Page 20 of Ultimate Justice

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“That would be my cue to leave.” Latisha Torres smiled as she picked up her cup and stood. “I’ll let Kids Corner know not to send anyone for Noah. You can come for him in a couple of hours. That should be enough time to finalize his discharge papers.”

Marlie had worn her hair loose, unbraided. Fine wisps of blond hair fluttered around her face and shoulders. The long-sleeve blue shirt she wore matched her eyes. She nodded, mumbling her thanks and pressing her lips together so tightly the skin around them whitened. She was anxious, and he understood why.

She’d accepted the papers. That didn’t mean this was easy on her, and he admired the guts it must have taken to come to this decision. Part of him still felt guilty for railroading her into this. The other part of him—the one determined to find his sister and the camp—didn’t.

“Everything’s going to be fine. It will all work out. You’ll see,” Latisha said, and gave Marlie’s shoulder a squeeze, then headed down the sidewalk in the direction of the hospital.

The gentle words and kind gesture told him the women were not only personal friends, but the hospital administrator knew about Marlie’s tragic history.

“You okay?” He sat in the vacated chair. Blue lifted his paw and rested it on Marlie’s forearm, uttering a soft woof. “Blue, down. I’ve told you before, buddy, we don’t infringe on someone’s personal space unless they ask us to.” Groaning, Blue removed his paw and set it on the table. “Sorry, he picks up on peoples’ emotions and tries to help. He’s like a canine shrink.”

“It’s okay. I like dogs.” She patted his paw and was rewarded with another woof. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look it.”

“How exactly do I look?”

“Like you’re about to be sick.” Frankly, she did, and he was the cause. Indirectly. He was pushing her outside what had to be the normal, safe boundaries she’d erected around herself.

Man, she’s one gutsy woman. And he was a dickhead.

She refolded the documents he’d given her. “What do you need me to do?”

“Is the hospital going to give you the time off?” She nodded. “Good.” At least there was one thing he didn’t feel like a total heel about. “Tomorrow morning, I want to start taking you and Noah to the Denver farmers markets.”

She looked over his shoulder. “Okay.”

“I also want to ask Noah more questions, see if he can remember details about what he saw and heard while he was at the camp.”

“Fine,” she responded, but her attention seemed to be on something behind him.

He turned to see a little girl around five years old meandering through the café tables, garnering smiles from everyone. A woman in her early twenties seated at one of the tables occasionally looked up from the phone she was texting on. The girl’s mother, or maybe a babysitter.

When he turned back, a flash of anger shot from Marlie’s narrowed eyes.

He adjusted his chair in time to see the girl wander onto the sidewalk toward a man getting out of his car.

Evan was half out of the chair, but Marlie beat him to it. Her chair toppled backward, crashing to the stone patio. Only then did the woman texting look up. Evan and Blue raced after Marlie.

She shot onto the sidewalk, taking the girl’s arm and leading her back to the woman who’d been texting. “Is this your daughter?” she shouted.

“Yes. Thank you.” She stood, cell phone still in hand. “You don’t have to yell at me.”

Marlie pointed at the woman’s phone. “What is so important that you leave your child unattended? Did you know she was five feet from the road? She could have been hit by a car, but you wouldn’t know because you’re too busy texting.”

The woman took the girl’s hand and stood. “I—”

Evan positioned himself just behind Marlie, ready to jump in if needed.

“Did you know she was about to talk to a strange man?” Marlie’s face had turned bright red. “Did you? No, you didn’t. You couldn’t, because your face was glued to your phone. She could have been kidnapped and—”

Marlie clapped both her hands over her mouth. Eyes that, only a moment ago, had been flashing with rage now widened in shock. She spun, fleeing to the sidewalk where she rested her hands on the hood of the antique F-100 he’d been admiring. Her chest heaved, and she opened and closed her mouth repeatedly.

The instinct to take her in his arms and hold her built steadily inside him, but he barely knew the woman. He rested a hand on her shoulder, wishing he could do more. After reading the background check on her the other day, he’d pulled up the FBI and local police reports on Aiden Parker. There was no doubt in his mind—she was reliving her past and what had happened to her son.

Blue sat next to Evan, and as Marlie’s shoulders started to shake, his dog let out a sad whine and leaned his head against her thigh. When the floodgates opened, Evan couldn’t stop himself.