Hiding His Holiday Witness by Laura Scott

Author:Laura Scott
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-08-09T20:17:38+00:00

ELEVEN

As she stared at Leon’s picture, memories cascaded over her. Running from the safe house, pausing near the church, then seeing Leon standing there, wearing all black, gun in hand as he searched for her.

Her stepbrother, a boy she’d watched grow into a man, someone she’d helped care for while growing up, had tried to kill her.

More memories flashed in her mind. Leon working as a cop and part-time as a security guard at Gifford Furniture. Taking weekend shifts when he wasn’t working as a cop. At the time, she’d thought it was nice of him to help out on his days off.

Only it hadn’t been nice of him. No, Leon was involved in the gunrunning; he must have been assigned to work certain days the shipments were coming in. The way he’d chased her from the safe house proved it.

The realization sat like an elephant on her chest, making it impossible to breathe.

Her mother would be crushed to learn of Leon’s involvement in this. Her mother had married George Lowry when Robyn had been about seven years old, and George had two boys, Leon and Joey, who were six and four, respectively. Their blended family had gotten along fairly well, as good as could be expected, and George had formally adopted Robyn.

Why would Leon become involved in this? He was a cop, had dedicated his life to upholding the law.

As had Ted Michaels, she realized grimly.

“Are you okay?” Slade’s deep voice penetrated the kaleidoscope of memories.

“No,” she admitted honestly. “Leon and I grew up together. I helped care for him and Joey, babysitting when our parents went out. I don’t understand how he could turn his back on his career and on me.” She lifted her tortured gaze to Slade’s. “This is going to wreck my mother.”

Which, now that she thought about it, might be why she’d self-consciously suppressed the painful memories. Falling down the stairs had caused her mind to go blank, and there was a part of her, deep down, that preferred not knowing the truth.

Ridiculous, as she clearly needed to help put Leon and Gifford behind bars.

“I’m sorry,” Slade murmured, putting his arm around her shoulders. “I’m sure that was a shock to discover your stepbrother is involved.”

“Yes.” Tears pricked her eyes. “It’s so surreal. I never would have thought Leon would do something like this.”

On the heels of that thought, another hit hard. The day she caught Leon taking money out of her mom’s purse. He’d been sixteen and at the time she’d figured he needed gas money, but when her mother was upset about the missing money, Leon had never come forward, admitting he’d taken it.

She’d covered for him, even back then.

But she couldn’t cover for him now.

Was it possible taking money from her mother had been a sign of something deeper? Some strange sense of entitlement?

She wanted to give Leon the benefit of the doubt, after the way he and Joey had lost their mother so young. A few months after their mother had died, George had met her mother.

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