“You need to take this threat on your life more seriously. Sure, you’re trained and know how to protect yourself, but have you ever had someone actively trying to kill you? Someone who is relentless in seeking you out?”
Her mouth suddenly went dry. “No. You’re right. This is...this is different.”
“You probably need to tell your superiors about these attacks, if they don’t already know.” He rubbed a hand down his face. “In the meantime, you’re not taking your car home today. You’re riding with me. I’ll take you home. We already decided that, remember?”
“That was before the explosion. You’re needed here now.”
Ryan ignored her comment and took her hand, kept her closer than she would have liked as they hurried down the sidewalk. He led her over to his vehicle. Opened the door for her and waited as she climbed in. Fire trucks and other emergency vehicles had arrived and were blocking the street.
“What about Tom? Don’t you need to go get his statement?” she asked.
Before he could reply, a fireman headed for Ryan, who’d repositioned his badge to hang around his neck so it was visible. Ryan met the fireman halfway, standing only a few yards from her. Ryan spoke with the fireman in the street, explaining what had happened, as police officially blocked it off. Then he instructed another county deputy, mentioning Tom the barista—Tori heard that much—who would still be waiting in his sedan in the back alleyway. Two firemen rushed around the alley toward the back of the building, she presumed in search of Tom.
Though Ryan had just been through a traumatic experience or two, he was still the man in charge today and appeared confident and experienced.
And Tori was reminded more strongly than ever of what she’d lost when she’d left Ryan behind. A lump grew large in her throat. She could hardly swallow.
Ryan suddenly jerked his attention to her, his eyes both searching and piercing, then he jogged around his vehicle to the driver’s side. A month ago, Tori would have wanted to be the one in charge. She would never have allowed him to herd her into this vehicle. She would have been very much hands-on in processing this crime scene. But today she’d acquiesced to his demands and was even glad for his overprotective concern.
If he hadn’t been there earlier today, she could have been mowed over before she’d even realized she was in danger. She would be in the hospital with injuries. Either that or she’d be in the morgue. Maybe she’d lost her edge.
When Ryan climbed in, she said, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She expected him to comment that he was only doing his job. Instead, he started the vehicle and steered out of the cordoned-off block.
“Hey, there’s Tom, talking to a deputy. He must be giving his statement.” She sighed. “I feel so bad. The café was destroyed because we decided to go there to get warm. Tom was so good to us, and now he’s out of a job. We should check in on him later.”
“I agree,” he said. “We should definitely do that.”
He steered onto the main road leading out of Shady Creek and back to Rainey.
Tori suddenly realized she’d used the word “we,” and in his reply, Ryan had, as well. Uncertain what that meant, if anything, she turned her attention to watching for anyone suspicious.
“If the place hadn’t exploded we could have checked for video footage. I noticed they had a security camera. That could have given us an image of the driver. But we do have the plates now.”
“That we do, but I suspect since the driver was so willing to crash it into the café where there would be no retrieving it, they weren’t concerned about the license plate tracking back to them.”
“You’re saying the vehicle was probably stolen.”
“Yes.”
Both of them caught up in their own thoughts, they drove in silence the rest of the way back to Rainey, where, thankfully, the rain had also stopped, and the sky was clearing.
Who besides Detective Ryan Bradley had followed her all the way out of town to Shady Creek? Or had they been waiting there for her? The thought gave her the creeps. Maybe she’d been capable of taking care of and protecting herself before, but she was having some serious doubts about her abilities now, in a way that left her feeling vulnerable. She wrapped her arms around herself and wished she had a blanket, even in the warm cab. The weather added to her dreary mood. What happened to the beautiful summer days of northern California? The weather seemed unusual.
She feared that someone might have figured out where she’d been heading and why. Her call to Dee James could have been the catalyst to today’s events. She would keep that to herself for now. She didn’t want Ryan looking into him and scaring off her only lead.
Still, did Dee James have anything to do with what happened to her today? Had he sent someone to follow her? Or had it been him?
She sat up taller. “You didn’t even get a glimpse of the driver?”
“No, why?”
Too bad. If Ryan had said anything about red hair that would have told her something.
“Just wondering.”
When Ryan turned onto the street and then parked in front of Sarah’s house, Tori realized she’d been so caught up in her thoughts that she’d barely noticed the ride going by.
A deputy waited in a vehicle at the curb. She got out of Ryan’s and headed for the house, though she fully expected Ryan would want to clear the house first. She would wait at the door for him. Honestly, she wanted a hot shower and to relax for a few minutes before she had to head over to Mom and Dad’s for dinner.
“Tori,” Ryan called. He stood next to the vehicle and spoke with the deputy inside.
Tori trudged over.
“Deputy Jackson needs the keys to your car. He’ll
