having kids, he was the only single guy left. A fact his family never let him forget. “Knock it off. I was keeping an eye on a suspect’s house when I witnessed an attempt to kill a woman and her child. I was able to prevent that from happening and am now keeping her safe.”
“Did you report it?” Miles asked.
“I’m reporting it to you right now. Because I trust you, Miles.” And he didn’t trust all of the cops on the force. “Unfortunately the car involved in the drive-by shooting took off and I didn’t get a plate number. There may be shells or bullet fragments on the scene, so you need to send a few uniforms over to Duncan O’Hare’s house to check it out.”
“O’Hare?” Miles voice rose sharply. “The son of the police chief? That O’Hare?”
“Yeah. And his daughter, Shayla, was the intended victim.”
Miles whistled. “This has to go straight to the top, Mike.”
Exactly what he was trying to avoid. “You do what you need to do. But I’m working the case my way, and there’s a guy I need to talk to. Peter Fresno. He’s an MPD cop working out of the fifth district. I need his contact information, address and phone number.”
There was a long silence on the other end of the line. Mike knew he was asking a lot and if Miles couldn’t, or wouldn’t, help him, he wasn’t so sure Matt or Noah would, either.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Miles finally said. “You think Duncan’s partner is responsible for the shooting?”
“No, I don’t. But he may have information that can help.”
“You’re skating on the edge here, bro. You used to date Shayla, didn’t you? Are you sure you’re not letting your emotions cloud your judgment?”
Maybe, he silently admitted. Shayla and Brodie were the true innocents in this mess. “Look, two days ago I witnessed a meeting between Duncan O’Hare and the alleged leader of the Dark Knights, Lane Walters. I’m telling you, O’Hare has crossed over to the dark side.”
“The chief’s son? A dirty cop? Seriously? You better have hard-core proof to back up an allegation like that.”
“Exactly. Which is why I need your help.” Mike paused and then added, “I’ve never asked you for this kind of favor before, Miles. You know how much I prefer to work alone. This is critical or I wouldn’t ask now.”
Miles let out a heavy sigh. “Okay, okay. I’ll call you back in a few.” Miles clicked off and Mike stared down at his phone once again.
The case was important but his thoughts kept returning to Shayla, the woman he’d once loved, and her son.
For a brief moment he’d thought the boy was his, but the math didn’t add up. Four years ago, the night he’d left the academy and his father had practically disowned him, he’d turned his back on his faith and his family, seeking solace in Shayla’s arms.
They’d been seeing each other for six months by then and, knowing they’d gone too far, Mike hadn’t hesitated in asking her to marry him. He’d been ecstatic when she’d agreed. They’d secretly made plans to go to the courthouse, but a week later his father was murdered. Ian O’Hare had instantly been appointed interim and then permanent chief of police.
From that moment on, especially after he’d heard Duncan and Ian talking about secretly supporting the Dark Knights, Mike had become obsessed with learning the truth.
An obsession that had torn him and Shayla apart.
But there was no sense in rehashing the past. Keeping Shayla safe was his priority. Hearing that she wasn’t running from the boy’s father had been slightly reassuring. But he still thought it was strange that the guy had let her drive from Nashville to Milwaukee alone, especially knowing that her father was sick in the hospital. Shouldn’t he be here, supporting her?
Unless the guy was already out of the picture? Divorce or death... He winced and inwardly shrugged. As Shayla pointed out, her personal life was none of his business.
He rose and crossed the room to listen intently at the connecting door. There was nothing unusual past the muted sounds of the television.
He was about to step over the threshold to question her more about Brodie’s father when his phone buzzed and Hawk’s name popped up on the screen.
“What did you find out?” Mike asked.
“Not much. Apparently, Duncan’s been off work for a couple of days.”
That made sense based on his father’s upcoming surgery. “Anything else?”
“No squawking about illegal activity, if that’s what you mean. But we wouldn’t hear even if there was a hint of scandal. Cops don’t like to advertise when one of their own might be dirty.”
“True, especially not the police chief’s son.” The task he faced suddenly seemed insurmountable. He did his best to shake off the impending sense of doom. “Hawk, would you do something else for me?”
The PI heaved a loud sigh. “Now what?”
“Dig into the background of a woman named Shayla O’Hare and a four-or five-year-old boy named Brodie.”
“The sister? Why?”
“She’s in danger and claims she doesn’t know why. Denies she’s running from the boy’s father, but I need to know what I’m dealing with.”
“Why not?” Hawk once again abruptly disconnected. The guy didn’t like to use words like hello or goodbye, but Mike was used to it.
His phone rang again. This time it was Miles. “That was fast,” Mike said.
“Yeah, well it’s my turn to put Adam to bed so I have to make this quick. I was able to get Pete’s address and a cell number.” Miles rattled off the information as Mike scribbled it down on the motel notepad with a stubby pencil.
“How is Adam? Sleeping through the night?”
“Most of the time, but he’s teething again so it’s a toss-up whether or not he will this week.” Pride was evident in his brother’s tone. Miles and his wife, Paige, had two kids—Abby, who was seven, and Adam, who’d just turned one. Rumor had it that Miles and Paige were trying for baby number three, which was unfathomable.
Just because Mike and his siblings came from a family of six kids didn’t mean they each needed to have the same number of children. But try telling his brothers and sister that. It seemed the Callahans were determined to populate the city.
Except for him. After his relationship with Shayla had disintegrated beyond repair, he’d focused on nothing more than finding the man responsible for his father’s murder.
Besides, he wasn’t interested in opening himself up to being hurt like that again. Not after the way Shayla had shattered his heart.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Miles continued, breaking into his thoughts. “The cops were already out at Duncan’s place, someone reported the sound of gunfire. But they haven’t found much.”
“Not
