Page 14 of Justice for Aleta

“Yeah.” He knew Matt wanted him to call Chambers right that second, but he wanted to do that somewhere private and quiet where he could really concentrate on what the ranger was saying. “I will in a little while. I’d like to enjoy my coffee first.”

“I’ve gotta get back out. Let me know if you need anything else,” Matt said, rising and heading toward the door, but he turned and came back. “By the way,” he said, leaning toward Jack, “that woman? The one who was in the accident? Have you seen her?”

Where was he going with that? “Actually, yeah. I got some more information from her.”

“Do you know… She’s really cute. How’s she doing? Think she might like some company?”

Jack almost snickered. “I think she’s seeing somebody. At least it sounded that way when I talked to her last.” Well, he wasn’t lying.

“Oh. Damn. Day late and dollar short. Okay. Catch ya later.” He ambled out of the coffee shop and Jack watched him go, amused as hell. As soon as he’d finished his coffee, he made his way back to his cruiser and hit the road.

All day, no matter what he was doing, he was thinking about all the evidence. He’d know more when he talked to RangerChambers.

Jack radioed his end of shift and drove straight home. As soon as he had a shower and had found something to eat, he sat down at his kitchen table and started working. When he started piecing it all together for the briefing the next morning, it all made sense. He understood why their shooter was stopped on the side of the highway?he was watching for the little red car. Instead of pulling in nicely, the car was gaining on him, so he pulled off with his fender sticking out and the van came along and clipped him. But he had a job to do, so he did it with Joshua standing there, and the fact that Joshua and the baby had gone over the side of the bridge didn’t matter to him. Then his heart froze.

Aleta. Did the shooter realize she was even there? Had he seen her? Could he remember what she looked like? Her husband and child’s death had been all over the news. Finding out who and where she was would’ve been a piece of cake, and he knew Aleta could be in danger, real danger. The man sounded like he was from NewYork, but he was wearing a duster. This was a guy who had something to prove, and most likely it was to whoever he was working for. If they found out he’d left a loose end, it would be his responsibility to tie it up or be on the losing end of a gun. The idea made him shiver.

He picked up his phone and hit her contact, then breathed a silent sigh of relief when she answered, “Hello?”

“Hey. How ya doin’?”

“I’m good. How are you?”

“Busy, as usual. So have you come up with somewhere for us to go Friday night?” Just making small talk with her was calming him down. She was okay. That was all that mattered.

“I think so. Do you like steak?”

Jack laughed. “I’m a red-blooded American male, right? OfcourseI like steak!”

“Good! I heard two of the servers at work talking about this steakhouse in Radcliff. I thought maybe we could go there. You know, just jeans and a polo shirt-type place. Relaxing.”

“That sounds good. I like it. Don’t tell me where it is. You can tell me when I come to pick you up. What time?”

“What time will you get finished with work?”

“By the time I get off shift and get cleaned up and dressed? Probably four thirty or five.”

“Then let’s make it six.”

“Sounds good.”

“Jack?”

“Hmmm?”

“Thanks for calling. I just… I really wanted to hear your voice.” Hers was soft and hesitant, and he knew it took a lot for her to say those words.

“I wanted to hear your voice too. Makes me smile.”

He heard her giggle just a little. “Good! I’m glad. So I’ll see you Friday night. Will you call again before then?”

“Yeah. I’ll call you every night. How’s that?”

“That doesn’t make me sound too needy, does it?”

Jack laughed out loud. “No! It makes you sound like you want to talk to me, and I’m pretty happy about that!”

“Yay! Okay. So I’ll talk to you tomorrow night?”

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