Page 157 of Lethal Danger

She’d been shocked when Hawthorne had brought up marriage a couple days ago. For a man who’d run from marriage and even committed relationships for most of his life, he was a surprisingly fast mover now that he’d changed his mind. Maybe because the change had come from God transforming his heart, as Hawthorne had explained.

Now she got the feeling Hawthorne might propose at any moment, but he probably wanted to wait for the right timing for her. Until the painful emotions from the upheaval in her family were a more distant memory.

In her whole life, she’d never cried as much as she had in the last week. Often on Hawthorne’s shoulder, strengthened by his support and compassion.

She’d had to give statements to the police about all that had happened with Pierce. Including the crimes he’d confessed to her and the attempt to kill her and Rebekah. The next challenge would be testifying at his trial. That wouldn’t take place for a couple of months yet, but she already struggled with anxiety at the idea of testifying against her only living relative. Unless she counted his daughters, her cousins. But they had rebuffed her attempts to connect via phone or email.

They seemed to want to distance themselves from the whole affair, probably to keep their reputations unscathed from the scandal of having their father, prominent candidate for governor, exposed as the murderer of their own mother.

It was ironic he’d murdered two people and attempted two more killings all to cover up the original death that had started it all.

Nev and Hawthorne had helped Jazz search through her father’s things, and they’d eventually found the evidence Pierce must have feared. Old photos of a dead soldier and a recording her dad had apparently captured secretly of a conversation between him and Pierce. Both offered proof that Pierce had killed the soldier.

The death had been accidental, according to the recorded conversation, but resulted from an altercation between the soldier and Pierce. The other soldier started the fight, and Pierce responded by trying to subdue him with a choke. Trouble was, Pierce unintentionally held the choke longer than the soldier could handle, and the young man died.

The only people present, Pierce and Jazz’s dad, covered up the killing by using explosives to destroy the body in such a way that it would look like the soldier had encountered a land mine.

When Cora had searched the names of soldiers Jazz’s dad had served with, she’d discovered that Pierce had been in the same unit. Phoenix had directed Cora to look deeper the moment she’d learned Pierce and Jazz’s dad were in combat together overseas. The boss had suspected something during that time could give Pierce a reason to want Jazz dead.

Jazz knew they had served together, but what she hadn’t known was Cora’s further discovery—that they had been the only two people who’d witnessed a soldier’s death.

And years after his successful cover-up, Pierce was still so worried about the truth coming out that he’d killed again. On purpose this time. More than once. Even murdering his own wife.

Jazz shook her head. She still couldn’t wrap her head around Pierce murdering Aunt Joan.

“Hey.” A light touch on Jazz’s chin drew her gaze up to Hawthorne’s. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” She sighed. “I will be.”

He gave her a squeeze, letting her cradle her head on his shoulder.

“Hey, lovebirds.” Nev came up beside Jazz, people moving past her in droves to reach the grassy field where they could best see the fireworks.

Aunt Joan would have been so pleased with the huge turnout and the way attendance numbers had shot up for the last week of the fair. After the public had learned the danger was over and the culprits were no longer at large, her Tri-City Fair had been a success, once again.

“We’re set up over there with blankets.” Nev pointed toward a spot on the field where Sof, Michael, and their daughter, Grace, were spreading out a blanket next to one occupied by Bristol, Toby, and Remington. On the other side of Sof’s family, Branson sat on another blanket.

“Blankets.” Jazz stared at Nev. “I forgot one.”

Nev waved the concern away with a hand. “I got you covered, girl. Ours is big enough to share.”

“Even with your giant bodyguard fiancé?” Jazz grinned at her BFF.

Nev wrinkled her nose. “Hey, I plan to sit on his lap.” She winked.

Jazz laughed.

Nev started forward with Alvarez on leash. “Oh, Becks said she’s going to join us, too.”

Jazz grinned at the nickname Nev had promptly created for Rebekah as soon as she’d learned the girl was going to be a big part of Jazz’s life. “Where’d she get off to, anyway?” Jazz glanced at Hawthorne as they followed Nev toward the grass.

He winced. “I’m afraid she found a boy who wanted to take her on the Slingshot.”

“Poor Hawthorne.” Nev laughed and smiled over her shoulder at him.

Jazz linked her arm with Hawthorne’s. “I’m proud of you.”

He gave her a sidelong look as he pulled her closer with their intertwined arms. “For what? Not forbidding the kid to be alone with my baby sister?”

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