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Yep. That was exactly what he’d been thinking. When he didn’t immediately respond, Joe sighed loudly in his ear.
“I don’t know what Rhy’s planning,” Joe finally said. “He doesn’t brief me on everything.”
“Understood. Will you let us know if Perkins or Banner have any new leads?” He turned from the window to see Harper padding back to the kitchen. The blood had been cleaned from her toes, but even from here he could see the reddened and weeping blisters. “The abduction and shooting attempts must be related to Feldman.”
“I will. Anything else?” Joe asked.
“No, but thanks for the update. Later.” He ended the call, slightly annoyed Joe had read him like a book.
“Did they arrest someone?” The hopeful expression in Harper’s green eyes made him wish he had better news.
“Not yet.” He resumed the seat across from her. “You said you didn’t know your ex-husband’s friend Ellis Starkey very well. When was the last time you saw him?”
She frowned. “Maybe a week or two before I left Jake. He made a habit out of dropping by the house unannounced. Or maybe Jake knew he was stopping by but neglected to tell me. I don’t know.”
“So that was roughly seven months ago?”
“Something like that.” She rested her hands on her belly. “I didn’t pay any attention to their conversations. I figured they were talking about business. Legitimate business,” she stressed. “I didn’t know their company, F & S Enterprises, was a front for gunrunning.”
“I believe you,” he quickly assured her.
“I assume you checked their warehouses,” she said.
“Yeah.” He didn’t say anything more, unsure if she knew about the gunfight that had taken place there.
His phone rang. Pulling it from his pocket, he answered Brock’s call. “What’s up?”
“Get out of there, now! Head south!” Brock shouted. The words barely registered beyond the sound of gunfire.
CHAPTERFOUR
“We have to go!” Steele reached for her hand. Upon hearing gunfire, she’d shoved her feet into the uncomfortable shoes, then grabbed her coat and purse. She barely got one arm inside as Steele led her through the house to the back door, using the same exit strategy as he had at his home.
She wanted to cry as the blisters on her feet burned. The only good news was that when they headed outside, there wasn’t a fence to climb.
Small blessings, she thought as she followed Steele through an open backyard to a small tree. Not nearly big enough to provide cover, but she took a moment to release his hand long enough to get her other arm into her winter coat.
“This way.” Steele led her on a zigzag path through the stranger’s yards. If it wasn’t for the danger stalking them, she’d find it funny that they were trespassing once again. And that no one had called the police to report them.
But it wasn’t funny to know some gunman wanted her injured or dead. It was completely inconceivable that their safe house had been found so quickly. For a moment, she suspected Brock was working with the bad guys, but then she reminded herself that he’d come to their rescue more than once.
A bare tree branch smacked her in the face, the sharp end nearly poking her in the eye. Focus. She needed to stay alert, not worry about how the safe house had been compromised.
Again!
Her left foot slipped and hit a rock. She cried out in pain. Steele immediately stopped and pulled her close.
“Are you hurt? Are you able to walk?” His terse questions accompanied a steely gaze raking over her.
“I can walk.” She felt certain if she couldn’t, Steele would try to carry her. Considering her pregnancy, that wasn’t an option. She needed Steele to keep her safe, and that meant making sure he could fire his weapon at a potential threat if necessary.
Not lugging her around like a sack of potatoes. A very large and unwieldy sack of potatoes.
Steele nodded, then reached for his radio. “Brock? Where are you?”
“Corner of Latham and Virginia.” Brock’s voice crackled through the radio. “Where are you?”
Brock led her down a side street. “We’re approaching Latham now from Tyndale. I don’t know which way Virginia is located.”
