Double Exposure. Lenora Worth

her to catch up.

       “Are you going to talk to Jennie?” Kat asked.

       “I don’t have time for this, Kat.” He turned away.

       She grabbed his arm. “It’ll take a while for Cole to bring in the assistant.”

       “Then I’ll help him.”

       “You’re making a big mistake in running from Jennie with so much unresolved between you. It could jeopardize both of your lives.”

       “Really?” He studied her. “Suppose you enlighten me on that.”

       “You’re wound as tight as a clock. If you let this fester between the two of you, it might cloud your vision and get in the way of your job. You have to clear the air.”

       “So what do you propose I say to her, then?” he asked, hating how his sarcastic tone made her tense up. “That after she bailed on me I spent every free minute for a year trying to find her? How about that I turned over every rock in Seaside and every other place she’d lived until I tracked her down like some lovesick weirdo? Or maybe that I found her father and uncovered the past she’d tried so hard to avoid telling me about?” He’d tried to keep his tone free from self-disgust but it filled his words. He was still ashamed of how pushy he’d been, how he’d refused to back down until he’d forced to light things Jennie had had every right to keep hidden. Only then had he learned his lesson and backed off…but not before learning one thing he’d never wanted to know. “No matter what I say, I’ll come off looking like a loser.”

       Kat placed a hand on his shoulder. “It wasn’t like that and you know it. You just needed some closure.”

       “Well, I got it all right, didn’t I?” He looked up at the clouds and remembered the pain of finding out the woman he’d loved could replace him in less than a year. “I could’ve lived without finding out she’d taken off for Texas with that guy.”

       “It helped you move on.”

       “I appreciate your concern, Kit Kat. I really do.” He squeezed her hand then gently removed it. “But getting to the bottom of the threat against Jennie has to come first. When the time is right, I’ll talk to her. Okay?”

       “Okay.”

       Hoping the time was never right, he hugged his sister and headed for his car, feeling her appraising eyes on him even after he drove off.

       On the short drive, he tried to think of anything but the hopelessness he’d felt after Jennie had taken off. He’d been desperate to find out why she’d really left. At first, he’d thought it’d be easy to find her. Seaside wasn’t that big of a city. But she’d moved and he’d had to go all the way back to her high-school records to track down her father. He’d learned so much about her past and even discovered that she’d given up a baby for adoption.

       Surprising, shocking actually, but he saw God’s hand in this. He’d never believed his birth mother had loved him. If she had, why give him away? Through Jennie’s selfless actions with her daughter, he finally believed his birth mother could’ve given him up because she loved him and wanted a better life for him than she could provide. So he’d sought her out and found a very similar story. Now they had a strong relationship and it was all thanks to Jennie. But his shame from digging into Jennie’s past wouldn’t let him tell her about it.

       He parked in front of the gallery and pounded on the door. Cole headed down the long, narrow space, now free from debris. Ethan wasn’t surprised to see the gallery floor already cleaned up. Madeline didn’t let anything get in the way of what she wanted, and she wanted Jennie’s show to open on Friday.

       Cole unlocked the door.

       “She here like I asked?” Ethan pushed past Cole, who snagged Ethan’s arm.

       “Hold up, bro.” Cole stood firm. “Don’t rush in there in this mood. Take a minute to cool off first.”

       Cole was right. Ethan needed to catch his breath. He pulled the email about the warehouse manager from his pocket and handed it to his brother. He explained the tattoo connection and Caldera’s position at the Photos of Hope warehouse in Texas. “I’d like you to call Patrick and get him to work on this. Have him report back to you, and you can keep us updated.”

       Cole’s eyebrow rose.

       “What?” Ethan asked.

       “What happened to would you do this?”

       “Sorry.” Ethan rubbed neck muscles as hard as rocks. “Something about this case is getting to me.”

       “Something or someone?”

       “What’s that supposed to mean?”

       “Kat told me our client is the infamous Jennie who bailed on you.”

       “Does no one in this family ever mind their own business?” Ethan scowled at his brother and headed toward the back of the gallery.

       He could feel Cole’s eyes burning into his back. Too bad his brother chose this topic to take an interest in. Since he’d come home from a second tour in Iraq, he’d rarely gotten involved in anything personal, and Ethan hated to shut him down.

       Fresh paint fumes caught his attention and he noticed a new coat of paint covering the ominous message. Good. He’d rather not see the threat again. He found Madeline and Linda in the refreshment area. Madeline stared down on Linda, who was sitting in a wrought-iron chair and fidgeting with the cuff of her jacket.

       As he neared, Madeline looked up. “Ethan, good. Now we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

       She moved her focus back to her assistant. Working hard to keep his anger over Linda’s betrayal from his face, he nodded a greeting and waited for Cole to settle. He leaned against the wall, his ankles crossed in a casual pose, but Ethan saw the intensity in his brother’s eyes. Intensity constantly present since his return from Iraq. Linda cast him a wary gaze, so Ethan sat next to her, drawing her attention.

       He kept his posture relaxed and leaned toward her. “Why don’t you tell me why you contacted the newspaper?”

       “It’s my job.” She met his gaze with a hard stare, but her hands trembled, making him think she was hiding something.

       “Explain.”

       “I’m in charge of PR. After all the news stories ran about the break-in, I knew people would assume we’d canceled the event and no one would show up. If we don’t get a good crowd at an event, Madeline blames me.”

       He ignored her jab at Madeline. “Do you routinely make this kind of decision?”

       “Depends on the event.”

       She was stonewalling him and his anger was starting to bubble up again. “But for this event you had the freedom to make all the PR decisions?”

       “Yes.”

       Madeline took a step closer and her painted-on eyebrows rose. “You knew I didn’t want the press to know about our plans.”

       “No, I didn’t.” Linda looked away, but Ethan caught a flash of guilt in her eyes before she turned.

       She was hiding something, but what? Had she decided to leak the info about Jennie to the newspaper on her own or had someone coerced her into doing it? Or did she simply not like working for Madeline and wanted to cause trouble?

       Madeline circled the table and got in Linda’s face. “Don’t lie to me, Linda. I told you our plan was to keep publicity to a minimum and just call the invited patrons.”

       “I—”

       “Don’t lie again and say you didn’t know that.”

       Linda crossed her arms and glared at Madeline.

       Ethan was more certain she was concealing something, but he still didn’t know what, so he merely kept a curious gaze