Love Inspired Suspense September 2015 #1 (42 page)

But for the one lingering thing she still needed to do—the one thing that would give her the closure to move on with her life—maybe she never would have come back. She'd have found another way to pay for Nathan's college, or help him do it.

But for the fact that one of these days she needed to finally go visit Martin's grave.

In the backseat of Jonah's truck, Elise could barely make out the whispered conversation going on between him and Nathan, who sat up front. Did she want to know what they were talking about?

Elise tried to rouse herself enough to lean forward and listen, but her eyelids were drooping fast. The doctor had given her some good pain medication, the kind that knocked her out.

Jonah hit the brakes, and she flung her hand out to brace against the back of Nathan's seat. “Please tell me that's not your room.”

The door to Elise's motel room was wide-open. Even from feet away, inside the car, she could see that her stuff had been deposited everywhere around the room.

Someone had broken in.

FOUR

“Y
ou can't stay here.”

Why did Jonah feel the need to state the obvious? Elise turned to glare at him. “Where do you expect us to go?”

There was no way she was about to take Nathan to her mom's trailer, the one she'd grown up in. She'd have to find another cheap motel, preferably on the opposite side of town.

Once again they were surrounded by police officers, only this time she'd had to write them an embarrassing list of everything that had been stolen from her ransacked room. A list that included her laptop.

Thankfully Nathan's room, which was next door, hadn't been touched. It was a small comfort that he wasn't being targeted.

“Why don't you come to my house?” Jonah looked startled, as though he hadn't expected to say that.

“There's no way I'm setting one foot in that mansion.” Not when it held only memories of Martin, and his father. “No way.” And she wasn't being relegated to the pool house again, either. Even if it did mean she wouldn't have to face his mother.

Nathan's eyebrow rose under the fall of hair on his forehead. Why was he surprised? She'd told him all about Martin growing up rich, and she'd tried to be nice when she told him about Martin's mother.

“Not my mom's house.” Jonah's face morphed into a look she wasn't familiar with. “My house.”

Elise opened her mouth, and her son put his hand over it. Nathan turned to face Jonah. “We would really appreciate staying with you. Thank you.”

She glared at her son, the traitor, while Jonah struggled to keep in a smile. Elise said, “Fine. If I'm going to be railroaded anyway, what's the point in arguing?” She should have known Nathan would side with his uncle.

She shouldn't even be around Jonah—that wasn't what she was here for. And it wasn't going to do her any good to dredge up long-buried feelings. Now they were going to stay at his house? If she wasn't hurt and tired, she would probably argue more.

Elise folded her arms in a huff, which lost its impact since she had to be gentle with her ribs. “I'm going to need a toothbrush.”

Jonah's mouth curled into a smile. “Is it wrong that I think you're cute when you're mad?”

“I'm not mad, I'm exhausted.”

Nathan shook his head, mouthing something to Jonah that made him laugh. Elise turned and climbed into the backseat of the car. She tried to stay awake as they drove. There was plenty to occupy her mind, but the interior was warm and the seat cushion gave enough that she slid down. It wasn't long before she gave up the fight.

* * *

Elise woke in a bed. The room was small, only the bed and a dresser. On the dresser was a vase of flowers that were too perky to be real, as though someone had tried to make the room appear homey but that was all the effort they'd put into it. Like for a guest room. She rubbed sleep from her eyes and glanced around, but her attention wasn't on the bare walls, or the denim-colored curtains.

Was she really in Jonah's house?

Then again she'd survived an attack, a bomb and a break-in, the day before. Why should she be surprised at the fact that she was in Jonah's home now?

She lifted her arms and caught herself before she stretched. The pain medication she'd taken the night before had waned. She'd have to take more soon. As if on cue, her stomach rumbled. She looked at the clock on the wall. It was past ten? No wonder she was hungry.

Elise found a change of clothes on the end of the bed—shorts and a NAVY T-shirt that were clearly Jonah's, since she had no stuff of her own. How long would it be before the police released the belongings that hadn't been stolen back to her?

The coffeepot in the kitchen was half-full and still hot, so she rummaged in Jonah's cabinets and found a mug. He still took half-and-half in his java, so she added some of that for a treat, along with her usual splash of milk and enough sugar that she'd have some extra energy.

Where were they?

Elise looked out the window, but all she saw was grass and a barn. Jonah, who'd grown up in a mansion on the rich side of town, now had a weathered ranch that strangely fit his personality perfectly—even if it did seem a little forlorn.

Nails clicked on the tile floor, and a tan dog with a black saddle and folded-over ears above a German shepherd's face wandered in, headed for a food bowl.

Jonah had always loved German Shepherds, but this one was mixed with a Collie, which softened the dog's features in a way that was immensely cute.

She smiled at him. “Hello.”

The dog eyed her but started eating. Probably worried she would try and take his food. Elise crouched and let the animal get to know her scent. She ran her fingers through his scruff. He was well fed, but lean. They probably ran together.

Years ago she, Jonah and Martin had run together. The idea Jonah now ran with someone who wasn't her—even if it was a dog—weighed on her so suddenly she sat down on the cold tile. Logically he'd have run with other people over the years. After all, it had been close to two decades. Why did it bother her so much now?

Martin was gone, and Jonah was the one still here. He probably hurt over his brother's death as much as she did. Would she ever reach the point when she stopped remembering exactly what she'd lost? Martin. Jonah. Their father. The mess she'd made of all of it was immense. Overwhelmed by the tide of grief and guilt, Elise turned her attention again to the dog.

“Let me guess...Hound?”

The dog's ears pricked up. He closed the gap between them and nuzzled her until her hand cramped from stroking him. Elise lifted the tag on his collar.
Sam.
She chuckled. Jonah had always given his pets normal names like Steve or Wilson.

This was what she needed, some animal therapy. No matter how much she helped an animal, it always seemed to heal something in her at the same time. Animals were a solace she found nowhere else, especially when the grief of losing the Rivers brothers swallowed her. The peace and comfort she got from being around animals—and through sharing that with her son—was a gift from God.

Jonah had probably brought them there knowing Elise would be a sucker for his terminally cute dog. Was he trying to win them over with his animal? Too bad it was sort of working.

“Where's your master, huh?” Of course, the dog didn't actually answer. But there was no one else here to talk to.

The couch looked like someone had slept there. It was like her son to bed down anywhere. He'd slept in animal enclosures many times when they were sick, or when one of the females was giving birth. Nathan was almost a nomad in his sleeping habits, bonding only with her and the animals. He seemed to find home in living beings, and not in a place to return to at the end of the day.

Elise walked to the front door so she could look around outside. The dog padded after her and she stopped at the door. “You want to come?”

Sam looked at her, the fuzzy hair around his muzzle making him look almost like he had a mane. The dog cocked his head and Elise smiled. Should she have expected his company?

Elise pulled a heavy jacket from a hook by the door. “Very well, then.” She chuckled. “After you.”

* * *

“This is so cool.” The kid's eyes lit.

Jonah's face stretched in a smile at the excitement on Nathan's face. The old Triumph motorcycle he was restoring sat between them in the dusty barn. In one corner was his own father's old sixties Chevelle, and the horse stalls were piled up with rusty car parts.

When Nathan motioned to it, Jonah immediately knew what he wanted. “Go for it.”

Nathan touched the handles reverently. He swung his leg over and sat, grinning like it was Christmas.

Jonah had gone into the office at seven for the meeting about Fix Tanner, and he was wiped. By tonight he was going to be dead on his feet. He'd have to go to bed early like an old man.

Nathan squeezed the handle. If he was younger, he'd probably have been making vroom noises. It hit Jonah then. The hair, the eyes with Martin's light in them. Jonah touched a hand to his chest where the ache of loss over his brother's death had never really gone away.

Eighteen years since he'd been gone, and here was Martin's son, sitting on the bike they had bought together. The bike they had planned to fix up together when Jonah got out of the marines.

Tears filled his eyes. He'd only been thinking about trying to show his nephew the things that were important to him. They needed to base their relationship on something other than the connection they had through Elise. To find a common ground on their own. But all he'd discovered instead was the link they had through his brother.

Jonah and Nathan were inexorably connected. Whether they'd met each other before yesterday or not, their lives were intertwined. And while he'd expected to feel yet more sadness at all he'd lost through not knowing Nathan as he grew up, Jonah realized he had always possessed something. Even if he never knew it. Nathan had been a part of his life always. A fact that made the long years since Martin's death—the years when he hadn't been able to find Elise—feel a little less like a yawning chasm of loneliness.

Jonah brushed away the heaviness and set his hand on his nephew's shoulder. “Your dad loved this bike the minute he saw it.”

Nathan looked up then, a world of hope in his eyes. “Really?”

Jonah nodded. “Martin and I planned to work on it together.” He paused then, wondering if the kid was feeling one iota of what he was. Maybe the kid didn't think this was a big deal, but something nagged at him to believe otherwise. To trust. “Maybe, if you want, you could help me work on it.”

The light in Nathan's eyes spread to his whole face. “I—” His voice cracked with emotion and he cleared his throat. “That would be cool.”

Jonah squeezed Nathan's shoulder. “Great.”

* * *

Elise backed up from the barn door. This whole experience was a bizarre mesh of not wanting to let go of her son just yet and being ecstatic that Nathan was bonding with his uncle because she loved him and wanted good things for him. It was like being pulled in two different directions, but one thing was clear. If Jonah hurt Nathan he'd see how fast she could go “mama bear.”

The dog sat patiently beside her. Elise looked out over Jonah's land. She could see the neighboring ranch, and the drive that stretched out at least half a mile to the road. A car pulled up by the mailbox and deposited a newspaper in the holder below Jonah's mailbox before it drove off, disappearing between the trees.

Elise wrapped Jonah's coat tighter around her. She didn't want to face the awkwardness of having to produce small talk with a man who was essentially a stranger.

She clicked her fingers and the dog fell into step beside her. Elise soaked in the brisk morning air as she walked the drive, reveling in the stretching of her muscles. The world was quiet but for the brush of wind on branches and the distant sounds of traffic. The valley where the town was located sat to the north, down a tall hill.

What had made Jonah want to live so removed from everything? She could understand not wanting work to intrude on his personal life. He probably wanted to keep his home life separate from the fugitives he was chasing—one of whom was her own brother.

If she had her phone she'd try and call Fix, but she had no idea what her brother's phone number was now. Even if she did, it'd been on the floor in the office when Jonah carried her out and the building exploded. Too bad she couldn't even afford another one. Not when her salary would go toward their basic expenses and every extra dollar matched Nathan's car savings. She'd have to see if she could get an inexpensive replacement phone online.

Elise pulled out the newspaper and unrolled it. The headline read Local Source Uncovers Exotic Animal Trade.

Under the bold type was Elise's picture. Her breath caught in her throat at the image that had been posted online by the sanctuary she'd worked for previously. It was from their annual fund-raiser, and she was dressed up with her hair fixed in a complicated updo so tight it had made her head ache all night. They'd given her a commendation that day for all her work with a pair of tiger cubs found when the ATF raided a compound of activists and impounded their stockpile of weapons.

Elise scanned the article—all about the explosion that had further destroyed the zoo. The reporter knew all about her having been hired back to rebuild. But imbedded in the lines of text was the implication the zoo had previously had ties to local exotic animal trading.

The reporter even claimed to have evidence directly linking the zoo to local traders.

It was the last thing they needed. Now the reopening, and Elise's position, would be marred by these accusations. Couldn't he have just stuck to talking about the incident last night? Didn't the reporter know she would be as concerned about the animals' well-being as he seemed to be?

Instead he made it sound like she was involved in something huge—and incredibly wrong.

Growing up, she'd had a reputation for being the kid who always talked about animals, who brought them home to take care of. She'd spent countless hours at the zoo as a kid, watching the previous zookeeper—Zane Ford—do his work. She'd learned so much from him. Could he really have been involved in exotic animal trading? It was almost unconscionable. He'd loved the animals. Yes, he'd also been concerned about money, but she'd thought that was because he needed it to feed and care for the animals adequately.

She'd grieved when she heard he'd been lost in the flood. Could he really have been deceiving everyone? Selling animals?

Sam barked once. Elise turned back to the house. She needed to tell Jonah about the newspaper article.

The mailbox clanged. She looked back to find it had imploded, struck with something small that had torn through the metal. The sound of a gunshot echoed across the hill.