Page 42 of I'll Be There
“A black ops arm—domestically?” Micah said, his voice low. “To what—drive political power?”
“Or gain financially,” Blue said. “Justin thought that maybe whoever was behind it benefited by the aftermath—the increase in weapons, perhaps?”
“An arms contractor?” Conner said.
“I don’t know. The last time I saw Justin, he said he had an important meeting, and that he needed me gone by the time he got back. He made it sound like he wouldn’t be far behind me, as if he was leaving soon. That’s why he gave me his phone—so he could find me. But he never made it.” Her eyes had filled. “I tried to get him to come with me, but he said his work wasn’t done.” She pressed her hand to her mouth. “It was never done with him.”
Never done.
And he’d died for it.
“He might have been killed by Kayle, our leader. If he found out that Justin was a plant.”
“Or the person who benefited from SOF’s actions,” Micah said.
Blue nodded.
The phone played a sound, something that indicated it had finally booted up.
“Let’s hear that voicemail,” Conner said, and handed the phone to Blue.
She punched in the code.
The voice that rose haunted Conner through to his core. Deep, confident, hued by the slightest urgency. “Blue, babe. I’m going to be late—really late. Don’t wait for me. Go to the cabin, stay there until I contact you.” A pause. “If something happens to me, call my brother. He’ll know what to do. I love you, Blue.”
Call my brother.Like a thief, the words reached out and stole the febrile hold he had on his grief.
Conner turned away, cupped a hand over his eyes, hating the sweet familiarity, the way he yearned for it, hungry, almost desperate to see Justin walk into the room, his dark hair rucked up, wearing his cowboy boots, a pair of jeans, a white T-shirt, a crooked smile finding his eyes.Hey, bro.
Micah’s hand landed on his shoulder. “You okay?”
Conner exhaled a shaky breath. Nodded.
“I...just kept waiting,” Blue said. “I guess it was for nothing.”
Conner turned back to her. “Not for nothing. I pulled a cell phone off the guy who shot you—I’m heading back to Deep Haven, and I’ll figure out how to open it. I’ll find out who’s behind this, Blue.” He hesitated. Then, “Ipromise.”
The words left his mouth, stung the air. But Blue looked at him with so much hope in her eyes, he settled into them, nodded.
His phone vibrated and he dug it out. This number, he recognized. He declined the call, slid the phone back into his pocket. “We gotta go,” he said. “But listen. You get better, okay? And when you’re ready, call me. I have friends in Montana. We can find you a place to live, people to watch over you.”
His words seemed to break her, and her eyes filled. “Thank you, Conner.”
“Okay then.” Because it felt right, he leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Thank you for being so brave.”
Micah tucked Justin’s phone into her hand, gave her grip a squeeze, then led the way out of the room.
Conner dragged his phone out in the hallway, was just about to dial Liza when Romeo appeared. “Here you go.”
He tossed Conner a blue T-shirt, a black button dress shirt to Micah.
“I don’t want to ask,” Micah said.
“Step back, bro. I raided the lost and found.”
Conner grinned and headed into the bathroom. He whipped off his shirt, put on the new one, and took a second to wash his hands, take a look at the scrape on his arms. Micah did the same. His button-down pulled around the shoulders. Conner hit send on his phone just as they exited.
Liza picked up on the first ring. “Hey! I left you a voice mail.”
