Paradise’s amber eyes flashed, and she rose to pace her small living room with the black kitten in her arms. “And for him to behere, he has to have some plan. Why would he sabotage the gate? It doesn’t seem like it can only be about me. I’m not a predator keeper but a vet. It would have been a fluke for me to have gone into that pen. So what is going on?”
“Maybe he hired Ivy. Karen Cook said it was someone from your past who was curious what you were up to.” Had Adams wanted to eliminate the possibility of Ivy telling anyone he’d hired her? But what could make murder a viable option to silence her about such a small thing? It wasn’t against the law to gather information about someone.
Blake kept his thoughts to himself. The worry line between Paradise’s brows told him she didn’t need more on her plate.Adams being around was a danger Blake didn’t like, but he couldn’t change the situation.
He struggled to control his desire to protect her. She’d made it clear she wanted—and needed—to stand and face the dangers on her own. Failing her was his biggest fear, but it was his problem, not hers. She didn’t need to deal with that as well as the real danger Adams presented.
Just how dangerous was the man? If Hez hadn’t just been conked on the head, Blake would’ve talked to him about it.
Paradise held Merlin to her chest, and the black furball began to purr loudly enough for Blake to hear. Paradise settled back on the sofa beside him. The tight line of her back softened and she sighed. “I wish we could let Jane know about this. Calling Greene won’t do much good, but we have to give him the evidence. Maybe he’ll arrest Adams.”
“We can tell Jane about him first. I’ll make a copy of this video and email it to her before we tell Greene. He’ll whisk these SD cards away and we might never see them again. Mason won’t be happy to have them tied up in evidence.”
“We could make copies for him, put them all on a big hard drive maybe. I have one here. Let me find it.” She rose and went down the hall.
If only Greene was someone they could trust to really pursue this lead to find the truth. He would likely toss the videos in a box and never look at them again.
Paradise returned with a hard drive. “It’s empty. Let’s download all of the SD cards onto it, and we can give it to Mason while he’s waiting for his original SD cards to make their way back to him.”
One by one Blake downloaded the box of SD cards onto the drive before uploading them onto his computer and the cloud.“We’ll watch all of them eventually.” He ejected the last one and dropped it into the box. “I’d better call Greene.” Her scent enticed him, and he leaned in to brush his lips across hers. “I needed a little fortification first.”
“It might not be enough. Let’s try one more time.” She caressed his cheek with her hand and leaned in for a more tender kiss. “I’ll admit that seeing Adams’s face again after all these years scares me. I’m glad we’ve got lots of locks on this place.”
The fact she admitted it made his gut twist. She never liked to show fear. “It disturbs me more than a little. I wish you’d come home with me tonight. The boys would be overjoyed.”
She hesitated before shaking her head. “I’m not fifteen anymore. And I’m armed now—not just with a gun and a tranq pistol but with knowledge and confidence. He won’t push me around. And he may not even be in town. He could have come to town, killed Ivy, then headed out for parts unknown.”
Overconfidence could be fatal. “Or he could still be here. He’s six-two and two hundred pounds, babe. If he comes around, don’t let him come close.”
Her gaze went far away. “I wonder if his wife is still with him.”
“I heard she left him after his behavior came out.”
They didn’t have kids. To the community, they presented the image of a model couple who cared about hurting kids. Until the man showed his true character—a monster hiding behind a pious mask.
She touched his chin. “Your face is getting red. You can’t fix everything evil in the world, Blake. All that weight doesn’t rest on your shoulders.”
He forced a smile. “I have to remind myself of that a lot. I know I’m not God, but I hate injustice. I want to fix things, but I’m more apt to make them worse the way I did with your situation.”
“It was the system. In a perfect world I wouldn’t have had to take the punishment for his aberrations. I should have had the weight of law on my side, but CPS wanted to hide it all under the rug. They didn’t want me to talk about it, and when I refused to shut up, they wanted me out of town. It wasn’t your fault.”
He smiled. “That’s a big change—you blamed me when you came back to town.”
She cupped his face in her palm. “I’m sorry about that now. I was hurt and angry, still looking for someone to blame. You helped me see we can’t change other people or prevent bad things from happening, but we can choose how we react and shoulder the blame that’s pointing our way. It’s easier to play the victim, and that’s what I did for years. I held my anger and pain like a shield when it was really a prison. I’m glad God set me free from that.”
She released his face, then reached for his phone and handed it to him. “It’s already eight. If you delay calling Greene any longer, we’ll be too tired to work tomorrow by the time he’s done with us.”
Blake grimaced and took the phone from her. “I know his number by heart, and that’s a sad commentary on how life has been lately. I want to send the video to Jane first in case Greene comes in here throwing his weight around.” He opened an email and attached the link to the online video before sending it to Jane. “I’ll call Greene. Wish me luck.”
“He can only yell. His words or actions won’t break us or change anything.” Her gaze softened. “Why does he hate you so much?”
“I think maybe he’s jealous.” He wrapped one of her curls around his finger. “If you looked at him the way you look at me, I’d be jealous.”
“He’s married and shouldn’t be hitting on other women. I wonder if his wife knows.”
The way her expression hardened alarmed him. “Don’t make any calls to her. The last thing we need is for him to become deranged and come gunning for you. I can handle him.”
He dialed Greene’s number. “Pray for me.”
