Page 60 of I'll Be There
She just stared at him.
“Not quite as black-and-white as your cop friend made it out to sound. It’s a long story, and I think Conner’s the one to tell it—”
“Who’s the woman he went to see?” She didn’t know why that bothered her so much—Conner wasn’t a cheater, had barely dated before she met him, and frankly, the way he’d kissed her only seconds before...no, it wasn’tanotherwoman. Just a woman.
“Someone who knew his brother.”
“Justin.”
“Apparently Harmony Blue was his girlfriend. She just...well, when you texted everyone about the wedding, she had his brother’s old phone. She called him...wanted to meet.”
“Oh, that’s horrible. I had no idea—but wait—what does that have to do with ashooting?”
“Blue was the one who was shot, while they were meeting. We chased down the shooter, but Conner thinks there’s a mastermind who sent him.”
She stilled. “And now that mastermind is after him?”
“We don’t know.” But something about the way Micah looked away from her toward the dark pane of night had her instincts firing. Micah and Conner had a loyalty that went beyond camaraderie. They would have died for each other, once upon a time. She hadn’t a prayer of wedging herself between them. Not yet, at least.
“I don’t know a lot about Conner’s past, when you two served together,” she said quietly. “But Conner has a very high loyalty gene. And my guess is that you do too.”
Micah didn’t blink. Swallowed.
“Watch his back, Micah,” she’d said softly.
He’d nodded. Squeezed her hand, and left.
So much for sleeping.
Despite her worry for Conner, however, the remembered smells and sounds of the hospital, the sense of watchers, and her desperate fatigue made her sink into a slumber she hadn’t experienced in weeks.
She woke, her hives dissipated, her IV bag dry, and the sun creasing the blinds.
Tomorrow she married Conner Young.
But today, she had to make sure he wasn’t locked up in the county jail. That thought made her call the nurse, who came in, checked her IV bag, and pulled out her line. “Wait here until the doctor can discharge you,” she said.
“I’m fine,” Liza said and reached for her clothes.
Mostly, she was, and would be even better when she talked to Conner.
Kyle was still on duty when she stepped into the lobby of the Deep Haven police station.
“Are you okay?” he asked as she waved to him from the information desk, through the glass. He buzzed her in, and she came through to his desk. “Is he still here?”
“Just asked him about breakfast,” Kyle said. “He’s a little grumpy.”
“Is he...didhe commit a crime?” She reached out for a chair, not sure she was ready for the answer.
Kyle held a cup of coffee, now leaned against his desk. “I think you need to talk to him about that. But for now, we have enough to hold him...” He stared at his coffee.
“What aren’t you telling me, Kyle? Should I be calling off this wedding?”
“Not yet.” His expression was hooded when he met her eyes. “You go back and talk to him, okay?”
He rose and led her back to the holding cells, just three of them. Conner lay on a bunk, staring at the ceiling, looking strung out, red-eyed. “Babe,” he said, sitting up as she came in. “How are you feeling?”
“Not so great, looking at you.” She glanced at Kyle. “Let me in there.”
