like that are always bad.” The detective’s gray eyes on Liam were steely but concerned. “You don’t want to learn you’ve made things worse when you’re in the middle of chasing someone and you find you can’t pull yourself over a fence.”
Liam put his hands up in mock surrender. “Fine.”
“What injury?” Elisabeth asked.
“Shoulder wound. Afghanistan,” Liam said. It was bad enough his injury had worried his dad. Now even Detective Carter was interrupting taking their statements to worry about him. Liam couldn’t have that.
Elisabeth studied his face for a moment, and surprisingly she seemed to understand his reluctance to draw attention to his shoulder. She turned back to Detective Carter. “I tried to see the license plate but didn’t have a good enough angle.”
“I only saw a partial as they got away,” Liam said. “Three-T-something.”
Detective Carter noted it down in his notebook.
She explained the rest of what happened. Liam winced again when she mentioned how the man had told his boss that she was talking to Liam.
Detective Carter’s expression was alert. “They only got your last name?”
“But I’m on the shelter website. Full name, photograph and my professional contact info. The men only needed to use a smartphone to check the website to find me.”
“And you have no idea who they were and why they wanted Joslyn?” Detective Carter asked.
“Four cars seems excessive for an angry ex-boyfriend who wants her back,” Liam said.
“She never mentioned anything about her ex,” Elisabeth said. “She was scared and penniless. Luckily she didn’t need medical attention when she arrived. She left as soon as she could.”
“That seems unusual,” the detective said.
“It is. Most women are relieved to find somewhere safe. They’re not yet thinking about the future. Joslyn was grateful to the shelter, but she was still anxious to move on. She took off early one morning and no one saw her leave.”
“Ms. Aday, you’re in danger if they think you know where Joslyn is,” Detective Carter said.
“They don’t know for sure that she’s not at the shelter,” Elisabeth pointed out.
“I don’t know how long that’ll keep them from trying to find you,” Liam said. He saw the shiver that passed over her.
“I’ll post an officer here to make sure the shelter’s safe from any other attacks,” the detective said. “But I’m afraid we’re stretched pretty thin. Unless you’re directly threatened, I don’t believe I can get authorization for a protective detail on either of you.”
Elisabeth said, “Don’t worry, I can take care of myself,” at the same time that Liam said, “I’ll be fine.”
“I know you’re both pretty competent, but just be careful.” He nodded to them and went to talk to one of the other officers nearby.
“You need some type of protection,” Liam blurted out. “Let me help you. It’s my fault they’re after you now. I led them here.”
She blinked in surprise, and he thought he saw a hint of warmth in her hazel eyes at his concern for her. But then she lifted her chin. “I’m a licensed private investigator with advanced tactical and defensive handgun training. I think I’ll be okay.”
He was impressed. Still... “No one can be completely safe on their own. Personally, I know I wouldn’t stand a chance against eight men. The two of us could help each other out.”
Again, she blinked at him. Now she looked wary. “Help each other to do what?”
“Figure out who those men are, and why they want Joslyn so badly.” Liam looked deep into her eyes, wanting her to understand how sincere he was. “Let me help you.”
* * *
Those dark blue eyes were almost hypnotic.
Elisabeth couldn’t look away from Liam. Finally, she had to close her eyes and turn her head away.
He wanted to protect her. It had been so long, she’d forgotten what it was like to rely on someone else, to not have to always stand on her own two feet.
But trusting someone wasn’t who she was anymore. She’d had to learn that lesson the hard way—she wasn’t about to open herself up to that again.
Still, she had to admit she was touched by the deferential way he spoke to her, as if he really respected her abilities and wasn’t just placating her. Most of the men she encountered—the ones who had betrayed her and the abusers who came to the shelter in search of their victims—were condescending in the way they treated women. It surprised her to find one who wasn’t.
And really, who was she kidding? What chance did she have against eight armed men? She might be stubborn, but she wasn’t stupid.
She kept her expression cool, calculating. “What did you have in mind? I’m not much into someone shadowing my every step.”
He smiled and it transformed him, softened his wide jaw, making his eyes gleam. “I promise I’m house-trained.”
“Good, because I just got a new apartment here in Sonoma.” A muscle in her neck spasmed. She hadn’t meant to share that. There was something about Liam, some aura of safety he emitted that enveloped her, too, and made her let down her guard. She couldn’t afford to do that.
Liam looked at the people milling around, and with a gentle hand on her elbow, guided her down the long driveway.
“For starters, let’s see if we can reconstruct what happened with Joslyn. How did she find the shelter?”
“I have a few contacts in Los Angeles, some churches and shelters. They refer women to this shelter if they have an especially vindictive or persistent abuser.”
“You have no idea where Joslyn might have gone from here?”
Elisabeth chewed her lip. Was Liam truly trustworthy? But she trusted Detective Carter—she’d seen him handle some of the men who had found their victims at the shelter, and the other volunteers had always spoken highly of him. From his manner with Liam, Detective Carter obviously had respect for him. “I’m not sure,” Elisabeth said slowly, “but when I was coaching her, I mentioned Oregon once as an option, and she seemed interested.”
“Oregon’s a big state.”
“I also taught her how to hide, and it might not be safe for us to even try to find her. I don’t want to lead these men straight to her. If it comes down to it, I won’t risk Joslyn’s safety. I’d rather work on this end and try to find out who they are and why they’re after her.”
“Joslyn didn’t say anything about who she was running from?”
“No.” Elisabeth thought back to her short few days with Joslyn. “She had
