“Do you really think someone other than Olivo is trying to warn me off? I mean, Snipes could’ve done it, but I doubt he did from behind bars.”

  “Agreed. But you mean too much to me to let you go home without knowing for sure that Olivo was behind the threat.” He continued to hold her gaze.

  “Then I guess it’s easiest for all if I stay here with Reed and Sierra.”

  Asher’s cries rang out from his bedroom, and Malone stood to get him, as Sierra was in the lab and Reed was working in the other room, but Ian held tight to her hand. He looked up at her. “Promise me you’ll still be careful and not go out on your own.”

  “I promise.”

  “Good.” He lurched to his feet and took her shoulders. He kissed her hard on the mouth then abruptly let go. “Because I can’t lose you.”

  She didn’t know what to say. She was overcome with emotions she couldn’t even put her finger on, so she bolted down the hallway to Asher’s room. She opened the door to find he’d rolled over on his tummy and was beaming a big smile up at her, looking proud of his accomplishment.

  “Hi, precious.” She scooped him up and cradled him against her shoulder, savoring the feel of his soft cheek against hers.

  If life were only as simple as the tasks Asher was learning. She remembered her childhood, wanting time to fly by so she could get older and achieve new skills. When did things change? When had she started to want life to slow down? To take each moment and savor it? Like picking Asher up and smelling his delicious baby scent. She wanted to cling to him, but he was squirming to get going. To master those new skills.

  She took him to the changing table and unsnapped his romper. As much as she loved being with Reed, Sierra, and this new precious nephew, their family only reminded her of all she didn’t have. Tears stung her eyes. She was alone. No child to cuddle. No man to hug in a long-term relationship. Alone. Except for her family. She could come over here anytime, but it wasn’t the same as having her own family. Her own husband.

  She took off Asher’s wet diaper and put on a fresh one.

  Loud voices sounded outside the door. Peggy and Russ. They were bringing dinner tonight, and all the siblings were coming over too. Not to celebrate Olivo’s death but to celebrate that the immediate threat to their family had been eliminated.

  Asher cooed and smiled up at her, drool dribbling from his mouth. “You’ll soon have a tooth. Then what?”

  He babbled at her, shoving his fist into his mouth, and her heart melted.

  She wanted a family for herself. Her feelings for Ian had brought the longing to the forefront. And she didn’t want the family with just anyone. She wanted it with Ian.

  But that wasn’t going to happen.

  She sighed and shook her head. What was with this sudden sentimentality? She needed to nip it in the bud right now or Peggy would pick up on it, and Malone would have a lot of explaining to do.

  She turned her full attention to Asher and cooed at him until he laughed. That bolt of longing sharpened, but she ignored the emotion and finished snapping his romper then left the room.

  Peggy was in the kitchen with Sierra, who had returned from her lab, and Russ was sitting on the couch with Ian. It looked like they were in a deep discussion, but when Malone entered the room, their talk stopped, and Russ stood.

  “There’s my little man.” He held out his hands for the baby, and Asher went willingly to him.

  Ian kept a solid eye on Asher, perhaps wondering what it took to be a dad. Dare she hope, with the way he’d just kissed her, that he was considering such a thing?

  Nah, he wasn’t even ready for a relationship. The thought of fatherhood would likely send him running.

  Ian stepped away from the Byrd clan and Malone. They were all chattering too loudly around the dinner table for him to hear the call he’d just received from Londyn. Besides, he didn’t want to talk about homicide in front of the family.

  “What’s up?” he asked, walking toward the hallway, plugging his free ear to block out the still boisterous conversations.

  “I nagged the tech staff to review Olivo’s computer, and they fast-tracked it for me.”

  “What did you have to promise to get them to do that?”

  “Don’t ask.” She chuckled. “Anyway, they forwarded all the photos from his drive to me, and the pictures of Reed, Sierra, and the baby were on it. He even had pics of Malone.”

  “So, Olivo was behind the threat,” Ian said, not sure if he was glad to hear the news or not. He was glad she was out of danger.

  But that meant Malone could go home and walk out of his life. He still didn’t think he was a suitable mate for her, but he sure didn’t like the thought of not seeing her again after tonight. Or worse, running into her in public while she was on the arm of another man. That thought cramped his gut.

  He wasn’t sure what it said about him that he was happy he hadn’t closed her parents’ murder case. They’d at least talk again a little.

  “Yeah, they also found an email where he received the photos from a PI, and Olivo made a bitcoin payment to the PI for his services.”

  “Any mention of Malone’s parents?”

  “The files didn’t go back that far, but there wasn’t anything on the computer related to Malone other than the pictures.”

  Ian took a moment to process the news. “Don’t you think it’s odd that Junior encrypted his computer and Olivo didn’t?”

  “There’s nothing else incriminating on the drive. It’s all personal or related to his legit company. I suspect he was handling this at home due to his self-imposed lock-in. And I figure he would’ve gotten rid of these pictures once he knew his threats worked.”

  “Makes sense, and I doubt he expected to be arrested. Our detectives never had anything to talk to him about until Nicole swiped that package.”

  “It was a lucky break that she did.”

  He agreed. “Anything else I should know?”

  “I asked them to spend more time on breaking Junior’s encryption, but they said they were doing all they could.”

  “Now that Olivo’s dead, let’s plan to meet in the morning to interview Snipes again. We can then review the Rices’ murder investigation and set a game plan on that too.”

  “You want me to keep helping on that?”

  “Absolutely. If you want to, that is.”

  “Sure thing. See you at eight.” She ended the call.

  On his way back to the dining area, he paused at the mouth of the hallway and watched the family laugh and enjoy each other’s company. Peggy and Russ were the glue that held them all together. Glue his parents never had. He wanted what he was witnessing. Wanted to be a part of something real. But he was a big chicken. Too afraid to try and fail. To fail and hurt Malone. He watched her, smiling, laughing, leaning back in her chair looking relaxed and beautiful. Gorgeous.

  She caught his gaze and smiled. She got up and joined him. “The family is something to take in.”

  “Kind of overwhelming, but in a good way.”

  She kept her gaze pinned to him. “Do you have extended family who gather like this?”

  “We have family, but my parents never see them. My mom and dad only invited a person to a get-together if they could do something for them.” He shook his head. “Just the opposite of what I’m looking at here. Each and every one of these people will give anything and everything for their family members.”

  “Nice, right?”

  He nodded.

  “Why the frown?”

  He didn’t know if he should answer, but she deserved the truth from him. “I can’t do it. Be like them. I’m just not cut out for it.” He reached for her hands, then changed his mind and shoved them into his pockets. “I’ve really come to care about you. A lot. We’ll still be in touch because I’ll keep working your parents’ murder investigation. But I think we need to keep things platonic between us from now on.”

  Her eyes closed for a moment. She opened them and looked at him for the longest time, her lips pressed together and her eyes darkening. His answer disappointed her. He hated that look. Hated to disappoint her in any way. She was too special, and she’d had a million disappointments in her life already. She didn’t need the rejection. He’d kissed her. He’d led her on. But better he let her down now than later, when they were deep into a relationship that wouldn’t work.

  “I should get back to the family,” she said.

  “Before you go, I need to tell you that was Londyn on the phone. Our computer techs found the pictures that were sent to you in the package on Olivo’s computer and an email and payment to the PI he hired to take them.”

  “That’s proof he was behind it, so I can go home.”

  He nodded.

  “Perfect,” she said. “I’ll go right after dinner’s over.”

  She gave him a long look, maybe waiting for him to restate his feelings and tell her he’d changed his mind about a platonic relationship, but when he said nothing, she strode across the room.

  He needed a minute to ready his mind before joining the family again. He’d noticed Peggy watching him with Malone from where she was standing behind the oldest of three children they were fostering. Her hands were on Willow’s shoulders, but Peggy looked over the child at Ian. She kissed Willow’s head and marched across the room toward Ian.

  Uh-oh. Looked like he was going to be on the end of something he would rather avoid, but he wouldn’t run. She meant well, and she had raised six incredible children, so maybe he could benefit from whatever she was going to say.

  “You and Malone don’t look too happy with each other,” she said, her gaze locked on him. “Not like you’re mad, but not happy either.”

  “I was telling her we have proof that Olivo delivered the picture to her, and she can safely go home now.”

  “And she doesn’t want to go?”

  “No, she does.”

  “You’re not going to tell me what’s going on, are you?”

  He took a breath and let it out. “It’s kind of personal.”

  “Regarding why you don’t want to be with Malone, right?”

  “It’s not that I don’t want to be with her. It’s that…I can’t.”

  “Are you married? In love with another woman?”

  “No. Nothing like that.” For some reason he couldn’t even begin to fathom, he told her about his parents. “I want to believe I’m not destined to be like them, but I’m afraid I am, and I don’t want to hurt her by leading her on. Or worse, be with her and then turn out to be like my parents and hurt her even more.”

  “Just because you had bad role models doesn’t condemn you to be a bad father or husband.”

  He shook his head. “If you met my parents, you might change your mind.”

  She rested a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll tell you what I’d tell one of my sons if they were having this problem. Your argument is very logical. Right up here.”

  She tapped her brain and studied him. “But this isn’t some abstract situation. This is you. Your future. Your potential wife and family. This is about the connection you’ll share with them. There’s nothing logical about it. Nothing.”

  She paused and took a breath. “It’s like your faith in God. That’s not logical, and yet you believe. Believe in yourself, Ian. Believe God is with you. Believe your past doesn’t make you who you are today and that you deserve a future. Then, you will be the man who God made you to be. Only then.”

  Malone had watched the miles pass by while riding in the Nighthawk SUV with Aiden and Erik until they finally turned onto her street. She was nearly home. She called it that, but did it really feel like home? Like it had felt when she was a child? That was something she needed to do some thinking about.

  The whole situation with Junior’s death, her arrest, and most importantly, her time with Ian had taught her so much about herself and revealed what she wanted. She needed to consider that too.

  For now, she was free to go back to her normal life. The Byrd brothers could stop camping out on her doorstep and planning her every move outside of her home. And Ian? She would still talk to him, but he didn’t want more than a professional relationship.

  She’d seen Peggy go to him, and right after that, he’d shared with the family the information about the pictures on Olivo’s hard drive. Ian had done so in a sensitive way so the children wouldn’t pick up on what he was saying, and then he’d departed. Quickly, like whatever Peggy had said to him was the final straw, and he had to flee.

  Aiden pulled into her driveway. It did feel good to see her own car and know she could go wherever she wanted on her own and be safe.

  She leaned forward. “Thank you guys for everything. I owe you all even more than I do when I call you in the middle of the night for one of my clients.”

  “No worries,” Aiden said. “Just glad Ian proved the murder had nothing to do with you and Olivo can’t hurt you or anyone else anymore.”

  She shuddered but wouldn’t comment on how terrified she’d been when she’d thought Olivo might have her in his sights. “Let me know if there’s ever anything you need.” She reached for her door handle. “Of course, it goes without saying that you each get free legal advice and representation for life.”

  “You know, with the way we like to push the limits, we’ll take advantage of your offer.” Erik grinned over the seat.

  She chuckled and got out, feeling odd to be walking up her sidewalk by herself. She wished she had Ian at her side, but that wasn’t meant to be.

  17

  Ian stifled an early morning yawn and crossed the bullpen toward Londyn’s desk, feeling kind of odd being without Malone. He’d spent so much time with her of late that he was missing her. Had been missing her since he’d fled last night after his talk with Peggy. The woman made sense. So much sense, and after tossing and turning all night, he’d come to realize that he’d be a fool if he let someone as wonderful as Malone go. But just because he was willing to risk failing didn’t mean she was willing to invest her emotions in a relationship that had strong odds of not surviving.

  “Glad you’re here.” Londyn leaned back in her chair, a spiky black shoe dangling from her toes. “You’ll never believe what I found.”

  “I’m all ears,” he said, thinking now he could forget about Malone and focus.

  “Gilbert Flagg Sr. owned Malone’s house before her parents bought it.”

  “Seriously?” He perched on the edge of her desk.

  “It was listed under a subsidiary to Flagg Contracting, but I tracked it back to Flagg Sr.”

  “Why a subsidiary company?” Ian asked.

  “Looks like he uses the company for all the properties he’s owned over the years,” Londyn said. “Not sure of his reason. Most likely taxes, but I’ll dig a little deeper. As to Malone’s house, the records reflect permits and improvements right before they bought it, so it looks like Flagg remodeled the house before selling it.”

  “It’s since been remodeled again, and I can’t tell you if he did it or not. But we can ask Malone if she knows anything about it. I do know she’s changing it back to the way it was when she lived there.”

  “Did you ever hear Junior say anything about Malone living in his old house?”

  Ian shook his head. “I have to think he didn’t know.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I can’t see him missing the opportunity to tell her that she was slumming it while he was king of the hill in their big house. I know he had a field day with the fact that she was in foster care, and he wouldn’t miss the opportunity to rub the house in.”

  “Maybe the house and her parents’ deaths are connected,” Londyn said. “Maybe Flagg Sr. scammed them somehow when he sold the house to them.”

  “And then killed them?” Ian shook his head. “Seems odd to kill someone over something like that, but I’ll ask Senior and Karen about the property. Malone too. When I last questioned Flagg, he denied having known Malone’s parents.”

  “With the house belonging to a subsidiary company, his lawyers might’ve handled everything except his signature, and he may not have paid much attention to who it was sold to.” Londyn leaned forward. “I already scheduled an interview with Karen in lockup in five minutes. We’ll talk to Snipes afterward.”

  He stood. “Let’s get to it.”

  Londyn grabbed her notepad and followed him down the hall. He thought about Malone’s house during their walk to the detention center, where they secured their weapons in gun lockers. Once in the interview room, a deputy brought Karen in to see them.

  She dropped onto the metal chair. Her face was haggard, her eyes red from crying.

  “I can’t believe this.” She lifted her handcuffs. “I never imagined I’d be jailed for anything. Especially murder. Something in me just snapped, and I couldn’t stay in my house any longer. I had to take charge. Make something happen.”

  She placed her hands on the table and looked at them. “Not that Olivo was the only person to blame. Living with Gilbert hasn’t been easy. He has to have his way all the time. No matter the cost. Even belittling our son and making him turn to dealing drugs. I was a fool to stay with him. If I hadn’t…” She started to cry.

  “I’m sure the jury and judge will take all of that into account,” Ian said, honestly wishing he could help her. It seemed as if she’d been abused all her married life. Not physically but mentally. Or she could be putting on a show for them. He was a good judge of character, and her grief and regret were sincere.

  He waited for her to gain composure again and look back up. When she did, he leaned toward her. “When I visited your house, I’d mentioned about the parents of one of Junior’s classmates dying in a car accident. We now know it wasn’t an accident. I didn’t tell you that they bought one of your old houses.” He gave her the address.

  “That place.” Her eyes lit up. “I loved that house, but Gilbert had to have something bigger. Something grander. Each time I’d get settled in and really feel at home, he would announce he had a new house for us, and we’d move. Now he’s building an even grander place. Well, he’ll be living in it all alone. Six thousand square feet to himself. Probably what he wants. Or he’ll find some young thing to be by his side for all the business dinners. That was pretty much my only value to him.” Karen’s sigh turned into a shudder.