Love Inspired Suspense April 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 Laura Scott (speed reading book .txt) 📖

been faster. If I’d been stronger. The world’s ifs will destroy us if we let them.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve made this about me. I didn’t mean to do that.”

He reached for her hand, squeezed it once. Twice. “I’m glad you did.”

So was she. To her surprise, she didn’t pull away.

“Thank you for telling me that,” Liam said. “It couldn’t have been easy.”

“It’s me who should thank you for listening. You have enough on your mind without my adding to it.”

“I needed to get out of my own head for a while. You reminded me that grief and guilt don’t belong to one person alone.”

Paige remained in her office far into the evening. She shuffled notes back and forth. Though the notes weren’t necessary, it helped to see her thoughts on paper, but nothing jumped out at her. Instead, her thoughts were keeping pace with the rhythm of shifting papers into a different order and starting the process again.

The same question kept circling around in her mind: Why now?

Paige knew she was missing something. Something that would explain what was happening. And why.

Extensive training on analyzing evidence in the ATF didn’t help with this job. It was motive she and Liam needed to pin down. Paige brooded over the visit with Reva. Something felt off there, but she couldn’t identify what it was.

A knock at the door had her calling out, “Come in.”

Shelley stood there, one arm laden with a bag of toys and the other hand holding three-year-old Chloe’s.

“I know I’m a tough boss,” she said, “but I don’t expect you to work past midnight.”

“Caught. You’re here late, too,” Paige observed.

“Later than I intended,” Shelley said on a tired sigh. “Chloe’s with me because Caleb’s out of town and Tommy’s at a friend’s house. I’m on my way out,” she said, depositing the bag on a chair, “but I wanted to check in with you and see what kind of progress you’re making with the McKenzie case.”

“Not as much as I’d like.” Paige gestured to the notes she didn’t need. “We’ve stirred up somebody enough to make two more attempts on Liam’s life, and this time they weren’t even disguised as accidents.”

“Sounds like you’re getting close.”

“I wish we were.” Paige proceeded to fill her boss in on what had taken place.

“We interviewed Mr. Howard, the father of Liam’s best friend. He doesn’t ring as a suspect for me,” she said and explained about the man’s wife. “We also interviewed Pope’s wife—or Hawkins, as she goes by now. She’s a piece of work and made no bones about how she feels about the survivors. According to her son, she couldn’t do anything even if she wanted. Unless I miss my guess, she has a bad case of arthritis.

“We also talked with Reva Thomas. Her sister died in the accident, and she was on the bus as well, so she has a double connection. She was friendly enough, but not much help. And we saw Sam Newley’s brother, Jerry. He couldn’t add anything, either.”

“I’ve heard of Reva Thomas. Mayor of Willow Springs, isn’t she?” Shelley said. “Making a name for herself.”

“That’s right. With an eye to bigger things.”

“You have plenty of suspects.”

Paige continued her brooding. “Revenge doesn’t explain the timing of the killings. If it were as simple as that, the murders would have started shortly after the accident. Revenge might play a part, but there’s something larger at stake here. Something worth killing for.”

Chloe started to fuss, and Shelley lifted her into her arms, murmuring to her all the while. “We’re going in a minute, princess.” To Paige, she said, “Let me know if you need reinforcements. In the meantime, I’ve got to get the princess here home. She didn’t get a nap today, and it’s showing.”

Chloe uttered a protest that sounded dangerously close to dissolving into tears.

“It’s okay,” Shelley said. “We’re going home.”

Paige stood and brushed the hair from Chloe’s face. “Princess Chloe is getting prettier every day.”

“And she knows it. She has Caleb twisted around her little finger. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for her.”

Apparently satisfied that all was well, Chloe now chattered happily, causing Paige to smile at the idea of the tiny girl riding herd over her rough-and-ready ex–Delta soldier father. Caleb was also an operative at S&J. He could put down a perp without breaking a sweat but was sweetly tender with Tommy, the nephew he and Shelley had adopted, and Chloe. His and Shelley’s family wasn’t a traditional one, but it overflowed with love and laughter.

“You sound happy.”

“I am.”

Paige was aware that she sounded wistful and did her best to bank the feeling. She didn’t begrudge Shelley her happiness one bit; she only wished she could claim some of the same for herself.

The sympathetic look that Shelley sent her way told Paige that her boss understood. Not for the first time, Paige thought how grateful she was to have a boss who was also a friend.

“It will happen for you someday. You have to be patient.”

“Someday might never come.” Paige cleared her throat. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to whine.”

“You’re not whining. You’re lonely for family.”

Paige forced a laugh. “The last time I heard from either of my parents was a year ago at Christmas.” The calls from her mother and her father, who lived a continent’s distance apart, were as forced as her laugh. She’d been only too glad to get off the phone with them. Pretending that they had any kind of relationship was not only painful, it was also exhausting. She didn’t doubt they felt the same.

“There’s all kinds of family. S&J is your family, too. And we’re grateful you’re a part of it.”

“Thank you, but I’m afraid I’m letting S&J and Liam down.”

Shelley touched Paige’s hand. “You’re a first-rate operative. You’ve never let S&J down. And you haven’t let Liam down.”

Paige’s lips twisted. “No. Just the ATF and my fiancé.”

“Enough of that.” Shelley’s sharp tone had Paige looking up in surprise. “You’re feeling sorry for yourself, and that isn’t like you. You’re smart and