you I was a border patrol agent.”
“Why’d you give it up?”
“Guilt. My wife and son’s murders were a paid hit, revenge against me for confiscating a few hundred thousand dollars’ worth of cocaine and throwing half a dozen gangmembers in jail. My job cost my family their lives. It wasn’t a good trade-off.” Old news, but it still hurt to say it.
“So, they won.”
“Who?”
“The gang.”
“No. We closed them down. I made sure of that before I quit.”
“Glad to hear it, but since they succeeded in getting a successful agent off the playing field, I’m not sure it was a total loss for them.”
“If you’re trying to make me feel better, it’s not working.” He bit the words out as he pulled up in front of the sheriff’s department, yanked the keys from the ignition.
“Why would I do that? You suffered a great loss, Jonas. No doubt about that, but throwing away all the good you did, all the good you could do, I don’t think that’s the answer to your grief or your guilt,” she shot back.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” The words were as icy as the cold fury that pulsed through him. He’d had a lot of people say a lot of things about the tragedy, but Skylar was the first to say that he’d let the gang win.
He didn’t like it.
And right at that moment, he didn’t much like her.
“Maybe not. But if I had a choice, I’d be back on the force, throwing the book at the drug dealing scum who hook people in, shoot them up with lies and poison and then steal everything they have. Unfortunately, the powers that be are worried that I’m a medical risk. They sat me at a desk job for three months after my recovery, and desk jobs just aren’t my thing.” Her smile was brittle, and Jonas’s fury seeped out as quickly as it had come. She had her own pain, her own loss.
“Skylar—”
“What you do is a God-given gift, Jonas. But it’s not my business if you waste it. I’m sorry I brought it up. Come on.I need to get my things and focus on finding Redmond, so we can both get back to our lives.” She got out of the truck and was halfway across the parking lot before Jonas opened his door.
A God-given gift.
They were the same words Rayne had used.
There’d been a time when Jonas had believed that. A time when he’d truly felt that his ability to track and his success on the field were God-given. Gabriella had believed the same, and her support had only added to the feeling. For the last few years, though, all Jonas had felt was his loss.
Skylar was right. Throwing everything away, changing careers, giving up what he loved hadn’t healed his grief or assuaged his guilt.
All it had done was leave him empty.
He frowned, holding the door open as Skylar stepped into the building. She’d said she needed to get to work so they could get back to their lives, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to go back to what he’d spent the past four years being. It was something to think about, anyway. Maybe even to pray about. It’s what Gabriella would have wanted, and he let the thought warm him as he followed Skylar into the sheriff’s department.
TEN
S he should have kept her mouth shut.
Should have.
But she hadn’t.
Apparently, she loved the sensation of opening it and inserting her foot.
And, apparently, she also loved seeing the fury in people’s eyes when she stuck her nose into things that were absolutely none of her business.
She sighed, her heart thumping painfully as she approached the reception desk and greeted the deputy who sat there.
“I’m—”
“Skylar Grady. I’d recognize you from your photos even if we hadn’t met before.” He smiled, his deeply tanned face and short cropped hair vaguely familiar. She must have questioned him when she had arrived in town.
“I’m sorry. The past few days have been crazy. I guess I forgot that we’d met.”
“I’m Deputy Marcus Williams. We spoke for about two minutes the day you arrived in Cave Creek,
“Why’d you give it up?”
“Guilt. My wife and son’s murders were a paid hit, revenge against me for confiscating a few hundred thousand dollars’ worth of cocaine and throwing half a dozen gangmembers in jail. My job cost my family their lives. It wasn’t a good trade-off.” Old news, but it still hurt to say it.
“So, they won.”
“Who?”
“The gang.”
“No. We closed them down. I made sure of that before I quit.”
“Glad to hear it, but since they succeeded in getting a successful agent off the playing field, I’m not sure it was a total loss for them.”
“If you’re trying to make me feel better, it’s not working.” He bit the words out as he pulled up in front of the sheriff’s department, yanked the keys from the ignition.
“Why would I do that? You suffered a great loss, Jonas. No doubt about that, but throwing away all the good you did, all the good you could do, I don’t think that’s the answer to your grief or your guilt,” she shot back.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” The words were as icy as the cold fury that pulsed through him. He’d had a lot of people say a lot of things about the tragedy, but Skylar was the first to say that he’d let the gang win.
He didn’t like it.
And right at that moment, he didn’t much like her.
“Maybe not. But if I had a choice, I’d be back on the force, throwing the book at the drug dealing scum who hook people in, shoot them up with lies and poison and then steal everything they have. Unfortunately, the powers that be are worried that I’m a medical risk. They sat me at a desk job for three months after my recovery, and desk jobs just aren’t my thing.” Her smile was brittle, and Jonas’s fury seeped out as quickly as it had come. She had her own pain, her own loss.
“Skylar—”
“What you do is a God-given gift, Jonas. But it’s not my business if you waste it. I’m sorry I brought it up. Come on.I need to get my things and focus on finding Redmond, so we can both get back to our lives.” She got out of the truck and was halfway across the parking lot before Jonas opened his door.
A God-given gift.
They were the same words Rayne had used.
There’d been a time when Jonas had believed that. A time when he’d truly felt that his ability to track and his success on the field were God-given. Gabriella had believed the same, and her support had only added to the feeling. For the last few years, though, all Jonas had felt was his loss.
Skylar was right. Throwing everything away, changing careers, giving up what he loved hadn’t healed his grief or assuaged his guilt.
All it had done was leave him empty.
He frowned, holding the door open as Skylar stepped into the building. She’d said she needed to get to work so they could get back to their lives, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to go back to what he’d spent the past four years being. It was something to think about, anyway. Maybe even to pray about. It’s what Gabriella would have wanted, and he let the thought warm him as he followed Skylar into the sheriff’s department.
TEN
S he should have kept her mouth shut.
Should have.
But she hadn’t.
Apparently, she loved the sensation of opening it and inserting her foot.
And, apparently, she also loved seeing the fury in people’s eyes when she stuck her nose into things that were absolutely none of her business.
She sighed, her heart thumping painfully as she approached the reception desk and greeted the deputy who sat there.
“I’m—”
“Skylar Grady. I’d recognize you from your photos even if we hadn’t met before.” He smiled, his deeply tanned face and short cropped hair vaguely familiar. She must have questioned him when she had arrived in town.
“I’m sorry. The past few days have been crazy. I guess I forgot that we’d met.”
“I’m Deputy Marcus Williams. We spoke for about two minutes the day you arrived in Cave Creek,
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