Love Inspired Suspense September 2015 #1 (51 page)

Parker said, “If it's not tonight, I'll have Fix put in a call. There's a chance the trader will realize something is up, but Fix will just have to finesse it.”

“Thanks.”

“Your girl's on the couch.” Parker walked to the door. “I'll be on the perimeter for the next half hour.”

Jonah watched him go and then went to the living room. Elise was curled up on her side, one hand under her cheek. He lifted her as gently as he could. “Time for bed.”

It was past time for her to be in the guest room. Especially with cracked ribs.

“Thanks, Martin.”

Jonah shut his eyes as the words hit him like a blow.

THIRTEEN

E
lise watched from the window as Hailey Shelder's car pulled up out front. She wasn't going to fly out the door and hug her son to death, even though she wanted to. With teenagers you had to play it cool and wait for them to let you know what they needed. Then you could ignore it and do what you wanted, after you'd respected their “needs.”

Shelder opened the door but kept her eyes on Jonah's land while Nathan stepped inside. He dropped his backpack by the door.

Elise got in his space and wrapped him up in her arms. When had he gotten so tall?

“Uh-oh.” Nathan chuckled. He leaned back and put on a ridiculous high voice. “It's been less than twenty-four hours, but you don't care. I'm so big. You've missed me so much.”

Elise shoved his shoulder playfully. “Smarty-pants.”

It was laugh or cry. She hadn't even seen Jonah yet that morning. He'd been in his home office—which technically should be the dining room—all morning, talking on the phone and basically ignoring her.

Elise turned back to Hailey. “Thank you so much.”

Nathan trailed straight for the kitchen, being a big fan of second breakfast. Hailey said, “He's a good kid. Kerry seems to think so, too. My thirteen-year-old has developed a terminal crush on your son.” Hailey laughed. “Nathan seemed to take it pretty well.”

Elise smiled. “I bet that was interesting.”

“She actually stopped playing with her puppy for five whole minutes, just to stare at him.”

Elise chuckled.

“Shelder. In my office.” Jonah's voice was a boom down the hall.

Hailey glanced at Elise, a frown on her face.

Elise whispered, “I have no idea. He won't even speak to me.”

Hailey went to Jonah's office, and he shut the door.

Elise sighed, figuring that was pretty much how their whole relationship had been—one giant closed door.
Is that what I'm supposed to think, God? Maybe he doesn't feel the way I feel, and he never has. Jonah was everything I wanted for so long. Now that I have him back in my life, I don't know if I can let him go again.

Maybe she just needed to be content with them being friends only. She didn't think her heart could handle that, not considering the fact they were going to be in each other's lives now. Forever linked by Nathan. The only question was exactly how hard it would be to continue to see him and never be able to tell him how she'd always felt.

Because despite the four years she'd been married to Martin, Elise had always been in love with Jonah. As horrible as it made her, and as bad a decision as that was, Martin had been good to her. Elise never deserved even his meager attempts at being a husband. He'd tried at least. He'd loved her, and she'd never reciprocated it the way he'd wanted.

She didn't know what would've happened to them, had he lived. Perhaps she'd have grown to love him better, for their son's sake. Or maybe she would have told him her true feelings—that her need for acceptance was so powerful, she'd been swept away by the first person who'd offered to always be there for her.

Whatever the outcome of her telling him the truth, it would have upended all of their lives. She probably would have lost Nathan to Martin and his family.

“Mom, you okay?”

She nodded but didn't look at him. He would know she wasn't fine.

Elise wandered to where she'd left her Bible on the coffee table and flicked again to the verse she'd read that morning in
Romans
.

But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Elise shut her eyes.
Thank You.
She wasn't perfect, not by any stretch of the imagination, but she was loved by God. She'd found her worth not in chasing after the ease of riches the Rivers family had seemed to have, or in being loved and accepted by people—even though she did have that from Nathan. She'd found God's love was powerful enough to fill all the empty, lonely places inside her.

She'd grieved her husband, loved her son and tried to forget about Jonah. To forget about the wrong she'd done. Finding God was a blessing she couldn't even dream of ever deserving, and that was the beauty of it.

“Time to go.”

Elise jerked from her thoughts and turned. Hailey strode behind Jonah with a look on her face that made Elise bite her lip to keep from laughing. Apparently Hailey didn't know what on earth was up with Jonah, either.

Elise pulled her boots on while Jonah and Hailey stepped outside. Nathan strode from the kitchen, his mouth full and a half-eaten burrito in his hand.

“Jonah said it's time to go.”

“'Kay.”

Elise heard something in his voice, but she had to wait for the right time if she was going to draw him out. When she gripped the door handle, Nathan stopped her.

“Mom?”

She glanced at him, saw the crinkles of concern on his face. “Yes, honey?”

He shook his head and the look dissipated. “Never mind.”

Nathan went out first, and Elise followed. Jonah and Hailey were between the house and a nondescript black SUV with government plates. Because that wouldn't stand out in ranch country. Still, Elise pulled back her reaction to their imposing vehicle when she saw how intent Jonah and Hailey were on the area around them.

Despite how he seemed to feel about her this morning, Jonah was still protecting her.

The warm feeling fought with the hurt of being ignored as she walked to the car and they drove to the zoo.

Elise wasn't going to get caught unawares again. At every corner they turned, she looked back. Hailey did the same. Even Nathan was nervous, but he purged that feeling not by being hyperalert, but by texting faster.

He glanced up, smiling. “Theresa might come and visit at Thanksgiving.”

“That's great, honey.”

“That your girlfriend?” Jonah's tone made Elise shift in her seat.

Nathan shook his head. “Not really. Just a friend.”

Great. Was he going to ask why Nathan hadn't gotten this girl to be his girlfriend? Like her son didn't have plenty of interest from girls. He was simply handicapped by the fact that Elise had dragged him one state west, and soon enough he'd be leaving for college. Hardly conducive to a serious relationship, even if she did think that was appropriate for a teenager—which she was on the fence about in the first place. But it happened. She'd been married in her late teens.

If Jonah didn't know teenagers were complicated, and their relationships infinitely more so, he was going to have to catch up fast. Elise could barely keep up, and she spent every day with her son.

Hailey was smirking.

“What?”

“Mama bear just showed her face.”

Elise scowled, knowing she was also smiling. It was a different kind of mad altogether, and Hailey knew exactly how Elise felt, since her daughter had been in danger, too. That was how Hailey and Eric got together, during a different manhunt, and she'd told Elise the whole story.

All she could do now was thank God Nathan hadn't been targeted in any of this. If he had, she'd have figured out a way to get him away from town. It would have meant him leaving on his own, in secret, but she would have dealt with the worry, knowing he was safe.

So far she'd been the only one—aside from the reporter—who was targeted. Jonah's presence in the car both times included him, sure, but that was more like collateral damage. She was the one the trader wanted to get rid of.

Just because she'd been in the office? Because she'd been hired back?

Or for another entirely different reason?

* * *

Jonah parked the car outside the zoo, as close as he could get to the gate. Elise's whispered voice speaking his brother's name would not get out of his head. He wanted to hit his forehead on the steering wheel, or turn the radio up as loud as it would go, just to try and jog it loose.

He was jealous of a dead man.

That was what it all boiled down to, and it irked him in a way he could not believe. Had he ever been this mad before in his entire life?

The kicker was, Jonah wasn't mad at Elise at all. She'd grieved his brother, was probably still grieving in a way. He didn't blame her for her memories. How could he? It was himself he was mad at. Jonah couldn't fault her for the choices she'd made, even if he didn't understand them one bit. He had a nephew because of her relationship with Martin.

He wouldn't be jealous of a dead man.

With a low growl, Jonah climbed out. He held the door open while Elise did the same, blinking against the early-morning light. Because the bulletproof windows in the SUV he'd ordered were tinted. It had cost him several favors and a lot of begging, but he'd wrangled a safer vehicle for the duration of this operation.

Elise was going to be protected.

But right now she would be safe with Hailey. He turned to his teammate. “You stick with Elise. Nathan can go with me.” Then he turned to her. “The foreman is due this morning, right?”

Elise nodded. “That's what Dom told me.”

“Okay. Nathan, I'd like to check the perimeter and all the exits. That sound okay?”

“Sure.” The teenager flicked the fall of hair on his forehead from his eyes and shot his mom a look. Jonah didn't know what it meant until he saw Elise smile.

Was it too much effort for them to use words? Even Hailey and Elise did it. Communicating perfectly well with a look, or the bare minimum of words. It infuriated him to be left out of the rapport they'd established. He didn't think he'd ever understand what went on between them all, which with Nathan and Elise was reasonable. They'd had each other for years, so how had Elise managed it with Hailey so soon?

Nathan trailed after him. Jonah watched the area to see if anything had been moved, or disturbed at all. The gates were still open, and it didn't look like anyone had been at the zoo since they'd found Fix here the day before.

Nathan's phone chirped. He pulled it out and tapped buttons before sliding it in his back pocket.

“Same girl?”

“Same girl.” Nathan kept walking beside him. “Theresa Walker. We went to youth group together, at my church, so I've known her pretty much forever.”

“You like her?”

Nathan shrugged. “Doesn't matter either way. If it works, if we can figure out how to be in the same state, then fine. But she's in Idaho and I'm, like, eight hours away. It's not like we can go see a movie. I'll be in college. She's working on her dad's farm and going to school there.”

“So you're not planning to get married young like your mom and dad?”

Nathan's gaze turned distant. “Didn't exactly work out for them, did it?”

“I'm sure your mom did the best she could.”

“That's not even what I'm talking about. I know exactly how my mom lived, survived and managed to smile through it. I was there.”

Jonah wanted to ask the kid what his problem was but didn't think it would be received well. They'd been on good terms with the motorcycle, and after. What had changed? As far as Jonah was concerned, Nathan was a blessing in his life. The last part of Martin he'd never thought he would get the chance to know.

“As far as I see it, either I get married young and risk winding up like my mom, or I don't and I risk winding up like you.” Nathan's eyebrow rose. “Wanting something I can't have.”

* * *

“Let's check out these buildings.” Hailey motioned to the feed and treatment centers. “We'll be able to see if the foreman comes from the windows.”

Elise nodded and headed for the portable buildings, and the two-story structure behind that should have been a barn. It had that look about it, and likely housed equipment, and extra construction supplies probably warped and useless from the floodwaters by now. She hadn't even been in there yet.

Anything was better than dwelling more on why Jonah wouldn't even look at her, let alone talk to her about anything more than business.

She walked around the portables, which would probably fall down if she even tried to go inside, and made her way to the barn.

Hailey held her arm out. “I'll go first.”

“I'll bring up the rear. You know, because the last person in line never gets picked off first.”

Hailey laughed. “Thankfully this isn't a bad horror movie.” Still, she got out her gun.

“Agreed.” She even shivered.

The empty, ruined buildings were so bad, Elise could barely move around without having to step over something. She was going to need all the funding the mayor had allocated, and maybe more, if she hoped to finish this project. She might as well be starting from scratch and building a brand-new zoo—except for the fact they had to clear away remnants of the old one first.

Hailey whistled.

“That's what I was thinking. It's going to take another natural disaster to clean all this away.” Elise stepped over downed equipment and around feed barrels. Hailey went a different direction, her footsteps fading under the sound of Elise's steps and the clatter of metal rods.

Elise found the stairs at the back. “I'm going to check out the loft!”

“Be careful!”

The stairs were still intact, a good sign. Elise held the rail, praying it wouldn't all collapse out from under her feet. Finally she reached the top, where the air was a good ten degrees cooler. The window had been smashed out, and cages were stacked along one wall. The majority of the room was clear, but for a few piled-up cardboard boxes that had
Christmas lights
and
Decorations
scrawled on the side in permanent marker.

She wandered to the shattered window and looked out. Cold air whipped at the collar of her coat. The lake was right below her, adding to the rustic look of the zoo. Repainting it, she'd be able to do a whole ranch theme, and maybe go heavy on the petting-zoo angle, rather than cater toward more exotic animals that could only be observed from behind thick glass. Kids loved a more hands-on experience, like feeding goats and sheep from their hands.