Murders & Romance: A Psychic Detective Romantic Mystery (Isaac Taylor Mysteries Book 5) by Lashell Collins (ready player one ebook .TXT) 📗

She took a tentative sip of champagne, her eyes still locked on his.

“I love you, Isaac. I love you so much.”

“I love you,” he smiled. “Now. Eat up. I hear someone out here is very hungry.”

She giggled at him and then turned to their dinner.

They ate in silence for a few moments as they explored the delicacies Bree had made for them, nibbling and noshing and feeding each other.

“So. Tell me about your day. Why was it so interesting?”

His question brought her up short, and Sidney stopped mid-chew.

Her mind raced wondering how best to tell him what was going on. She swallowed and quietly cleared her throat.

“Well, a surprising thing happened today.”

“What’s that?” Ike took a bite of peppered hard salami.

“Ann… she’s the resident whose husband did this.”

She motioned to her cheek, and Ike’s grey eyes darkened like the coming dusk.

“Well, she came to me today and asked if I could help get her and her kids away from him. Help her run, you know? Like I did.”

Isaac swallowed down another bite and nodded.

“What’d you tell her?”

“I told her I’d think about it. I mean, it’s not something you can do on a whim. If you really want to get away from that kind of situation, you have to plan. And when I ran, it was just me. But she’s got two small kids to think about. She would lose any kind of support system she might have in place here. There’s a lot to think about.”

She shook her head, going back over it all again in her mind.

Could she really do this?

“There is a lot to think about,” Ike echoed her words. “But why do I get the feeling you’ve already made up your mind?”

Sidney lifted her gaze to his. He was staring at her hard. Studying her.

“Well, it…” She hesitated. “I mean, I…”

Her voice trailed off again, and she searched for the words.

A slow grin tipped the corners of his lips, but it was tempered with the concern she saw forming in his eyes.

“You’ve already agreed to help her, haven’t you?”

Sidney licked her lips. Was he going to be upset with her?

“I just feel like it’s my duty to help.”

“Your duty?”

“See, the question I’ve been asking myself all day is… if I know the way to freedom, why shouldn’t I feel obligated to lead others to it?” She reached out and took hold of his arm. “Ike… if I can help someone in a highly abusive situation to break free from their abuser and build a new life for themselves, shouldn’t I do that? Shouldn’t I help them the way you helped me?”

“But Sid, I didn’t help you run. You were already on the run when I met you. I simply helped keep you safe from that bastard.”

“Yes, but if it hadn’t been for you, Ike, Damien would have killed me. I have no doubts about that. And when Ann tells me that man will kill her if she doesn’t get away, I believe her.”

“Okay. Well, have you thought about everything that an undertaking like this would entail?”

“Yes! I’ve thought of nothing else all day. I have a notepad in my purse with a list of rules and tactics and ideas. Things to look into and research, like bus depots and routes, and what’s needed for border crossings into Canada and Mexico…”

“Border crossings?”

“Yes.”

“Wow. You’re not playing around. You have given this a lot of thought today, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I have. And that stuff is easy. The hard part is going to be figuring out the best place to get fake IDs and papers. When I fled from Damien, it was fairly easy. I knew the people to ask. I knew the area. But now?”

She sighed and shook her head.

Isaac leaned back, his gaze falling to their half-eaten picnic, and Sidney could see his mind working.

“Sid… are you asking me a question?”

Sidney toyed with a fig half before she looked up at his eyes.

“No. I mean, I… I know that you could probably point me in the right direction, given your job and all. But I would never want to put you in a difficult position.”

“I’m glad you realize that it would be a difficult position for me. That means I don’t have to tell you that what you’re proposing right now is illegal.”

Sidney sunk her teeth into the fig, the sweet juices of it tempering the bitter bite of his words.

“I know buying fake IDs and papers is illegal, baby. But it’s a necessary part of fleeing an abuser.”

Ike reached out and took her hand again. He leaned forward, staring into her eyes.

“I am so damn proud of you, Sidney. And I applaud what it is you’re wanting to do. But it’s so dangerous. A million different things could go wrong, and I’m not sure how I could help you.”

“I understand that. I would never expect you to help me. This is my thing.”

“I’m talking about legal help, darlin’. If, by some chance, you were arrested for obtaining fake papers, even if they were for someone else, you could go to jail for that. Or what if Ann’s irate husband shows up demanding to know where she is? Or what if you unknowingly help a mother who doesn’t have legal custody take a child across state lines? That’s accessory to kidnapping. Or if you…”

“I get it, Ike! It’s dangerous. Don’t you think I’ve taken that into consideration?”

She didn’t mean to yell. She hadn’t meant to raise her voice at all. But she also hadn’t expected his objections to be so frightening.

“I’m sure you have. In fact, I’m sure you’ve probably thought about this thing from every angle imaginable. But you’ve had hours to mull this all over, whereas I’m just now hearing about it. You gotta give me a few minutes to catch up here, okay?”

He let go of her hand and turned away, looking out at the sunset. Sidney wondered what was going through his mind, and she