“That’s not what you’re suggesting. What you said was to take some time off and stay in the house.”
She stood and started to pace.
“I didn’t say stay in the house.”
“You alluded to it.”
Carter stepped behind her and caught her shoulders. She twisted out of his reach. “You’re a smart woman. I know you can see my logic.”
She turned to glare at him with her hands perched on her hips in defiance. “I see your logic, I simply don’t agree with it. I’m going to live my life. And for the record, being condescending isn’t going to go far with me.”
“Dammit, Eliza. I can’t let anything happen to you,” he barked.
His outburst shocked her silent. His request stemmed from fear. The panic sitting behind his eyes wasn’t something she’d seen before, and she wasn’t sure if it made her feel better knowing he cared, or frightened because he looked so scared.
He stepped into her personal space and grasped her face with the palms of his hands. “I won’t let anything happen to you.” His voice dropped into a rough whisper.
“One week. I’ll have Gwen meet me here for now, but I can’t be held prisoner, Carter.”
“I know. We’ll work something out.” He kissed her then as if sealing his words with a promise.
****
As it turned out, staying in Carter’s home wasn’t a chore. Gwen spent nearly as much time in Eliza’s new home as she did in Tarzana. It helped that Eliza’s attention shifted to the nonstop flow of letters that arrived daily from all over the states. There were a slew of people searching for loved ones who had testified against someone and then disappeared. The lack of closure for these families was heart breaking. Some didn’t know if their loved ones were alive and safe, or had met with foul play.
Each story tugged at Eliza’s heart and demanded an answer.
“There is a serious flaw in the system,” Eliza told Gwen one afternoon. “My parents were on their own, my grandparents were gone shortly after I was born. But these people… They left mothers and fathers, aunts, uncles. I can’t imagine not knowing.”
“Surely there is something in place to aid these families.”
“If there is I don’t know about it.” Eliza stacked the letters into categories—one pile, parents searching for their children who knew they were placed in a witness program, another for friends who didn’t know why or where a friend had disappeared. There was even a pile of letters from family members of criminals suggesting that the witness in their particular case no longer needed to hide because the criminal had died or was otherwise no longer a threat.
“What about the peace officer friend of yours. Can he help?”
“You mean Dean?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know. He was always there for me, but I don’t remember him talking about extended family of witnesses.”
“It can’t hurt to ask what he knows or to see if he can assist you in some way.”
Eliza sat back in her chair. “Assist me, how? I don’t know what to do with all this. These stories might make for a great novel, but I don’t know how I can help.”
“Oh, I’m certain you’ll think of something. It’s what those of us with money do when we don’t need to work to earn it.” Gwen tossed a lock of hair behind her back with a smile.
“I’m not that girl. I still need to earn a living.”
Gwen laughed and then covered her smiling lips with a hand. “I’m sorry.”
“What’s so funny?”
“Eliza, dear, you are that woman. You’re married to arguably the most influential man in this province…er, state, and you no longer need to concern yourself with making a buck.”
Eliza didn’t want to admit Gwen was right. “You understand more than most that Carter and I married for reasons beyond love and forever. There’s no guarantee we’ll last.”
“You worry too much.”
“I have to be able to take care of myself. No one knows better than I that guarantees in life are nonexistent.”
“Poppycock. Carter cares for you deeply, and you’ve nothing to worry about.”
“Poppycock? Did you just say poppycock?”
Gwen rolled her eyes. “Don’t make fun of my expressions. You know what I say is true.”
No, she didn’t. Eliza had no idea where Carter’s head was when it came to tomorrow. Sure, their immediate future was stable, but who knew what next month or next year would bring?
****
“Why the secrecy?” Carter sat opposite Blake in Blake’s office and crossed his ankle over his knee.
Blake lifted up a finger and picked up his phone. “I need you to hold my calls,” he told his secretary. He returned the receiver and focused his attention on Carter. “I think this office is the only place another set of eyes aren’t watching you.”
“Okay.” Obviously, what Blake was going to say was private.
“I met Sam’s dad last week…before the dinner.”
Carter held his breath. Although he and Blake had never discussed Harris Elliot, Carter knew of the man, of his past crimes. He also knew that Harris and Sanchez were housed in the same prison. Carter would never have asked Blake to contact the man on his behalf. It appeared he didn’t have to.
“Does Sam know?”
Blake nodded once. “I told her after I returned.”
“How did that go?”
“She was resolved with it. She’d do anything for Eliza.”
“Even connecting with her dad who screwed up her life?”
Blake sat back in his chair and laced his fingers together. “It’s strange how when things brighten in your life, it’s hard to blame others for theirs. It helped that Harris appeared truly sorry for the pain he’d put his daughters through.”
“I assume you want to tell me something more than a recap of a family meet and greet.”
“Right. I asked him to destroy all photos of Sam…of anything that could lead Sanchez to Eliza.”
Carter wanted to think that was all they would need. “Thank you.”
“It might not make a difference,” Blake voiced what Carter thought.
“Then again, it might.”
They sat in silence for a moment, neither voicing their concerns.
“What else can I do, Carter?”
“My father is checking on Sanchez. Trying to determine if he is still working his criminal ring from the inside. According to Dean, he did when he first went to prison, but it’s been a few years since any direct criminal activity pointed his way. My guess is there is nothing new to report or Dean would have said something. No news isn’t always a good thing.”