Page 45 of Rescued Faith

Looked like she would have to move her stakeout to Conway Prescot’s place and see what she could find.

FOURTEEN

Bryce closed his locker. Finally, an uneventful shift. Usually he liked the action, but lately it was hitting too close to home. So he’d take a quiet day shift and leave knowing his crew was safe for another day after all the explosions and injuries. They’d taken turns checking in on Ridge since he was recuperating from his broken leg.

Izan walked in. “Hey, you doing anything right now?”

“Why? Wanna grab a bite?”

“Totally, because whatever Stephens calls that stuff he makes, it’s not food.” Izan unbuttoned his uniform shirt. “But first, I was wondering if you’d spot me on something.”

“What’s up?”

“Remember that break-in? I was wrong. Somethingwastaken. Some of my dad’s letters.”

“What letters?”

“You know, my biological dad. Those letters your mom gave me from him that he wrote in prison before he died. Most I have at my bank in a safety deposit box, but I kept a few at the apartment. They’re gone.”

“Why would someone take those letters?”

“Before he died, Sosa was looking for his stolen money. If anyone made the connection that my real father was Sosa’s accountant, they might be resuming the search where Sosa left off when he was shot. It’s the only thing I can come up with, because whoever it was went through a lot of trouble to get the letters from my apartment.”

Bryce’s gut twisted. Sosa had caused a lot of havoc and turmoil. But he was dead. So who was this new threat? “So where are you going tonight?”

“Back when I was trying to figure out who my real father was, before I realized who Sosa was and everything, I got involved with some shady people. I had to pretend to be one of them.”

“What does that mean?”

“I kinda started dating this girl. Maria. She knew who the players were.”

“So you used her.”

“Hey, I treated her well. Better than any of her other boyfriends. And we left on good terms. But either way, she lives in a rougher part of the city. If I’m gonna go there and see what she knows, I’d prefer to have someone watching my back.”

“I’m in.” ’Cause no way would he let a friend go in there unprotected. And maybe a little adrenaline rush would keep his mind busy enough that it would stop thinking about Penny Mitchell and where Bryce had gone wrong. Especially the Penny Mitchell that played catch with kids and took the whole team out for ice cream after practice.

Bryce and Izan crossed a parking lot dotted with potholes. The stairwell reeked of pot. Exiting onto the second floor, the smell wasn’t much better as they knocked on a door. A television show in a different language sounded through the walls. Somewhere down the hall a baby cried. Izan pounded on the door a second time.

“’Ria! It’s Izan.”

Bryce kept an eye on the hallway.

Finally, the click of the locks and the knob turning sounded.

“Izan? What are you doing here? And who’s that?” Dark eyes probed from the crack of the doorway.

“It’s a friend. Can we come in?”

Maria stuck her head out and looked down the hallway herself before opening the door wider and letting them in. The apartment was tiny, worn, but clean. Izan’s ex had long black hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. She wore jeans and a light-pink T-shirt, her arms folded across her chest. “What are you doing here?”

“This is Bryce, by the way.” Izan flashed her a dimpled grin. One all the ladies at the station teased him about. “You look good. Healthy.”

“I am. Over a year sober now. And I’m going back to school.” She pointed to a stack of textbooks on the tiny dining room table.

“That’s awesome. I always said you were smart. You’re probably getting straight A’s.”

Maria blushed. “Enough with the flattery, Iza. What are you here for?”

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