Aubrey dumped the rest of her tea down the drain and stuck the mug in the dishwasher. She followed it with her plate after brushing the last crumbs of her banana bread into the trash. With that done, she looked around for something else to give her shaky hands something productive to do. She settled for getting the ibuprofen out of the cabinet and filling a juice glass with water just as Jonah stepped into the small confines of the kitchen.
“I’m sorry, Aubrey.”
“For what exactly, Detective Kelly? Like I said, I’m the last one who should try telling someone how to deal with tragedy.”
She pointed toward the glass of water and the pills on the counter. “Help yourself, and then you should leave. I still have a lot of work to do tonight. Thank you for coming when I called.”
“It’s my job.”
Why didn’t that make her feel better about the whole situation? “I’m guessing it’s well past your normal quitting time. You can see yourself out.”
Meanwhile, Jonah took two ibuprofen and washed them down with the water. After setting the empty glass down, he paused to study her, his eyebrows riding low over his eyes. “Look, Aubrey, I didn’t mean—”
She cut him off. “It’s been a long day for both of us, so just go. I’ll call you if anything else comes up that I think you need to know about.”
“There is one more thing we need to talk about before I go.”
What now? Ordering him to leave again wasn’t going to work, not until he had his say. She leaned against the kitchen counter and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m listening.”
“I think we should look into moving you someplace safer. You should also take a leave of absence from your job.”
That so wasn’t happening. She needed the routine of work, and this house was her sanctuary, the one place where she could breathe. She couldn’t imagine staying anywhere else, so she focused on his second suggestion. “My students depend on me. You can’t really think I would abandon them so close to the end of the year.”
Although she hadn’t phrased it as a question, he treated it as one. “Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. You’re in danger, Aubrey. I know it, and you do, too. We have no idea who is after you, but it’s only a matter of time before he makes his next move. Right now, he appears to be having fun toying with you, but he’s also busying finalizing his plans. If this is really the same guy, don’t forget how he managed to snatch you and Marta from a busy college campus with no one being the wiser. How hard do you think it will be for him to do something similar this time? Especially if you insist on hiding your head in the sand.”
It might be a losing battle, but she wasn’t going to surrender easily. “But I have responsibilities. I’ll stick close to home for now. You know, have my groceries delivered and stuff like that. I’ll only drive from here to school and back.”
Jonah took a half step closer to her. “I can’t force you to do anything, Ms. Sims. You might not care about your own safety, but think about the effect of having you disappear again will have on your mom and dad. They might be helicopter parents, but what they really are is terrified that what happened to Marta will happen to you.”
For the space of a heartbeat, his expression softened. “For the record, so am I.”
Without giving her a chance to respond to that shocking statement, he walked away. “Don’t forget to lock the door after I go.”
Yeah, like that would ever happen. She trailed after him, glad he was leaving even if a part of her wished he wouldn’t. After stepping out onto the porch, Jonah started to walk away but turned back one last time. “Call me if anything happens, no matter how small, or even if you simply need to talk.”
Somehow, that sounded more like an apology than him issuing another order.
“I will. Thank you for coming today. I know you must have other cases that require your attention, and I appreciate how much time you’ve spent working on mine.”
Not wanting to hear another reminder that it was his job, she quietly closed the door and starting turning the locks.
By the time Aubrey got to work the next morning, her nerves were stretched to the breaking point. The fact that she’d barely been able to sleep at all was beside the point. Over the past twelve years, she’d developed a few techniques for dealing with sleeplessness: gulping down some warm milk, listening to soothing music, drinking chamomile tea, getting up and going through her bedtime routine all over again. All of those things usually worked with some degree of success, but not last night.
On the way to school, she had decided she deserved a little treat and made a quick stop at the drive-through of her favorite coffee shop to buy a latte and a peach scone. One sip of the coffee brightened her mood considerably, even if her conscience twinged a little over taking the short detour. After all, she’d promised Jonah that she would drive straight to and from school without stopping. At least there hadn’t been anyone in line ahead of her, so the delay was minimal. She pulled back out into traffic and drove the last distance to the school.
When she reached the parking lot, Jonah’s car was parked in the front row. What was he doing there? She pulled into the spot next to his and got out. He did the same.
She gathered up everything she needed to take inside with her. It took some juggling on her part to manage her canvas tote, her purse, the latte and the bag containing her scone. Once she had everything situated, she walked around to the back of her car where Jonah stood. As he waited, he quietly scanned the surrounding area. Was he expecting trouble? She did a quick survey herself and then frowned at him. “Did we have an appointment that I forgot about?”
“I wanted to make sure you got to work all right.”
She stated the obvious. “Obviously I did.”
He finally looked down at her. “So it would appear. Do you need help schlepping all of that stuff inside?”
Ever the gentleman. “No, I do this all the time. Thanks for checking on me.”
“Anything to report?”
“I didn’t sleep all that well, but that happens from time to time.” Noting the dark circles under Jonah’s eyes, she added, “I suppose you have your own experience with nights like that.”
He shrugged. “Comes with the job. I’ll walk you to the door.”
Stubborn man. “I can get there on my own.”
His mouth twitched in a hint of a grin. “I know that. It’s the fact that your hands are full that makes me question your ability to actually open the door.”
Okay, he wasn’t exactly wrong about that. “Fine, it’s this way.”
“I’d also like to get a look at your classroom since I’m already here. Stuff like where it’s located and the layout of it. It won’t take long.”
So he wasn’t just being polite or helpful. She surrendered her keys to her classroom. “Fine, but you’ll have to stop in the office to sign in. They keep track of outsiders coming in and out of the building.”
“I’d rather not tell them I’m a cop. Is it okay if I tell them I’m just a friend?”
No doubt she’d get grilled by her coworkers after he left about this unexpected man in her life, but there wasn’t much she could do about that. “It’s fine.”
Viola, the school secretary, had Jonah sign his name on the clipboard she kept on the counter for visitors to sign on their way in and out of the building and then gave him a temporary badge. When he turned his back to her, she waggled her eyebrows and gave Aubrey a thumbs-up. Over the years they’d worked together at the school, Viola had often questioned why an attractive young woman like Aubrey didn’t have a man in her life. No doubt she’d corner her at the first opportunity to complain about her keeping secrets. Great. Either Aubrey would have to lie to her friend, or she’d have to tell her the truth and have another person worry about every move she made. The trouble with that was that Aubrey had never told anyone she worked with about the kidnapping.
“My classroom is this way.”
The two of them drew a lot of attention as they made their way down the hallway. Several of her friends had looked a bit wide-eyed as they passed by, causing to Jonah lean in closer to ask, “Do you always create such a stir like this?”
“It’s not me they’re curious about, it’s you. They’re not used to seeing me with a man, especially a handsome one.”
Her blunt assessment of his appearance had Jonah looking a bit uncomfortable, which she found amusing. The man had to own a mirror and know what he looked like. At the moment, he was sharply dressed in a dark navy suit with a white shirt and red tie. The color combination played nicely with his wavy blond hair and bright blue eyes. His limp was a little more pronounced than usual, but it did nothing to make him less attractive.
“It’s this next room.”
When he pulled her keys out of his suit pocket, she pointed out the right key for him. “The lock is a bit temperamental. You might have to wiggle the key a little to get it to turn.”
She hustled into the room as soon as he opened the door and headed for her desk to unload everything. “If I’d known you were going to be here, I would have bought you a coffee, too.”
He eyed the cup in her hand. “I thought you were going to drive to and from work without stopping.”
“I never got out of the car, and there was no line. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have stopped.”
He gave the barest of nods as he wandered through the classroom, pausing to stare out the window toward the playground. “You should lower the blinds and close them. Anyone could be out there watching you.”
She joined him by the window. “This place feels like a cave when the blinds are closed.”
Jonah gave her a sideways glance, his expression all serious cop. “Better a cave than dead.”
“He wouldn’t shoot me.” That much she was sure of.
“I never said he’d be aiming at you. In the ensuing chaos, he might even have a fair chance to grab you before anyone noticed.”
His words, delivered in a chilling monotone, brought her up short. Was she endangering her students and colleagues just by showing up at work? “Do you really think that’s true?”
“I don’t think we can afford to discount anything at this point. It’s not as if we have any clue how this guy operates these days. Kidnapping you and Marta on a busy college campus shows that he’s willing to take chances.”
She wasn’t sure if it was her coffee or his words that left such a bitter taste in her mouth. “You said you were searching the records for similar cases. Did you find any?”
“Not so far, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Chances are that his pattern was still evolving back then, and he’s had twelve years to hone his skills.”
While she digested that grim statement, Jonah walked toward the door in the corner that opened directly onto the playground. She remained where she was while he stepped outside to study the school grounds.
By the time he returned, she had surrendered to the inevitable. “I’ll talk to my principal today about taking a leave of absence for the rest of the year. It’s too late for me to call for a substitute today, and I’ll need a day to organize everything for whoever they hire to replace me.”
“I know this is hard for you, Aubrey, but it’s the smart thing to do. I’d suggest that you tell him that it’s a medical or family emergency.”
“I’m not disagreeing, but why do you think I should lie to my boss?”
He looked slightly more sympathetic now that she’d given in to his suggestion. “Because you never know who people talk to outside of work. The fewer people who know the truth of what is going on, the safer you’ll be.”
It must be hard to be so distrustful of everyone, but she supposed he’d learned that lesson the hard way. During the night when she couldn’t sleep, she’d given in to the urge to learn more about when Jonah had gotten shot. Apparently, he and his partner had been meeting with an informant in regard to a case. Before that night, they’d had a long-term relationship with the guy and no reason to think he posed any threat to them. As it turned out, he’d let slip the upcoming meeting to the wrong person, an ex-con who had a real grudge against Gino from a prior case. He’d threatened the informer’s wife and kids unless he turned on the two cops. The rest was history.
Jonah’s phone buzzed. “I’ve got to take this.”
Probably needing a little privacy, he stepped back outside onto the playground. Whatever the call was about had him pacing up and down in front of her windows, repeatedly clenching his free hand in a fist. It was none of her business, but she couldn’t help but wonder if it was about her. When he glanced in the window and then deliberately turned his back again, she figured she had her answer.
He’d either tell her or else he wouldn’t. Until Jonah made up his mind, she kept herself busy lowering the blinds and then closing them. When he came back inside, he looked at them and gave her a nod of approval. “You’re right about the whole cave thing, but safety precautions outweigh classroom aesthetics.”
Okay, that was funny.
“I’m going to head out. Thanks for making the right decision.”
She drew a ragged breath and looked around the classroom, one of the two places that she’d felt safe. “I really hate that this is happening. I’m so tired of being afraid all of the time.”
Jonah had been heading for the door, but he did an about-face and came right back to her. Instead of offering her words of comfort or issuing another lecture on how to stay safe, he enfolded her in his arms and held her close. “We’ll get through this, Aubrey. I’ll do whatever it takes to prevent this guy from getting his hands on you.”
She believed him, but it was his warmth and strength that helped the most. It had been so very long since she’d experienced the simple comfort of another person’s touch. Yeah, her parents hugged her, but it wasn’t the same. Jonah was a warrior, a hero, the kind of man who would stand between her and the world if that was what it took to keep her safe. Not that she would want him to sacrifice himself like that, but it gladdened her heart to know that he actually cared that much.
He released his hold on her when she gently pushed against his chest. Stepping back, he mumbled, “That was probably unprofessional of me.”
“I won’t tell if you don’t.”
She wasn’t sure which of them was more flustered about what had just happened. Judging by the way he was looking everywhere but at her and the way her pulse was racing, it was pretty much a tie. “You’d better go. You have better things to do than babysit me. I’ll let you know what happens about my request to take a leave of absence. I will have to work tomorrow, but that should give them enough time to get someone in place.”
He wasn’t happy about the delay, but at least he didn’t argue.
“Call me when you’re ready to head home after school. If I can’t be here to follow you back to the house, I’ll ask one of the patrol cars to escort you.”
She didn’t have it in her to protest. “Okay. I usually get off at four o’clock, but I will probably need to stay late to get things organized.”
“See you then.” He hesitated. “That call was from my captain. Earlier this morning, I reached out to Mr. and Mrs. Pyne to tell them I would be stopping by to talk to them today. It won’t come as a surprise that they didn’t want me to come anywhere near them. I explained that they could either talk to me in the comfort of their own home, or else I would have them brought into police headquarters.”
Aubrey could just imagine how well that went over with the couple, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it. She’d already tried without success to convince Jonah to leave Marta’s parents out of this mess. There was no reason to think she’d meet with any more success now. “What did your captain have to say about it?”
“Captain Martine backed my play, but he wanted to remind me to go easy on them if at all possible. I’m well aware that they’re victims, too, and I feel bad that this will stir up a lot of bad memories for them. Having said that, I have to do my job. No one else is going to die on my watch.”
Then he was gone.