He stretched out on the sofa and closed his eyes.
He must have fallen asleep because a rough hand shook him awake what seemed like just five minutes later. Seeing Di’s furious face leaning over him, he blinked and quickly sat up. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“You researched me and my sister?” Di’s voice slashed like a knife.
“I—uh.” He ran his fingers though his hair and pushed himself to his feet. “Sorry, I was trying to figure out what happened to your family.”
“Why? What does my family have to do with the gunman trying to kill me?” Di crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him. “If you wanted to know about my past, you should have asked.”
“Would you have told me?” He allowed some of his own frustration to come through. “You only mentioned your sister in passing. I figured if I asked about your parents, you’d tell me it’s none of my business.”
“That’s because it is none of your business.” She turned away, and he got the impression she was hurt by what she saw as a betrayal, and she was angry. “My dad died when we were young. My mother worked two jobs to support us, then she met and married my stepfather. He died, and a short while later, I took off. I lived on the streets of New York for a couple of years. I noticed you found my old shoplifting record.”
There was no use in denying it. “I did.”
“I stole food.” She shrugged and paced the length of the room. “Michelle actually helped me a lot, sneaking me some money and food when she could. But the minute I was old enough to join the army, I enlisted. Thankfully, I kept up with my schoolwork, so I was able to graduate high school. I legally changed my name back to Milbrath prior to being sent off to basic training.”
Hearing she lived on the streets bothered him. He sensed there was more to that story about why she’d run away in the first place, but he wasn’t about to ask. She was upset with him enough as it was. “I’m sorry if I invaded your privacy.”
“I doubt that or you wouldn’t have pried into my past in the first place.” She swung around to face him. “Is there anything else you want to know? I never did drugs or sold myself on the streets to survive. I did, however, steal a lot of stuff. Turns out I was rather good at stealing. The shoplifting charge was early in my days of living on the streets. I got much better at stealing a little here and a little there over time.”
She didn’t sound at all remorseful for her actions, yet he still didn’t like knowing she was even put in that position of living on her own. “I’m sorry.”
“You should be.” She turned away. “I’m done talking. Let’s get back to work.”
He nodded, feeling as if he’d just been put through a dressing down from his police captain. As much as he felt bad about Di’s past and making her upset, he understood a little better now why she’d entered the army with a chip on her shoulder.
No doubt, there was a lot more to what she’d been through than she’d admitted to. And call him crazy, but he wanted to know everything. Too bad, he didn’t see her entrusting him with her fill story anytime soon.
If ever.
9
A mixture of anger and fear swirled in Di’s gut as she tried to move past the way Jarek had pried into her past. Maybe she shouldn’t have been surprised he’d checked into her family, but she was. If he’d have asked her outright, she would have told him as little as possible.
But now he knew some of what she’d done. Not the worst part, but he knew she’d been caught stealing. Maybe she should feel guilty about the money she’d taken from tourists, but those days seemed like a long time ago. At the time, she’d only done what was necessary. Then she’d buried that part of her life in the deep recesses of her mind.
Besides, it wasn’t like she could go back in time to repay what she’d taken. In her mind, serving her country in the army was part of her restitution. Now that she was a civilian again, she made sure to donate to the food pantry on a regular basis.
Was that enough? Probably not.
Whatever. Dwelling on the past wouldn’t change anything. She needed to move forward from here. Although doubts assailed her. Agreeing to team up with Jarek had seemed like a good idea at the time.
Now she thought again that maybe it was time for her to move on, alone. The only thing holding her back was knowing Jarek was in danger now too.
“I understand you did what was necessary to survive, Di,” Jarek said in a low voice. “I don’t blame you for what happened. We’ve all sinned in one way or another. Don’t forget the way God sent His only Son, Jesus, to save us and to forgive our sins.”
“I think we should head back to the warehouse.” She didn’t even try to be subtle about changing the subject. She knew enough about the Ten Commandments to know “thou shall not steal” was one of them. As was “thou shall not kill.” She’d broken two of the ten, probably others too. Forgiveness wasn’t likely forthcoming, so it was better to stay focused on staying alive. She gestured to the laptop. “I noticed you found another property that’s owned by the same LLC as the place we checked out earlier.”
“I did, yes.” He took a step forward. She avoided his gaze.
“Great. I think we should reach out to Ray Bond and see what he and his partner know about the properties. Could be the warehouse is already on their radar.”
“That’s fine with me.” Jarek was being unusually cooperative. “Whatever you think is best.”
It would have been best if he hadn’t dug into her personal life, but harping on it would only lead to more questions that she had no intention of answering.
Good thing she hadn’t given in to her urge to confess her biggest crime. Based on Jarek’s response to her shoplifting, that would have been a giant mistake.
