It took a moment for her to remember how he’d told Lori he worked as a private investigator.“Are you really a PI?”
“I am, yes.”He flashed a lopsided smile.They were far enough away from the crime scene that he appeared more relaxed now.“But mostly I work for Grayson’s Guardians.”
She frowned.“I’ve never heard of them.”
“Rex Grayson is our boss.He was the captain of our team when we were in the army.”His expression turned grim.“He was there when we lost Tommy.And the other members of our team.”
“I see.”Tommy had mentioned his captain, but she hadn’t paid attention to the man’s name.
“Rex will support us through this,” Micah continued.“The company does fairly well.”
Her brow furrowed.“You mean people normally pay you and your boss to provide security?”
“In a nutshell, yeah.But you don’t have to worry about paying anything.This one is on us.For Tommy.”
She wanted to protest at the idea of Micah working for free, but her financial situation was tenuous at best, so it wasn’t like she had a choice but to accept Micah’s help.
“Thank you.”Her voice was a hoarse whisper.
“Hey, it’s not a problem.This is the least we can do.”He squeezed her hand reassuringly.“Tommy was like a brother to me.To all of us.”
She bowed her head, struggling with her emotions.If Tommy were still alive, she probably wouldn’t even be sitting there.Their parents had died from cancer within a year of each other.Tommy was her only family, and after he’d been killed, she’d been desperate to start over someplace new.
Madison Wisconsin had seemed like the ideal place.When she’d been offered the position as Damien’s assistant, she’d jumped at it.She’d used the life insurance money from Tommy’s death to buy the house.
Now she felt certain she’d have to put her home on the market sooner than later.Before she got too far behind on the monthly mortgage payments.
Tears pricked her eyes.It seemed so unfair to be forced to sell her home when she’d done nothing wrong.
Well, nothing other than being foolish enough to date her boss.Although she couldn’t be sure that would have mattered.If Damien wanted to frame her, he could have done that whether they had dated or not.
She should have been smart enough to call the police right away.Or she should have gone to Richard to let him know Damien was missing.
Now she was the one left looking guilty.
Should she call Gwen?They’d grown close over the past several years of working together.Yet remembering Gwen’s suspicious gaze made her think Gwen believed Richard’s version of the story.Wave after wave of despair washed over her.Even though she knew it was fruitless, she couldn’t stop from thinking about all the things she should have done differently.
With an effort, she pushed those useless thoughts aside and tried to find solace in her faith.Prayer had always helped her before, so she needed to lean on God’s grace and support now.
Why God had put her on this path, she wasn’t sure, but all she could do was trust in Him.
And in Micah’s ability to keep her safe while uncovering the truth about where Damien was and what had happened to the missing money.
Micah wantedto call Rex to update his boss on the recent shooting.He drove through Lori’s neighborhood until he was close to the medical center.
From there, blending in with the other cars on the road was easier.Still, he kept a wary eye out for any indication they were being followed.
He waited until they were on the outskirts of town before releasing Bryn’s hand so that he could make the call using his SUV’s Bluetooth connection.Thankfully, Rex answered immediately, his voice alert.“Mick?What’s going on?”
Everyone on the team had a nickname, his wasn’t that unusual, but he sensed Bryn’s confusion.“Hey, Captain, we’re on the north side of Madison and need a safe place to stay.Can you find a rental?”
“Yep, hang on.”The sound of fingers hitting a keyboard echoed through the speaker.“Everything okay?”
“Not exactly.”He risked a quick glance at Bryn.“It’s kind of a long story, but the short version is that Bryn’s boss, Damien Rochester, is missing along with funds that were embezzled from the company.The police interviewed Bryn at length, then let her go home.That’s when someone fired at her, sending her running and calling me.We met in Beloit and decided to visit one of Damien’s old girlfriends, Lori Eastman.Unfortunately, the gunman showed up and shot Lori.”
“Wait, what?She’s dead?”Rex’s voice rose incredulously.
“Yeah.Unfortunately, she didn’t tell us anything useful either.”
