"What else did Matt tell you?"
"He said that Hal Collins told the police that Robert and Karl had been fighting the last few months. Karl thought that Robert had made some mistakes, that his work was getting sloppy."
"How would a lawyer know that?" she challenged. "I worked directly with Robert, and I can tell you with complete certainty that he was never sloppy."
"It's possible that Hal is trying to make Robert look like the bad guy. Whether that's related to the love triangle that was going on between Hal, Robert and Lisa or something else I couldn't say."
"This is getting worse and worse," she murmured. "Did the man have a family? A wife? Kids?"
"I don't know anything about him." What he did know was that Karl Straitt's death had raised the stakes and made him realize that Robert was in real danger. He needed to find his brother before someone else did. And with the way things were going, it wouldn't be just the bad guys looking for Robert, it might be the police as well. Because he had a feeling that Hal Collins was setting up Robert for murder.
He wondered when Karl had been killed. He should have asked Matt that. If the body had been in the bay for a while, that would have made it impossible for Robert to be the killer. Not that he believed for a second his brother could kill anyone, but the cops might not feel the same way.
Maybe Karl's death was the reason Robert had gone into hiding. But what did Karl's death and the attack in Colombia have to do with each other? He was still missing too many important answers.
"What time are you leaving to meet Robert tomorrow?" Shayla asked.
"Did I say I was going?" he countered.
"You know you are. Don't waste my time, Reid."
He sighed, knowing she was right. "Nine."
"Are you going to tell me where you're meeting him?"
He shook his head. "No."
"Why not?"
"Because the less you know the better." Even as he said the words, he wondered if she already knew too much. "You should go to your parents' house tomorrow. The wedding will be over. Make up an excuse as to why you have to stay there." He couldn't stand the thought of her being alone in her apartment.
"Like what?"
"Tell them your apartment has a gas leak."
"Oh, sure, that's a great idea. My father and two of my brothers are in the fire department. You don't think they'd be over there in a split second?"
"Well, tell 'em you have rats. I don't know. Come up with something."
"I'll think about it."
"You shouldn't stay at your apartment alone."
"I was alone there all week."
"Before someone broke in," he reminded her. "And I can't believe you're arguing with me on this. You don't want to be there alone. The other night you begged me to stay with you."
"That was the other night."
"And what's changed?"
She frowned. "Nothing, but I'm not thrilled about involving my family in this situation. I can get someone to change the locks on my apartment. Or maybe I'll go to a hotel."
"God, you're stubborn," he muttered.
"Like you aren't?" she retorted. "All the Callaways are stubborn. It's a family trait, and the one thing I actually have in common with everyone else." She settled back in her seat and folded her arms across her chest. "Let's just drop it. You're going to do what you have to do, and I will do the same."
"Fine. It's your life."
"Exactly, it's my life. Take the next turn. We're almost there."
His annoyance grew as he drove into the Presidio, a former Army base. Not only did he have to go to a wedding, he had to do it on a damned Army base, reminding him of the life he no longer had.
"The church is over there," Shayla said.
"I see it," he ground out. He parked in the lot across from the beautiful church and wondered if he could find any excuse not to go inside. It wasn't like Shayla was going to be in danger while she was surrounded by her family and friends. He could watch over her from here, couldn't he?
But as much as he wanted to find an excuse, he couldn't do it, not because he couldn't find one, but because he didn't make excuses. When he was on a mission, he finished it. He didn't stop when things got uncomfortable.
He shut off the engine and gave her a scowl. "What are you waiting for?"
She stared back at him. "I don't want to go into the wedding like this. I know you're angry that I don't want to stay at my parents' house, but that's my decision. I will find a safe place to stay. I'm not stupid."
"I know that."
"Then what's the matter?"
"Look around you," he said. "Look where we are."
She gave him a confused look, then glanced out the window. "Oh," she said. "We're on an old Army base." She turned back to him. "I'm sorry. I didn't even think about the location of the wedding. If you want to leave, you should go. I'll be fine here. We can meet later."
"No, we made a plan, and I'm sticking to it."
"Then you have to find a way to be happy about it, because I don't want to ruin Drew and Ria's day with any of my own drama."
"We won't ruin anything. I've got this." He drew in a deep breath and let it out. "All good. Let's go."
"Okay."
They walked across the parking lot, pausing at the street to let a car go by. As they crossed to the other side, a dark-haired man in a charcoal gray suit came jogging down the front steps.
"That's my brother, Colton," Shayla said, giving him a wave. "My twin."
Great, Reid thought. The interrogation was about to begin. He forced a smile on to his face and went to shake hands with Shayla's brother.
* * *
Shayla was relieved to see Reid's smile. It was going to be a long day of questions and she didn't want the first one to be: Why is your boyfriend so angry?
But there was no sign of Reid's earlier irritation as he shook hands with Colton. He was keeping his promise to her. She shouldn't be surprised. He'd told her numerous times that if he made a promise, he kept it.
"Shay," Colton said, giving her a hug. "I haven't seen you since you got back from Colombia. How are you? Mom told me a little about it, but no one seems to know the details."
Which was exactly the way she wanted it. "I'm doing great."
"What happened?"
"I'll tell you later. Today it's all about the wedding."
"So you said your name is Becker," Colton asked Reid.
"Yes."
"Isn't Becker the name of that doctor you work for?" Colton asked, turning back to her, a question in his eyes.
"Yes, Reid is Robert's brother."
"Are you a doctor, too?" Colton asked Reid.
"No."
"He just got out of the Army," Shayla put in, knowing her brother wasn't going to be satisfied with Reid's abrupt answer.
"What did you do in the Army?" Colton asked.
"A little bit of everything," Reid replied.
"Not much of a talker, are you?"
"Colton," she protested. "That was rude."
Her brother laughed. "I think your friend has heard worse."
"I've heard a lot worse," Reid agreed with an easy smile. "But what I was doing is classified. I can't talk about it."
Colton nodded. "Got it. But don't be surprised if you have to answer that question at least eight more times today."
"I've already prepared him for the Callaway inquisition," Shayla said dryly. "I just didn't think it was going to start with you."
"Hey, you're my little sister, I have to watch out for you."
"Little by two minutes."
"Every minute counts."
"Is everyone else here?" she asked.
"Everyone but Grandma and Grandpa and Burke. Drew is getting a little nervous that his best man is going to miss the wedding."
"Where's Burke?"
"His shift ran long. He's been on a hotel fire since six a.m. He was supposed to be off a few hours ago."
She frowned. She'd grown up in the shadow of fire and danger to her loved ones, but she still hated to hear about it. She preferred to know after the fact rather than during the event when she could drive herself crazy with worry. "Maybe we can delay the ceremony for a while," she suggested.
"Hopefully, it won't come to that. Aiden is ready to step in and be the best man if he has to." Colton grinned. "He's always happy to take Burke's place."
Her two oldest brothers had always been in competition. "Very true."
Colton checked his watch. "We have fifteen minutes, so hopefully that won't be necessary." He paused as a car pulled up at the curb, relief sparking in his eyes. "At least Grandma made it."
Shayla turned her head to see her grandmother being helped out of the car by her grandfather. Yesterday they hadn't been sure she would be able to come to the wedding, but she looked good today wearing a light blue dress that matched the color of her eyes.
"That's my grandmother, Eleanor," Shayla told Reid. "Let me introduce you."
She grabbed Reid's hand and led him over her to grandmother, feeling a strong need to have her grandmother meet him. It was a silly wish, because after today she probably wouldn't see Reid again. But she still wanted the two of them to meet. Being the youngest in the family, she'd spent a great deal of time with her grandmother, who had often watched her and Colton while her parents were at work or driving the older kids around.
"Shayla," Eleanor said, a bright smile on her face, her eyes clear of the haze that often shadowed them. Eleanor's hair was white, and she'd shrunk a couple of inches since her youth, but she was still a very attractive woman.
"Grandma." She gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You look amazing."
"I think this is a new dress," Eleanor said, a twinkle in her eye. "But who can say what's new or what's not? Lord knows I certainly can't remember."
Shayla felt even better at her grandmother's teasing words. Today was definitely one of her better days. In the last year, weeks had gone by where Eleanor barely recognized anyone or spoke in cryptic, mysterious sentences. "Well, it's the first time I've seen the dress, so I'm going to call it new," she said.
"Who's this handsome man?" Eleanor asked.
"Reid Becker," he said extending his hand to her grandmother. "It's nice to meet you. Shayla talks about you with the highest regard."
"Well, isn't that sweet." Her grandmother squeezed Reid's hand. "You have callouses on your palms. A working man, are you?"
"On occasion."
"I always liked a man with a strong handshake." She turned to Shayla. "Your grandfather almost broke my fingers the first time he took my hand. But I never felt safer or more loved."
"My grandparents have been together for more than fifty years," Shayla told Reid.
"Impressive," he said.
Eleanor smiled. "It hasn't always been easy, but I've never regretted the day I said
I do
. And I can't wait to see Drew make the same vows today."
"Shall I walk you in?" Colton asked.
"Not yet. It's nice to be outside. It's a lovely summer day, isn't it? And I get to talk to my two favorite grandchildren."
Colton laughed. "You say that to everyone, Grandma."
"You're both very special. How could you not be, being twins? I remember when you used to play that game where you tried to read each other's minds."
"Shayla was better at that," Colton said.
"Only because I always guessed you were hungry," Shayla said with a self-deprecating smile. "It's funny that you remember that, Grandma."
"Some days I remember everything, and I try to hang on to those memories as tightly as I can, but then they go. I've been thinking about trying to write some of them down," she said. "There's a woman at the support center where I go who has volunteered to write down my story. I'm thinking about taking her up on it, but Patrick isn't sure it's a good idea."
"It sounds like a great idea," Shayla said, wondering why her grandfather didn't like it. "Unless Grandpa thinks it will be frustrating for you in some way."
"He always has my best interests at heart." She sighed. "I feel so badly for your grandfather and your father. My disease is not as hard on me as it is on them. They've always been the kind of men who could fix any problem. They hate that they can't fix me."
Shayla wished she could fix her grandmother's problem, too, but after what had happened in Colombia, she felt like she was even further away from being able to do anything more than hope for the best, and she hadn't gone to medical school so she could hope for the best.
"How was your trip, Shayla?" Eleanor asked. "No one will tell me what you were doing down in South America, but I'm sure it was important. You're such a smart girl."
"It was important, but I didn't get to do everything I wanted to do."
"You're young. There's plenty of time to do it all."
Maybe she had time, but her grandmother didn't.
What's wrong?" Eleanor asked. "You look suddenly sad."
"Sorry. I was just thinking. Nothing to worry about."
Eleanor's gaze moved to Reid. "You need to make her talk to you. Shayla likes to keep everything inside, and it isn't healthy."
"I agree," Reid said. "But quite frankly I've had more trouble shutting her up than getting her to talk."
Shayla's jaw dropped at his comment. "Reid, that's not true."
He smiled at her. "We both know it is, Doc."
Eleanor laughed. "I think I like you young man."
"Well, I know I like you," he replied with a charming smile.
Whatever mood Reid had been in earlier had completely disappeared. Shayla was both happy and a little wary at his complete turnaround.
"Why don't you walk me into the church, Reid?" Eleanor suggested. "We'll get better acquainted."
"I'd be honored."
"Tell your grandfather I'm in capable hands and not to worry," Eleanor said, as Reid took her arm and ushered her to the steps.
"Well, well," Colton drawled.
"What?" she asked.
"I never pictured you with a soldier. I thought you'd end up with an engineer or a rocket scientist, maybe an astronaut."
"He's just a friend. I didn't want to be the only single one at the wedding."
"Hey, I'm single, and I'm on my own."