Shadows at Dawn Read online

  Her eyes burned. She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “It would never work, Jax. You know it as well as I do. We’re just too different.”

  “It could work. Crazier things have happened, right? Why don’t we just concentrate on finding the people who are after you and then we’ll see where we are, okay?”

  She didn’t answer. Her throat was too tight to speak. It was ridiculous. She had known from the start Jax wasn’t for her.

  The hands on her shoulders tightened, his hold gentle but firm. “Give me a chance,” he said. “That’s all I’m asking. I know it’s a lot, but—”

  She set her trembling fingers over his lips to stop the words. Her heart was beating, thudding against her ribs. Jax wanted a chance to be with her? She’d never suspected he was the least bit interested in something permanent, but the look in his eyes was fierce.

  It didn’t matter. What she’d told him was the truth. “Let’s...let’s do what you said and figure out what’s going on. That has to come first.”

  He scrubbed a hand over his face. He hadn’t shaved that morning, leaving a sexy dark shadow along his jaw. “You’re right. Jesus, I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s the matter with me.”

  Mindy closed her eyes, refusing to think about it. Jax would regain his senses. Deep down he had to know she was right. It was only a momentary lapse because having sex with her was new to him. He was tired of Candace. Sooner or later, he’d be tired of her, too.

  She ignored the pang of sadness that came with the thought.

  He led her out to his pickup, and they set off down the road. As he drove toward the Avondale Rehabilitation and Skilled Care Center, Mindy blocked memories of what had happened between them last night. She didn’t dare think about it. Couldn’t allow herself to imagine it happening again. If she did, heaven help her, she would want him just as much as she had before.

  The care center was always busy on Sundays, family members stopping by to see loved ones. The nurse, an auburn-haired woman named Mary, didn’t have her mother quite ready for the visit, so Mindy and Jax sat in the lobby to wait.

  A folded copy of the Dallas Morning News rested on a maple end table next to the mint green vinyl sofa. Mindy picked it up and began leafing through it. A story at the top of the second page caught her eye.

  Murder Victim Identified

  The body of Ryan Shipman, reported missing five days ago, was found in a shallow grave east of Ferris. It’s believed wild animals uncovered the remains. Though the coroner has not yet confirmed the cause of death, early reports speculate it is the result of a shooting.

  * * *

  MINDY GRIPPED JAX’S ARM.

  He looked down at her. “What is it?”

  “I know this man. Ryan’s the guy I mentioned, the man I did some bookkeeping for a few months back. I can’t believe he was murdered.”

  Jax took the paper out of her hand and skimmed the article, his dark brows drawing together. “It looks like this just happened. He was only missing five days before they found his body.” He glanced at her. “First men try to abduct you. Then your apartment is trashed. Now a guy you worked for turns up dead. I don’t like it.”

  A chill swept through her. Mindy didn’t like it, either.

  The nurse walked up just then. “Your mother is ready for you. She’s sitting out in the garden.”

  They rose, and Jax walked her to the glass door that opened into the shady courtyard in the center of the complex.

  “You want me to come with you?” he asked.

  “My mother wouldn’t know if you were there or not. I won’t be long. I’ll meet you back in the lobby.” She left him there and followed Mary out into the sunshine. It was slightly breezy, the wind shifting through the branches of the trees.

  “She’s had her breakfast,” Mary said, rolling the chair a little deeper into the shade beneath the tree. “Maybe you could finish the book you’ve been reading to her.”

  Mindy nodded. Mary had set the book on the wrought-iron bench at the base of the tree, a Jane Austen novel, Emma. Mindy felt a pang. Her mother used to love romance novels. Sitting silently in the wheelchair, Ellen Stewart had aged far beyond her fifty years, her hair now white as snow, her skin deeply lined and nearly translucent.

  “Hello, Mom.”

  Her mother didn’t look up, didn’t even move, just stared straight out into the garden. A never-changing smile curved her lips. For an instant, Mindy’s eyes misted. It never got easier. Seeing the person her mother had become, trying not to think of the vibrant woman she had been before the accident ten years ago. Mindy had been a senior in high school at the time.

  She took a deep breath and tried to focus on something more pleasant, the warm day, the soft breeze, the rustle of leaves on the branches overhead. Thoughts of Jax crept in. He was waiting for her in the lobby, there to keep her safe.

  A calmness settled over her. Jax was there. She’d be okay. She took a deep breath, sat down on the wrought-iron bench, opened the book and started to read.

  CHAPTER NINE

  JAX WATCHED MINDY through the glass door leading into the courtyard. He could see her lips moving as she read to her mother, occasionally reaching over and very gently touching the white-haired woman’s hand.

  It made his chest feel tight. He’d never had a family; his dad left when he was ten, and his mom suffered from depression, and was hooked on alcohol and prescription drugs. He tried not to think what it might be like to have someone as caring as Mindy in his life.

  He sighed as he waited for her to finish, pulled out his cell and phoned Detective Gunderson. “It’s Ryker. I need you to bring me up to speed on the Ryan Shipman murder.”

  “What’s Shipman got to do with you?”

  “Probably nothing, but I need to make sure. I’ll let you know if it amounts to anything.”

  Gunderson filled him in on what the cops had so far. “ME’s report’s not final, but Shipman took three shots from a .45 caliber, two in the chest and one in the head. He was severely beaten before he was killed, and they cut off his little finger.”

  “Looks like they wanted something more than just making him dead. Information, maybe?”

  “Could be,” Gunderson said. “Shipman had a gambling habit. Word is, he’d recently run up a big debt, and his bank accounts were low.”

  “So whoever he owed likely killed him.”

  “I don’t know. Hard to get money from a dead guy. There’s something about it that doesn’t feel right. CSIs are still working on the scene. I’ll let you know what we come up with.”

  “I’d appreciate it, Walt.”

  “By the way, we found the van. It was parked in a vacant warehouse. Interior was set on fire, but the van wasn’t completely destroyed. We might find something useful. I’ll let you know.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You keeping an eye on the girl?”

  “You can bet on it.”

  He hung up the phone when Mindy walked out, a little surprised he was standing by the door, close enough to watch over her, not waiting in the lobby. She’d get used to it. He planned to keep her safe no matter what it took.

  His gaze ran over her face. He didn’t like how fragile she looked. “You okay?”

  She nodded. “It always takes me a while to get past it. I’ll be all right in a few minutes.”

  He set a hand at her waist, letting her know he was there for her, walked her out to his Dodge. He’d made a fool of himself this morning. He was supposed to be doing his job, nothing more.

  But he’d broken that code by sleeping with her. Then when Candace had shown up, the look on Mindy’s face had reached inside and caught him right around the heart. He was back in control—thank Christ for that. Especially after the Shipman murder.

  “Are we going to my apartment next?” she asked as he started the engine.

  He glanced over at her and smiled. “Good news on that front. Chase called. He drove Harper and Lissa over there this morning. Chase talked the manager out of a key and the three of them cleaned the place up. Muffin got fed. She’s doing just fine.”

  Mindy’s eyes glistened behind the lenses of her glasses, making them look even bigger and bluer. “They didn’t have to do that.”

  Jax reached across the center console and caught her hand. “They’re your friends. They wanted to help. That’s what friends do. Everything’s okay at your place. We’re heading down to the office, meeting Chase, Hawk and Lissa. I talked to Gunderson. I want to run the Shipman murder past them, see what they think.”

  The two men and Lissa Blayne, the only female detective currently working in the office, a pretty blond former detective in the Dallas PD vice division, were sitting in the conference room drinking coffee from the thermal pot sitting on the side table.

  Jax grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to Mindy, filled a foam cup with coffee for himself. They carried the drinks over and sat down at the table.

  “How are you holding up?” Chase asked Mindy.

  “I’m all right, I guess. Considering...” Mindy’s gaze went from Chase to Lissa. “I want to thank you both for what you did this morning. I can’t believe you cleaned up my apartment.”

  Lissa reached over and squeezed her hand. “With all of us working, it wasn’t that bad.” She smiled. “If my house gets vandalized, you can come over and clean it up, and we’ll call it even.”

  Mindy relaxed and smiled. “Deal.”

  Jax took a drink of his coffee. “With Shipman’s death, we may have another piece of the puzzle.” He had explained to Chase on the phone about Ryan Shipman’s murder and the man’s vague connection to Mindy.

  “I filled Hawk and Lissa in after you called,” Chase said.

  Jax went on to tell them the details of Ryan’s death. “Shipman’s body was buried. I don’t think the killers expected it to be found, but apparently, wild animals dug up the grave. The thing is, he was tortured before they shot him.”

  “Oh, God,” Mindy said.

  Jax glanced her way, felt a pang at the pallor of her face.

  “Payback or information?” Maddox asked.

  “I’m thinking information,” Jax said. “He was beaten, but they only got as far as taking a finger before he gave them what they wanted.”

  A muted sound slipped from Mindy’s throat. He wished she didn’t have to hear this, but her life was on the line.

  Chase’s attention swung to her. “I assume the work you did for Shipman involved bookkeeping.” Part of her job at The Max.

  “Yes. It was several months before I came to work here.”

  “A temp position while you were working for DeMarco Staffing?” Chase asked.

  “No. I did it on the side to make a little extra. Susan referred me to Ryan as a favor to help him save money.”

  “What did Shipman do for a living?” Lissa asked.

  “He owned a small construction company. He worked out of an office in his house. With the different subcontractors, it required a lot of bookkeeping, and he got behind.”

  “You work at his house or yours?” Jax asked.

  “Both.”

  “His computer or yours?” he asked.

  “I used my own. I worked off the flash drives he provided. He kept financial information on a number of them.” Her eyes widened. “You don’t think—”

  “That could be the link,” Jax said, shifting forward in his chair. “The only thing you found missing from your apartment after the break-in were your flash drives.”

  She looked up at him. “Maybe they think I have one that belonged to Ryan.”

  With Shipman dead and her apartment trashed, it wasn’t that far-fetched.

  Chase shook his head. “None of this makes sense. You worked for Shipman months ago. If the incidents are connected, why the delay? Why was Shipman killed now? And if his death is connected in some way to you, why did they wait so long to come after you?”

  “Good question,” Maddox said.

  Jax sipped his coffee, his mind going over the problem. “Gunderson said Shipman had recently run up a gambling debt. Maybe he figured abducting Mindy for the ransom money was a way to pay off his debt.”

  “I never mentioned anything about my mother’s trust,” Mindy said. “There’s no way he could have known about it.”

  “Let’s back up a minute,” Maddox said. “From the beginning, we’ve been following the premise that whoever went after Mindy wanted access to her mother’s money. But what if that was never what the kidnappers wanted? Maybe they didn’t even know about it.”

  It was an idea Jax had considered. “If this has something to do with the missing flash drives, maybe one of them has something on it the kidnappers want.”

  “Something worth money to someone else,” Chase said.

  “You’re talking about blackmail,” Lissa clarified.

  Maddox grunted. “Yeah, instead of money, Shipman got three bullets from a .45 cal.”

  “I think Chase could be onto something,” Lissa said. “Shipman was kidnapped, tortured and murdered. They certainly weren’t after his money because he didn’t have any.”

  “An unpaid gambling debt can sure as hell get you killed,” Chase said, playing devil’s advocate.

  “True enough,” Jax agreed, but he could feel the idea gaining momentum in his head. “For the moment, let’s run with the blackmail theory. Say Shipman had something valuable on a flash drive and Mindy took it home with her by mistake. Maybe the drive got in with the ones that held Shipman’s accounting records.” Jax swiveled his chair around to look at her. “Is that possible?”

  Excitement flushed her cheeks. “I took at least three or four drives home with me every time I went to his house. Each of Ryan’s primary subcontractors had a flash drive solely for their own records. It’s possible one of his personal drives could have had gotten mixed in with the others.”

  “I did a little digging on Shipman before I came in,” Jax said. “The guy didn’t have the best reputation. He was arrested a couple of times on white collar charges, one scam or another. But he always managed to walk. He’d been staying out of trouble for the past few years, but if he owed somebody money, he might have gotten desperate. Blackmail wouldn’t be much of a stretch.”

  “If that’s the case,” Chase said, “we need the name of his victim and what Shipman had on them.”

  Jax’s gaze returned to Mindy. “If you have that drive, honey, we need to find it. It could be what the kidnappers are after. If it is, they won’t stop until they get it.”

  While Mindy went to search her desk, Maddox cornered Jax. Anger vibrated through every muscle in his big body. “What the hell, bro? She’s family. You’re supposed to be protecting her not fucking her.”

  Jax clenched his jaw. “Don’t say that. That isn’t what it was.”

  “The way you look at her—you think I wouldn’t know?”

  “I’m telling you it wasn’t like that. Mindy’s special. I knew it way before anything happened.”

  Some of the tension eased from Maddox’s wide shoulders. “Son of a bitch. I had a hunch you were in over your head. You’ve had your eye on her ever since she started working here.”

  Jax released a slow breath. “I know she deserves someone better. I get that. I know it shouldn’t have happened, but I’ve wanted her for so long. When I realized she wanted me, too, things just got out of hand.”

  Maddox squeezed Jax’s shoulder. “Maybe it’ll work out. If that’s what you want, I hope it does.”

  Jax’s felt a pinch in his chest. He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

  “Why not?”

  “She doesn’t think it could work and she’s probably right.”

  Maddox’s intense blue eyes locked on Jax. “You’re a navy SEAL, dude. You want something, you go after it. You want it to work, you make it work.”

  Jax made no reply, but his heart had started beating faster. He was a SEAL. SEALs went after what they wanted.

  “You gonna be able to get your head on straight enough to do your job?” Maddox asked.

  Jax’s features hardened. “Nobody’s getting near her.”

  Hawk relaxed. “Okay, then. Your best bet is to focus on finding that flash drive.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  MINDY SEARCHED HER space at the office, her desk and credenza, every drawer and cubbyhole, though she couldn’t imagine how the drive—if there actually was one—could have gotten to The Max in the first place.

  She had worked on Ryan’s books in her apartment, and that had been months ago. But she had transported them back and forth from his place to hers.

  She’d done a thorough search of her Volkswagen, still parked in the lot out behind. Ryan’s drives were all the same brand, she recalled, little silver Kingstons only about a quarter-inch thick and an inch or so long. Easy to lose, though she’d been careful and Ryan had never mentioned any of them missing.

  But she could have picked up an extra. What if she had simply dropped it somewhere as she carried it from his house to her car, or her car to her apartment? What if it never showed up again? No way would the kidnappers believe she didn’t have it. Not after the trouble they had gone through to get it back.

  She thought of Ryan being tortured and killed. Was she partly responsible for his death? If she had accidentally taken the flash drive, was he dead because he couldn’t hand it over to them? The notion sent a chill down her spine.

  By the time she and Jax had finished searching the car, then her apartment again from top to bottom, it was dark and she was exhausted. She toed off her sneakers and sank down on the floral sofa in her living room. Muffin jumped up in her lap.

  “Hello, sweetheart.” She stroked a hand over the cat’s glossy coat, and Muffin curled up and started to purr.

  Jax walked back into the living room. For the past hour and a half, he had been working on his laptop on the desk in her bedroom. He took one look at her sagging shoulders and dejected expression and sat down on the sofa beside her.