10

Dani stared at the man who had his complete attention centered on her. She squirmed. She’d never had that before. At least not in a good way. Her father had died before she knew him and her mother had never dated or remarried.

Which was probably one reason Dani had been so susceptible to Kurt’s smarmy charms.

Adam stilled. “You saw a murder?”

“About two months before Kurt was killed.”

“And you never reported it.”

She glanced at Simon. He was now bent over the electronic video game Stuart had given him as a gift shortly after Kurt’s death. “No. Kurt knew I saw what happened, but no one else did.” She shuddered at the memory of his ballistic rage once everyone had left the house.

“How was he involved?”

She rubbed her eyes, taking a moment. “Let me start at the beginning.”

“Good idea.”

“I married Kurt when I was nineteen. I got pregnant on our honeymoon. Kurt was thrilled. When Simon was born, he was Kurt’s trophy, his son, his legacy. Until it became obvious that little boys don’t always do exactly what their father says.” She slid another glance at her son and tried to make sure she had her face angled away from him. He wasn’t paying any attention to her, totally engrossed in his game. How he’d longed for the Nintendo 3DS. Kurt had refused his every request, saying that he had a Wii, he should be happy with that. And Kurt only agreed to the Wii because it kept Simon out of his hair and occupied when he was home.

She pulled herself back. “After Simon was born, Kurt was gone for long stretches of time. At first, I missed him, but then he started with the verbal abuse, then one day things escalated and he hit me. I was stunned. I think Kurt was too. Then it became a regular thing. When Simon was five, he tried to intervene and help me.” Tears welled and she blinked them away. “Kurt knocked him into the wall and he hit his head. I managed to call 911. An ambulance and police arrived. Simon was unconscious. I rode to the hospital with him and filed a report with the officers who followed.”

“If you filed a domestic abuse report, Kurt should have spent some time in jail.”

She snorted. “Not when you’re an FBI agent and the apple of your boss’s eye. Strings were pulled, the charges were dropped, and—” she pulled in a deep breath—“Kurt said that if I ever said another word about his abuse and threatened to leave, he would kill Simon and make me watch.” Dani cleared her throat to loosen the tightness. “When Simon woke up, we discovered he was deaf. I was furious—and consumed with guilt. When Simon was released from the hospital, a nurse tried to help me leave Kurt, but he found us and broke two of Simon’s fingers, saying next time it would be his neck.” Her lips trembled. “The nurse was found dead two days later. Her death was ruled a suicide and I never ran again. Until the day of Kurt’s death.”

The pen snapped under the pressure of Adam’s fingers. He jerked and tossed it in the trash, realizing he’d been so caught up in her story, he hadn’t written a word. People like Kurt were why his services were necessary and it sickened him. But Kurt was dead and someone was still threatening Dani and Simon.

“You think he killed the nurse?”

“I don’t know.” Dani pressed the tips of her fingers to her lips and he could tell she was having a hard time getting the words out. “I don’t know for sure, but I . . . I think so. Anyone who offered to help me would be in danger if Kurt found out, so I didn’t dare do anything that might cause someone else’s death.”

Adam drew in a deep breath. “Who did you see killed?”

Simon’s bent head reassured Adam he wasn’t listening.

“A man who had crossed Kurt and whoever else was working with him. I didn’t know his name at the time, but then his body was found and the newspaper said it was a man by the name of Trennan Eisenberg. He had some connection with organized crime and the FBI was all over it, of course. Only they never found who killed him because my husband and others working with him covered up the evidence.”

“What evidence?”

“The evidence in my house, the fact that they were even there. The fact that they knew Mr. Eisenberg and were associated with him. I’m sure if there was a paper or electronic trail, they erased it.” She shrugged. “I don’t know what all the cover-up entailed, I just know they did it.” She swallowed hard. “I started eavesdropping whenever I could. I figured the more I knew, the more I’d be able to protect myself and Simon.”

“And did you learn anything more?”

“No, not really.” She fiddled with the strap on her purse.

“And no one else knew you’d seen this.”

“Right. At least I don’t think so.”

“Is there something else?”

“About a month ago, Simon and I left for a short weekend to go to the beach with Jenny.”

“The Jenny Cartee that David is checking up on?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. What happened?”

“When we got home, my house felt . . . strange.” Adam lifted a brow and she sighed. “I know it sounds crazy and maybe it is. But it felt like someone had been there. It even smelled different. I found some dirt on the carpet on the stairs that I would have sworn wasn’t there when I left.” She shrugged. “It bothered me for a while, but nothing else happened so I just let it go.”

“And then yesterday happened.”

“Yes.”

“And you think the two things are related?”

“I have no idea. I’m just trying to tell you everything so you can piece it together. If there’s anything to piece together.”

He nodded. “That’s good.” When he finished writing, he looked up. “And then there’s your brother-in-law. The man Ron pulled away from you today. Do you think he’s the one that shot at you?”

“I can’t believe he’d follow me to a friend’s house and try to kill me, but he’d just been at my house not too long before everything happened, so it’s hard not to think—” She shrugged again and looked away.

“Tell me more about him.”

Adam listened as she explained her brother-in-law’s obsession. She shuddered. “He’s as bad as Kurt and I just want him to leave us alone.”

Adam leaned back, his blood still boiling at all she’d suffered over the last twelve years. And she still wasn’t free to live her life like any other normal person. “First, I think we need to make sure you and Simon are safe. That’s our priority.”

“Okay.”

“I think what we’ll do is set up round-the-clock protection for you at your house. You’ll have someone with you wherever you go.”

“You mean like a bodyguard?” She wrinkled her nose.

“Yes, something like that. We’re not a bodyguard service, but we’ve all trained to do that kind of work should we need to do it. I’m just trying to think of the least invasive way of keeping you safe.”

When David and Summer decided to set up Operation Refuge, they went to the governor to get her support. When they presented their reasons for establishing the company, the governor decided to back it. It had taken awhile, but they’d gone against the norms and been granted all the powers bestowed upon any other law enforcement agency. Not only did they have permits to carry weapons and were licensed to investigate and provide protection, they also had arrest powers and the authority to submit evidence to state labs. The attorney general even threw in his support. With state and federal liaisons, they had all of the tools—and more—that they needed.

She took in a deep breath. “All right. We could do that. But for how long? I mean, all Stuart has to do is wait for you to leave.”

“True, but it may be that every time he comes over and you have someone with you and you’re telling him to leave you alone, he’ll be more open to the fact that you seriously don’t want to see him.”

“Do you think it’ll work?”

“It has before.”

She looked uncertain. “I guess we can try it.”

“All right. Hold on a second.” He picked up the phone.

Summer answered. “What can I do for you?”

“I’ve got a previous engagement for tonight. David’s busy and I need someone to do some protection duty for Dani and her son.”

“All right, let me check.”

“What about Tabitha or Isaac? Or maybe Janessa?” If he couldn’t have David, the six-foot-two-inch Janessa Glenn would be the next best thing. Her rich ebony skin would blend in with the night. Her self-defense skills would give him much comfort in knowing she could fight whatever came her way.

“Janessa’s available. I’ll call her.”

“Thanks.” He hung up. “Janessa is going to be with you tonight. We’ll take shifts for the next week to see how things progress. We’ll see how determined Stuart is and do our best to persuade him that he needs to leave you alone.”

She nodded, still not looking convinced. And frankly Adam wasn’t either. If it came down to it, he would make Dani and Simon disappear. He was hoping it wouldn’t have to come to that. “All right then.” He picked up his keys and looked at Dani. “I’ll take you home and make sure you’re settled. Janessa will meet us there. Let’s go.”