Married by Monday (Weekday Brides) by Catherine Bybee

instead of helping.” All the risk was for nothing.
    There was a moment of silence.
    “ Why did you want to run again?”
    Eliza sat the stuff animal on the bookshelf before turning to her friend. “Dean and Jim, the detectives, made certain I remembered why I was in hiding. The man who murdered my parents is still alive, Sam. In jail, but not unconnected. He has an extended family who would love revenge.”
    “ Revenge on a child who had nothing to do with his incarceration?”
    “ Dillinger and Capone might strike a pose for a good Hollywood movie, but they were animals who didn’t leave families unharmed. Their threat is what scared people into keeping their lips shut. There are many Capones out there. They come in all nationalities. All ages. The guy gunning for me made it clear that he’d find me. That it was his mission in life to eliminate my father’s seed from this earth. There’s no reason to think he’s found God and has changed his mind.”
    “ How old were you when your parents died?”
    “ Nine.”
    Unlike Eliza, Sam was known to shed tears. They now welled behind her eyes. “Oh, Eliza. I’m sorry. What kind of friend am I that I never knew any of this?”
    Eliza smiled and tried to joke. “Carter might look like he belongs in Hollywood, but I’m the better actor.”
    Sam blinked back tears and forced a smile. She stood and walked over to Eliza. “I don’t know if I should be mad that you didn’t tell me this earlier or honored that you trust me enough now.”
    “ It’s a burden, Sam. Knowing me can be dangerous.”
    “ You don’t know that for sure or you would have run.”
    Eliza nodded. Maybe. “I might still. But at least you’ll know why. I’d hate it if you disappeared and I never knew why.”
    “ Don’t say that. You’re not going anywhere.”
    “ I don’t want to.”
    Sam frowned. “You’re not. You have friends who are capable of protecting themselves and you.”
    Eliza leveled her gaze at Sam sighed. “I’m counting on that. If you didn’t have means, I wouldn’t have come here today.” She wanted safety for Sam and her family more than for herself. At least that was what Eliza wanted to believe.
    ****
    “ Harry?” The guard called his name from a few feet away. In his hands was a newspaper rolled into a tube and secured with a rubber band. “I have more wallpaper for you.”
    Harry smiled as Devin approached, wondering what news the paper would bring now. Each and every day in prison morphed into the next with nothing to look forward to. Word from the outside was the only sunshine available.
    Many of the criminals he’d been incarcerated with had a family member or two who would visit on occasion. Not Harry. He’d destroyed his family and any hope of seeing the remaining members ever again with his greed and selfishness. If and when he made parole he didn’t have the right to search out his daughters.
    Harry stood and extended his hand for the paper. “Thanks,” he offered the guard.
    Devin shrugged and walked away.
    A low hum of anticipation brought a spark of warmth deep inside. Instead of opening the paper on the closest table, Harry opted for a little solitude and walked up the flight of stairs to his cell. There was still thirty minutes before the inmates were forced to their over-crowded bunks and barred rooms. But Harry would gladly give up the little bit of freedom for a glimpse of his grandson.
    His two other cellmates weren’t occupying their small space when Harry sat on his bunk and opened the paper. He skipped the front page and the financials and went straight to the Entertainment section. He blew out a sigh when he saw them. A wedding party with bride, groom, and a handful of attendants. In the groom’s arms was a toddler, smiling for the camera. Harry’s gaze landed on a young woman in a wheelchair as his thumb stroked the picture. If only he could make her whole.
    Regret clogged his throat.
    A buzzer sounded in the building, signaling