Sanders’s gaze was intense. Unnerving. “I understand completely. The man has been trying to kill you, Jo. Cole couldn’t let him get away.”
“We would catch him eventually. He didn’t have to take the risk.”
“Eventually? He might never get a better chance to take him down. He didn’t want you to remain in danger.”
Jo looked up at Detective Sanders. This close, she noticed a small scar along his face beneath the five-o’clock shadow. What had he been through to get that? She hadn’t liked him at first. But he was a man who didn’t back down, and in that way reminded her of Cole, who appreciated his skills. “What would you have done? Would you have jumped in?”
“It’s hard to say. I don’t know the exact circumstances. But then again, if someone was pursuing someone I cared about, then I would move heaven and earth to stop them.”
Metaphorically, of course. Was Cole trying to move heaven and earth?
Her knees shook at the thought, and her heart melted almost completely.Cole ... come back to me.
Please.
What were you thinking?That was all she needed, to trust this guy, then have him disappear on her. What wasshethinking? He’d gone in the water to get the man who’d persistently tried to kill her. No matter her fear of heartache, she couldn’t stop her feelings for him.
I’m in lovewith you.
She hoped, she prayed, for a chance to tell him. She didn’t even care why he’d stayed away for so long. Maybe she was foolhardy, but maybe Cole was afraid too. Maybe he was afraid Jo would reject him.
What was she thinking? She needed to be more concerned about his safety. She glanced around the law enforcement presence. Some of the vehicles were leaving. A crowd had grown but was now dispersing since the spectacle on the bridge had ended.
In the gathering, a familiar face stood out.
What? Wait. Jo started forward. “Pop!”
What was he doing in the crowd? And where did he go? The bodies merged as the crowd lost interest. And Jo had lost her father.
Where did he go? Jo dropped the blanket and tried to catch up. She weaved through the dispersing mass and caught up to a man in a gray raincoat, then grabbed his arm. “Pop?”
He turned to glare at her. It wasn’t her father. “I’m sorry, I thought you were someone else.”
Rushing forward, ignoring the rain and cold and the fact that she was cutting people off, she came to the street corner. Which way had he gone? To the right, or had he continued across on the crosswalk? Traffic was flowing, and she couldn’t so easily cross now. She couldn’t have imagined Pop’s face. He was staring right at her too. He was trying to reach her, but she had been standing near law enforcement, and Pop clearly did not want to be found by them—or at least he hadn’t wanted to make his presence known andthen, once again, bring danger her way. But what a joke. Danger had never left heralone.
Jo started moving again. She would find her father today.
Sanders caught up and moved into her path, blocking her way. “Where are you going?”
“I saw my father. Iknowit was him. He’s here! We have to find him. He knows what this is all about.” Still, he’d walked away from her. He was there and then he left. Why would he walk away? Maybe he was trying to get her a message. He could text her, couldn’t he? Did he consider that mode of communication too dangerous?
“And that would be too risky for you.” He grabbed an SPD street cop passing by and explained the situation.
“You have a picture?” Sanders asked her.
“Sure.” But she hadn’t wanted to get Pop in trouble. She’d wanted to talk to him on her own terms. She pulled up the image and showed the cop. Sent it to Sanders, who sent it out to others who could search for her father.
She pressed forward. “I’m going to search for him.”
Sanders caught her arm. “While Merrick is still out there, that would be a bad idea. Cole trusted me with protecting you. You have two choices. I can take you back to the safe house, or you can wait in the police headquarters for news about Cole.”
“We can’t leave. Cole is going to show up eventually. He’ll wonder where we are.” And Pop was here too.
“He’ll be furious with me if I don’t protect you. You look exhausted, and it’s freezing out here. I think the safe house is where we need to go. Did you learn everything you needed in the museum?”
Sanders was being reasonable, and Jo didn’t want to listen, but he was right. Exhaustion pressed down on her, along with a hefty dose of fear. As for the museum, she could always come back and even search the digital archivesnow that she knew more about what to look for. But they had definitely learned a lot. “For now, I guess.”
“Listen, what would Cole want you to do?” he asked. “After all of this, he’d want you to be safe. I’ll take you back and wait with you. I can work with Hawk to coordinate protection, and we’ll let you know as soon as there is any word on Cole.”
