Lone Defender (Love Inspired Suspense) (18 page)

“That matches what happened to Redmond. His body being buried where it would never have been found if I hadn’t started them looking, then the accidental way I was supposed to die. Commit the crime, but make sure to keep it hidden.”

“Exactly. Just because the group hasn’t been convicted of crimes doesn’t mean they haven’t committed plenty of them. The more they commit, the more likely it is they’ll get caught. If I remember correctly, at least a few of the members have been arrested. None of the charges have stuck, but there’s always a first time.”

“Let’s hope this is it.”

“Hoping is great, but we’re not going to try to take them down ourselves.” He pulled up in front of his house, reaching over and rubbing a thumb along the corner of her mouth. “Maple syrup.”

“What?” She blinked, tried to focus, but every thought was gone, wiped away by one gentle touch of his thumb.

“You have maple syrup on your face.”

“Oh.” She reached up and rubbed the spot, trying to rub away the heat that was turning her insides to mush.

Not possible, though.

Not possible to move, either, as he leaned forward, his lips brushing hers, settling there. And she was lost again, her dreams welling up and filling her heart until she had to break away.

She reached for the door, blindly opening it and jumping out.

“Sky, wait!” Jonas got out of the truck and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop at the threshold of the apartment.

He nudged her into the house, closed the door, crowding her into the tiny living room and taking up more than his fair share of space.

It should have bothered her that he seemed to steal her thoughts and her breath without effort. That having him close made her forget all the reasons why she shouldn’t take chances with her heart.

Should have bothered her, but it didn’t.

Because it was Jonas doing those things, and she thought that maybe he needed her around just as much as she needed him. His loss, his guilt, his need to protect his heart were all things she understood. She looked into his eyes, studied his face, her heart opening in a way it hadn’t in a very long time.

“If you’re going to apologize, don’t. The kiss was a mutual thing, and I’m not sorry for it. I just…need some space.”

“Good to know, but I wasn’t going to apologize.”

“Then, what is it?”

“Sunday.”

“What?”

“It’s Sunday. I thought you might like to come to church with me.”

“I’m not sure I have anything to wear. I didn’t think I’d
be in town for more than a couple of days, so I didn’t plan for Sunday service.”

“You look perfect in what you’re wearing.”

“Jeans and a T-shirt?”

“You’d look good in a gunnysack, Grady. I’ll be ready in thirty. Keep the door locked and the alarm set until I knock,” he said, walking out before she could offer more excuses.

And maybe she didn’t need more.

Because it was Jonas she was going to church with. Aside from God, she’d never believed in much, but she did believe in him.

It wasn’t forever.

But it was a start.

SIXTEEN

S
he should have said no.

Skylar scowled at the small pile of clothes on the bed. Jeans and T-shirts. Mostly faded and worn. One pair of black slacks, black heels and a square-necked sweater that she hated because it showed too many scars and she had only packed it because it happened to be clean.

A motley assortment.

She couldn’t go to church wearing any of it.

Not that God cared. She knew He didn’t. He met people where they were, how they were, but Skylar had spent too many years going to church in holey clothes and broken shoes to want to wear anything but her best when she attended. Too caught up in their addictions to care, her parents hadn’t even made Skylar or Tessa brush their hair or wash their faces before they left the house. It had been Mrs. Peach who had taught them to take care of their appearances and who had brought them to church, insisting she needed an escort to walk her there.

Mrs. Peach.

The name was enough to make Skylar smile.

Widowed and lonely and looking for someone to pour herself into, the elderly woman had taken on the task of raising two little girls who were raising themselves. She’d been
Skylar’s safety net until she’d passed away. And she’d been Skylar’s first taste of loss. In memory of her friend, Skylar had trudged to church by herself from the time she was ten and Tessa had quit going until she’d finally escaped the mean little neighborhood she’d grown up in.

Mrs. Peach would be happy to know Skylar had found faith in the run-down church they’d attended together.

She wouldn’t be pleased that Skylar was standing over a perfectly good pile of clothes bemoaning her limited choices.

She frowned, grabbing the slacks and sweater, throwing them on and shoving her feet into the heels.

“Be honest with yourself, Sky. You’re more worried about what Jonas will think of your outfit than you are about wearing it to church,” she muttered as she stared in the mirror, hitched up her sweater to cover the scars a little more, loosened her hair and let it fall around her shoulders. Too many curls, but there wasn’t much she could do about them, so she let them be. Slicked on gloss and a little mascara. Frowned at her reflection again.

A soft knock sounded on the door, and her time was up.

She grabbed her Bible, hurried into the living room as the door opened and Jonas walked in, punched in the alarm code and smiled.

He made slacks and a button-up shirt look good, his dark hair brushed back from his face, his eyes burning with interest as they followed Skylar across the room.

“You clean up good, Grady.”

“So do you.” He smelled good, too. Soap and aftershave and something indefinable and masculine.

“Looks like you have more than one scar to show for your partner’s betrayal.” His finger touched the purple circle beside her collarbone, and she shivered.

“Like I said, I was shot three times. Twice in the chest. Once in the stomach.”

“I wish your partner was still alive, so I could have a…chat with him.” The coldness in his words, the anger in his gaze left no doubt about how serious he was.

“Then I’m glad he’s not. I wouldn’t want you to go to prison for beating up pond scum.” She offered a shaky smile. Unsure. Sure. All the things she wanted wrapped up in the hope that she could make this thing that had never worked before work; make this idea, this dream of a real family she’d had since she was a little girl listening to her parents scream obscenities at one another, become a reality.

It was a big risk, and she still wasn’t sure she should be taking it.

“You look sad.” His traced a path from the scar to her jaw, tilting her head, looking down into her eyes.

“I just don’t want to put too much hope in this, Jonas. I don’t want to start believing in it, and then find out it was just a moment in time, a blip on the radar. I want more than that.”

“If by
this
you mean us, then you can stop worrying. We’re not just a moment or a blip. I don’t know where we’re heading, but I’m not going anywhere until we find out.”

“Isn’t that what every guy says when a new couple is starting out?”

“Then you admit we’re a couple? I thought it would take you at least another day to get to that point.” He chucked her under the chin, opened the door. “Come on. We need to get moving or we’ll be late. I don’t want to have to explain why to Debby.”

“I thought you said she was one of the most understanding people you’d ever met.”

“She’s also one of the biggest tyrants.”

“I don’t believe you. She seemed sweet as pie when we met.”

“She’s sweet, all right. Until you cross her, then, she’s a
tyrant. I know this for fact since I crossed her more than one time when I was a teen.” He smiled and led her to the truck, opening the door and waiting for her to get in.

It took less than ten minutes to drive to the church Jonas attended. Modest and small, it boasted a filled-to-overflowing parking lot and one too many sets of eyes watching as Jonas and Skylar made their way across it.

“People are staring,” she whispered as they approached the front door.

“You’re a beautiful woman, so why wouldn’t they?”

“That’s not it, and you know it.”

“Maybe they’re just surprised to see me with someone. More than one of them has tried to set me up on a date.”

“So, you’re the eligible bachelor of the congregation?”

“I was. Your visit should change my status.” He pressed his hand to her lower back, urging her into the sanctuary.

“Hidden motives, Jonas?”

“My only motive is you.” His words shivered through her as they walked down the center aisle.

Gleaming wood floors and old stained-glass windows added beauty to what might have been a plain building. Several dozen people sat in the pews, their eyes tracking Skylar and Jonas as they made their way to the front.

“Jonas! Skylar! I’m so glad you could make it.” Debby waved from the front pew, her face glowing with excitement as she gestured for them to join her.

“I’m here every week, Debby, so I’m assuming it’s not me you’re excited about seeing.” Jonas dropped a kiss on her cheek and offered his father a brief nod.

“I’m always excited to see you, but I have to admit, having a celebrity sitting in our pew is doing wonders for my reputation. Every lady in my Bible study is going to be begging to hear all the details of your experience. No worries, though, I’ll remind them that it’s your business to share.”

“And act like she shared it all with you?” Richard asked, and she smiled.

“Of course. Come sit beside me, Skylar. Tell me how you’re doing.”

“A lot better than I was the last time we met.”

“Are you finding everything you need at Rayne’s place?”

“Yes. I really appreciate her letting me stay there.”

“Rayne is a wonderful person. Though, I suppose I’m biased since I’m her mother.”

“You’re not biased. She
is
wonderful. Will she be here today?”

“She goes to a larger church in Phoenix. This is the one she grew up in, but kids need to branch out when they get older, put some distance between themselves and their parents. I’m sure you were the same way.”

Skylar nodded, though she hadn’t really had much of a choice. Her father died a month before she graduated high school. Even before he’d died, she’d been independent. She’d had to be.

“She should be over at our place for lunch this afternoon. Will you be there?”

“I—”

“We talked about this before, Debby. It’s not safe,” Jonas cut in, and Skylar was glad she hadn’t been left to answer. She probably would have agreed without thinking about the consequences.

“We have a security alarm, and I have a rifle, but I doubt I’ll need it. It’s Sunday afternoon. No one is going to commit murder on the Lord’s Day,” Richard said, and Jonas snorted.

“You don’t really believe that, Dad.”

“Maybe not, but I don’t see how Skylar is any safer at your place than she will be at ours.”

“She isn’t, but that doesn’t mean I want you exposed to the danger she’s in.”

“What we’re exposed to should be our choice, and Deb and I both agreed that—”

“Rich, let it drop.” Debby put a hand on her husband’s arm, stopping any further discussion.

“Right. You’re right. Sorry.” He offered a tight smile and turned his attention toward the front of the church. Obviously, there was a lot of baggage between father and son, but it seemed both were trying to build a strong relationship. Skylar would have given so much to have that opportunity with her parents.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Jonas whispered as the strains of the first hymn filled the sanctuary.

“I was just thinking how nice it would be to have lunch invitations and arguments and…parents.”

“It is nice. Even when it drives me crazy.” He patted her knee, the gesture light and easy, drawing her into the family, letting her know she belonged.

Funny how quickly he’d done that.

In the two years she’d dated Matthew, she’d visited his family three times, always at formal occasions. A wedding, an engagement party, a New Year’s bash. He’d mingled with the crowd of relatives, keeping Skylar at his side but never really including her. She’d felt as out of place as she had in her childhood home.

Here, sitting between Jonas and Debby, she felt absorbed into the family, accepted by the tight-knit group.

She glanced at Jonas as they stood for the second hymn, and he met her eyes, smiled that easy smile of his, and her heart jumped, her stomach fluttered.

Sitting in the church, her arm pressed to Jonas’s as the pastor spoke, she could almost believe that what they were creating would last.

Love didn’t have to be complicated. It didn’t have to be the high highs and low lows of her parents’ relationship, or
the daily phone calls, the constant vying for attention that her relationship with Matthew had demanded, the needy, grasping love he’d showered on her.

It could just…
be.

Two people, enjoying each other’s company. Enjoying each other. Two people working together toward a common goal.

Two people who were meant to be.

For whatever reason.

Just be.

Together.

The pastor finished speaking, and Skylar stood for the final hymn, her heart thudding as she bowed her head for the benediction.

“No matter where you go this week, no matter how dark the circumstances of your life seem to be, God is with you. He will not abandon you, will not turn away from you. It is His strength that will see you through.” The pastor’s words filled the sanctuary, sank into Skylar’s soul.

His
strength.

Not hers.

She’d do well to remember that in the next few days. Otherwise, she might do what she shouldn’t, take the information Shelby had given her and run with it.

“Ready?” Jonas asked, his warm breath tickling her hair, her heart leaping in response.

“Of course,” she said and meant it.

“Are you two going back to your place?” Debby asked as they stepped outside.