Sheltered By The Soldier. Lisa Harris

one this month.”

      “It’s hard to believe that much time has passed.” He stood up and faced her again. “Griffin told me you were hit from behind. Are you sure you’re fine?”

      “Yes, though I’ve been told that your mother’s on her way to check us out.”

      “We’ll need to have your car looked at as well, and what about the phone you thought they might be using to track you?”

      She pulled it out of her purse and handed the phone to him. “Maybe I’m just paranoid, but I saw something a while back on TV about apps that can be installed to track someone without their knowledge. I didn’t want to take any chances.”

      “You did the right thing. I’ll pass this on to Griffin and see if someone who works with their IT can look at it. And Gabby... I promise we’re going to find out what’s going on.”

      She nodded, but he didn’t miss the fear in her eyes.

      “Do you have any idea who’s behind all of this?” he asked.

      There was a long silence before she answered. “I think this has something to do with Will’s death.”

      Liam worked to process the information, surprised at her answer. “Will’s death? He died in an explosion halfway around the world a year and a half ago. How can this be related?”

      She shrugged. “I recently went through the rest of Will’s footlocker. I found some letters he wrote that I’d never seen before. He was worried about something. What if it wasn’t just another attack? What if it was just meant to look that way?”

      “Wait a minute. You mean that someone—other than terrorists—wanted him dead?”

      “I think he stumbled upon something illegal while he was over there. Will hinted that contractors where involved, but I think he was afraid of the repercussions without solid proof of what was going on. And whatever it was got him killed. Because when I start asking questions...” A tear streamed down her face. “Liam, I think they’re after me.”

       TWO

      Gabby watched Liam’s face, worried about his reaction. She knew Will had been his closest friend. They’d lived in a war zone together, and in turn, they’d developed a bond that only soldiers understood. On top of that, Liam had been there the day Will died.

      “I don’t understand.” His jaw tensed as he caught her gaze. “Why would someone come after you in connection with a soldier who died seven-thousand miles away in the Middle East. It doesn’t make sense. Will never said anything to me.”

      “Maybe not, but that’s what I need to find out. Because there is a connection. I decided to start asking a few questions about things Will told me in his letters, and not only was I sent a threatening text message to stop asking questions, but now this happens.”

      “You said he was looking into something. Something...illegal?”

      “Yes, but unfortunately, he never gave specifics.”

      “Why wouldn’t he have told me if something was going on at the base? We talked about everything.”

      “I don’t know. But he was definitely looking into some illegal activities.”

      He wasn’t totally buying her theory. She could tell by the look of doubt in his eyes and the frown on his lips. He and Will had been close. She got that. She also knew there were things Will told him that he would have never told her. And yet, for some reason, this was different.

      “Tell me more about the letters,” he said.

      “After he died, there were things I never went through in his locker. I just...couldn’t. I was four months pregnant, then suddenly a widow... I was overwhelmed. A few weeks ago, I decided it was time to go through his things. I found several letters Will never had a chance to send. Someone must have added them to his personal belongings. In them, his tone had changed. He was looking for proof that someone was defrauding the government.”

      “Contractors.”

      She nodded.

      “Who have you spoken to?”

      “I contacted several officers he worked under, hoping they might have answers.”

      “But there was nothing specific in what he wrote? No names?”

      She shook her head. “I’ll let you read through the letters, but the only name mentioned was Casada. Someone he seemed to trust. Will thought the man might have answers for some reason.”

      “James Casada. He was a contracted worker.”

      “I guess I was hoping since you were there you’d have some answers, too.”

      He walked toward the window and stared outside. The snow was picking up, making her doubly thankful she and Mia weren’t still out there.

      “I’d like to look at the letters if that’s okay, but I don’t have answers. I know that things have been hard since Will died.” He turned back around to face her. “Losing Will was a horrible tragedy that neither of us will ever be able to forget.”

      “It was horrible, but what better way to silence someone? No one would ask questions. It would simply be another unfortunate loss that happens far too often.”

      “I also know how easy it is to keep searching for an explanation when someone dies.”

      Gabby felt a ball of anger begin to bubble inside her gut. Hadn’t she spent the last year and a half trying to combat those feelings? Weekly counseling sessions with her pastor, dozens of books on grief, along with advice from half the people she ran into while she tried to work full-time and raise Mia.

      “I’m not just looking for answers.” She bit the edge of her tongue. Healing was raw and personal. She knew that. Knew how easy it was to snap back a response that she’d later regret. But you couldn’t just throw out grief with the trash and expect everything to simply switch back to normal. Healing was a process and losing Will had changed her forever.

      “I’m sorry.” He stepped in front of her and rubbed the back of his neck. “All I meant was that nothing can change the fact that he’s gone. We know how he died and digging for answers is just going to hurt more.”

      “Maybe. But then why did someone ransack my house and follow me here? This all has to be related.”

      “All I know for certain is that Will died in an ambush. We all knew our jobs were a risk, but it was a choice he made every day in order to serve his country.”

      “I understand that, but what if there was more involved? Because I believe there was.”

      She’d been around Liam enough to know he was far more methodical than impulsive. His questions weren’t a dismissal of what she believed, but rather his way of working through a problem.

      “Do you have his letters with you?” he asked.

      “I’m not really sure why, but I’ve been carrying them around in my car. Now I’m glad I did.”

      “Do you think that’s what the intruder was after?”

      “It makes sense. The only problem is I don’t know what they think is in them.” She blew out a slow breath. “I thought maybe you’d see something I didn’t.”

      Liam pulled out one of the chairs and sat down in it. “Will seemed distracted before he died. But to be honest, I thought it was because he was ready to get back home. It just seems odd he never mentioned something like this was going on.”

      She caught the fatigue in his eyes, making her second-guess her impulsive decision to come here. He had enough of a burden to carry without her adding to it. He might not have died in the explosion, but he