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“Brilliant!” Rosie took them to a round table with five place settings. Then she whirled away to deliver the apple turnovers to another table.
“I want what they’re having.” Steele followed Rosie with his gaze. “Smells delicious.”
“I can’t believe she recognized me.” Elly looked bemused as she dropped into the seat between him and Steele.
“The Finnegans share a lot of family traits,” Joe pointed out.
Rosie returned with coffee and mugs. Before she could say anything, Steele said, “I’d love one of your apple turnovers.”
“Ach, yes, of course ya will, lad! I’ll bring them straight over.” Rosie bustled away.
“I haven’t been a lad for a long time, but I’m not complaining,” Steele joked. “That woman can call me anything she likes.”
Joe leaned forward. “We need to understand how we were tracked to the rental.”
All hint of humor faded from Steele’s gaze. “I know. That was too close for comfort.”
Rosie returned with a tray full of pastries. Despite their having eaten breakfast earlier, Joe offered the tray to Elly, then took one for himself before passing it down to Steele.
“You mentioned this guy is either a cop or military, right?” Elly took a small bite of the apple turnover. “Hmm. Very good.”
Joe had to admit Rosie could bake. “Yes, but if he was terminated, how is he getting his intel? That’s the part that doesn’t make sense.”
“We got rid of our phones.” Elly frowned. “But what about you, Steele? Could he have tracked you somehow?”
“Maybe.” Steele took another bite of his turnover before answering. “But how would he know I’m even involved?”
Joe’s stomach knotted. “Maybe because he’s been watching us longer than we know. Or he recognized you.”
“Or he knows Rhy and the members of the tactical team,” Elly added. “You may have been mentioned during one of the many times the sibs have been in danger.”
There was a long silence as Joe and Steele exchanged grim looks. “Okay, we can get rid of Steele’s phone,” he said. “But there must be other precautions we can take.”
“A motel that takes only cash is our only option,” Steele said. “We can’t leave any sort of paper trail.”
“I need to get in touch with Tarin. He had access to a safe house a while back that would be perfect for Elly.” He popped the last bit of apple turnover into his mouth, then took a sip of coffee. “I’ll get his number from Quinn.”
“I know it,” Elly said. He glanced at her in surprise when she rattled it off.
He punched the digits into his phone. Tarin didn’t pick up, so he left a message about Elly needing a safe house along with his number.
“There you are,” Quinn said.
He pushed the phone back into his pocket and turned to find Quinn and Sami making their way through the crowded diner.
“Hi, Quinn. Sami.” Elly stood and enveloped her brother and sister-in-law in a hug. “It’s nice to see you.”
Quinn scowled at the empty plate of turnovers. “You chowhounds ate them all?”
“Rosie will bring more.” Steele grinned. “I hear you Finnegans stab each other with forks to fight over food.”
“That was Colin and Aiden.” Quinn narrowed his gaze. “But don’t push me, Delaney. I’ll stab you if you touch my turnover.”
“Can we please get back to the issue of keeping Elly safe?” Joe was irritated with the banter. “Quinn, I left Tarin a message about using the safe house. We’ve been found four times in two days.”
“That’s not good,” Sami said. “How are you being tracked?”
“I’m not sure.” And that was the most frustrating part of all. “We think he’s a cop and maybe knows the tactical team is involved in keeping Elly safe.”
