Present Danger by Elizabeth Goddard (shoe dog free ebook .txt) 📗

cheek, and she gave him a big hug. At least the evening had ended on a good note. Terra felt like she’d reconnected with Alex, who had seemed somehow distant the whole evening until the last few moments.

After he left, she cleaned up the mess and washed out the few dishes in the sink as she considered Alex’s words about the vandalized memorial. Her mind shifted to Jim and Neva, and the devastated forest around the cabin.

A creak startled her. She whirled and caught Owen standing in the kitchen, watching her.

She exhaled with relief. Terra smiled and folded the dish towel. “When did you get back?”

“A long time ago. Gramps told me about the memorial.”

Terra dropped her gaze and shook her head. “It’s just crazy, the things people do these days. They’ll just have to rebuild it and set up some cameras or something. I don’t know anymore.”

Arms crossed, Owen continued to watch her but said nothing more.

“You got home a long time ago?” Terra asked. “I thought you were going out with Leif.”

“He canceled on me.”

“That’s too bad. You could have come to dinner with us, though it wasn’t much of a dinner since Jack showed up to give us the news.”

“So I heard.”

“Uh . . . Owen, why didn’t you just come out and visit?”

“That’s your circle, Terra. Your best friends. I wasn’t around for you back then. I’m sorry I wasn’t, since it turned out that Dad wasn’t either.”

Owen seemed in a dark mood tonight. She wasn’t that familiar with this side of him, and it could be that he developed this mood while he was in a foreign land. She didn’t know. But she did know that she didn’t like it and wasn’t sure what to do with it.

“It’s okay, Owen. We’re all grown up now. It’s all good, especially now that you’re here.” She approached and gave him a quick hug. “I’m heading to bed. I have a lot to get done tomorrow.”

She paused in the hall and turned back. “About Leif. How well do you know him anyway?” She instantly regretted the question. This wasn’t the time to ask.

“You could say that he’s my best friend, since he saved my life. On a mission, our Apache got shot up, along with my leg. I lost consciousness. He used the autorotation maneuver to land the helo and got us both out. I owe him everything.”

Owen turned from her then, as if talking about what happened dredged up an unwanted memory.

“I’m glad he was there when you needed him.”

“Yeah.” Owen left her in the kitchen.

After she heard his bedroom door shut, Terra headed for her own room. She shut the door behind her. Closed her eyes and forced back the nausea. She was jumping to conclusions. But . . .

God, Owen can’t be involved in the artifacts trafficking. He just can’t.

Her cell rang, and she grabbed it. Jack. Her heart jumped and moisture bloomed on her palms. What was she? Sixteen? She blew out a breath to steady her reaction. Terra hoped he didn’t have more bad news.

“What’s up?” she answered.

“You want to go with me to Bar Wars?”

She couldn’t help the smile that erupted. “Have you lost your mind?”

“It’s a stakeout. I got a lead. We’re going to watch the bar and see who stops in.”

“Tonight? You want me to meet you tonight?”

“No. I want you to open your door. I’m outside. If you want to go, you can ride with me. Come on, Terra, it will help get your mind off what happened. And we need a break in this.”

“Where’d you get the lead?”

“Boba Fett.”

“Excuse me?” Terra almost barked a laugh.

“Bartender named Boba Fett said he spotted a guy who looked a lot like the pilot who disappeared from the hospital.”

FORTY-EIGHT

Jack steered around the corner a little too fast.

Terra reached for the handgrip above the passenger window. “If you were worried about missing this guy, maybe you should have just called me to meet you there.”

“The truth is that I didn’t decide to invite you along until after what happened tonight. I thought you could use the distraction.”

“You didn’t think I’d want to be part of it?”

“I figured you were with your friends, and I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“But you ended up interrupting anyway.”

“Did I? Looked like they were gone to me. Oh, you mean the dinner. I thought you would want to know about the memorial. Terra, I hated tracking you down. I just didn’t know how to tell you. I—”

Terra touched his arm, sending a warm current through him. “You handled it the right way, Jack. And thank you for inviting me along tonight as well. But can I ask you, from now on, to please not make decisions for me? If a lead turns up that is important to my investigation as well, then please inform me. Let me make the decision whether I will be part of the stakeout, okay?”

“I’m duly lectured.”

Downtown Big Rapids was still hopping thanks to the local casinos, pizza joints, and ice cream parlors. But farther into the shadows, the section that included the bars, otherwise called dives, began. Bar Wars was at a halfway point—not quite in the limelight, not quite in the darkness.

He parked a block down and across the street from the bar, grateful that he drove an unmarked vehicle. Now that he was here with Terra, he thought maybe he’d made a mistake. She was a huge distraction. As he stared out the window, taking in the area, a strand of hair fell from the clip and curled across her cheek. Jack gently lifted it and tucked it behind her ear.

A small gasp escaped from her as she turned to look at him, her eyes shining.

And her lips . . .

The stakeout, Jack. Remember why you’re here.

“So, I’m told this guy comes in every night. Sits in the booth and drinks a few beers.”

“Oh, that’s a new one,” Terra said.

“The thing is, someone took the regular guy’s place a few nights ago. Nobody sits in that booth,