“What?”
He was inside only a moment before he returned with a long telescoping object in his hand. He didn’t speak as he used it to check under her car for a bomb.
She blew out a relieved sigh when he stepped back. “It’s clear. Let me return this. If you’re sure you don’t mind, I’ll accept the ride back to Raleigh.”
“I’m too tired to care about anything right now. I want food and I want sleep. Let’s go.”
Fifteen minutes and a drive-through stop later, they pulled onto the highway and headed to Raleigh. At least the traffic shouldn’t be a problem.
They didn’t speak until they were on the outskirts of the city. “Do you think it was David Lee?” Luke asked the question that had been bouncing around in Faith’s brain since they left the sheriff’s office.
“I don’t know.” It burned to admit it, but she didn’t.
“For what it’s worth, I didn’t think she was lying. Not when she originally said it. It wasn’t until she showed her hand aboutThad that I began to question everything. But ... for the sake of argument, if it was David Lee, does that mean David Lee is our assailant? That he’s revenge killing because he somehow believes the Secret Service is responsible for Mi Cha’s death? The way Mrs. Lin talked, he could be the type.”
“He’s supposed to be an accountant though,” Faith said, pushing back. Not because she thought he was wrong, but to further test the theory. “How would an accountant have the skills to blow up Jared’s house and shoot the dart at Michael, or the skill to shoot at you and Zane the way he did? I’m not knocking accountants, but you don’t expect that.”
“What if he isn’t an accountant? Or he’s an accountant now, but he has some kind of special forces training?”
Faith could see that. “Let’s say it was David Lee coming after her, and he’s not an accountant. He’s a criminal or former military or grew up in a militia and knows about guns and bombs. Even if that were true, which, let me remind you, we have zero evidence of, why come after Janice? She isn’t helping us solve the case. And if my theory is correct about Mi Cha’s involvement with the Secret Service being the motive behind the attacks, that’s another reason for this shooter to leave Janice alone. Janice never met Mi Cha and didn’t even know it was her in the car with Thad until this week.”
“You’re right.” Luke’s agreement was grudgingly given.
“Could you talk to Sabrina tomorrow? Share what we know and see if that changes anything in her search? She’s been looking for David Lee in the DC and Raleigh areas. Maybe she can expand her search to Carrington as well.”
“I can do that.”
Luke was being very polite, and she could feel his desire to keep things from being awkward. But how could they not be? From kissing her senseless to stabbing her with a metaphorical knife tothe heart, he’d put her through a lot today. But she couldn’t let herself think about the kissing, or the anger. She didn’t have the emotional capacity to deal with any of that.
She pulled up to the door of the hotel, and Luke climbed out. “Thank you for driving.”
She nodded and drove away almost before he had the door closed.
She went home. Cleared her house, weapon in hand, before setting the security system and kicking off her shoes.
She showered.
She went to bed.
She did not text Luke.
27
LUKE THANKED THE AGENTSand officers providing security and then tiptoed into his room. Zane was snoring. Tessa was asleep in the adjoining room, the door cracked. He swallowed his meds, took a shower, and crawled into bed. He hated what he’d done. Hated how stupid he’d been. Hated how his body ached and screamed for rest. Hated how his phone remained silent.
When he woke the next morning, he lay in the bed and for a blissful moment remembered the kiss. Then he remembered the way he’d ruined it all.
And he remembered today was Sunday and Jared’s funeral was this afternoon.
Zane rolled over in the other bed. “You awake?”
“Yeah.”
“Want to fill me in?”
“No.”
“Went that well, huh?”
