scaled the fence and dropped to the other side. Nicholas went after him. Brooke called to Mercy and together, she and the dog went another route.

Back around the side of the house, Brooke was just in time to see the would-be intruder bolt down the street. Nicholas let Max go with the command to stop the fleeing fugitive, so Brooke kept Mercy beside her. Max cut loose with a low woof and loped off in pursuit, his strides long and even. Brooke lost sight of him as she and Nicholas raced to catch up. The guy was fast.

Brooke figured Max was faster.

Until she and Nicholas almost slammed into the tall chain-link fence when they turned the next corner.

* * *

She’d hung up on him. Jonas glared at the phone as though the blame lay with the device. He growled and stomped out of his temporary bedroom at the veterinary office.

Brooke had hung up on him because someone was near his house and probably trying to break in. Their surveillance plan worked, but would she be in danger now? He paced to the door. Two officers sat in the parking lot. He knew another one was parked at the back. And one was at the Fuller household where Felix was spending the night.

Not that he expected that someone would be able to figure out where Felix was if they were looking for him, but he had to admit knowing an officer was watching out for his son made him feel better. He and Brooke had discussed picking Felix up and bringing him back to the office for the night, but they decided not to. Brooke argued that he was probably safer where he was at this point. It wasn’t the Fuller house that had been bombed or the Fuller house that had been broken into. They’d come looking for the phone, not Felix.

He appreciated the fact that no one was taking any chances with his safety, but now Brooke might be in danger.

But that was her job. She was probably in dangerous situations all the time. That was what she did, right?

Yes, but it didn’t make it any easier for him to deal with. Not when she was in danger because his son had taken a phone that didn’t belong to him and the wrong people had tracked him down.

He had to know she was all right. He walked to the front desk and grabbed his keys. His car was in the first parking spot. He paused for a second. What if he went to find her and just got in the way?

But he wouldn’t. He’d drive past his house and see if anything was happening, make sure everything was under control. Jonas headed out the door and walked over to the police officer who was exiting his vehicle.

“Sir? You need to go back inside.”

“I’m going to run an errand.” He switched directions and headed for his car, his worry pushing him and spurring him to move faster. “I’ll be back shortly.”

“I don’t advise you leaving on your own.”

“I wouldn’t if it wasn’t an emergency.”

“Let me call it in and see if they want someone to tail you then.”

“I don’t have time to wait, but I’m going to my house for a few minutes. You can send someone there.” He slid into the driver’s seat, cranked the car and backed from the parking spot. As he pulled to a stop at the edge of the lot, he glanced in his rearview mirror to see the officer speaking into his radio and heading for his car.

He was probably going to follow him anyway, but Jonas didn’t care. He wasn’t going to sit around and wait for someone to figure out what to do with him.

Brooke was at his house and might be headed into danger. He couldn’t just sit around twiddling his thumbs waiting to hear that she was okay.

* * *

Brooke hauled herself over the fence of the old textile office building. Backup was on the way, but there was no time to wait. The man they were chasing would be gone. And he was a link to the case. A case she very much wanted to solve. She’d beat Nicholas to the fence so he’d just have to stay with the dogs unless he could find another way in.

Her feet pounded against the crumbling asphalt parking lot. The building had been up for sale for years and each year it seemed to erode even more than the last. She caught sight of movement around the side of the building and took off after it, whispering her location to Nicholas.

She rounded the corner with caution, weapon held in front of her. Nothing. Except an open door.

Had he gone in or simply opened the door to head around the building? She pressed her finger against the earpiece. “Are you inside the fence?”

“Just now. Had to cut my way through. You get him?”

“Not yet.” She kept her voice low, her back to the side of the building.

A screech came from inside the building. Guess that answered that question. “He’s inside. I think he pushed open one of the steel doors at the back. I’m going after him.”

“Backup will be right behind you. Max and I are on the way.”

Brooke gave him her location and slipped through the door into the dark. She stopped just inside to the right, making sure she didn’t make herself a target in the open doorway. She let her eyes adjust, but she still had trouble seeing anything. Too dark. Easy for someone to sneak up behind her. She needed a light, but didn’t dare take the flashlight from her belt.

The good thing was if it was dark for her, it was dark for him. As her eyes adjusted, she could make out shapes so it wasn’t pitch-black. She had to be careful to stay in the shadows. Again, if she could see a little, so could he.

She moved softly, her steps cautious, her ears tuned to the area around her. Her neck and back tingled. She expected a bullet to slam into her at any moment. The vest she wore would offer some protection for her torso, but nothing for her head. She hadn’t seen a weapon on the man running from Jonas’s house, but until she saw otherwise, she’d treat him as armed. And dangerous.

“Where are you?” she whispered.

“Max, Mercy and I are coming inside.”

She heard a scrape to her left and spun, her weapon ready, hands steady in spite of the adrenaline pumping through her.

A light flashed then disappeared. Footsteps on stairs. The sound still coming from her left. Brooke moved toward the noise, still cautious, but determined to stop him. Shadows danced around her, light from the half moon filtering through the dirty windows. And the blue lights now flashing, offered even more light. “Up the stairs,” she whispered. “To the left of the door about twenty feet.” She placed her foot on the first step, then started up.

“Got it. Backup’s outside.”

“Saw the lights.”

A loud scrape from the top of the stairs made her pause. The windows along the second floor offered very little light. She could make out shapes, but nothing moving. She took another step, which put her about halfway up the staircase.

A large shadow appeared at the top of the stairs. An object teetered on the edge of the highest step. She blinked, her brain trying to discern the image.

Then the thing wobbled once again. A head appeared around the edge. A grunt reached her ears.

Brooke finally registered what was happening and turned to flee as a loud rumble came from behind her and whatever was at the top of the step slid toward her. She gasped as her foot turned on the last step and she fell to the floor. She rolled and looked up to see a large upside-down desk a split second away from crushing her.


FOUR (#ulink_11e0dc40-dfa8-5385-8e21-448c0cb23ce1)

Jonas’s drive past his house resulted in nothing. But the police cruiser that zipped past him as he turned back on the main highway caught his attention and he followed it to the old textile office building. Police tape ran the length of the fence. The K-9s and their handlers were out and the air crackled with law enforcement energy.

He couldn’t get to the fence due to all of the emergency vehicles so he parked and stood on the hood of the vehicle. He scanned the faces, looking for the one that he most wanted to see. Not there. One of the officers to his right on the other side of the fence pointed to the building and said something into his phone.

Was Brooke inside the building? Or was she just lost in the crowded chaos?

Gawkers from the nearby neighborhoods had come to the line to see what was going on and officers held them back. Jonas could go no farther either. He would have to wait. His fingers curled into fists. He forced them to relax. Don’t get anxious until you have something to be anxious about. The order didn’t work. He scanned the fence line and looked for a way in.

Hopelessness coursed through him as he realized he was in for a wait. There was no going through and no going around.

A car pulled up beside him. The vehicle had the Capitol K-9 logo on the side. The officer climbed from the vehicle, a frown on his face. He flashed his badge at Jonas. “Are you Jonas Parker?”

“I am.”

“I’m Chase Zachary. I got a call you went AWOL.”

“Something like that,” he muttered. “Brooke called me and had to hang up because she was on surveillance and someone showed up. I had to make sure she was okay.”

“You might want to leave that to us. Now would you please get back in your vehicle? I’ll follow you home.”

Jonas had great respect for law enforcement, for the officers who put their lives on the line every day for him. If it had been anyone else in that building besides Brooke, he might have followed the order. Instead he shook his head. “I’m waiting right here until I know she’s safe.”

Chase lifted a brow. Then he narrowed his eyes and gave Jonas a closer once-over. Whatever he saw must have convinced him arguing would be futile. “She means something to you?”

“Yes.” Jonas didn’t feel the need to elaborate.

“Right. Then sit in my vehicle at least. We don’t need some sniper trying to take you out while you wait.”

Jonas blinked. “Sniper?”

“You’ve had two incidents tonight. A break-in and a Molotov cocktail through your window. Seems someone’s after you.”

Jonas nodded. Without another word, he opened the passenger door to the K-9 vehicle and climbed in. He slammed the door, his gaze on the building. “Can you get us through?”

“Of course I can. No reason to, though. It’s being handled.” A dog nudged his ear and without thought, Jonas reached back to scratch his ears. “Who’s this?”

“Valor.”

“He’s beautiful.” The Belgian Malinois butted up under Jonas’s hand again. Jonas complied with another ear rub.

“He’s a great partner.”

Jonas looked at the building again. He knew the situation was being handled but that knowledge didn’t stop him from wanting to be closer. “She’s in there, isn’t she? She went in after him.”

Chase nodded. “She and Nicholas Cole, another K-9 team member. And the dogs. They’ll get him. There’s no way he can get out of there without someone grabbing him.”

“What if he decides not to come out? What if he decides he wants to make one last stand?”

“Then it could get ugly. But Brooke and Nicholas are trained. They can handle him. They’ll get him.”

“Of course they will.” Because if they didn’t get him, whoever they’d chased inside might get them and Jonas didn’t think he would survive that. Don’t let her die because of me, God, please.

* * *

Brooke clasped Nicholas’s hand and rose to her feet with a grunt. She swayed and took a moment to get her footing and catch her breath. “Thanks.”

“You okay?” he asked. He looked pale and a little shaken himself.

“Yeah.” She looked at the mangled pile of wood and steel. Nicholas had pulled her away at the last possible second. “How much do you think that weighs?”

“More than you want slamming on top of you.” She shuddered and Nicholas patted her shoulder. “Don’t think about it.”

“I’m not.” But she was. If he hadn’t pulled her out of the way, she would be dead or seriously injured. “This guy is playing hardball,” she muttered. She maneuvered around the part of the desk that blocked the stairs and started up. Nicholas stayed right with her. Barking reached her ears.

“I hear Max,” Nicholas said.

“Yeah, I do, too. He’s already up there?”

“I sent him up as soon as I pulled you out of the way. Mercy’s just inside the door downstairs waiting like a good girl.” He radioed in that they were still in pursuit. Brooke led the way down the hall, her footsteps echoing on the bare concrete that once had probably been covered in carpet.

The barking continued. “He’s got someone cornered.”

“Or he’s trapped and can’t get to the person,” Brooke agreed.

Brooke and Nicholas came to the end of a hall. And a closed door. Nicholas gave the command for Max to sit and be quiet. Brooke held her weapon ready. Nicholas reached around her and opened the door. Brooke swung in. Max darted ahead and up another set of stairs. She followed him to the next level.

“Roof access door,” Nicholas said.

They played the same dance and she breathed a bit easier when no gunshots came her way. Max pushed through and out onto the roof. Nose to the ground then in the air, he darted to the side of the building. And sat.

Brooke rushed over. “Fire escape.”

“The guys would have seen him. Where did he go?” He tapped into his earpiece. “Did you see him come down the north side of the building? Down the fire escape?”

Brooke heard the negative response and took in the area. She stepped out on the fire escape and tried to think like a desperately fleeing fugitive. “He didn’t go down.”

“What?”

“He went over.” She nodded to the overgrown trees lining the back of the building, just on the other side of the fence. “He grabbed that limb and shimmied down that tree. Or even crossed over to the next one. They’re so close together, he could have been three or four trees in before he climbed down.”

Nicholas shook his head. “You’ve got to be right. He never set foot on the ground or our guys would have nabbed him.”

She slapped a hand against the wall. “Which means he got away.”

And would live to come back and strike again.

* * *

Jonas breathed a sigh of relief when Brooke walked out of the building, Mercy trotting at her heels. She was a good distance away, but he’d recognize her and her dog anywhere. “Where’s the guy who tried to break in my house?”

Chase shook his head. “I’m guessing he got away. We’ll find out soon enough.”

Jonas frowned and reached for the door handle as several law enforcement vehicles spun out of the parking lot. Nicholas and Max went with them. “Where are they going?”

“The suspect may have been seen in a different location and they’re going after him,” Chase said. “Nicholas will see if Max can pick up his scent.”

For the next several minutes, Jonas watched the organized chaos. Brooke and Mercy disappeared back into the building. “Where’s she going now?”

“To see if Mercy can find anything.”

A short time later, Brooke and Mercy appeared once again. She moved closer to the fence. Closer to Jonas. He could finally see her clearly. “I’m going to guess by the look on her face she and Mercy didn’t have much success.”

Chase sighed. “I’d say that’s a good guess.”

“Yeah.” Jonas’s sigh echoed Chase’s. “May I go talk to her now?”

Chase nodded. “She’ll have a bit of paperwork to do for this one.”

Jonas stepped out of the vehicle and walked to the edge of the fence then along the perimeter until he came to the gate. Brooke spotted him and her brow rose. She clicked to Mercy and walked toward him. “What are you doing here?”

He drank in the sight of her. Safe, whole, alive. “You hung up on me.”

That brow rose higher. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. You scared me.”

Brooke’s jaw dangled slightly before she snapped it shut. “Sorry about that.”

“I know it’s your job, Brooke,” he said softly. “It’s just going to take a bit of getting used to when you’re called into a dangerous situation.”

“Getting used to?” she repeated.

He supposed that statement did make it sound like he planned to be around for a while. Then realized that was exactly what he planned. Now if he could just convince her.

Her expression softened. “I get it, but you really should have stayed put. You’re going to have to trust that I can do my job. That I’m good at it and I take precautions, not risks.”

He nodded. “I’ll remember that.”

“Good.”

A man in khakis and a blue polo shirt headed toward them. He held a hand out to Brooke. “Officer Clark. You want to tell me why the Capitol K-9 Unit is involved in this one?”

Brooke shook the man’s hand. “Detective David Delvecchio of the DC police department, meet Jonas Parker. It was his house the guy was trying to break into. We had a stakeout going on, but unfortunately, as you can see, he got away.”

The detective eyed Jonas, then turned his gaze back on Brooke. “You want to tell me a little more?”

“Jonas’s son found some evidence linking to the Rosa Gomez case, which of course is also related to the Jeffries shooting.”

“I see.” His eyes flicked back and forth amongst the three, Brooke, Chase and Jonas. He finally settled back on Brooke. “How did he get away from you?”

She rubbed her forehead. “He went out onto the fire escape on the second floor, jumped into one of the large trees across the fence line and climbed down. At least that’s what we think.”

“So it’s time to expand the search.” Chase finally broke his silence.

“Yes.”

Jonas pulled his keys from his pocket. “I guess I’ll head back home...er...to my office, I mean.”

“I’ll take you to your car then follow you,” Brooke said.

Chase nodded. “I’m going to check in with Gavin and Nicholas and see what I can do to help.”

Detective Delvecchio nodded. “I’ll fill my officers in. Keep me updated, will you?”

“Of course,” Brooke said.

Brooke said her goodbyes and motioned for Jonas to go ahead of her. She’d parked not too far from his own vehicle, just outside the fence. He turned to her. “I’m glad you’re all right.”

“I’m sorry you were worried.”

He shrugged. “Maybe it was stupid of me to come out here, but I just couldn’t sit at the office. I’m the one who should be sorry.”

“It wasn’t exactly smart after the fact there have been two violent incidents against you tonight, but I get it.”

“So you’re not mad?”

“No. I’m frustrated. I wanted to catch that guy.”

He nodded. “I wanted you to catch him, too.”

She patted his arm. “It’s not over yet.”

He had a feeling truer words were never spoken. “Meaning he’ll be back?”

She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Probably.”

* * *

Sunday morning, Jonas slipped from the cot he’d spent the past couple of hours tossing and turning on. It wasn’t the cot’s fault. It was actually pretty comfortable. He just couldn’t shut his mind off. He stepped into the bathroom and looked into the mirror, gave a grimace and averted his eyes. He’d definitely had better mornings.

In the early days of his divorce, he’d often slept at his office. He’d finally had the bathroom installed when things had lagged in the courts and he’d gotten tired of showering at the YMCA. When the dust had settled she’d gotten the house, he’d gotten five-year-old Felix, and his practice. And Jonas was fine with that.

He’d purchased the house he and Felix lived in now and they’d made a good life together. At least he’d thought so. Over the past several years, each time he ran into Brooke stirred his restlessness, though. She made him long for things he’d thought he’d left in the past. Things he’d refused to allow himself to hope for.

Now he found himself looking forward to the day simply because he was going to see Brooke again. The only thing that marred that sweet anticipation was the fact that someone had bombed his house last night. Okay, that and the fact that Felix was still having issues no matter how hard Jonas tried to help him. If it wasn’t a fight, it was grades.

He sighed and mentally recited his to-do list. Call his home owners insurance company was number two. Find out where Felix had gotten the phone was definitely number one.

And learning if anyone had managed to capture the guy who’d returned to his house last night. Brooke had followed him to his office, and they’d planned their next move. Get Felix from his friend’s house and find out where he got the phone. Usually, he and Felix attended the local community church. He wasn’t that active, but he couldn’t seem to completely tear himself away from his faith. In fact, at this point in his life, he knew he should be reaching out for it with both hands. So today would be a different kind of Sunday. He paused. “I guess I should be mending my fences with You, shouldn’t I, God?”

Silence echoed through the bathroom and Jonas sighed and went back to his morning routine. Maybe God was tired of listening.

He’d just finished brushing his teeth when he heard his assistant arrive. Then voices reached him. He stepped into the lobby to find Claire Simpson and Brooke introducing themselves. Brooke hadn’t wasted any time getting back to his office this morning. “Good morning,” he said.

Brooke nodded. “Morning.”

“I see you two have met.”

Claire nodded. “I was just telling her what a beautiful dog she has.”

“Claire loves anything with four legs,” he told Brooke. “Let me just leave a few instructions for her and we’ll head out.”

He could see the curiosity in Claire’s narrowed eyes, but didn’t want to take time to explain Brooke’s presence in addition to the other things he needed to tell her. He glanced at the clock on the wall. Eight forty-five. He’d told the Fullers he’d pick up Felix at nine-thirty. Plenty of time to cover the morning’s work with Claire. He looked at Brooke. “You get any sleep?”

She shook her head. “Not much. I finished the paperwork and closed my eyes for a few minutes.”

Jonas rubbed a hand down his freshly shaven chin. “I can’t believe you were right. The whole smoke bomb thing was just to get us out of my house so someone could search the place.”

“It looks like it.”

“Should have set it up so an officer was inside my house and could have just grabbed the guy when he broke in.”

“Maybe.” She gave him a soft lopsided smile. “Mercy and I’ll be in the car,” Brooke said. “Nice to meet you, Claire.”

“You, too, Brooke.”

They left and within minutes Jonas had finished up with Claire and was climbing into the passenger seat. Mercy sat in the back in her special kennel. “So tell me more about who Felix spent the night with?”

Her question grounded him, brought all of his worries surging to the surface. “He’s a friend from school and the track team. His name is Travis Fuller.” He gave her the address, and she entered it into the GPS and pulled out of the parking lot. “I can tell you how to get there,” he said, amused.

“I don’t want to have to worry about it. You said Felix had been getting into trouble.”

Jonas sighed. “Yes.” He shook his head. “He’s been getting in fights lately. His grades are circling the drain, and his attitude is getting hard to tolerate.” His hand fisted on his thigh. “I’m up to my ears trying to keep my practice going since my partner quit three months ago.”

“Working a lot of hours?”

“Too many,” he admitted.

“And Felix is taking advantage of your distraction.”

“In a big way. I know it, I see it, but I feel trapped. I can’t ignore my work or I won’t be able to keep a roof over our heads, but I can’t ignore Felix either or I’m going to be visiting him in juvenile detention.” He didn’t know why he was baring his soul to her, but he had to say it felt good to share it.

“I’m sure you do the best you can. It can’t be easy being a single parent.”

“It stinks.” He gave a soft laugh. “But I love that kid more than anything.”

“Yeah,” she whispered. “I can tell.”

He reached over and snagged her hand to squeeze her fingers. His throat tightened. “I’ve missed you, Brooke.”

She sucked in a deep breath and shot him a glance out of the corner of her eye. “I’ve missed you, too.”

He blinked and she laughed. “What? You didn’t expect me to admit it?”

“No.”

She shook her head. “The past is sitting like a weight between us, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

She tapped the wheel and made a left turn. “I don’t know what to tell you, Jonas. I thought I was making the right decision at the time when I chose to keep all distractions to a minimum and focus on my career.”

“So it was strictly your career that was keeping you from being willing to talk about us having a future together?”

“It was part of it.”

“What was the other part?”

A sigh slipped from her and she gave a small shrug, but didn’t answer the question. He relished the fact that she hadn’t pulled her hand from his yet and continued to watch her as she drove. “I thought we had something, that we could have been good together. I never did understand why you wouldn’t give me a chance. As you can imagine, all kinds of things ran through my mind. Was it because I was divorced? Because I had Felix?”

She seemed to think about it. Then slipped her fingers from his. He grimaced. He wanted to kick himself. He’d moved too fast. Too much too soon. She’d been back in his life for just a few hours and he was already scaring her away.

But this time she didn’t run. “No, your divorce didn’t have anything to do with it. And Felix is a precious gift. He never factored into why—” She fell quiet and he hoped she’d elaborate. She didn’t. “When we were friends,” she said, “you never really talked about your ex-wife. I mean never. Like not one word. And when I brought her up, you changed the subject. Mostly to talk about Felix.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

He thought about that. Was she right? Maybe. “What do you want to know about her?”

She shrugged. “What happened with you two? Why did you split up? Or is that too personal?” she asked.

“Not too personal. It’s not a secret. She had a problem with commitment.”

“Ah.”

“She found someone else who suited her ‘live and let live’ lifestyle better than I did.” He shrugged.

“What? So she left you? Why would she leave you? Is she crazy?”

Jonas barked a short laugh. “Well, those questions just did more for my self-esteem than anything else I could think of.”

She flushed and it endeared her to him. She also looked uncomfortable. He let her off the hook. “I miss what could have been, but I don’t miss her now.”

“But Felix does?”

He sighed. “No, he doesn’t remember her. He misses the idea of her.”

“He wants a mother.”

“He does, but when she left us, she left. Like I have no idea where she is or what she’s doing now.”

“You’ve had no contact with her at all?”

“None. After I signed the papers, she disappeared from our lives.”

Brooke pulled to the curb of the Fuller home and cut the engine. “I’m really sorry about that.”

“I was too at the time. But it is what it is and I’ve moved on.” He looked at the house. “And now I’m ready to get some answers from my son.”

“You want me to go with you?”

“No. I’ll get him. I don’t want to say anything in front of his friend.”

“I’ll wait here.”

He nodded and climbed from the car. He walked toward the front door and drew in a deep breath. Trouble and Brooke had re-entered his life without any warning. He prayed the trouble was resolved fast and left as quickly as it appeared.

He just hoped Brooke didn’t go with it.


FIVE (#ulink_b83067d9-6a73-5e82-8338-9f058f785f1c)

Brooke watched him walk up to the front door and ring the bell. She admired his broad shoulders and strong back. He’d always kept himself in great physical condition, and that hadn’t changed. His love of all things sports kept him fit.

She glanced in the rearview mirror, wondering who’d thrown the bomb in Jonas’s house last night. Who had they chased and lost? She’d never had a glimpse of his face. His dark clothes disguised his build, and the baseball cap had hidden his features. The darkness had definitely worked in his favor.

A young teen stepped outside onto the front porch. He had a black backpack slung over his right shoulder. Brooke would have known he was Jonas’s son had she spotted him in a crowd. A miniature replica of his father, he had sandy blond hair and a lanky build. She’d seen him as a young child about five years old and he was now just an older version of the child she remembered. She knew that he had Jonas’s light brown eyes, too.

The sullen expression was all his own, though.

He shoved past Jonas then lifted his head and saw her sitting behind the wheel. He stopped, his frown deepening. He turned and said something to Jonas, who nodded. Jonas shook hands with the man still standing in the doorway then the two of them headed toward the car.

Jonas slipped into the passenger seat. His son slumped in the back next to Mercy’s kennel.

Brooke took a deep breath and let it out in a slow silent whoosh. She caught Felix’s eye in the mirror and he looked away. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Brooke.”

“Hi,” he mumbled.

He didn’t ask who she was or seem to care that she was there. “You hungry?”

He perked up at that question. “Yeah, I didn’t have time to eat breakfast.” He shot his dad an accusing look.

“Hey, it’s nine-thirty. You had plenty of time to eat.”

“I’m a teenager, Dad. I sleep in on Sunday morning. Or I do when I’m spending the night with a friend and we plan to get breakfast at church.”

“The whole breakfast thing might be my fault, I’m afraid,” Brooke said. “I insisted on getting you early. Hence the offer to feed you.”

“Oh.” The defiant look fell away and he actually gave her a curious look. “Okay. Sure. Where are we going?”

“What’s your favorite breakfast place?”

“The Original Pancake House on M. Lee Highway.” He and Jonas spoke at the same time and she smiled.

“Sounds good to me.” She glanced in the rearview mirror and waited for the dark vehicle coming up beside her to pass. It slowed and she tensed, her mind flashing to the night before, her hand moving to her weapon. When the car passed, she let out a slow breath. Not everyone is after him, she reminded herself. But someone was and she’d take all precautions to make sure Jonas—and now Felix—stayed safe.

She pressed the gas and pulled away from the curb. Fifteen minutes later after several failed attempts at conversation with Felix, she parked and they climbed from the vehicle, Mercy trotting obediently at her side.

Once seated with Mercy at Brooke’s feet under the table, they ordered and silence fell again. Jonas caught her gaze. She nodded. He cleared his throat. “Felix, someone broke into our house last night.”

The teen’s head shot up and for the first time that day, he met his father’s gaze. “What? Why? Are you okay? Did they catch him?”

“Yes, I’m fine, thanks.” Jonas’s jaw worked. She could see he was touched at his son’s concern. “The house isn’t so fine, but we are.” He explained what happened and that they would have to stay at his office until the insurance company could give an appraisal on the damage. “But I’ve got friends in high places. We’ll get it taken care of pretty fast.”

Felix looked dazed. “So who are you again?” he asked her. Finally something other than defiance on his face.

“I’m Brooke Clark. I work for a law enforcement organization called the Capitol K-9 Unit.” Felix’s eyes flicked toward Mercy, who sat under the table, her head the only part of her body poking out. Brooke answered his silent question. “Mercy and I are partners. Your dad called us last night after the break-in.”

“Why you?”

“I found this.” Jonas pulled the phone from his pocket and slid it across the table.

Felix’s eyes went wide, and he clamped his lips together.

Brooke’s senses tingled. “Where did you get it?” she asked him.

Felix crossed his arms and looked away, the defiance back in spades. Jonas gave a huff of frustration. “Tell me, Felix. This is important. A picture of a dead woman is on this phone, and we need to know what you know.”

Felix swallowed and a flash of fear crossed his face, but he refused to comment. Jonas’s face began to darken, and his eyes turned thunderous. Brooke laid a hand on his arm. He sat back, and she could tell he was putting good effort into gaining control of his temper. “Felix, do you mind if I tell you a story?”

He jerked and shot her a confused look. “About?”

“About a little boy who no longer has a mother.”

Felix’s fist tightened around his glass and for a moment Brooke wondered if he was going to pick it up and throw it. “Sure,” he gritted. “What about him?”

“About two months ago, a woman named Rosa Gomez was killed. Even though it hasn’t been proved to be murder yet, we believe she was pushed off the cliffs at President’s Park. She had a little boy who’s only two years old. The good thing is that Rosa had a sister named Lana. Lana now has custody of little Juan, but losing his mother shouldn’t have happened. We want to catch the person who took her away from him.”

Felix flicked a glance at his father. “He doesn’t have a dad either?”

“Not one that wants to be in the picture,” Brooke said. “At least that’s the impression we’ve gotten so far since no one has come forward to say he’s the father.”

Felix took a swig of his drink, then set the glass back on the table with a thunk. The waitress delivered the food and a lull rose. Jonas thanked the woman, who nodded and left.

“Do you mind if I say the blessing?” Brooke asked.

“No, go ahead,” Jonas said. Felix looked a little uncomfortable, but didn’t protest.

Brooke prayed over the food and asked God to continue to keep them safe. They ate in silence for the next few minutes. “What’s going to happen to him, to Juan?” Felix asked.

“Right now, he’s with his aunt, so he’s being taken care of, but his mom is gone and we want to find who killed her so he doesn’t have to grow up wondering.” Felix looked ready to burst into tears, but Brooke hoped her words would get the boy to tell them what he knew. She didn’t like being so manipulative, but every word she spoke was true. “We’ve tracked down every lead we could get, but lately, it seems the trail has grown cold. Until now. Until your dad called to tell me about the phone. This is a huge deal for us, Felix. Would you please tell us what you know about the phone?”




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