Reunited in Danger (5 page)

“You know what? I got a little banged up yesterday, but I’m not an invalid.” Ben dug
in his pants pocket for the house key and shuffled up the three steps to the door.
After opening it, he stood back so they could enter first. “So don’t treat me like
one, or I’ll feel like one. Okay?”

She stood on tiptoes and kissed his smooth ebony cheek. He’d grown up on the streets
and alleys of Baltimore and he’d had his share of fights and battles. If he wanted
to brush it off, she’d let him.

The entry door on the right opened and Margaret stepped outside to the sidewalk. “Nice
to see you, Dave. Hello, Keely.” She pulled up the collar of her tweed coat and moved
next to Ben. “Let’s get you into bed, or at least into a comfortable chair. I’m making
you some homemade soup.”

As her father stepped inside his home, an unfamiliar noise had Keely looking up the
street. Jalissa, the little five-year-old from next door, came down the sidewalk on
a skateboard, calling out, “Look, Mrs. Beyer! Look Miss Keely! I can skateboard!”

For a moment, the girl wobbled, then suddenly her body veered to the right and then
left. Keely bolted toward the girl, but knew she wouldn’t get there in time. The girl
spiraled to the sidewalk, her knee scraping the cement as she skidded against it.

The door to the left of Ben’s opened and Jalissa’s mom, April, dashed out. She squatted
next to her daughter, holding Jalissa as she wailed and clutched her leg close to
her body.

“Anything I can do?” Keely asked, coming closer.

April scooped up her daughter and smiled at her. “Just another skinned knee. Is Ben
back home?”

“We’re just getting him settled now. Do you mind if I stop back later to ask you about
the day of the attack?”

“Yeah, sure. Hope Ben is better soon,” April said over Jalissa’s cries, then headed
back into her own row house.

“Everything okay?” Margaret asked, nodding at the neighbors as she and Keely headed
up the stoop.

“Skinned knee.” Keely glanced at the potted plants on the sides of her dad’s steps.
Brown. Dying. Somebody needed to water them. Her dad split his time between church,
Loving Arms, and helping others. He hardly had time to take care of his own property.
The thought worried her. He had to make time for himself, or at least accept help
from others.

Margaret closed the front door behind them. “Your dad thinks he’s going to get straight
back to work.”

Keely put her hands on her hips. “Dad, just because you’re the pastor doesn’t mean
you can’t let others help run the church for a while. You can’t possibly be thinking
about writing a sermon. I’m sure Dave would be happy to do it. He’s done it before
when you’ve been away.”

“I’m happy to pinch hit. Up to Ben, though,” Dave said, then looked at his watch.
“I have a youth game to coach at the church in about an hour, but I’ll stop back after.”

“I’m fine,” Ben insisted.

“No arguments,” Dave said, laying a hand on Ben’s shoulder before turning to leave.

Her father frowned, then shuffled down the narrow hall to the kitchen and sat at his
kitchen table, Margaret following.

Keely glanced around the room. Neat and clean. She’d spent hours last night tidying
the place. Logan had offered help, but she’d declined. Sure, he’d proven he cared
about her dad. And without him over these last forty-eight hours, she would have been
lost. But she pushed those warm feelings aside. She would take his help in figuring
out who had hurt her dad, but that was as far as she wanted to let him into her life.

She followed her father into the kitchen. There, the only traces of the crime were
a dent in one of the mahogany cabinets and a small hole in the kitchen plaster where
the attackers had slammed the door so hard the doorknob hit the wall.

“Hand me that pad of paper and a pen, will you?” Ben asked, propping his feet up on
a kitchen chair.

Not much would slow him down. Without comment, she handed him the supplies.

He scratched his head and scribbled on the notepad.

She sat across from him. “Dad, if all you had in your briefcase was paperwork for
Su Lin, why would someone want to steal it? Do you think your attack had something
to do with Loving Arms?”

He finished writing a sentence, underlined it, and glanced up at her. “Why would helping
pregnant women have anything to do with someone following me inside to rob me?”

“The more I think about it,” Margaret said, “that Harper boy from up the block—Lenny
Harper—and that friend of his are about the same size as the attackers. Maybe they
were the ones who robbed you. I know they slashed those tires two blocks over a couple
of weeks ago.” She shook her paring knife in their direction. “And I told them I’d
be watching them.”

“Margaret you need to be careful. You should let the police handle them,” Keely said.
Most witnesses to crimes in the city feared retaliation. Few ever stepped forward.
But Margaret and Ben were old-school. They worked to keep their neighborhood clean.
Ben with his preaching, and Margaret with her attitude and shotgun.

Margaret studiously ignored her and chopped vegetables with renewed vigor.

“I still think it’s worth checking out if the attack involved Loving Arms somehow,”
Keely said. “You were going to pick up Su Lin, and the briefcase had stuff for her
in it. Plus, Su Lin never showed.”

Ben grimaced. “Loving Arms struck out this time. We’d arranged health insurance, a
place to stay, and a meeting with an adoption lawyer for Su Lin. She’s four months
pregnant, and planned to live in Baltimore until her baby was born. She wanted to
return to Los Angeles after the baby was received by its adoptive family—start a new
life.” He rubbed his bloodshot eyes. “Her parents think she disgraced them, so they
kicked her out, but I guess they were going to take her back in once she put the baby
up for adoption.”

“Have you been in contact with her parents?” Keely asked, instantly alarmed by the
possibilities.

“No. Only Su. She says she was raped by her father’s boss. Her parents don’t believe
her. They refuse to press charges or call the police. The dad’s afraid of losing his
job. They’re claiming she has a secret boyfriend.”

Good Lord. If the girl’s own parents didn’t believe her, no wonder she’d called Loving
Arms for help. “Can I get Su Lin’s parents’ number from you?” What if her disappearance
somehow tied in with the attack? Maybe the boss was trying to get rid of her. It was
worth a try to contact the parents, no matter how unhelpful they had been up to this
point.

Her dad frowned. “Su’s disappearance could be a part of all this, couldn’t it? I pray
she’s okay. Her parents’ number was in the briefcase, but you can call Charlie. He
has the number in his book. Okay if I get to work now?”

“Trying to get rid of me so soon?” Keely smiled but shook her head at his swollen
face, bandaged brow, and chapped lips. “Dad, if you get up in front of your parishioners
any time soon, you are going to scare them to death.”

She’d give him his privacy. For an hour or so, anyway, while she knocked on neighborhood
doors, asking neighbors if they saw anything, trying to find information about who
attacked her dad. She’d rather work with Logan, since he carried a badge. But he wasn’t
here now.

“I’m going to talk to some neighbors,” she said, kissing her dad’s temple. Before
he could interject, she added, “And yes, I’ll be careful.”

Outside, she strolled down the steps and up to the next stoop. She wouldn’t go far,
and she’d only talk to the immediate neighbors. Each block had its own dangers, and
risks were low on this block. She wasn’t so sure about the others.

She raised her hand to knock on the metal storm door, but the inside door opened before
she made contact. April must have been watching from her window. Did she do that often?

“Do you have sec?” Keely asked.

April peered through the screen, her dark black hair slicked back into a neat ponytail
accentuating her full lips, brown eyes, and dark complexion. The sound of a TV cartoon
and giggling children reverberated down the narrow hallway. A man, about six feet
tall, hovered behind her.

April’s boyfriend. Keely had seen him once or twice. With a sigh, April checked over
her shoulder then stepped outside.

“How’s Ben doing?” April asked, crossing her arms and rubbing them to keep warm in
the cool fall breeze.

Keely didn’t know April that well. Only that she was a single mom to her daughter,
Jalissa, and was polite but kept to herself. But Ben had spoken highly of her and
seemed to care for his neighbor. “Banged up, but he’ll be okay.”

April glanced at the street behind Keely and then back toward her house. “Good. He’s
a nice man.”

“How’s Jalissa’s knee?”

“Bandaged. Doing better. Thanks.”

Now that the pleasantries were out of the way, Keely could focus on the real task.
“Did you see anything the day my dad was attacked? Anyone hanging around about three
o’clock?”

April stared at the ground. “Cops already been around asking about that.” She glanced
to the right and nodded toward the sidewalk in the distance. “I walk Jalissa to school
every morning and then meet her to walk home at three o’clock on school days. I wasn’t
here and I didn’t see anything.” She met Keely’s gaze, and held it. Unwavering.

Was April telling the truth, or was the young mother just too scared to talk?

…

At noon, Keely grabbed her denim jacket off the banister. A shadow appeared at the
front door, followed by a knock.

“It’s me, Logan.”

Keely’s heartbeat increased.

“Make sure you know who it is first,” her dad hollered.

“It’s Logan.” She opened the outer door and stood to the side. He wore black jeans,
black boots, a black T-shirt, and his black leather jacket. Everything about him screamed
power and energy. And pure masculine sex.
Yeah
. That was definitely there, too. Her blood raced as she took in his appearance and
shivered at the thought of those strong arms around her.

“Hey. Cold?” He stepped inside.

She rubbed her arms. “A little,” she lied. The room temperature had shot up at least
twenty degrees when she looked at him.

“Ready to go to jail?” he asked.

She laughed, the palpable tension ebbing. “As long as you don’t leave me there. I’ve
heard there’s no bubble baths.”

Her face instantly heated.
Damn. Sending the wrong message here.
She cleared her throat, ready to change the subject. “We’re stopping by church first,
right? I want to check on a few files. And Dad thinks Charlie has Su Lin’s parents’
phone number. If he doesn’t, I’ll see if I can find any files on Su Lin.”

“That’s the plan. I’m yours for the day.”

God.
He really needed to stop with the insinuations. Was he trying to ruffle her? If so,
it was working. Hot and bothered didn’t even begin to describe her mood since he’d
walked in.

He lifted a paper bag. “For Ben. Protein drinks. I use them all the time after my
workouts. They don’t taste as bad as the ones the hospital serves.”

The spicy scent of his aftershave made her want to lean closer and take a deep breath.
Giving herself a mental kick, she said, “Thanks. Why don’t you bring them in? He’d
love to see you.” She’d invited him in for her dad’s sake.
Yeah, sure.

“I have an idea I want to run by Ben, too.” He smiled. “Then you and I will get to
work.”

Heat crept up her neck at his warm, firm touch. Just because his words made her mind
jump to a double entendre didn’t mean he’d meant it that way. She slipped out from
under his hand and led the way into the kitchen.

Her father glanced up from his paperwork to look at Logan then to her. The corners
of his mouth lifted into a smile.

“I brought protein drinks.” Logan laid the bag on the table and shook hands with her
dad, careful of his injuries. “That, and an offer. I want to hire a bodyguard for
you. This seems like more than a robbery attempt, and—”

“No bodyguard needed.” Her father held up a hand, leaned back in his chair, and studied
Logan. “I already have Margie and Keely taking turns babysitting me. I sent Margie
home for a nap an hour ago, but she’ll be back as soon as Keely leaves. Dave insisted
on taking a turn, too.” He squinted. “I don’t know why you’re all so worried. Probably
just kids looking for cash. I’ll be more careful in the future, look around before
I open my door.”

“This neighborhood’s getting tough, Ben, and so are the kids.”

“Have a little faith. You turned out pretty good for a punk.”

Logan chuckled, then his expression turned serious. “The police force is stretched
so thin right now they can only focus on major crimes. Until we find who did this
to you, I think you need to be proactive. I have a friend, Beatrice. She’s great.
She’s a cop and moonlights as a bodyguard all the time.” He leaned closer to her dad.
“She needs the money, Ben, and she’s too proud to take handouts. I want to pay for
this.”

Warmth flooded Keely’s system at Logan’s respectful approach to her father. Her dad
wouldn’t be able to refuse if it meant helping someone. With a shake of her head,
she cleared the emotions and pushed them away.

Her dad sighed. “I appreciate it, Logan, really I do. But I don’t want to change my
lifestyle because of one robbery.”

Logan frowned but didn’t argue. “If you change your mind, the offer is open.” He faced
Keely. “You ready?”

She nodded, and warmth pulsed through her. Her dad was fine, and he had friends to
look after him. And Logan was back in her life.

Until his next disappearing act.

But at least for now, all was good.

“Keely…wait,” her dad said. “Logan, she’ll catch up with you at the front door.”

Logan lifted a brow, but turned and left the room.

Her dad waited a few seconds, then his expression went serious. “Keely, we need to
talk about Logan. There’s something I should have told you a long time ago.” He broke
eye contact with her.