Was Sam referring to the decisions that had led to her going into WITSEC? Or had there been more boyfriends?
“Can you clarify that for me?” He tried not to sound personally interested in the answer. Just professionally. “Are you saying you have some ex-boyfriends that could potentially be a problem?”
“No. I was talking about Matt Marino.”
Liam filed that one away. “Do either of you have a reason to suspect that your covers have been blown?”
Samantha looked at Isabella. “I have no reason to believe that. Bella?”
The teen shook her head. “I promise, the only thing I’ve done that’s against the rules is the fire alarm and sneaking out.”
“What happens now?” Samantha asked him.
“Right now, there’s no proof that this incident is in any way related to your past. Apparently, there’s an arsonist running around in Renegade. This could be as simple as the arsonist making a mistake and paying dearly for it.”
Still, if he was going to do his due diligence with this, Liam would need to do a deep dive into the DeLuca case to see where those pivotal players were these days.
Sam sighed. “The Arson Investigation Unit will know more once the body in the house is identified.”
Liam nodded. “I’m leaning toward this being an isolated incident and not related to your case. I don’t want to risk blowing your covers or moving you until we have proof otherwise. So for now, it’s just an unfortunate occurrence.”
“An unfortunate occurrence,” Sam deadpanned.
Liam’s face heated. “I’m sorry. That was a poor choice of words.”
“I understand what you mean.” She smiled weakly. “I’m assuming since we’re playing that angle, it will be up to me to handle our living arrangements and property loss.”
“I can help you as much as possible in an unofficial capacity.” Unfortunately, no US Marshals services or funds could be used.
Hopefully, the investigation wouldn’t reveal a targeted attack. Or, for their sakes, a personal one.
Sam stood and rubbed her hands on her turnout pants. “Can you take us to the station, or do I need to figure that out on my own as well?”
He grimaced. “I said the Marshals wouldn’t help right now, but I can still do a few things. I can take you to the station. And if you’d like, I know a church that has a donation closet that can help you and Isabella with some clothes and toiletries for now.”
It wasn’t much, but every little bit helped.
Sam’s face pinched.
“It’s Orange Street Church, isn’t it?” Isabella piped up.
“It is,” he answered.
“I’ve been there a couple of times. The people are really nice.” She smiled.
Sam’s brow was still furrowed, but she nodded. “We’d appreciate it if you could connect us with the church.”
She didn’t really seem all that appreciative—more like reluctant. Did she have an issue with that particular church or just church in general? If so, maybe this would be a step in the right direction.
“Let me grab Sophia, and we can be on our way.” He turned and looked at Isabella. “Just because she’s my niece doesn’t mean she knows anything about how the three of us are connected. My job is strictly confidential. I haven’t told her anything. I expect you to keep it the same, okay?”
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Sophia. He honestly didn’t think she would do anything to purposely put her friend in that kind of danger. But he’d seen it happen before. In his line of work, a simple slip of the tongue could have deadly consequences.
Bella nodded solemnly. “Yes, sir.”
As soon as they were in his vehicle, Sam pulled out her phone and started messing around on it. He assumed she was trying to locate a place to stay. Heaviness filled his stomach.
The teenagers whispered quietly in the back seat. Liam wanted to call the church, but his phone was connected to Bluetooth, and he didn’t want to have the conversation broadcast on speaker phone. Especially when he’d decided he would donate a little bit of extra funds to help the closet with the monumental task it was about to undertake.
