He understood how she felt. Being talked about was frustrating, especially when what was being said wasn’t true. But the teen had to learn to control her temper and her mouth. If she stuck it out with him, he could repay his sister for taking the blame for him, and ensure Sophia had a chance to thrive.
“Soph, if your friend was vaping, it’s okay to let her take the fall. You don’t have to go down with her. It’s putting you on a slippery path.”
“I already know all of this. You’ve given this lecture before.” She crossed her arms over her chest and looked out the window. “I’m not gonna wind up in jail because I had to pee.”
“What were you doing in that neighborhood?” He’d revisit the vaping later.
“My friend lives over there. She wanted to show me around, so we went walking.”
“Who’s your friend?”
The phone rang before she could answer. Thomas Mahar’s name flashed on the screen on the dash. Liam had known Tom for years. When Liam’s sister was arrested, Tom was the person Liam had gone to first. Tom had helped him navigate the transition from uncle whose niece was staying with him to guardian of said niece.
Tom had called him this morning to pray over him before starting the new job. He was probably calling to see how the day had gone. Liam pushed the button on the steering wheel.
“Hello, you’re on speakerphone,” he warned. Not that Tom would say anything that Sophia shouldn’t hear.
“Hey, Sophia. How’s it going?” Tom and his wife, Beth, had become close to Sophia since Liam had been awarded guardianship. Part of that was because Sophia had been a frequent guest at their house while Liam was on fugitive apprehension, working his last few weeks while waiting for the transfer to Renegade.
“It’s okay.” She turned to stare out the window.
“It has been an eventful day.” Liam clicked the turn signal and directed the vehicle onto their road.
“That’s why I called. Making sure you didn’t die of boredom going from an adrenaline junkie to desk jockey.” Tom chuckled.
“Nope, still kicking.” Thank God Albright and the fugitive were still kicking too. “Look, we’re about to pull into the house, and I need to figure out dinner. Can I call you back in a bit?” He also wanted to talk to Sophia some more.
“Yeah, no problem.”
“Okay, talk to you later.” He hit the button on the steering wheel to disconnect the call.
He’d barely stopped the SUV in the driveway before Sophia was out and racing to the front door.
Maybe more talking wasn’t on the menu for tonight.
Nothing about their new life in Renegade made sense. He was in over his head parenting a teenager. Tom’s call reminded him to give it to God and lean on Him. God was working everything out to their good.
Liam closed his eyes and sent up a prayer, handing it all over to the One who saw how this ended.
FIVE
Sam pulled the pencil from her mouth and marked the number of boxes of nitrile gloves in the supply closet. They’d need to order two more boxes of extra large, three boxes of large, and one box of medium. She set the clipboard and pencil on the shelf and moved on to inventory the gauze.
Anything to keep her mind off Bella and yesterday. Or the handsome marshal who’d shown up at their house. She shook her head, pushing his face from her memory. There was no room for a man in her life, especially the man who was in charge of her safety.
The story about the vaping was plausible, but was it the truth?
Sam had no reason to doubt Bella, but what if she was lying? Their lives depended on both of them minding their p’s and q’s. All it took was one small mistake, and the perfectly crafted life the US Marshals had created for them would crumble. Was she overthinking? Would a simple issue at school snowball into DeLuca finding them? She couldn’t be sure. She’d never thought going to work for a sick man would end with her in WITSEC.
“Williams.” Greer’s voice out of nowhere startled her.
Sam’s hands slipped, and the boxes of gauze rained down on her feet. She sighed as she squatted to clean up the mess she’d made. “Where did you come from?”
“Well, when a man loves a woman and they get married?—”
She reached out and grabbed his pant leg, making sure she grabbed leg hair, and gave a quick pull.
“Ouch.” He jumped back.
