“A trigger,” he said, staring off into space. “I need some information,” he said. “Why don’t you lie down and get some more sleep?”
“I don’t think I’ll sleep now,” she said with feeling.
He walked over to the bed, gently sat on the edge, so as not to disturb a sleeping Danny, leaning back against the headboard. “Just relax and get some sleep while you can,” he said. “I’ll let you know if anything major’s happening.”
She curled up on top of the bedding. With a muffled exclamation, he got up off the bed and grabbed a blanket from the footboard and gently spread it over her.
She smiled and said, “Now I feel like a two-year-old.”
Immediately he whispered a reply, “But you don’t look or feel like one.”
Her eyes flew open as she stared up at him. “Were you just flirting with me?” she asked.
“Nah,” he said, “I don’t know how to do that.”
“Well, I’ve got news for you. You were flirting with me,” she said, smiling.
“And if I was?” he asked, but his tone was one of curiosity.
She chuckled. “It’s been a long time,” she said, “but I have to admit I might just flirt back.”
“Feel free,” he said. “It’s been a long time for me too. I’m not exactly sure what that even looks like anymore.”
Jessica fell asleep with a smile on her face.
Greyson watched over the two of them, wondering at his heartstrings being pulled to the extent that they were. Something about Kona had started it, and then this beautiful woman and her extra special son were added bonuses. It’s not at all what he expected to see in his life.
But then again he hadn’t come with any expectations, so maybe that’s why he’d been fully open to it. But no way in hell he would let anything happen to the two of them. Not while he wanted not only to make sure they stayed safe, but but also to know if this relationship between them had the basis to go any further. He thought it had a lot of potential and could go a long way. But, when danger was involved, he had to stay focused. At least in his mind he did. He knew a lot of guys who would have taken her to bed already. But he didn’t just want to take her to bed; he wanted more.
And that was a whole different story. He frowned at that because he wouldn’t have thought he was looking for a long-term relationship. He was a bit of a mess, though she didn’t appear to care. But then she didn’t know all about his prosthetic, and that might be a turning point for her. But then again, maybe not. She looked like the kind of person who wouldn’t care about the more superficial elements in life.
He shifted on the bed, wishing he’d brought his laptop with him. The phone was great, but his laptop would have been a lot easier.
Messages were coming in rapidly. He sifted through them and found that both the brother-in-law and Frank knew each other in the military. Also confirmed by Frank’s phone contents. That didn’t necessarily incriminate Jensen, but it could be just that Jensen had spoken about his brother’s ex-wife, and that had been enough to trigger something in Frank’s psyche. Particularly if Frank came home with any psychological problems. The situation was something Frank could glom onto and almost see himself as being Jessica’s next partner or something like that. Or maybe Frank hated women and blamed her for breaking up with Jensen’s brother. Or maybe he didn’t need any more motivation than money.
But then came the kicker email.
He read the message that came through from Badger and immediately hit the Talk button. He slipped off the bed, walked over to the window. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely sure,” Badger said. “Her ex-husband, George, passed away not long ago.”
“What from?”
“A brain aneurysm,” he said. “He was at a seminar and collapsed to the ground. He was gone thirty-six hours later.”
“So the paperwork must have already been signed at the time.”
“It’s possible,” Badger said, “but you know what? That’s a really good point. It’s possible the brother forged the documents instead.”
“Somebody better look into that,” he said, “and see if there’s a will. Because George has a son, and he left a wife behind. Depending on when he died, they were separated and may or may not have been divorced.”
“A judge would still have to make the divorce final,” he said.
“But how long has he been dead?”
“Three months.”
“Huh. Maybe it was waiting for the forged paperwork to come in that triggered this whole thing.”
“Taking over the life his brother had? Including the same wife? That’s pretty sick, even for some of the guys we know.”
“But you also know what it’s like when your life goes to shit and when all you can do is focus on one piece of it, and then you become obsessed,” he said. “I knew a case like that when a guy came back. He was so obsessed, thinking that his wife was having an affair, that she wasn’t allowed to go to the grocery store. She wasn’t allowed to do anything, including talking to her girlfriends, because he was pretty sure they were just a front for her to have an affair behind his back. He ended up killing her.”
“Yes, unfortunately,” Badger said, “the news is never short on cases with similar stories,” he said, “but we’re a long way away from determining that’s the problem here.”
“Ditto,” Greyson said. “We need intel.”
“I’m on it,” he said. “You keep her safe.”
“They’re both sleeping. Actually all three of them are sleeping,” he corrected, turning to look at the bed.
“You need sleep too. Remember?” Badger said.
“I won’t while I’m on guard duty,” he said. “The guy was here tonight—twice—and he’ll be back. We know that.”
“You’ll be ready,” Badger said. “This isn’t exactly what we intended when we sent you over to look for Kona.”
“No, but Kona was on
