“Bella!” Samantha raced to her sister and grabbed her in a bear hug. “I thought you were dead.”
Isabella wrapped her arms around Sam. “Yeah, well…I wasn’t home.”
“Where have you been?” Samantha pulled away and framed Isabella’s face with her hand. “I called. You didn’t answer.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Tears streamed down Isabella’s face.
Samantha pulled her back into a hug. The two sisters stood embracing each other, sobs racking their bodies.
Liam turned away, not wanting to intrude on their private moment.
If Samantha and Isabella Williams were standing in front of him, then who was dead inside their house?
The hair on his neck stood on end. He turned back to them, scanning the area. This had to be considered a targeted attack. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” Liam said, “but for the sake of your safety, we need to get you both out of here.”
EIGHT
Sam reluctantly let go of her sister. So many emotions bombarded her as adrenaline flowed through her system. Bella was safe.
She opened the SUV door. Bella climbed in, and Sam followed her. Once they were buckled, Sam pulled Bella to her and wrapped her arms around her. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” her sister whispered back.
Deputy Marshal Roberts climbed into the driver’s seat and set the SUV in motion. His niece sat in the passenger seat up front, staring out the window. She sniffed and wiped her face with her sleeve.
Sam reached up and patted the teen on the shoulder. “We’re all okay.”
“It’s okay, Sophia.” Deputy Marshal Roberts reached over and awkwardly patted the girl’s forearm.
“I know.” She pulled her arm away.
The poor man was way out of his league. Sophia didn’t need a pat—she needed a hug. It was a lot for someone her age to take in.
Sam squeezed Bella tighter. Thankfully, they were both alive and unharmed. As much as she wanted to be angry about Bella sneaking out, today, at least, she was glad the teen had been disobedient. Who knew what would have happened if Bella had been home? There could so easily have been a second body added to the scene.
Sam wouldn’t go there. It hadn’t happened, so there was no use in dwelling on it. She needed to focus on what they were going to do now. Everything they owned had just gone up in flames. They only had the clothes on their backs.
She knew what needed to be done immediately—contacting the landlord’s guy, Danny, and making a claim on her renter’s insurance—but what did this mean for them and WITSEC?
“Deputy Marshal Roberts?” She looked at the stoic man in the driver’s seat, finding herself oddly reassured by the steady presence. Not that she’d ever been the kind of woman who needed a man around so she could feel safe. It wasn’t like that with marshals anyway.
He glanced at her in the rearview mirror, those blue eyes warm. “You can call me Liam.”
“Liam, you wanna tell me where we’re going?”
“To the Marshals’ office to figure everything out.”
She nodded, then laid her head on top of Bella’s and closed her eyes. Then realized she’d left the scene without speaking to anyone. She needed to let Lieutenant Fischer know she’d taken off, so he wouldn’t worry about her.
She sat up straight. “Does the Captain know it’s not Bella in the house?”
Liam nodded. “I spoke with him before I found you.”
She pulled her phone from her duty pants and sent a text to the group chat, letting them know she and Bella were okay and that she’d be in touch.
Liam pulled the SUV into the courthouse parking lot and around to the back. Without a word, he led the way through a private entrance and up to the US Marshals’ office.
“Samantha and Isabella, have a seat in here.” Liam opened the door to an empty conference room. “Sophia, with me.”
