Ethan’s phone chimed a text just as they entered a bedroom furnished with floor-to-ceiling shelves and a large antique desk jutting from a wall like an island.

  Kat had taken her place behind a flat-screen monitor.

  “Here’s the address.” Ethan moved next to his sister and set his phone on the desk.

  As Kat typed in the URL, Jennie joined Ethan. She instantly felt the tension radiating off him like heat from the sun. The news clearly would not be good.

  She watched as the webpage opened and the headline came into focus. Her heart started to pick up speed.

  Local Photographer Not Afraid of Thugs. Show Will Open as Scheduled.

  She gasped.

  “I second that,” Kat said.

  Jennie forced herself to read the article adjoining her official head shot, photos of the trashed gallery and a picture of crime-scene tape strung around her house. Linda Becker, the gallery assistant, had told the reporter all about both break-ins. She extolled Jennie’s professionalism, said she kept a spare set of negatives and announced that the show would proceed as planned.

  Jennie couldn’t pull her eyes from the screen.

  Oh, Lord, how could You let this happen?

  “How did they get this on here so fast?” Kat asked.

  “Madeline’s assistant already had an interview scheduled today for a PR piece,” Jennie answered. “All she had to do was call with an update.”

  “So much for keeping a low profile,” Kat mumbled.

  “You think?” Ethan slammed a fist onto the desk, making Kat and Jennie both jump. “I was standing right there when Madeline warned Linda not to tell anyone. She knew better than this. She might as well have painted a bull’s-eye on Jennie’s back.”

  Distress brought a lump to Jennie’s throat. “Why would she do this?”

  “I don’t know, but I intend to find out.” He stormed around the desk and out the door.

  Jennie charged after him, hearing Kat’s footfalls not far behind. By the time Jennie caught up to him, he was in the foyer, talking on his phone.

  “I don’t care how you do it, Cole,” he barked. “I want to talk to Madeline’s assistant. Have her at the gallery by the time I get there.”

  He clapped his phone closed and jerked open the door.

  “Ethan, wait.” Jennie rushed forward. “I want to go with you.”

  He turned, his eyes all hard and angry but softening a touch when they met hers. “It’s better for you to stay here.”

  “But I—”

  “Please, Jen.” His anger faded more, and he sighed out a long breath. “You’re safe here. Taking you to the gallery would just invite danger.” He looked at Kat. “I’m certain no one knows Jen is here, but don’t take any chances. Lock up and stay alert.”

  With a final glance at Jennie, Ethan left. She felt his loss the moment the door closed. All day she’d wanted him gone. Wanted to be anywhere but with him, and now she wanted nothing more than to see his caring face looking at her. To hear him tell her everything would be okay even though she knew in her heart things had just gone wrong. Very wrong.

  * * *

  “Ethan, wait,” Kat called from behind as he jogged down the sidewalk.

  He stopped to allow her to catch up.

  “Are you going to talk to Jennie?” Kat asked.

  “I don’t have time for this, Kat.” He turned away.

  She grabbed his arm. “It’ll take a while for Cole to bring in the assistant.”

  “Then I’ll help him.”

  “You’re making a big mistake in running from Jennie with so much unresolved between you. It could jeopardize both of your lives.”

  “Really?” He studied her. “Suppose you enlighten me on that.”

  “You’re wound as tight as a clock. If you let this fester between the two of you, it might cloud your vision and get in the way of your job. You have to clear the air.”

  “So what do you propose I say to her, then?” he asked, hating how his sarcastic tone made her tense up. “That after she bailed on me I spent every free minute for a year trying to find her? How about that I turned over every rock in Seaside and every other place she’d lived until I tracked her down like some lovesick weirdo? Or maybe that I found her father and uncovered the past she’d tried so hard to avoid telling me about?” He’d tried to keep his tone free from self-disgust but it filled his words. He was still ashamed of how pushy he’d been, how he’d refused to back down until he’d forced to light things Jennie had had every right to keep hidden. Only then had he learned his lesson and backed off…but not before learning one thing he’d never wanted to know. “No matter what I say, I’ll come off looking like a loser.”

  Kat placed a hand on his shoulder. “It wasn’t like that and you know it. You just needed some closure.”

  “Well, I got it all right, didn’t I?” He looked up at the clouds and remembered the pain of finding out the woman he’d loved could replace him in less than a year. “I could’ve lived without finding out she’d taken off for Texas with that guy.”

  “It helped you move on.”

  “I appreciate your concern, Kit Kat. I really do.” He squeezed her hand then gently removed it. “But getting to the bottom of the threat against Jennie has to come first. When the time is right, I’ll talk to her. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Hoping the time was never right, he hugged his sister and headed for his car, feeling her appraising eyes on him even after he drove off.

  On the short drive, he tried to think of anything but the hopelessness he’d felt after Jennie had taken off. He’d been desperate to find out why she’d really left. At first, he’d thought it’d be easy to find her. Seaside wasn’t that big of a city. But she’d moved and he’d had to go all the way back to her high-school records to track down her father. He’d learned so much about her past and even discovered that she’d given up a baby for adoption.

  Surprising, shocking actually, but he saw God’s hand in this. He’d never believed his birth mother had loved him. If she had, why give him away? Through Jennie’s selfless actions with her daughter, he finally believed his birth mother could’ve given him up because she loved him and wanted a better life for him than she could provide. So he’d sought her out and found a very similar story. Now they had a strong relationship and it was all thanks to Jennie. But his shame from digging into Jennie’s past wouldn’t let him tell her about it.

  He parked in front of the gallery and pounded on the door. Cole headed down the long, narrow space, now free from debris. Ethan wasn’t surprised to see the gallery floor already cleaned up. Madeline didn’t let anything get in the way of what she wanted, and she wanted Jennie’s show to open on Friday.

  Cole unlocked the door.

  “She here like I asked?” Ethan pushed past Cole, who snagged Ethan’s arm.

  “Hold up, bro.” Cole stood firm. “Don’t rush in there in this mood. Take a minute to cool off first.”

  Cole was right. Ethan needed to catch his breath. He pulled the email about the warehouse manager from his pocket and handed it to his brother. He explained the tattoo connection and Caldera’s position at the Photos of Hope warehouse in Texas. “I’d like you to call Patrick and get him to work on this. Have him report back to you, and you can keep us updated.”

  Cole’s eyebrow rose.

  “What?” Ethan asked.

  “What happened to would you do this?”

  “Sorry.” Ethan rubbed neck muscles as hard as rocks. “Something about this case is getting to me.”

  “Something or someone?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Kat told me our client is the infamous Jennie who bailed on you.”

  “Does no one in this family ever mind their own business?” Ethan scowled at his brother and headed toward the back of the gallery.

  He could feel Cole’s eyes burning into his back. Too bad his brother chose this topic to take an interest in. Since he’d come home from a second tour in Iraq, he’d rarely gotten involved in anything personal, and Ethan hated to shut him down.

  Fresh paint fumes caught his attention and he noticed a new coat of paint covering the ominous message. Good. He’d rather not see the threat again. He found Madeline and Linda in the refreshment area. Madeline stared down on Linda, who was sitting in a wrought-iron chair and fidgeting with the cuff of her jacket.

  As he neared, Madeline looked up. “Ethan, good. Now we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

  She moved her focus back to her assistant. Working hard to keep his anger over Linda’s betrayal from his face, he nodded a greeting and waited for Cole to settle. He leaned against the wall, his ankles crossed in a casual pose, but Ethan saw the intensity in his brother’s eyes. Intensity constantly present since his return from Iraq. Linda cast him a wary gaze, so Ethan sat next to her, drawing her attention.

  He kept his posture relaxed and leaned toward her. “Why don’t you tell me why you contacted the newspaper?”

  “It’s my job.” She met his gaze with a hard stare, but her hands trembled, making him think she was hiding something.

  “Explain.”

  “I’m in charge of PR. After all the news stories ran about the break-in, I knew people would assume we’d canceled the event and no one would show up. If we don’t get a good crowd at an event, Madeline blames me.”

  He ignored her jab at Madeline. “Do you routinely make this kind of decision?”

  “Depends on the event.”

  She was stonewalling him and his anger was starting to bubble up again. “But for this event you had the freedom to make all the PR decisions?”

  “Yes.”

  Madeline took a step closer and her painted-on eyebrows rose. “You knew I didn’t want the press to know about our plans.”

  “No, I didn’t.” Linda looked away, but Ethan caught a flash of guilt in her eyes before she turned.

  She was hiding something, but what? Had she decided to leak the info about Jennie to the newspaper on her own or had someone coerced her into doing it? Or did she simply not like working for Madeline and wanted to cause trouble?

  Madeline circled the table and got in Linda’s face. “Don’t lie to me, Linda. I told you our plan was to keep publicity to a minimum and just call the invited patrons.”

  “I—”

  “Don’t lie again and say you didn’t know that.”

  Linda crossed her arms and glared at Madeline.

  Ethan was more certain she was concealing something, but he still didn’t know what, so he merely kept a curious gaze trained on her and waited for her to speak. People often talked during prolonged silences, revealing something they didn’t plan to say, just to cut the tension.

  His phone rang, and he glanced at the caller ID. Jennie.

  “Excuse me.” He moved away for privacy. “Everything okay?”

  “Fine. I just wanted to see if you were done talking to Linda.”

  He sighed out a breath. “Not yet.”

  “But you think she’ll tell you something to help us find this creep, right?” she asked, hope blossoming in her tone.

  He heard Madeline’s raised voice in the background, threatening to fire Linda if she didn’t come clean. He glanced back at them. Linda still had her arms crossed and glared up at her boss, defiance now mixed with anger. Even if he kept questioning Linda tonight, he doubted she’d admit her reasons for calling the newspaper, or any connection to the gallery break-in. They’d need to do some legwork to find out why and how she was involved.

  He turned his attention back to the phone. He hated to do it, but he had to tell Jennie that they were no closer to finding and stopping her attacker from coming after her again.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Jennie heard a car pull into the driveway, followed by the loud thud of a car door. Had to be Ethan, right on time as promised on the phone last night after he’d told her about Linda’s reluctance to cooperate. Just to be sure, Jennie set her coffee cup on the kitchen counter then went through the dining room to the front window to peek out.

  Wearing jeans, a clean white shirt and the same leather jacket as last night, Ethan stood next to his truck. Aviator sunglasses hid the direction of his gaze, but he seemed to be staring off into the distance. He’d slipped his jacket back and clamped a hand on his gun; the other hand held a stainless coffee mug. The sunglasses coupled with the gun gave him a dangerous vibe, doing nothing to settle the flutter in her stomach.

  He turned as if knowing she watched him, and she let the blinds fall. She returned to the kitchen to clean up breakfast dishes. She was eager to get into the darkroom, but she didn’t want to leave a mess behind for Kat to clean up.

  She heard the front door open and close.

  “Jen?” Ethan called out.

  “In the kitchen,” she answered and started wiping off the big island.

  He entered the room and his presence filled every inch. Calm, confident, alert. All man. And though she’d never admit it to anyone, she was happy to see him. In spite of everything, she felt safer with him.

  He slipped his sunglasses into the V of his shirt. “Any coffee left?”

  “Some,” she said, hating how weak her voice sounded.

  He poured coffee into his cup. “You sleep okay last night?”

  “The bed in Kat’s guest room is very comfortable.”

  He raised a brow. “Translated, not so good, then.”

  She shrugged. “I know Kat is capable, but I have to admit, worry kept me awake most of the night.”

  “Maybe we should talk about canceling the show.” He sounded a little too eager for her liking.

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Can’t or won’t?” He stirred cream into his coffee, the dark Columbian blend swirling into a light beige color.

  “Won’t, I guess.”

  He sealed his to-go cup then caught her gaze. “Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do.”

  “I can’t cancel, Ethan.” She looked directly into the dark intensity of his eyes to convey her sincerity. “We need those funds. We’ve already allocated every dollar we expect to earn.”

  “Don’t get me wrong here, Jen. I respect what you’re doing with these kids.” He paused and set down his cup.

  “But?” she asked.

  “But if these creeps get to you and God forbid kill you, how will that help the children?”

  He was right, but it was a risk she had to take. “If this guy is after me because of one of my photos then canceling the show won’t change anything. As long as he thinks there’s any chance I still have the picture, he’ll be after me. Besides, if I backed down every time I faced danger, I’d never take another picture.”

  “I don’t understand.” He leaned back against the counter, his ankles crossed, his hands gripping the edge.

  “The neighborhoods these kids live in aren’t exactly safe.”

  “And you go there by yourself?” A hint of disapproval tinted his eyes.

  “Yes.” He opened his mouth and she held up a hand. “Hear me out before you say anything. I take precautions. I try to arrive early in the morning while the criminal element is still sleeping and the kids are usually outside playing.”

  “Why not bring someone with you?”

  “I get more natural shots when I’m alone and there aren’t people distracting the children.”

  “Still. You can’t go in there unprotected.”

  “I don’t always. Where the law allows, I carry a gun.”

  “You what?” His tone shot up.

  “Why’s that so upsetting? I’ve had ample training on how to fire a gun and the safety procedures for owning one.”

  He rubbed a hand across his face. “I’m not sure how I feel about this.”

  She arched an eyebrow and waited until he met her gaze again. “Even if you don’t like it, it’s what I need to do to stay safe in these areas. And, no offense, Ethan, but it’s really none of your business.”

  He pushed off the counter and paced, his hands fisted at his sides. She didn’t like the way this conversation had gone, but he had to know she was in charge of her life and didn’t need him to act as her knight in shining armor on a day-to-day basis. Sure, she was thankful for his protection now, but she’d taken care of herself since her mother died and her father made it clear that he had little interest in raising a daughter. If she gave up and let Ethan take over, when he left, it would be hard to go back to her old life.

  “We should get going.” She went to the sink. “I’ll just finish cleaning up and then I’ll be ready to leave.”

  She washed the last of the dishes, and when she turned, he stood inches away.

  “Promise me something.” His dark, earnest eyes held hers, reaching into her thoughts, and she couldn’t seem to draw a full breath.

  “What?” she managed to whisper out.

  “It might be a good idea to carry a gun in the situations you described, but I don’t want you carrying until this problem is resolved.”

  She could tell him her gun sat locked in a gun safe when she wasn’t in dangerous neighborhoods, but she wanted to know what was motivating this request. “Why?”

  “You may have learned how to handle the weapon, but when people who haven’t had law-enforcement training find themselves in life-and-death situations, they don’t always make the best decisions.” He lifted his hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You don’t need to take such a big risk with me around. Let me take care of things.”

  The urge to surrender was unusually strong after all the years of having to look after herself while her father stewed in his own problems. Her past had always made her want to prove she could stand on her own, but with Ethan, it would be so easy to rest her head against his chest and let him take over.