Easy Prey. Lisa Phillips

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СКАЧАТЬ western pond turtles, Jonah had been thoroughly charmed. His dad, too. The old man had suffered a soft spot for little Elise Tanner that was a mile wide and twice as high. But Martin was the one who’d married her.

      Now Elise was a stranger, Jonah had a nephew he’d never met and her brother was number one on his list of fugitives to hunt down and drag back in to custody. Never mind figuring out who had hurt her, lifted her keys and stolen files from the zoo office.

      Nathan was in the hall. “Hey.”

      “How’s your mom?”

      “They’re taking X-rays.”

      Jonah nodded, unsure what else to do—or say. They weren’t at the point he could squeeze the kid’s shoulder. Nathan was a stranger, despite the resemblance.

      Nathan bit his lip. “Were you in Operation Desert Strike just like my dad?” He must have seen the surprise on Jonah’s face, because he said, “I looked it up online. I know all about Iraq back then.”

      Jonah said, “I wasn’t in the same part of the country as Martin.” He pushed out a breath, unwilling to think about the gravestone and the empty pool house. Both of them, gone. “I thought your mom left because she didn’t want to know me anymore, or be reminded of your dad.”

      After Elise had gone, there hadn’t been much else that made sense. What faith he’d had in a God of love and goodness had died with Martin’s death and Elise’s leaving.

      Why hadn’t he tried harder to find her? Maybe he shouldn’t have given her up so easily. Their lives hadn’t been perfect, but maybe their friendship had been worth fighting for. The fact that he’d loved her was irrelevant now—she’d made her choice.

      Now she was back, and his father would’ve said God brought them here for a reason, which only made him ache for his dad all over again. Jonah didn’t want to know about a God who orchestrated life like that. He was the one in charge of his own path.

      The old man had passed away before Jonah joined the marines. He’d never gotten to see Jonah become a marshal. Never had to live through Martin’s death. Never met his grandson.

      Despite everything Jonah could wish to have been different, they were both there now.

      He pushed aside the awkwardness and set a hand on his nephew’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re here now.”

      For whatever reason, Jonah would accept the gift he’d been given for exactly that—a gift. It was what his dad would’ve wanted.

      Nathan’s cheeks filled and he pushed out a breath in the same way Jonah had done. “This is super weird.”

      A smile stretched Jonah’s mouth. “It won’t be for long, I hope.” He let his hand drop. “Did you talk with the police?”

      Nathan nodded. “They took my statement. But I was across the zoo and I didn’t see anyone. I didn’t even know that someone hurt my mom. I just saw the fire, and when I came running those marshals handcuffed me. But it’s all good.”

      Of course it was. Jonah studied the kid, trying to figure out if looking jazzed was his normal state, or a consequence of the night they’d had.

      Jonah said, “I’m glad you’re good.”

      Still, he had a feeling things were going to get worse before he figured out what was going on.

      * * *

      Elise sat up on the hospital bed, the bandages tight around her torso. She wasn’t hurt too badly, just bruised ribs. Not cracked. But the doctor had told her to take it easy and give her ribs the time they needed to heal.

      Elise pressed a hand to her forehead. Nothing that’d happened tonight made any sense. A bomb, and a man stealing papers? Taking her keys? Her brother on the run from the US Marshals?

      It was like a sick animal with multiple symptoms that didn’t correspond to any one thing. She’d sat up many nights worrying over her furry friends. The worst times were when she had to suffer the helplessness of not being able to fix what was wrong with them.

      The door cracked open. Assuming it was Nathan, Elise looked up and smiled. Jonah stopped, still gripping the door handle. His eyes widened and he gave her a tentative smile in return.

      Elise rolled her eyes. “What do you want now?”

      It was like junior high all over again. Waiting outside for him to give her and Martin a ride home, watching all the cool girls make moony eyes over him. The next day had always been the worst, when she had to deal with their questions and snide comments.

      Martin had been in her class, and they’d laughed together over all the attention Jonah got. Martin started to catch the eye of the female population at school after Jonah had graduated, and then things got worse. Still, he’d always said he only had eyes for her.

      “I want you to catch me up on everything that happened before the bomb.”

      Elise frowned at his serious face. “I was attacked. The police have already been in here, asking me a million questions about it. They want me to go to the police station tomorrow and look at mug shots.”

      Now her brain hurt from answering questions, and she was more tired than the time in Idaho when the snow leopard that was in labor had gone into distress. “I have no more answers. I don’t know who took the files and attacked me, and I don’t know where Fix is.”

      When she looked at him, she saw Jonah’s face had softened. He set a hand on her shoulder. “Take it easy.”

      Seriously? “Where’s Nathan?”

      “I’m right here.”

      Elise looked at the door. She hadn’t even noticed him standing there. She held out her hand and Nathan strode over to sit beside her on the bed. Apparently it took her getting seriously hurt before the teenager would willingly show her affection in public. Go figure.

      She gave him her most stern face. “Are you okay?”

      He nodded. “Yeah, Mom.”

      She looked at Jonah. His gray eyes were black despite the fluorescent lights, glaring at her with frustration and anger. “You had a baby and you didn’t think to tell me?”

      If she’d been standing, she’d have slammed her hands on her hips. “Like you’d even have cared. You left for the marines and never looked back. Not once. Don’t lie to me, Jonah. After Martin died you didn’t even want to know.”

      Nathan sighed. “Are you two really going to argue?”

      Elise looked back at Jonah in time to see his jaw flex. He said, “Where’s your brother, Elise?”

      Eighteen years and that was all he had to say to her? “I haven’t seen Fix since before I left town.” Right after she’d buried her husband, when the best friend she’d needed hadn’t even come home. Emotion stuck like a hair ball in her throat.

      She said, “You wouldn’t even be here if you hadn’t disliked Fix from the moment you met him. My brother never did anything but try and impress you and Martin, and you turned СКАЧАТЬ