Renewed Faith (CSA Case Files 3 / Military Romance) Read Online Free Page A

she could actually help him. He was intelligent enough to know that his snitches didn’t tell him everything. But someone like her, who they claimed as one of their own, was a different matter. This killer had to have made a mistake somewhere and been seen by someone. It was just a matter of finding out whom.
    “Is it so hard to have someone care about you?”
    Kevin’s words, as soft as they sounded, were like ice cold water being thrown in her face. It took a moment to gather her composure, and even then she wasn’t sure how to respond. Elle slowly dragged oxygen into her lungs after having realized that she wasn’t breathing. She wasn’t sure exactly what he meant and she didn’t want to. No matter how she answered, it wouldn’t come out right. The best course of action was to pretend it was never said. Feeling as if she were on autopilot, Elle grabbed her mug and somehow managed to walk around him without touching.
    “I appreciate that you came to tell me,” Elle said, trying to keep her voice even. She walked to the door and opened it, although she didn’t take a sip of her coffee for fear that her hand would tremble. “If you find out anything more, you can just call. The club is closed tonight, so I’ll be doing inventory for the bar.”
    Kevin slowly turned to face her, and for a moment she worried that he wouldn’t let it go. As he walked toward her in a predatory way, she found herself holding her breath once more. Since when had she turned into such a weak specimen of the female race? Elle tightened her grip on the cup and waited for his reaction when what she wanted to do was shout that she didn’t need an older brother watching out for her. She refused to think he meant it any other way.
    “Be careful if you go to the shelter,” Kevin said, his voice registering an octave lower. He was also inches from her with his head tilted down, giving her a view of his full lips. She didn’t look up to meet his gaze for fear of what she would see. More apt, what she wouldn’t see. “I’ll be in touch.”
    With those four words, Kevin was out the door, leaving only a slight hint of woodsy aftershave in his wake. She quickly shut the door to seal it outside versus in. Elle didn’t need any reminders of his visit. The news he’d left was enough and that prompted her to quickly cross the floor and walk behind the wooden wall partition. She set her mug down on the nightstand, although not before she fortified herself with a long swallow. The day proved to be a long one if she was going to spend it at the shelter. She’d catch a few hours of sleep later this evening before she did that inventory she mentioned.
    Is it so hard to have someone care about you? Kevin’s words rang in Elle’s ears as she got dressed, causing more frustration than she thought possible. If she’d answered him honestly then he’d learn that she didn’t know if it was hard. It was something that she never had. She didn’t pity herself by any means. It was just the way it was. But Kevin would pity her and that was something she couldn’t allow.
    Elle turned her focus on the shelter and the women who sought help. Some were young runaways, some were prostitutes trying to turn their life around, and then there were the women who were either single moms or victims of domestic abuse. They each had the courage to reach out and try to change the course of their lives. It had taken her a long time to find that resolution within herself, and if she could give them even an ounce of hope, then she’d done what she set out to do. This killer wasn’t about to take that away from any of them.

Chapter Three

    “H eads up!”
    Kevin turned around just in time to catch the yellow stress ball that Jax had thrown his way. He caught the sucker inches from his face and immediately threw it back. Jax kept walking to his cubicle as if nothing had happened, leaving Kevin shaking his head in amusement. Ever since his wife, Emily, had hit her third