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

“Okay.”

Liam sent off a volley of shots. Under his cover fire, Paige rose and got off a shot, hitting the shooter in the shoulder. The man fell. At the same time, shots came from a second direction. Okay, that made at least two men. She turned in that direction and took aim, but the rain blurred her vision and her shot missed.

Liam fired off more shots, but the man had retreated.

When no more shots were forthcoming, she and Liam got to their feet. They ran toward where the man she’d shot had fallen, but he wasn’t there. Was she wrong in thinking she’d hit him? Sheltering her eyes from the whipping wind and rain, she thought she saw a bloodstain.

“We have to call this in,” she said. “I can’t wait to hear what Reineke will have to say.”

As it turned out, the detective had a lot to say, including calling their behavior reckless and irresponsible.

“Did you want us to sit there like ducks waiting to be picked off?” Liam asked.

Reineke didn’t bother answering. “Do you two come up with these stunts on purpose just to send my blood pressure through the roof?”

“This wasn’t our idea of how to end the evening, either,” Paige retorted.

“I put a rush on finding out what caused the gas leak in Mayor Thomas’s home. It wasn’t an accident. The safety valve was turned off and the gas line leading to her stove had been cut. You were right.” The admission came on a mighty heave.

“Thanks for letting us know,” Paige said.

In the end, the detective sent them on their way with a warning to stay out of trouble.

On the way back to Liam’s place, Paige considered what had happened. “Who knew we’d be at the hospital at that time?”

“The same person who tried to kill Reva,” Liam answered.

“Maybe.”

“You don’t sound too sure. Who else could it have been? Reva almost died. Whoever did it most likely wanted payback.”

“She had a close call,” Paige agreed. The killer had miscalculated the timing. The other murders had been staged with careful attention to detail and made to look like accidents. The execution of the attempt on Reva seemed careless, almost sloppy, as had the attacks on Liam.

Liam had also survived the attempts on his life, probably due to his Delta training. That made two people who survived the killer’s attempts. Was the murderer getting desperate or had something changed? The agenda was the same—to take out the survivors—but the implementation of it had taken an abrupt 180 turn.

He gave her a sidelong glance. “Something bothering you?”

“Just thinking about the timing, of how Reva woke up just in time.” Paige chewed on what had happened. Something about it troubled her.

“Maybe your God was looking out for her.” There was a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

That tore Paige’s mind from thoughts of Reva to her and Liam’s earlier discussion about the Lord and His love for His children.

“Why does that bother you?” she asked.

“It doesn’t. If He kept her alive, then I’m grateful to Him. But it’s more likely just good fortune on her part.”

“What about the ambush on us? Was it only ‘good fortune’ that saved us?”

“That and the fact that we were armed.”

Paige kept her disappointment to herself. Liam had enough on his mind without her preaching to him. Uncomfortable with the idea that she might have been preaching, she struck that. She hadn’t preached; she’d merely borne witness of her beliefs. If Liam took offense at that, she was sorry, but she wouldn’t apologize.

Her faith in God was one thing she could never compromise on. Nor, she thought, could she accept a man into her life who rejected that belief. Where had that come from? She admired Liam, liked him—a lot—but she wasn’t looking for a relationship with him or with anyone.

“Whatever the reason, I’m grateful, as well.” She kept the rest of her questions about the gas leak to herself.

“There’s nothing more we can do tonight.”

She nodded absently, her heart grieving over Liam’s refusal to recognize the Lord’s hand in what had happened.

At home, Liam reviewed the events of the evening. He knew he’d disappointed Paige in refusing to acknowledge the Lord’s protection. Why hadn’t he just agreed with her? Was his heart so steeped in bitterness that he couldn’t accept even the possibility that the Lord had saved Reva from inhaling too much gas and then Paige and himself from the gunmen?

It shamed him that he had turned so far from the beliefs of his childhood. Was that what he wanted for Jonah?

No!

He wanted his son to believe in God, to have a real relationship with Him. That made him the worst kind of hypocrite.

For the first time in many years, Liam got to his knees and prayed. The words came haltingly at first, then more quickly as he poured out his heart to the Lord. After the rush of words, he waited.

For what?

A confirmation, he supposed, that the Lord had heard his prayer, but there were no blinding lights or a voice telling him that all would be okay. Instead, a quiet peace filled him. He remained on his knees, absorbing that peace.

Long minutes later, he headed to bed. The sleep he sorely needed didn’t come, though, as he recalled Paige’s question of who knew they would be at the hospital at that time.

It had to be the person responsible for the gas leak in Reva’s house, the same individual behind all the attacks. Nothing else made sense. No one else had known he and Paige would be there at approximately that time, and nobody else would have reason to target them.

Once again he was thankful for Paige’s efforts in restoring his home to normal. The ruined furniture had been removed, the walls painted, everything thoroughly scrubbed. New furniture was arriving within the week.

She had gone far beyond the parameters of her job. She’d offered her help with no thought